As we look to 2024, investing in patient retention should be very top of the list for healthcare providers. Considering it costs five times more to bring on a new patient than retain one, patient retention is the perfect place to focus marketing efforts in the coming year if you aren’t already. Since we know most healthcare organizations focus on patient acquisition as their top marketing and business goals, we’ve highlighted five marketing automation strategies to improve patient retention quickly and efficiently. Let’s face it, a little can go a long way with patient retention when combined with marketing automation initiatives.
Build a consistent schedule of communication
Are you staring at a list of patients in your CRM that haven’t been contacted since their missed appointment? Are you only sending out communications about appointments? Consistent communication is the backbone of patient retention. Regular, relevant, and personalized communication makes patients feel valued and heard, which is a rare thing in this day and age of content overload. Marketing automation can help to streamline and ensure consistent communication in several ways:
- Automated emails: Regularly scheduled emails keep patients engaged and informed about your services. With the proper tool, you can segment your audience and hone in on what they need most, making it personalized and relevant to their care.
- Include booking links in communications
- Send out birthday notes and holiday messages to build a deeper connection with your patients.
- Automated appointment reminders: Automated reminders help reduce no-shows and maintain a steady patient flow.
- Follow-up Vvsits or calls: Automated scheduling of follow-ups adds a personal touch and shows patients that their well-being is a priority. A call reminder can also be set up in a CRM to notify front office staff to follow up with certain patients, especially if it was a difficult appointment or they are looking at a series of appointments.