How to build a successful business: key trends in the promotion of medical services

Do you want to build a successful business, promote a clinic or medical company, but don't know how to do it? Leah Smekun, co-founder and organizer of the Medical Business Forum, shared up-to-date information on trends in the promotion of medical services and market development.  

Liya Smekun – co-founder and organizer of Medical Business Forum.

– What key trends in the promotion of medical services are observed at the present stage and give an effective result?

– As in many other niches, digital is in the lead. Without complex Internet marketing, it is difficult to imagine the promotion of a medical company.

– What are the main mistakes, in your opinion, that clinic managers make in attracting and retaining patients?

– The main mistake of the head – HR, not marketing. Often the position of a marketer is occupied simply by a "smart girl"; or "smart boy." And on such a "marketer" instead of refresher courses, trainings and marketing conferences, they hang everything from business cards to communication with a client. Such a person is usually wide-eyed and in a slight panic looking for contractors to whom he can give more and more quickly. This is also a normal approach – you can’t do it yourself, give it to someone who will do better, but only if the party making the decision “take these ones” knows exactly how to choose what to look at before starting work, and what – in the process of their execution.

It is difficult to imagine the promotion of a medical company without complex Internet marketing.

The effect of marketing can be both in clients and in illusory things that are difficult to measure and touch. At the very least, good salespeople and cunning marketers will almost always be able to justify the high cost of a bubble. At one meeting where a customer was trying to prove that the services provided by the agency were worth the sum of the hours spent on their implementation, marketers replied: “It’s like pricing Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings by the cost of brushes and paints.”

– What recommendations would you give to the heads of clinics working with the luxury segment?

– Be careful. Not only you know that your services are high-margin. Accordingly, whole flocks of advertisers, marketers, numerous magazines, exhibition grounds, and so on ad infinitum want to cash in on this. You will even be offered branding balloons. You will often hear that image, recognition and the ability to surprise a potential client are important. Do not forget: it is important to find exactly your potential client and give him the information in the right form that will lead him to you.

Always make sure that your activities hit the right audience. Got calls but no sales? There are transitions to the site, but there are no registrations or purchases? You missed and hit the wrong audience, or something went wrong. For example, the site has an invalid phone number, or the number cannot be called from a smartphone.

Service is sometimes more important than attraction tools. And in the case of the medical services segment – especially. Making a client a brand advocate is not as easy as one would like. However, it's worth it. Ten clients who not only recommend, but are ready to protect your brand, will bring more money, benefits and new customers than a hundred visitors who will come and rate you "C". And we understand that in the expensive segment, in order to get a higher rating, you need to make a lot of effort. Although ... Maybe you just need to do everything well everywhere. But this is no longer an easy task. Look at the leaders. Look at those who have many branches and more and more.

Irina Martirosova, Head of Retail Relations at CMD, spoke at the first Medical Business Forum, which took place in Kyiv in July 2016. She told how, due to the service from one laboratory, they turned into a network of 200 branches. Fantastic example! But I listened and understood: this is real.

– How do you see the development of the medical services market in our country?

– The private medicine market will develop very rapidly. Competition will benefit patients and companies that are ready for change. Medical startups are also actively growing – telemedicine, applications, developments related to business processes in medicine. Great time – a lot of new, interesting, useful. Educational projects will also be in demand. It's great that now you can use the knowledge of colleagues from different countries: webinars, broadcasts, Skype consultations. Foreign doctors and businessmen are ready to share their experience. Main – go towards the opportunities of the new time and take the most valuable.

The private medicine market will develop very rapidly. Competition will benefit patients and companies that are ready for change.

To everyone who wants to build a successful business in the field of medical services – owners and managers of clinics and medical companies, specialists planning to open a private practice, specialists in the field of marketing and advertising – estet-portal.com recommends visiting the business conference "Marketing Day for Medical Business", which will be held on January 28, 2017 in Kyiv. Interesting reports, a lot of valuable information and ideas for promoting medical services are waiting for you!