11 effective marketing strategies for clinics

1. Create a Loyalty Program

“Repeat business or behavior can be bribed. Loyalty has to be earned.”

• Janet Robinson—President & CEO of The New York Times

A lot of the marketing methods we’ll talk about in this article focus on bringing customers in to make their first purchase. But you’ve also got to think about the second, tenth, or even hundredth transaction.

This is important for the longevity of your business, but also it’s more cost-effective. This is because it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to attract new customers.

There are a number of factors that contribute to customer loyalty, such as customer service, quality of service, but an effective loyalty program can go a long way!

These programs reward clients as they shop, for example:

• 10% off your next visit
• Free products after a certain number of visits

Best practices for launching a loyalty program

• Aim for lasting connections with customers.
• Customize rewards based on preferences, history, and special occasions.
• Reward clients with points for buying specific items or services.
• Offer diverse and usable rewards.
• Use social media to share program details and connect with your audience.

2. Implement a Referral Program

“A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.”

• Mark Zuckerberg—Founder of Facebook (and ruiner of Instagram)

No advert, landing page, or logo will ever do better than a good old-fashioned referral. You could make all the promises in the world, but if someone’s best mate says your competitor is better, you won’t see a penny of their money.

This is why referral programs can be convenient.

By offering incentives for people to recommend you (such as a voucher or a discount), you can encourage people to refer friends and family to your practice.

It’s a very low-risk strategy, too, because you only need to pay out on incentives after their referral has used your services. 

To illustrate, consider a referral program where the referrer and the new customer receive a discount on their next purchase. 

Quick tips for rolling out a patient referral program

• Make sure your patients are happy and engaged.
• Keep the referral process easy to understand. 
• Choose incentives that patients like, like discounts or free services.
• Track referrals and promptly reward referrers and new patients.
• Add a personal touch by acknowledging and thanking referrers personally.
• Ensure that the referral program complies with healthcare regulations and ethical standards by obeying laws, obtaining clear consent, securing data, promoting professionalism, monitoring regularly, and providing training. Also, having a compliance checklist can help a a lot with that.

3. Offer Gift Vouchers

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”

• Oscar Wilde—Poet, playwright, and all-round witty fellow

Once you’ve built loyalty with your customers, they want to share you with their friends and family, often through word-of-mouth, telling people why they should visit your clinic.

But they also might want to gift people this experience, which is where gift vouchers come in.

With gift vouchers, you can make it really easy for your clients to do clinic marketing for you. And give your customers the option to buy them digitally. They can purchase gift vouchers whenever and wherever they are.

Example gift voucher ideas

• Pamper voucher: Combine facials, massages, and skin care consultations for a comprehensive self-care experience.
• Seasonal vouchers: Bundle popular treatments tied to a specific time of the year, like Summer Glow gift voucher, Mother’s Day voucher, Christmas voucher etc.
• Refer-a-Friend reward voucher: Promote word-of-mouth marketing with refer-a-friend voucher

4. Optimize for Search Engines (SEO)

“A website is a 24/7 salesperson that can work for you even when you’re asleep.”

• Jeff Bullas—top influencer of Chief Marketing Officers (according to Forbes)

Your digital presence should actively attract potential patients.

While your current patients may know your website, a bigger audience must know your services. To bridge this gap, we use two powerful tools: 

1. Content Marketing is like having friendly online conversations. By sharing interesting and helpful content, you connect with people and showcase your clinic as a great place, not just focused on selling.
2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ensures that your website appears first when someone searches for your services. For example, if someone is looking for a “skincare clinic near me,” good SEO makes your clinic one of the top choices.

Regularly sharing helpful content engages your audience and signals to search engines that your site is active and reliable, leading to higher rankings.

SEO best practices for clinics

• Create a blog on your website to regularly address common topics related to your services to enhance your visibility in search results. 
• Identify the words people use to search for your services, and use them naturally on your website, especially on important pages.
• Get links from reputable websites in your industry by writing guest blogs for them. This boosts your credibility with search engines.
• Hire a web developer or marketing agency to audit your site and clean up redirects. A clean, user-friendly site will likely rank well in search results.

For those seeking to explore the topic further, dive into our Beginner’s Guide to SEO for Aesthetic Clinics.

5. Enhance Local Search Visibility

“About 89 percent of people search for local businesses on their phones at least once per week, and 58 percent are searching daily.”

• Neil Patel—SEO expert and New York Times Bestselling author

It’s more than just your website you want people to find, though. It’s just as important for people to be able to find your clinic, especially if those people are local.

Imagine your ideal client lives nearby and needs your service but has not heard of you. What do they do? They search on Google, Apple Maps, etc.

This is where Local SEO becomes essential. You don’t want them going to those hacks down the street when they should be coming to you. So, you need to get yourself to the top of those lists.

Harness the power of Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (Google My Business) is a free tool from Google that helps your clinic appear on Google Maps and in search results, ensuring that important info like your opening hours, contact details, and online reviews are correct and easy for people to find.

Having a good Google Business Profile makes your clinic more visible when people in your area search for healthcare providers. It also shows that your clinic is legit and trustworthy.

Plus, you can connect with patients by responding to reviews, posting updates, and sharing important info.

6. Launch Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

“Advertising is based on one thing—Happiness.”

• Don Draper—fictional character and terrible husband

Paid advertising, or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, is a way to make your clinic stand out online.

Instead of waiting for people to find your website naturally, you pay to show your ad to a specific group. 

Unlike traditional methods like newspaper or TV ads, PPC advertising is commonly done on search engines or social media.

You’ll notice it when you search for something on Google. The first few results are often listed as ‘sponsored’ – this means the company has paid money for the search term so that they’ll appear top of the results. Make sense?

Learn more in our Beginner’s Guide to PPC for Aesthetic Clinics.

Benefits of PPC advertising for clinics

• Increased visibility
• Improved patient acquisition
• Measurable results and cost-effectiveness
• Controlled spending where you decide your ad budget

7. Engage on Social Media

“It’s a dialogue, not a monologue, and some people don’t understand that. Social media is more like a telephone than a television.”

• Amy Jo Martin—Author of ‘Renegades Write the Rules: How the Digital Royalty Use Social Media to Innovate’

To some, social media is a place for political debate. To others, it’s for sharing beautiful artwork and expressive poetry. 

Whatever you think of social media marketing, it’s impossible to deny its huge influence.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer a direct way for your clinic to connect with clients, by showcasing your expertise, share updates, and provide valuable health-related content.

These platforms also serve as a space for patients feedback and reviews, building brand awareness and demonstrating your commitment to satisfaction.

Social media campaigns to try

• User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage clients to share their experiences through testimonials, photos, or stories to boost your clinic’s visibility and credibility.
• Influencer Marketing Campaigns: Partner with influencers to promote your clinic to reach a wider target audience, leveraging their credibility to benefit your clinic.
• Paid Ads: Use targeted paid ads on social media to reach specific audiences interested in your services.

8. Execute Email Marketing

“Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches – at scale.”

• David Newman—Author of “DO IT!” book series

Despite being over 50, email is still one of the most effective marketing channels.

In fact, with a return on investment of $36 for every $1 spent, email marketing is more effective than any other type of marketing.

You can use this email list in several ways that will benefit your clinic: to welcome new clients, send targeted email campaigns, promote your services, etc.

Like social media, email provides an excellent chance for clinics to engage with their patients. Share stories, offer valuable health advice, and use emails to seek feedback or invite suggestions.

You should avoid bombarding clients with emails but send them out frequently and consistently.

Email marketing campaign best practices

• Build a targeted email list
• Craft clear, concise, and intriguing subject lines
• Use a professional layout, clear fonts, and ensure scannability with brief paragraphs and compelling visuals.
• Personalize content to resonate with your audience.

9. Utilize SMS Marketing

“According to the Pew Research Center, 97% of adult Americans have a cell phone capable of receiving text messages.”

• Business News Daily

Like emails, text messages are a great way to communicate with your customers and promote your business.

In fact, open rates for SMS messages are far higher than email ones, making it a great tool if done right. The key is to provide value before using it for your own means.

You make your clients’ lives easier by using SMS messages for booking confirmations and appointment reminders. This buys you goodwill, which you’ll cash in when you send strategic text promotions.

For example, you might have a sale coming up, so you can text your existing customers with offers and deals.

Try to keep the texts short, though. If you start sending essays to your customers, you’ll quickly run out of goodwill. 

Sample SMS Texts

Appointment reminder:

“Hi [Patient’s Name], this is [Your Clinic]. Just a friendly reminder of your upcoming appointment on [Date] at [Time]. We look forward to seeing you!”

Exclusive offer:

“Hello! 🌟 Exclusive offer for you from [Your Clinic]! Show this text for 10% off your next visit. Valid until [Expiration Date]. We appreciate your loyalty!”

Feedback request:

“Hi [Patient’s Name], we value your opinion! How was your recent visit to [Your Clinic]? Reply with a rating from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. Your feedback matters to us!”

10. Conduct Surveys and Gather Reviews

“The principle of social proof. It states that one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct.”

• Robert Cialdini—Author of ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

We need to know what people think of our business to provide the best service. After all, what people think will greatly impact word-of-mouth, referrals, and recommendations.

Surveys and reviews are two of the best ways to get this feedback.

The great thing about surveys is choosing what questions to ask. This is especially useful for making informed decisions that will move you in the right direction.

You can ask people to fill them in after a transaction or contact all your customers for feedback.

Another great way to get feedback is with patient reviews.

You have different control over what kind of feedback you’ll get, but you get the benefits of social proof. 

Social proof is where potential patients decide based on what others say. This is why patient reviews are a key part of shopping sites and why testimonials are often posted on company websites.

By encouraging (happy) customers to leave positive reviews on sites like Google and TrustPilot, you make it much easier for people to choose your clinic in the future.

Best client feedback survey tools

• HubSpot
• SurveyMonkey
• Google Forms
• TrustPilot

11. Automate Client Bookings and Scheduling

Automating client bookings is a smart marketing move that boosts efficiency and elevates the patient experience. It makes it super easy for clients to schedule appointments anytime, anywhere, removing the need for traditional office hours. 

The user-friendly process enhances client satisfaction and loyalty, and improves overall clinic operations, managing patient flow, optimizing appointments, and minimizing no-shows.

Tips for automating client bookings

Use practice management software: Get user-friendly software for your website that lets clients instantly see available times and confirm appointments.

Send automated reminders: Set up automatic reminders via email or text to help clients remember their appointments, reducing no-shows and making clinic operations smoother.

Sync with clinic’s calendar: Connect your booking system to your clinic’s calendar to avoid double bookings and ensure clients can only book during available times.

Offer self-service options: Give clients the ability to manage their appointments online—whether rescheduling, canceling, or confirming—making it convenient and easing your administrative workload.

Looking to boost your client’s marketing efforts? Try Pabau today

With Pabau’s suite of tools, including marketing templates, you can seamlessly integrate and enhance your healthcare marketing strategies.

Whether you’re automating client bookings, conducting surveys, or implementing targeted email campaigns, Pabau’s solution for practice management streamlines these processes, saving you time and maximizing the impact of your marketing ideas.

Take the next step in elevating your clinic’s online presence and operational efficiency by exploring the benefits of Pabau.

Schedule a demo today!