Incorporating CRM Into Your Health Care Marketing Plan

Just as any other customer-based company, a medical practice also needs to change and adapt to the needs of its patients. A practice that doesn't keep up with the changing needs of their patient panel may lose patients to a practice that does. One of the ways a physician can keep abreast of current and potential patient's needs is by implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools.

Customer relationship management is made up of the different processes that a company or medical practice might use to organize and track the interactions it has with the existing or potential patients. In turn, this information is used to find ways to meet the needs of existing and future patients. Using CRM tools helps you effectively market your medical practice.

When developing your medical marketing materials, a doctor must consider feedback from his current patients about her products and services. Basically, you must use information about your current patients to figure out how to get the new patients you want to attract. Customer relationship management is one of the ways you can collect and organize this data to help you. More importantly, when you understand your patient's behavior and buying practices as customers, your doctor-patient relationship will also improve.

To effectively us a CRM system you must know your patients. A CRM system is only beneficial if you use it to collect and analyze data about your patient's preferences and behavior. By tracking your interactions with your patients, you will be able to see when they purchase particular products and services. You also be able to determine which ones they use the most. This will help you market the right products and services to the patients who most want and need them.

Build your CRM database by training your front line staff to be sensitive to patients as they deal with them, and discover their immediate needs. Then use a system to make note of the matter for future reference in each interaction with them. Believe it or not, your billing department can also assist you in building a powerful CRM database by becoming aware of the different needs of the way people pay for products and services. This will allow you to develop payment plans or create special offers that are tailored to the needs of your patients. Awareness and tracking of this data during interactions with patients will determine the success of your customer relationship management.

It is important to not lose touch with your current patients and their needs even as you are trying to attract new clients using your health care marketing strategies. If you don't have a medical practice marketing plan in place that includes follow-up marketing to meet the needs of your existing patients, you run the risk of losing them and not being able to keep the new ones you bring in. CRM systems can help make the development of accurate follow up marketing programs simple and accurate.

Focusing on meeting the needs of existing patients while establishing an effective marketing strategy to bring more patients to your practice will ensure that you have the ability to keep the new patients you bring in. Remember, a doctor's marketing plan must be well-rounded and cover all the critical elements of medical practice marketing.

Customer relationship management is useful for all doctors in any practice area, and CRM tools are as effective in a medical practice just starting up as in an existing one. If you start at the beginning with a CRM system to track interactions with your patients in all areas of your practice, you will have the ability to build solid relationships with your patients even as you are focusing on growing your practice. Using CRM should be part of your health care marketing plan, and you can have it in place from the day you open.

Used correctly, customer relationship management can be an effective and powerful part of a health care marketing plan that keeps existing patients and future patients happy and loyal to your medical practice.

Marlee Ward is a medical marketing specialist and health care marketing consultant. Having worked in marketing and public relations for over 10 years, Marlee has seen medical practices struggle with their marketing efforts and get "taken" by practice consultants time and time again. Surrounded by a network of medical professionals, Marlee was inspired to create the Rx MD Marketing Mastery System to give physicians, doctors, and dentists the knowledge, tools, and technology needed for medical marketing success! Visit us online at http://www.rxmdmarketingsolutions.com.