Is it always a last-minute scramble to find patients for your video shoot? Here's what smart healthcare marketers do to make finding patients a priority instead of a panic. Build a process that makes it simple, timely - even fun!

Make it Easy

Start with the people who interact directly with your patients. They're the ones who see great outcomes, hear the patients' praise and receive the thank-you cards. Give them an incentive to refer those patients to the marketing team. Once you have designed your internal process for fast-tracking testimonials, share it with staff and doctors.

Hold a Lunch and Learn. Give your medical teams a quick review of how important testimonials are in keeping your healthcare business healthy. Testimonials are also feel-good tributes to your teams themselves. At the Lunch and Learn:

  • Share your top 3 tips for recognizing the ideal patient. Consider conducting a quick exercise to gain staff member consensus and create a persona together as a group.
  • Present examples. Showcase a template for a written story, a video, or better yet, a real-life patient to tell their story. Stress the need for real, natural narratives.
  • Ask for diversified demographics that reflect your patient population.
  • Set forth the process. From asking the patient, to getting their contact information, to outlining who gets the patient's written permission, and conducts the interview.

Make it part of the daily routine. Consider posting a colorful note pad in every exam room that says: "Willing to Share Your Story?" It reminds clinicians to ask for the testimonial and makes it easy for the patient to jot down their contact information for a staff member to collect. Studies show you get more "yes" responses if you ask within 48 hours of encountering a happy patient.

Enjoy the process and keep it going. Build in a "target achieved" celebration for everyone or create a competition to spur participation. For example, cater breakfast for the physician or care team that submits the patient with the best story that month.

Keep the Patient Pipeline Open

Besides the personal ask, consider online or email requests for patient testimonials.

  • Engage your patients through targeted social media posts asking for feedback about their patient experience.
  • Monitor consumer review sites like Google, Vitals or Yelp to find positive reviews that can turn into testimonials.
  • Email patients automatically with a personalized follow-up. (Practice management software is good for this.) If the feedback is positive, ask for a testimonial.
  • Create a patient survey with incentives to gather and share a few compelling stats, like the percent of patients who would recommend your practice to a friend. Or the percent of chronically ill patients who are happy with how you are managing their condition.

We don't need to tell you how powerful a patient testimonial can be. Once you've collected these genuinely engaging stories, give Cox Health Marketing a call. We'll help you incorporate them into your campaign strategy.