As the largest healthcare marketplace of its kind, Zocdoc offers unparalleled insights into patient acquisition and marketing strategies. With millions of patients visiting Zocdoc each month to find and book appointments, the platform provides a unique perspective on the metrics that matter most for acquiring new patients and optimizing marketing efforts. Here, five marketing measurement tips to maximize patient acquisition.
1. Understand patient preferences.
Understanding patient preferences is crucial for effective patient acquisition. Zocdoc’s extensive data on patient behavior reveals what patients really want. Factors like availability, in-person vs. virtual offerings, location, and insurance all play an important role. For example, if you have a Google Business Profile Manager account, you can set up location extensions that are affiliated with your practice locations. This enables your ad to show up in places like Google Maps, which unlocks another ad spot directed at local users.
Similarly, when it comes to search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns, consider how different keywords reflect patients’ needs and adjust your ad copy and landing pages accordingly. For instance, a patient searching for “ENT near me” is more likely to want to book now, whereas someone searching “What does an ENT do” might be in a research phase.
In a highly competitive market, having a data-driven understanding of patient preferences allows healthcare providers to tailor their marketing strategies to better meet patient needs. By aligning marketing efforts with what patients prioritize, providers can enhance their targeting and develop a more effective acquisition strategy.
2. Focus on the right metrics.
Tracking the right metrics is crucial for gauging the effectiveness of marketing efforts and optimizing strategies for better patient acquisition and retention. By analyzing metrics like lifetime value of a patient (LTV) and return on ad spend (ROAS), organizations can ensure that their marketing spend is both efficient and effective. Additionally, monitoring engagement and satisfaction metrics helps improve the patient experience, build long-term loyalty, and enhance overall brand reputation.
Lifetime Value (LTV) of a patient: LTV is one of the most important metrics for evaluating the long-term value of acquired patients. It can help with allocating budgets more appropriately and making informed decisions about customer acquisition strategies. Ensure you are calculating it correctly.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): ROAS helps determine which channels are delivering the best results relative to their cost. Unlike traditional, large marketing companies or agencies, Zocdoc spends to specific allowable ROAS in each channel.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of prospects who take a desired action (e.g., booking an appointment). It measures the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and website performance.
Engagement Metrics: Includes metrics such as social media interactions, email open rates, and website visits that provide insights into how well content is resonating with your target audience. Net promoter score (NPS) is also an important engagement metric, which measures patient satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Use multiple approaches for measurement and triangulation.
To optimize patient acquisition, Zocdoc believes in a mix of direct channel measurement and cross-channel measurement. This model allows for a more holistic view of marketing performance compared to traditional Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) models.
Direct Channel Measurement: Daily and weekly optimization based on real-time data to adjust and refine strategies for immediate impact.
Media Mix Modeling: A comprehensive approach that assesses the effectiveness of various marketing channels, taking into account cross-channel interactions and controlling for non-marketing factors like seasonality. This allows for a more accurate understanding of what drives patient acquisition, enabling better long-term decision-making.
4. Be honest with yourself about diminishing returns.
If you’re allocating your budget perfectly, each additional dollar will deliver lower returns than the previous one. This trend is consistent across markets and specialties, underscoring the need for efficient budget allocation and ongoing optimization to sustain marketing effectiveness. Be honest with yourself about diminishing returns: allocate funds as efficiently as possible to minimize the impact, but also be willing to invest at spend levels that have a positive return on investment.
5. Balance brand awareness with patient acquisition.
Large provider groups and health systems should approach marketing measurement with precision and care. While brand awareness is important for long-term growth, it can be challenging to measure directly. It’s essential to complement brand-building efforts with focused (and also shorter-term) strategies for patient acquisition. By leveraging detailed patient preferences and using advanced measurement techniques, large provider groups and health systems can enhance their marketing strategies and improve patient acquisition outcomes.
Zocdoc’s position as the largest healthcare marketplace of its kind provides valuable insights into the metrics and strategies essential for effective patient acquisition. By leveraging patient preferences, employing a combination of direct channel measurement and media mix modeling, and focusing on key metrics like ROAS and LTV, healthcare providers can develop more targeted and successful marketing strategies. Understanding and adapting to these factors is crucial for navigating the competitive healthcare landscape and driving patient acquisition.
Stay tuned for more marketing insights and consult with an enterprise sales representative to learn more about how Zocdoc can grow your business.