How do you determine how many patient leads are needed?
Most practice owners would say that they just want to add more quality leads. While that’s not necessarily a bad goal, there are ways to get more specific about the amount of quality leads you want to add. Start with your goal. Whether it’s a financial goal, revenue units, or number of people helped, you can then work backwards to determine how many opportunities you need on your schedule to reach that goal. Then, you can figure out the right amount of quality leads you need coming in through your marketing plan or through internal operational strategies to fill those opportunities. Even though some patients may cancel, or not go through with a hearing aid purchase that day, filling those opportunities will ensure that you are meeting your goal.

Your first and most important step to gaining more quality leads is to put together a strategic marketing plan that pulls from an omni-channel approach. Back in the old days of marketing, you could run one or two events, whether it was a newspaper ad or a direct mail campaign, and expect a good amount of quality leads. Now, you need to utilize multiple channels with a cohesive message, unique branding, and a strong call to action to gain those quality leads. Your marketing now needs to build awareness, inspire trust, and motivate patients to get help.
When doing your marketing planning, it’s also important to know your budget. Your strategic marketing plan doesn’t rely on just a financial investment, it also relies on your investment of time and resources. Physician outreach, or referral marketing, is an example of a key strategy in your marketing plan that does not require a major financial investment, but taking the time to do it has a major pay-off. Often, a referral to you from the patient’s physician already establishes a certain level of trust and familiarity with your practice.
In addition to physician referral marketing, the threes “Ds” or direct mail, digital, and database, are important strategies to include in your marketing planning.
Direct Mail Marketing: A critical part of a direct mail campaign is working with the right company to produce, deliver, and track your campaign. There are ebbs and flows with direct mail companies in terms of the results they produce and the way they strategically identify demographic opportunities in your database. If you’re sending a mail piece, it’s important target certain areas or qualities of patients that will yield you the best results.