The Most Common Reasons Healthcare Practices Seek Consulting Services
Medical practices and other healthcare companies are businesses, but they are quite different from other types of companies. The marketing you use and the way you interact with patients is different than the way a retail store or a consultancy firm conducts business, for example. When a practice isn’t running as efficiently or profitably as it could be, a medical service consultant can be a great help. At McCauley Marketing Services, we’ve been working with medical practices for nearly twenty years, helping with everything from marketing and advertising to staff training. Every client has their own set of concerns, but below are some of the most common reasons they call in our experts:
Boost a Low Conversion Rate
Marketing is vital for any business that wants to be stable and grow, but it isn’t the only factor. Advertising and marketing can get potential patients to call you, but those calls need to be converted to actual appointments, too. When a practice is getting plenty of phone calls but not as many appointments as they would like, a medical practice consultant can help you find out why. Our team can evaluate whether it’s an issue with customer service, pricing, availability, or other parts of the process. Based on our extensive experience working in both the front and back of medical offices, we can help you and your staff fix the problem. After all, the hard-earned money you spend on advertising is going down the drain if your staff doesn’t know how to convert leads into patients.
Turning Around a Negative Image
There are many ways a medical practice may develop a less-than-stellar reputation. After you’ve fixed the problem, it’s time for damage control. A medical consultant and public relations team can help you get your practice into peak performance while also addressing your online reputation and helping you come up with other image-boosting strategies.
Fix a Low Patient Retention Rate
For some practices, the issue isn’t bringing in new patients but keeping them. No business can survive if they can’t keep existing customers, and if you have this problem, it means that some part of your process is driving patients away. A medical practice consultant can evaluate your practice’s staff, policies, and other components to find any issues, assist you in improving your reputation, and help you get back to your potential.
Optimize Staff Performance
Sometimes you have all the pieces you need already, but they need to work better together. A medical consultant can re-train your staff on communication, customer service, using your chosen technology and software correctly, maintaining HIPAA compliance, and more. In working with our own clients, we’ve proven that simply having your entire team working more efficiently together can increase your profits. We can also evaluate your practice and help you find out what training they need in the first place.
Most companies can turn to business consultants when they want to step up their profits, but there are many issues that are unique to medical practices and a run-of-the-mill business consultant isn’t typically experienced in these matters. A medical practice consultant, on the other hand, has the expertise to get your practice into tip-top shape and set you up for a more successful future. If your practice or healthcare company could use some help, contact our healthcare practice consultants to get started. For more business tips for medical practices and beyond, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.