For doctors opening a new practice, it may be difficult to find patients. People are usually looking for reliable and trustworthy medical care. Even offices that are having success bringing clients in may struggle to create long-term relationships. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, patients need to be exposed to a practice’s name an average of five times before remembering it.
Doctors need to find ways to keep their services on the minds of clients. Developing a lasting marketing campaign may be the best way to create exposure and prompt recognition from consumers. Promotional products have a long shelf-life, so clients will constantly be reminded of a practice.
While functional gifts could increase visibility for a doctor, they may not be as effective if clients are unsure of what medical services are offered. Practices should be careful to brand their promotional giveaways to create exposure and inform potential patients of the offices’ specialty.
Psychiatry
Psychiatrists help patients suffering from a wide range of problems. Doctors can help with stress, addictions, mental illnesses and identity disorders. Psych Central recommends that patients seek different treatment options before committing to a plan.
A psychiatrist can build a rapport with potential patients with small functional giveaways. For example, a doctor could brand a promotional notepad and give it to a client to write down what they are feeling or what their goals in therapy are. A promotional pen could be added as a gift to create additional exposure for the office.
Pediatrics
Pediatricians aren’t marketing themselves to their young patients, they are marketing to parents. Mothers and fathers want to make sure that their children are well taken care and receive the best care possible.
Doctors need to build trust with parents if they want regular business. Promotional wall calendars and desk planners may be strong marketing tools. Families, especially those with infants and toddlers, need to regularly take their children for check-ups. A practice can show that it cares by giving an extra tool to keep track of appointments
Ophthalmologists
Some patients may be too proud to admit that their vision is blurry and eye doctors may have difficulty keeping patients coming back for regular eye tests after patients finally get contacts or glasses.
An office can encourage clients to keep coming back by providing them with regular eye exams at home. Doctors may want to give away a calendar with an eye chart on every month so patients can see first-hand if their vision is degrading. After a couple of months, clients might be ready to call their ophthalmologist and see what an expert says.
Dentists
Most people dread going to the dentist. It can be uncomfortable for some patients to have tools scraping across their teeth. WebMD recommends trying to create a less stressful environment for patients, and the small effort could create trust between clients and their doctor.
Dentists may want to brand a stress ball so patients had an outlet for their nervous energy. This may help eliminate the need for doctors to stop during a procedure to calm the client, meaning for quicker and less stressful appointments.
Small gifts might be the most effective tools for reminding clients of a brand without intrusive advertisements, such as bombarding patients with reminders to schedule an appointment. Promotional items provide constant advertisement for a doctor’s services and reminds patients of where they can receive the best care. Medical specialty-geared giveaways might be even stronger reminders for clients about what a practice does.