Who Are Your Healthcare Patients?

As Seth Godin, marketing genius, once commented, “Everyone is not your customer.” In the solo healthcare practice realm, this can be re-stated to say that everyone is not your patient. What?!? A healthcare marketing consultant and published author is telling you not everyone is your patient? It’s true. On a superficial level, of course every single one of the billions of people on this planet aren’t your patients. Let’s look closer and use a specific example.

Imagine you’re a dentist in private dental practice in a town of 40,000. Of that population, perhaps 500 people have seen you professionally. What about the other 39,500? Do they all need a dentist? Yes. But do they all need to see you as their dentist? The answer is no. You can’t be the “right” dentist for all people.

So how can you help increase the chance that those who find themselves in your dental practice are your “right” patients? By being crystal clear on who your ideal patients are. What characteristics do they have? What are their demographics? Et cetera. If you’re passionate about instilling proper dental habits at an early age, your ideal patients are likely to be moms with young children. You’d build your branding and private dental practice identity around this concept. You wouldn’t necessarily turn away patients who didn’t match your ideal, but you wouldn’t spend time and money marketing to them.

When you develop a clear picture of who your ideal healthcare patient is, you’ll be able to identify those for whom you’d be a good match. You can spend your time and resources marketing directly to them instead of trying to be all things to all people.

What does your “ideal healthcare patient” look like? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comment box below!

For more information on building community connections, I encourage you to read my new book Community Connections! Relationship Marketing for Healthcare Professionals. If you want more valuable information about how to Connect with YOUR Community, you can find FREE healthcare practice marketing content, PowerPoint Presentation Jumpstart Kits, workbooks, blog articles, and my FREE “Practice Marketing Planner” Now!