Running advertising to attract new patients is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. Social media has revolutionized the world in many ways, especially the way businesses attract new clients.

This is no different for a practice that wants to attract new patients and maintain a full schedule of appointments, as relying on referrals is not a measurable or scalable strategy and can be very risky.

In order to be successful with advertising your practice it is important to use a sales funnel to attract patients, and in this article I am going to give you the three main reasons why.

Selling to people who don’t know you is not effective.

The sales funnel is the path a person takes before buying your services, also known as the customer journey.

This is very important because trying to sell your services to a person who doesn’t know you or hasn’t seen you before is similar to proposing on the first date, it’s too rushed.

It is very important to make yourself known first, gain trust, and build credibility before trying to sell.

That’s why you should use an advertising strategy where you first publish valuable content that informs or teaches people something without selling them anything.

This helps people receive information that helps them better understand your services, helps them better understand their problem, and generally generates value without making them feel obligated to buy.

This is very similar to the tastings that supermarkets give when they launch new products, people who come to learn and understand more about the product receive a free trial without feeling obligated to buy.

People need many touch points

With the large amount of advertising that is running today in different media, including social media, it is required to have multiple points of contact with a person before that person will consider buying your services.

That is why it is important to have an advertising strategy with different stages that will help the person make the decision to become your patient.

With the different tests we have run at DicoSoft Digital, we have never been able to generate quality leads* with less than 7 points of contact.  In other words, for a prospect to be more likely to become your patient, they need to have seen you at least 7 times before contacting you and scheduling an appointment.

That is why practices must generate a lot of visibility in their sector, in order to position themselves as an authority in the industry.  This visibility must be very frequent, and it must never stop.

Look for example at companies like Coca Cola or McDonalds, they are already very well positioned, but they are always looking to increase their visibility through advertising.

This massive visibility is not generated organically, for this advertising is essential.

Not all people are at the same stage of the customer journey.

It is very important to understand that not all people who know about your services are ready to buy them, so it is important to understand your audience and their customer journey*.

Following Eugene Schwartz’s customer journey logic, these are the stages a person goes through before buying that you should consider before starting to advertise to attract new patients.

Unconscious: these are people who are not yet aware of their problem.  At this stage it is important to talk about the problem by educating, demonstrating, and even entertaining.

Aware of the problem: these are people who have already identified the problem that your services solve.  At this stage you should talk about the pain points the person may be experiencing and highlight the benefits of your services.

Aware of the solution: these are people who are already aware of the different solutions that exist in the market to solve the problem they are having.  At this stage you must prove that your solution is the best in the market by showing differences that separate you from the other possible solutions that exist in the market.

Aware of your solution: At this stage the person is not only aware of the different solutions that exist for their problem, but they already know that your solution exists. At this stage you must reinforce the reason why your solution is the best, and you must expand on the benefits of your solution.

Fully aware: these are people who already know that your solution is the best and are considering your services. At this stage it is very important to introduce an irresistible offer* that helps people take action and schedule an appointment.

To continue learning how to attract patients to your practice using the power of social media, download the free guide.