With a host of digital tools and marketing metrics at your fingertips, it can be hard to know which ones matter the most. Tracking the following eight marketing metrics will help you stay on target for the budget and patient acquisition goals of your healthcare system.
1. Number of reviews on Google
Google is the number one search engine patients take to when looking for a new healthcare provider. And 90% are there to read the patient reviews. If your number of reviews is lacking, you can automate a post-care text asking patients to review your practice on Google.
2. Average patient rating
Overall, local businesses have an average of 4.42 stars on Google My Business. However, 73% say written reviews make more of an impression on them than star/number ratings. While the average is important, the quality of reviews can be more important.
Ask patients via text message to leave a review of your practice on Google. 76% of patients asked to leave a review will. And 73% of those written will likely be positive.
3. Patient satisfaction scores
While public, online reviews are an important part of patient acquisition, it’s also good to track patient satisfaction with metrics from your own healthcare organization. This way, you can ask for specific feedback that patients may not include on a review site or that may vary from visit to visit.
Send a post-appointment text message asking for feedback. Response rates for texts are almost 40% higher than response rates for emails.
4. Patient acquisition cost
By tracking PAC, you can see how effective your patient acquisition strategies are and make adjustments as needed. If you notice your patient acquisition costs increasing with new digital marketing techniques, it’s time to revisit tactics and channels to ensure your patient acquisition cost isn’t too high.
If it’s time for a change, try a low-cost technique—text messaging. It has a 98% open rate and it’s a great way to connect to patients on a channel they’re likely to prefer.
5. Speed to payment (or days in accounts receivable)
Convenience matters to patients today, yet 87% of health systems still leverage paper and manual processes for collecting medical bills. And it can take weeks for a patient to respond to snail mail.
80% of patients prefer to pay their provider from their mobile phones. But only 15% of healthcare practices are delivering with mobile payment options. Consider offering mobile payments via text. It’s secure, it’s speedy, and it’s what patients prefer. Mobile payments increase the speed to payment and the convenience factor that so many patients today expect.
6. Marketing influenced patient percentage
New patients can come from a variety and combination of sources. Your marketing influenced patient percentage can help you understand how influential your marketing is throughout the patient journey and where you can focus your efforts—be it generating new leads with pay-per-click ads, nurturing leads through social media, or closing deals with Google My Business. Not every patient will start as a marketing lead, but with this metric, you can discover exactly how many were influenced and see which efforts are worth the cost.
7. Marketing originated patient percentage
With an understanding of your marketing originated patient percentage, you can see if your marketing efforts are helping patients through the conversion funnel—from awareness and consideration to conversion. If this percentage is low, you’ll want to evaluate the sources of your new patients, and adjust your tactics accordingly.
8. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Your NPS can be used to predict business growth based on customer experience. And while both ends of the spectrum are going to spread word about their experience, both types of reviews can be responded to in helpful ways to help your practice grow.
You can improve your NPS by improving your patient experience. By offering conveniences like texting to schedule appointments, mobile bill payment, web chat for FAQs, and other personalized and customized touch points along the patient journey, your scores will improve. Happier patients make for more positive reviews and Net Promoter Scores.
You don’t have to track these metrics on your own. Podium can help you through every step of the patient acquisition process. Manage your leads, generate reviews, and stay on top of payments from one powerful inbox. To get started, request a quote today.