How to Reactivate Patients and Drive New Revenue Streams at Your Healthcare Practice

While many practices prioritize acquiring new patients, reactivating past patients is often a more efficient and cost-effective strategy. Reactivating patients not only drives revenue but also strengthens the relationship and trust that has already been established. Reactivating patients can also fuel organic growth, drive revenue from previously untapped sources, and convert patients back into loyal repeat customers. By focusing on reactivation, practices can fill appointment slots, improve patient outcomes, and maximize their marketing investments.
Determining Target and Goals
Gather insights about your business and more specifically your patients. Look for past patients that have a chance of reactivation. This can be patients who have missed appointments, who are receiving annual and routine care reminders, or who have family members who are eligible for care.
Once you have a clear understanding of your business, determine what your goals are in this reactivation. These goals can be in the form of creating and accessing another revenue stream, seeing more of a specific patient type—perhaps those who are high-risk or high-value, or increasing appointment volume and keeping provider schedules full. Look into which segments you’ve researched have the most potential, whether in diagnosis, provider, location, or language. Patients that are more recent are more susceptible to rejoin.
Leveraging Marketing Resources
Once your targeted segment is selected, shape your message and offers around them. Marketing can be done in the form of incentives or by highlighting the potential risks of missing an appointment. Utilizing a multichannel communication strategy is key to reaching your patients effectively.
Start with email marketing to re-grab their attention and re-establish trust. Share with them the risks of missing an appointment or the deals you are offering. Automate consistent emails and use a professional well-designed format to ensure the email is easy to read and visually pleasing.
In addition to emails, use SMS text messaging for quick and direct communication. Texts are an effective way to send appointment reminders, special promotions, or health updates. Keep messages short, informative, and attention-grabbing to prompt immediate action.
Lastly, consider integrating other channels like phone calls or social media. Combining a variety of communication channels ensures you’re covering a wide range of patient preferences and increasing the chances of reactivating them.
Make Scheduling an Appointment Easy
Always include a call to action that directs to a landing page or contact source. Ensure that the landing page is accessible and easy to skim and provides all needed information to book, including available appointment times, available doctors, location, and practice hours.
Although it can seem daunting, by identifying and targeting the right patients, leveraging multichannel communication, and simplifying the appointment booking process, practices can successfully reactivate past patients. In focusing on reactivation, practices can not only fill appointment slots but also strengthen their relationship with patients. Let MedShark Digital help you with a custom strategy.