As the price of healthcare continues to increase in certain countries, patients are seeking alternative options, which has given rise to a rapidly growing industry called healthcare travel. Although most patients travel abroad to save money, others travel to access a higher quality of care, or to avoid long waiting lists in their home country. Because of these factors, the medical tourism sector is rapidly booming throughout the world. This phenomenon provides an opportunity for millions of people to go from one country to another and access the best medical healthcare treatment.
If you are thinking about starting your own medical tourism company, then there are a lot of things that you should consider. And the first and most important thing you should ponder is “what are your medical tourism clients looking for?” and “how to get patients for medical tourism?”
Patients who travel abroad for healthcare have incredibly unique needs and wants which can make it difficult to market to them as a group. Since medical travel is an emerging industry, a lot of traveling patients have never partaken in going to another country for medical care, so they are uncertain about the process. However, there are several ways to make them trust your company and feel more confident about getting treatment abroad.
Here are some tactics to attract international patients:
1.) Reduce the Uncertainty Factor
Even though millions of people around the world travel to other countries for medical care, there are a lot of people who do not, because they are afraid of traveling to other countries for medical treatment and fear the possibility of getting a botched procedure abroad. So,it is your job to reduce the uncertainty from the prospects mind and give them the proper information to win their trust.
Things You Can Do:
- Social proof- Post videos and written testimonials on your website and social media platforms.
- Industry training- Get a medical tourism certification to show prospects that you are well versed in global healthcare and meet certain industry standards.
- Medical tourism directories- list your organization on industry directories so patients can find your business easier. This also shows potential clients that you are an industry leader, and you are connected to other leaders in the field.
All these things are trust symbols that signify credibility.
2.)Digital Marketing in Medical Tourism
In this digital age, all of us regularly use the internet whether it’s to search for local restaurants or researching health issues. The internet, cell phones, and other electronic devices provide us the ease of finding quick solutions to our problems. Likewise, to attract more patients to your medical tourism agency or clinic, you must have a strong digital presence online. This is done by increasing your companies ranking on search engines such as Google and creating a patient-friendly website, that produces content that international patients will find helpful and useful.
3.)Affordable and High-Quality Healthcare Options
Most medical tourists from the US, UK and Australia are seeking healthcare overseas to avoid high prices. In hope of cost savings, they travel to less developed countries. So, to attract these types of patients, it is important to promote the fact that the hospital, and country you will be sending the patient,is reliable and reasonably priced. All these things will help you in terms of how to attract international patients.
4.)Bridging the Language Gap in Healthcare Travel
A lot of patients are afraid to travel to other countries simply because they are afraid that the language barrier will negatively impact their medical operation overseas or they will not be able to function without being fluent in the other country’s native dialect. You need to assure each prospect that there will be someone at the hospital and at the hotel that will speak their native language. It is important to address this issue during the initial stage of communication.
Looking for ways to grow your organization? Contact us today and let’s talk about what is possible.
Written by Gilliam Elliott of Medical Tourism Business
Email Address: Gill@MedicalTourismBusiness.com
