Engaging the target audience is extremely important. No matter the profession, when one has a healthy and ongoing engagement, that is when the audience sees a stickiness quotient with the audience. When one does not engage with the audience, the audience (here patients) can get distracted, forget and eventually find a different doctor.

 

Retaining patients can happen only when you have taken that extra step to ensure that they can rely or depend on you for their health. Patients in remote locations, who have no knowledge or access to anything medicine, can only depend on the medicines and healing techniques that a doctor can prescribe. The doctor also has to invest his time and effort to build that confidence to maintain this.

 

Let us see how Doctor X achieved this:

 

Doctor X made regular visits to the area he was catering to make his physical presence felt. He ensured that he met his patients and their families, spoke with them, and enquired about their health and the effectiveness of the treatment. He also talked about follow-up visits and frequent check-ups.

Pamphlets and flyers in the local language were also printed and distributed. These included topics such as:

• How to prevent cold in winters

• Importance of the COVID vaccine

• How to beat the heatwave

• Importance of family planning

These topics and more were distributed bi-monthly in the area. These pamphlets had the name and contact details of the doctor. The doctor's branding was well placed and used as a brand re-call for the patience. Those who may have forgotten about them or missed a follow-up visit could now contact the number mentioned on these hand-outs.

 

He also has a custom application and website for the patients to download for online and in-person consultations. This easy-to-use app was where he also published weekly patient education content to his audience. A WhatsApp chatbot also helped the audience schedule appointments, talk to doctors/staff, get their e-prescriptions, schedule follow-ups, etc.

 

Doctor X has won their hearts and made the best use of his medical knowledge by treating plenty of patients and ensuring they never forget him.