VOL
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VOLUME 1: PRE-L AUNCH
Direct primary care launch
playbook
The complete guide to launching your practice
and attracting patients on the very first day.
Copyright © 2016 by Twine Health, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication text may be uploaded or
posted online without the prior written permission of the publisher.
For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed
“Attention: Permissions Request,” to johnmoore@twinehealth.com.
About Twine
We see technology as more than a tool, it’s a partner. So we look
beyond it to understand technology in the context of people’s real-life
needs and desires. Because we aren’t creating science fiction, we’re
helping real people live better lives today.
Our SaaS-based collaborative care platform enables risk-bearing
organizations to implement high-performance health coaching
programs, transitioning quickly and economically from episodic,
office-based care to continuous, whole-person care. We believe that
when patients lead, everyone wins. The Twine platform and coaching
methodology have been rigorously studied with world-class healthcare
organizations, proving that they improve health outcomes three-fold
at one-third of the cost of standard care. Patients experience better
quality of life, providers are more efficient and effective with more
gratification in their work, and costs are minimized for payers.
Table of Contents
I. Build your brand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Choosing a name������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Make a logo������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Get a head shot��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
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II. Create your website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Choose a domain������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 6
Choose a host���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7
Create the content���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7
III. Get listed on other websites.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Physician listing sites������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9
If you’re thinking of starting your own DPC
choose “Primary Care Center” over “Whole
or Concierge practice, you’re not alone. In the
Person Health.”
last 5 years, there has been an estimated 150x
increase in the number of these practices.
•
Keep it pronounceable: Choose a name
that’s easy for people to pronounce. Now
But once you start your new practice, you
is not the time to break out that SAT
might feel alone. If you don’t have a robust
vocabulary.
patient panel following you to your new
practice, those first few months can get a little
lonely. After all, medical school prepared you to
treat everything from Asthma to Zygomycosis,
but it didn’t train you in the ever-changing art
of cost-effective digital marketing or the fickle
world of customer acquisition and retention.
That’s where this playbook comes in. We’ll
teach you how to attract patients using proven,
low-cost methods.
Make a logo
Your logo is important. It will appear on the
door of your practice, in your communication
to your patients, and of course on your website.
Unless you have graphic design experience,
don’t try and make it yourself. Yes, even if you
dabble in Photoshop. It’s not worth your spare
time, of which you have zero.
Sites like fiverr.com connect you with trained
designers who can whip up logos for only a few
I. Build your brand
bucks. When you reach out to a designer, here’s
what you need to request (Also see “Anatomy
Choosing a name
First, you need to decide on a practice name.
Sometimes the most obvious choice is the best
of a Logo” on page 6):
•
professional. After all, it’s better to seem like
one. Here are some quick tips:
•
Keep it local: Unless you have dreams of
building a global primary care empire (but
a boring doctor than a crazy doctor.
•
the Yahoo exclamation point or the Target
safe bet to help build a strong local brand.
bullseye. This icon will come in handy for
Think “Quahog Primary Care” rather than
branding later on.
“Peter Griffin Primary Care.”
Keep it simple: Avoid overly symbolic
names. Adding the words “Primary Care” or
“Family Medicine” will help you rank higher
for key terms in search engines. For example,
Direct primary care launch playbook
Versions: Make sure you ask for both a full
logo as well as a graphical icon or mark, like
if you do, rock on), a local angle is always a
•
Style: Ask for a logo that’s clean and
•
Shape: You should ask for a horizontal
version for letterheads and signage, as well
as a square logo for your website and social
media profiles.
5
•
Format: Request a full color JPG as well as a
II. Create your website
transparent background PNG. Trust us, you’ll
need both.
Choose a domain
Remember that name you picked earlier? That
Get a head shot
should be your domain. Or at least as close
A recent, professional head shot is critical.
as you can get to it. If the domain you want
Potential patients want to see the doctor that
is taken, it might even be worth exploring
will be caring for them, not the ghost of that
alternate names for your practice.
doctor’s attractive past. So hire a professional
photographer to shoot you looking
approachable yet competent.
You want it to be as easy as possible for
prospective patients to find you. If they hear
about your new practice from a friend or see
the office from the street, they should be able
to find your site immediately on their phone.
Mismatching names and domains create
unnecessary complication that a new business
doesn’t need.
Anatomy of a logo
Icon: the mark or symbol associated with your
Background: Request a white background
brand.
version and a transparent background version.
Color: You need a black and white version of
Font: Choose a font that you have access to (in
your logo as well as a full color version.
case you lose touch with the logo designer).
Concierge & Direct Primary Care Marketing Playbook
6
As for where to buy your new domain, you
the design responds (and conforms) to the
have plenty of options. There are approximately
device of the user.
a gazillion domain registrars. And that’s at last
count. Here are some of the best:
•
•
•
•
Easy to edit: Once your practice gets up and
running, you might need to make changes to
NameCheap: We bet you’ll never guess the
the content of the site. Find a product that
main draw of this registrar. Wait for it… It’s
you and your staff can edit with ease. You’ll
because you can get domain names for
thank us when you don’t have to hire a web
cheap! See the power of straight-forward
developer every time you change the site’s
branding?
font.
GoDaddy: This is the most well-known of all
•
Template options: You wouldn’t build a
registrars. Since so many people use it, it’s
house without a blueprint and you shouldn’t
easy to find instructions online if you need
design a website without a template.
help editing your domain panel in the future.
It doesn’t mean your site is boring or
Google: The big guns finally got in the
domain game. The Google domain manager
unexceptional. It just means it’s optimized
and tested to maximize usability.
is probably the most intuitive and easy
As for which designer to choose, look
to use. Plus you can bundle your domain
around for the best deal. We love options like
purchase with a Gmail business account and
SquareSpace, Wix, and Weebly. These offer
other Google for Business tools.
drag and drop tools and allow you to really
customize a gorgeous looking site. If you’re
Choose a host
Once you set up your domain, you need to
actually design and publish your website.
Most domain registrars will offer a simple site
design service but it typically looks a little
outdated. You need a design that accomplished
the following goals:
•
Mobile-friendly: Mobile traffic increasingly
makes up a large percentage of overall
traffic. Your site needs to be as easy to
navigate on an iPhone as it is on an iMac.
Look for website designs that use the phrase
“responsive” in the description. This means
Direct primary care launch playbook
feeling ambitious, Wordpress has a wide
variety of add-on apps to help you build out
your web presence. But be warned, Wordpress
is a bit trickier to navigate and update than the
more user-friendly options.
Create the content
When it comes to website content, your most
important goal should be to increase organic
traffic. Organic traffic means web traffic that is
sent your way from search engines, when
people search for a particular word or phrase
(e.g., “Quahog primary care doctor”). Generating
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this kind of traffic is an industry in its own
right words for your business, you want to
right, complete with experts and agencies that
find a balance between the highest possible
will charge you to get on that coveted first
monthly search volume and the lowest
page of Google search results.
possible competition score. Once you have
selected your list, you can start creating your
website content.
In 2015, mobile devices accounted for
almost half (47.9%) of all online traffic,
•
an increase of 16.3% from 2014.
Optimize everything: On each page of your
website, choose one keyword from your list
to optimize. For instance, on your homepage,
you might choose “Quahog Doctor.”
2014
That phrase should appear in your meta
description, meta keywords, page header, and
2015
body copy (don’t worry, your website editing
0%
10%
20%
Mobile
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
tool should make this easy for you). You
90% 100%
should even use the phrase in the name of
Desktop
the image files on the page. Google and other
Source: IBM Watson Trends. 2015.
search engines index everything. Make sure
they’re indexing what you need them to.
Lucky for you, we’ve condensed the
entire professional field of Search Engine
Optimization into four easy tips. OK, not
•
include the keyword phrase in lots of places,
entirely, but these four pointers will get you
it doesn’t mean you should include it lots in
started in the right direction:
•
every place. By that, we mean make sure to
use the word naturally and not just repeat
Find the keywords that matter most: First
it in an awkward Mad Libs-like attempt to
you need to choose 5-10 target keywords.
trick Google. The search algorithms used
Create a Google Adwords account. Don’t
to determine rankings have become very
worry, you don’t need to purchase any ads
sophisticated. These tools regularly sniff out
just yet. As part of the AdWords account,
content that sounds like it’s trying to cheat
you’ll gain access to Google’s Keyword
the system. Remember, Google is ultimately
Research Tool. This tool will ask you a series
just trying to find the answer to a user’s
of questions to generate a list of search
query. Show them that your site answers
terms that are applicable to your business.
those questions and doesn’t just parrot back
Each word will include the monthly search
a keyword.
volume as well as estimated competition to
rank highly for that keyword. To choose the
Direct primary care launch playbook
Write like a human: Even if you should
•
Update often: Perhaps more important
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than what you post is how often you post.
•
Vitals: Your profile is automatically
This is where a blog comes in. A blog offers
generated, but you should still register and
an easy way to update frequently without
correct or update all of the listed
adding dozens of unnecessary website pages.
information. Register here.
And if you’re too busy to write blog posts,
55
assign the task to your more creative office
%
staff members. They will appreciate the
opportunity to get their name on a published
byline.
III. Get listed on other websites
•
Blogging drives 55%
more website traffic.
Source: Impact Branding
Doximity: If you list yourself on Doxmitiy,
your profile is then pushed out to many other
aggregators including US News and World
Physician listing sites
Report. So don’t forget to sign up. Register
Once your site is up-and-running, the final step
here.
is to get listed on the various doctor listing
sites. These sites allow potential patients,
employers and other physicians to find your
new business. And if you don’t own your listing,
there’s a good chance that you’ll be listed there
anyway, with little to no information. Here are
the sites you need to register on:
•
•
Google: While not a physician site, Google
does provide a lot of information when
someone types in a search term either
about you specifically, or about your kind of
business in your area (e.g., Quahog family
medicine). You can own your local listing by
claiming your business. Google makes this
Zocdoc: This clever app allows patients to
pretty simple for you if you create a Google+
make an appointment directly through this
account. Register here.
app. Register here.
•
HealthGrades: This site pulls in physician
registration data. If you register for free, you
can update your profile and provide details
about your new practice. Register here.
•
DoctorDirectory: This is another way
for your practice to show up for potential
patients searching for a new doctor.
Register here.
Direct primary care launch playbook
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Ready to take your new
practice to the next level?
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