Patient acquisition: 9 Ways to book more new patients

A sparse appointment calendar. Tumbleweeds in your waiting room. When your practice is growing, slow days are to be expected. But a string of them? That could mean your patient acquisition strategy needs to be rethought. 

Tactics like newspaper ads or word-of-mouth referrals are helpful. But without a clear plan connecting them, there’s no way to know what’s working — and when you need to do more of it. 

If you want to bring in more people, you need a patient acquisition strategy. In this guide, we’ll break down the nine best ways to attract new patients to your medical practice — from building awareness to earning trust.

What is patient acquisition? 

Patient acquisition in healthcare is the process of attracting new patients to your practice. It covers marketing and outreach efforts designed to let people know you exist and get them to book their first appointment. 

As you may already know, patient lists can shrink over time. People move, change insurers, or visit less. Without a steady flow of new patients replacing them, even a thriving practice will eventually plateau. That’s why acquisition is one of the most important levers at your disposal.

There are two types of patient acquisition: digital and traditional. Here’s how they differ:

	Digital patient acquisition methods	Traditional patient acquisition methods
Examples	Digital marketing, local SEO, PPC, social media marketing, SMS, and email marketing.	Direct mail, print ads, community events, provider referral networks.
Best for	Reaching patients searching for care online. Also ideal for targeting specific demographics by age, location, or interest.	Making in-person connections. Building local community presence and trust, particularly with older demographics.
Cost	Flexible and scalable. For example, you can set up a social media page for free and start online advertising with a small daily budget.	Higher upfront cost. Print campaigns and local partnerships often require larger upfront, fixed investments.
Reach	Highly targeted. You can narrow demographics you want to reach by exact search intent, age, interests, and precise location.	Broad and local. Reaches a wide, general audience within a specific zip code or region.
Measurability	Extremely high. You can track every click, call, and booked appointment from an ad or link in real time.	Low to medium. It’s harder to track unless you’re using specific promo codes, dedicated tracking phone numbers, or QR codes.

What’s the difference between patient acquisition and retention?

Patient acquisition is about getting new people to start using your services. Patient retention is about keeping existing patients. Both are essential for your practice, but they require different strategies. 

Patient acquisition can be more expensive than retention management. Think of everything involved in reaching someone who has never heard of you: ad spend, directory listings, content, and time. Keeping an existing patient engaged might be as simple as a follow-up text or a routine reminder.

🤔Looking for more strategies for keeping existing patients happy? Check out our guide to patient retention strategies for healthcare providers.

9 Patient acquisition strategies to get more people on the books 

We’ve organized these marketing strategies by funnel stages like “awareness,” “consideration,” and “conversion.” Here’s what that means: 

• Awareness. A person learns your practice exists. They might become aware of you after a Google search or a conversation with their friends.
• Consideration. They consider you as an option. They’ll visit your social media pages and read reviews to learn if they can trust you.
• Conversion. They convert and book an appointment.

Whether you’re a new practice, an established specialty clinic, or somewhere in between, you’ll find the right strategy for you.

1. Optimize your business profiles

Stage: Awareness

Why should you optimize your business profiles? Prospective patients will likely use a search engine or an AI tool to search for terms like “medical spa near me” or “best children’s dentist in [city].” Optimizing your business profile makes it easier for these tools to find your business and showcase your services at the top of the list.

What you can do this month:

• Claim and verify your Google Business Profile. Go to google.com/business and sign in with your Google account. Then search for your business name to either claim an existing profile or add a new one. Do the same for your profiles on the top healthcare directories for your specialty, like Healthgrades, Zocdoc, and Vitals.
• Make sure every profile is complete and consistent. Every profile should show the same practice name, address, and phone number. Keep your hours up to date across all profiles, too.
• Add high-quality photos of your practice’s interior, exterior, and team. Google’s research shows people are 90% more likely to visit your business if you include photos on Google Search and Maps.

2. Invest in SEO 

Stage: Awareness

Why should you invest in SEO? Search Engine Optimization makes it easier to appear on the first page of online search results. When someone new to your area searches for “family doctor near me” or “pediatrician in [city],” local SEO helps your practice appear at the top of the list.

What you can do this month:

• Log out of your browser profile or use an incognito window to search your specialty on Google. Check the map pack and the first page of results to see who’s ranking above you. Write down the top three competitors and what pages are ranking. For instance, are their homepage, location page, or service pages ranking higher? This can also show you what you need to do to rank highly.
• Check that your practice name, address, and phone number are identical across your top three directory listings. Start with your top directories, like Google Business Profile, Healthgrades, or Yelp. Then expand to major directories in your specialty.
• Create a dedicated services and FAQ page. Make sure it’s written in plain language that patients would actually use to search for it. Use location-specific and service-specific keywords throughout your content. For instance, try keywords like “family doctor accepting new patients” or “same-day appointments.” You can also use tools like Semrush and Ahrefs to find what keywords are best.

💡Pro tip: Are you using a HIPAA-compliant phone system to record calls? Go through your call recordings to look for patients’ top questions and concerns. Use this information when you create your FAQ and services pages.

3. Run paid ad campaigns 

Stage: Awareness

Why should you run paid ad campaigns? PPC, or pay-per-click, is an advertising method where you pay a fee only when a patient clicks your online ad. You can use it to bypass competitors that are ranking organically and appear instantly at the top of search results. Getting results with PPC can be more immediate compared to SEO.

What you can do this month: 

• Set up a Google Ads campaign targeting “[your specialty] in [your city].” Even a modest daily budget can make you way more visible in a local market. Start with $10 to $20 per day for two weeks and see how it impacts call volume. Make sure to link every ad directly to a booking page or through the Google Ads call extension if you want to qualify leads over the phone.
• Use Facebook or Instagram ads to reach people nearby. This expands your net and targets patients where they already spend a lot of time. If your practice serves a specific demographic, make sure to filter by age or location. For instance, you can target parents for your pediatric clinic or seniors for joint health services. 

💡Pro tip: An easy way to prove the ROI of your ad campaign is to assign a dedicated phone number to each campaign. For example, you could assign one phone number to your Google Ads and one to your social media ads. This way, every inbound call is linked to the ad that drove it. With Quo, you can set up multiple dedicated business numbers in minutes and route each one to the right team or agent. This makes it easier to track which campaign is driving the most calls, so you can double down on what’s working and cut what isn’t.

4. Invest in direct mail and print advertising

Stage: Awareness

Why should you invest in direct mail and print? Physical ads reach people who may never see your Google listing or social posts. Plus, unlike a digital ad, a well-designed postcard or flyer can sit on a desk or fridge as a lasting reminder that you’re accepting new patients.

What you can do this month:

• Choose a specific “who” and “why now.” Your “who” could be families with young kids and your “why now” could be a new pediatrician accepting new patients. This ensures your message is clear and targeted.

• Create one simple offer and one clear call to action. For instance, each printed mailer could include an offer for a “new patient appointment” discount or a “free 10-minute consult.” Make your call to action clear, such as “Call [number] to book” or “Book online at [website].”
• Send a postcard to a tight radius. Start small, no more than one to three miles in densely populated areas and three to seven in a suburb.
• Make it easy to respond to your ad. Include a business phone number or URL. You can even include a QR code that leads to a booking or FAQ page.

💡 Pro tip: Don’t send people to your homepage. Instead, send them to a page that matches the language you use in the mailer. For instance, you can create a “new patients” page about your services. This can answer questions about accepted insurance, location, and hours. You should also include provider images and a single “Book your appointment” call to action.

5. Build trust on social media

Stage: Consideration

Why should you build trust on social media? Fifty-four percent of people become patients of healthcare providers they find on social media. Use your social media pages to give prospective patients a window into your practice before they ever walk through the door. 

What you can do this month:

• Choose one or two platforms where your target patients actually spend time. For instance, Instagram and Facebook make sense for most healthcare practices. LinkedIn is best if you work with professional referral networks. You can also post on TikTok if you’re targeting younger demographics.
• Set up your bio, image, and a brief description of what you do. Add a link to your website, email, or booking page as well. 
• Start with two or three posts to show your page is active. For example, start with a staff introduction post, a short health tip, or a behind-the-scenes photo. Then keep posting consistently, even if it’s only one to three posts a week. 

Here’s a screenshot of the Instagram page for LAB Sports Therapy in the Twin Cities, MN, as an example. Notice how they post short behind-the-scenes videos to showcase their services.

6. Manage your online reputation

Stage: Consideration

Why should you manage your online reputation? Seventy-five percent of patients say they read online reviews when choosing a healthcare provider. And 72% said they look for a minimum rating of four or five stars. 

The issue is that most satisfied patients simply don’t think to leave a review — they need encouragement. That’s where reputation management tactics come in.

What you can do this month: 

• Set up post-visit review requests via SMS. You can use Quo to send a healthcare SMS review request within an hour of the visit while the experience is still fresh. Ask how the visit went with a simple one to five scale or quick reply. If the response is positive, follow up with a direct link to your Google Business Profile and ask them to share their experience. If it’s negative, flag it internally so you can follow up directly before it becomes a public review. You can automate this entire flow using Quo’s Zapier or Make integration.

💡Is it HIPAA compliant to text your patients? Find out more in our HIPAA-compliance and texting guide to learn how you can message patients while respecting their privacy. 

• Get written permission to add testimonials on your website. Once patients agree to be quoted online, you can use three to five short quotes on your “New patients” or key service pages. This instills trust and encourages patients to book.
• Use a HIPAA-safe reply framework for negative patient reviews. Thank reviewers and acknowledge their experience. Don’t directly confirm they’re a patient. Instead, invite them to contact your office directly to resolve it.  

7. Improve your booking process

Stage: Conversion

Why should you improve your booking process? You don’t want new patients taking too many steps to book an appointment once they’re aware of you. The longer and more complicated your booking process is, the greater the chance of losing them to a competitor.  

What you can do this month:

• Offer patient self-scheduling. Studies show patients self-schedule on companies’ websites outside of usual weekday business hours 24% to 43% of the time. Offering patient self-scheduling allows you to capture more of those after-hours bookings. The best scheduling tools let you easily add a booking page.

• Consider offering extended availability on certain days. Use HIPAA-compliant scheduling software to open appointment slots outside traditional working hours. This lets you serve more patients whose work schedules and life commitments don’t allow them to drop in between nine and five. 
• Set up auto-replies for missed calls and texts. You should also include a link to your booking page. This way, patients can take next steps without having to wait to hear back from you.
• Set up an after-hours booking flow. On Quo, you can set your business hours, then use the drag-and-drop call flow builder to easily design an after-hours flow. This allows you to route after-hours callers to the next-best action. For instance, you can send them to an on-call staff member or to an audio recording answering the most common questions.

8. Promote special offers 

Stage: Conversion

Why should you promote special offers? A prospective patient who is on the fence often just needs a small nudge. A well-timed offer — particularly for first-time patients — could reduce the perceived risk of trying a new provider.

What you can do this month:

• Offer a first-visit discount or a free initial consultation. You can promote it on your Google Business Profile, Yelp, and social media pages.
• Keep offers simple and low-cost. A free screening or a waived admin fee can be just as effective as a monetary discount.
• Set a clear expiration date on any offer. This creates urgency and encourages people not to wait too long before booking.

9. Build a patient referral program

Stage: Conversion

Why should you build a patient referral program? Word-of-mouth referrals from friends or family arrive with built-in trust. That means referrals are easier and cheaper to acquire than other types of new patients. Referral programs also strengthen your credibility, which makes patients more likely to choose you over your competitors. 

What you can do this month:

• Pick one referral milestone to start with. For instance, your referral milestone could be a great visit or completing a successful treatment. 
• Make it easy for satisfied patients to pass your name along. Give patients a card at checkout or include a short line in follow-up texts. For example, your message could include a line like, “Know someone looking for a provider? We’d love to help them, too.”
• If you’re a specialist, introduce yourself to five local primary care offices. Leave a business card that makes it easy for prospective patients to contact you.

How to know if your patient acquisition strategy is working

You wouldn’t keep spending on a treatment that showed no results. The same logic applies to your marketing. If you’re not tracking progress, you have no way of knowing what to double down on — and what to drop.

Here’s how to know if your investment is paying off:

• Track patient acquisition cost, or PAC. This metric tells you how much it costs to acquire each new patient. To figure out your PAC, you’ll divide your total marketing spend by the total number of new patients acquired.
• A/B test your campaigns to see what’s working. A/B testing allows you to run a controlled experiment to compare two versions of a marketing asset. For instance, you might run two PPC ads with slightly different calls to action. By changing one variable at a time, you can pinpoint what motivates patients to book. 
• Survey new patients on how they found you. One of the easiest methods is to add a “how did you hear about us?” section directly to your New Patient Registration or Intake form.
• Track conversion rate. This shows you how many people book an appointment once they’re aware of you. To calculate your rate, divide the number of new patients who completed a first visit by the total number of leads you received during that period.  
• Measure cost per lead. This shows you how much it costs to attract a single potential patient through a specific channel. To calculate your CPL, divide the total marketing spend by the number of inbound inquiries in a specific period.
• Track new patient volume. To calculate this, add up the total number of new patients who have completed their first appointment within a specific timeframe. 

To track these marketing KPIs, use a unified marketing dashboard or CRM that syncs with your practice management software. You can also use a medical office phone system like Quo to see which numbers receive the most calls, which makes it easier to calculate cost per lead.

Get more new patients on the books with Quo

You don’t need a big marketing budget or a dedicated marketing agency to grow your patient base. You just need to show up consistently across the touchpoints your patients visit most. But you also need the right tools to make that manageable.

That’s where Quo comes in. Quo helps growing practices build better relationships with current and future patients with:

• Unlimited calling and texting in the US and Canada
• Easy-to-set-up call routing for during and after hours so patient inquiries reach the right place faster
• Auto-replies so missed calls and after-hours messages still get a helpful next step
• Texting automations like snippets and scheduled messages so you can send follow-ups faster
• A shared inbox so all staff members can see the full conversation history and deliver a consistent patient experience

Ready to see how Quo can help you improve new patient acquisition? Try it for free for seven days.

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