Outpatient Rehab Marketing For Alumni Managers

It is critical for outpatient rehab centers to have an established marketing system in place. Like any kind of company, this is how rehab centers ultimately find patients looking for the programs they offer.

As an alumni manager, you need to understand what outpatient rehab marketing means for you. After all, your job is often going to overlap with the marketing team, so you will often find yourself working closely with them. Many tasks alumni managers do can also help with rehab marketing, especially in the local community.

Keep reading to find out what marketing means for alumni managers and how you can contribute to an outpatient rehab facility's marketing strategy.

How Do Alumni Managers Help With Rehab Marketing?

The main job of an alumni manager is to work closely with patients who have completed specific treatment programs. Many outpatient rehab centers use the alumni program to help with patient engagement and establishing a long-term connection. However, the kind of work an alumni manager does is also beneficial for the center's general marketing strategy.

Just about every team member in a rehab center can help with marketing the different treatment programs. This is important since there are usually multiple centers in one area, and you want to make sure you stand out.

Community Engagement

One part of your alumni manager job is getting more people engaged in the alumni program. This doesn't have to be limited to past patients since you also need to have a community mindset.

The alumni coordinator often works with community members to help spread positive stories and more awareness around recovery. This engagement helps bring attention to the rehab center, providing a form of free marketing. Using this method is a great way of marketing in a way that feels natural.

Generating Referrals

The business of running an outpatient rehab center is a little more complex than other kinds of companies. It is a business built on helping people recover from addiction, which means you don't necessarily want what most people would consider to be returning customers. That is why it is so important to get referrals so that you have a continual stream of new patients.

Alumni coordinators help to generate more referrals as they work hand-in-hand with past patients. Being part of the alumni program is a positive experience that helps every patient feel cared for and valued. When they have this positive experience, they are much more likely to refer other people to the rehab center.

This is why the alumni program creates organic referrals that come directly from past patients. In many instances, this is more powerful than other forms of marketing since people are more likely to trust others whom they have a relationship with.

Managing Events and Online Content

Alumni managers juggle many tasks, with coordinating events and online content creation being a few of them. The alumni program often comes with various events that help get everyone excited and more engaged. These events are a great source of marketing since they attract the attention of people who may be looking for a rehab center.

Alumni coordinators also manage many of the social media platforms for the rehab center, providing more opportunities for people to find it. This includes sharing positive stories, updates, and information about the center's programs. These are all things that can capture the attention of someone who is looking for a reputable rehab center in the area.

The alumni coordinator can also help with things like publishing content on the website in the form of blog posts. Or they can help organize a monthly newsletter so that the rehab center stays fresh in people's minds. 

Encouraging Patient Feedback

Getting feedback from patients is one of the hardest things to do for outpatient rehab centers. This is not due to patients not having an opinion about the treatment they received; it is just something most people do not think about doing.

One of the main tasks alumni coordinators have is helping patients leave feedback by giving them a positive experience. Patients are more likely to leave online feedback if their treatment is very memorable, either positively or negatively.

Online reviews help establish credibility and show potential patients how past patients felt about their treatment. It will be much harder to attract new patients if you don't have an established online reputation that people can look into.

Growing the Alumni Program

There are many aspects to an alumni program that help patients continue their recovery journey. The alumni manager is also in charge of branching off the alumni program and helping it to grow into something more substantial.

Over time, patients can become more involved in the program, creating a more engaging and thriving community. Managers can do this by establishing an alumni ambassador program for successful patients. They can also create a local alumni chapter for patients who are more involved.

Establishing Trust

Adding a human aspect to marketing is incredibly important, no matter what the business involves. This is one of the main ways that alumni managers can help with outpatient rehab marketing since they are the human aspect.

Alumni marketers have a one-on-one relationship with patients and continue to communicate with them long after their treatment. This creates more trust, which will help to grow a more positive reputation for the rehab center.

Past patients will have a much better opinion of the center and will be far more likely to talk about it and recommend it to others.

Conclusion

Outpatient rehab marketing can feel very overwhelming, but there are many ways it can be approached. One way to have a more inclusive and broad marketing strategy is to include the alumni manager since their job overlaps with past patients and the community. They also have a more established connection with patients and can help give insight into gaining more referrals and connecting with potential patients online.

If you want to improve your marketing strategy for your rehab center, you will need some tools to get started. Try out our tools and get started now.