What communication makes sense in the first months of a new clinic?

Whoever opens a clinic faces an uncomfortable situation: nobody knows it, and the patient's decision is delicate. So the communication of the first months has two main jobs: making sure those who search find it and giving them reasons to trust. Everything else comes after.

Before opening

1. Confirm the registrations and licences the activity requires, and only communicate once you have them. This article does not cover those rules: check them with the competent bodies and the professional body.
2. Choose a clear name, easy to say and write, and check there is not another the same in the area and field.
3. Create and verify the Google Business Profile. Verification can take time, so start early. Read the Business Profile guide.
4. Make a simple, clear website: what the clinic does, for whom, where, how to book. With a page per service, the team and the FAQs.
5. Prepare booking, with the phone and, if it makes sense, online booking, without asking for clinical data.
6. Write the privacy policy and think now about how data and images will be handled.

In the first months

• Tell those nearby. Associations, neighbouring businesses, schools and community groups in the area. A simple, informative notice, not a promotional one.
• Build local relationships. Partnerships with businesses serving the same audience, respecting the profession's rules on recommendations. See local partnerships.
• Ask for reviews, ethically: from all patients, offering nothing in return. Read how a clinic asks for reviews.
• Publish useful content: answers to the questions patients ask, in plain language.
• Measure the source of bookings, without clinical data, to know what works. See how to measure what brings patients.

What to avoid

• Promises and superlatives: "the best", "the most advanced", "guaranteed results". In health, they go against the sector's rules and invite suspicion.
• Aggressive opening discounts, which may have rules of their own and devalue the service.
• Images of patients without specific written permission, and without having checked the profession's rules.
• Being on every network from day one. Choose one channel where you can be regular.
• Expecting the website to do everything alone. At the start, recommendations and local presence weigh more.

A simple calendar

1. Before opening: registrations, name, Google profile, website, booking, privacy policy.
2. Opening week: opening notice (website, profile, social media, those nearby) and correct hours everywhere.
3. First month: first reviews, first useful posts, contacts with local partners.
4. Following months: more content based on real questions, review of what brought patients and adjustment.

This article is not a substitute for legal advice or for the rules of the professional body. To organise all this, see the services for clinics page.

The opening list

Make a list with five columns: task, who handles it, when, status and dependency. Put the rows in order: registrations and licences, name, Google profile, website, booking, privacy policy, opening notices, first partnerships. Mark those that depend on others (the opening notice only goes out once the profile and website are right). Review the list once a week, in the weeks before opening, and straight after with what went well and what was left undone. A simple, visible list avoids forgetting small things, such as the hours on the profile, which cost a lot at first impact.

In short

• Before opening: confirmed registrations, a clear name, Google profile, simple website, booking and privacy policy.
• In the first months: tell those nearby, local partnerships, ethical reviews and useful content.
• Avoid promises, superlatives, aggressive discounts and patient images without permission.
• Measure the source of bookings without using clinical data.

Quick questions

Should I advertise from day one?

There is no need. First make sure you are found and that the website and profile are right. Only then does it make sense to consider ads, and with a small budget.

How many social networks should I have?

One well looked after is worth more than four abandoned. Choose the one your audience uses and where you can be regular.

How long does it take for a clinic to become known?

It is counted in months, and depends on the area and what already exists. Recommendations and reviews are what speeds it up most.