Medical Marketing Strategies | Medical Marketing Ideas

"7 Steps to Medical Marketing Success - Part 2 of 2"

Medical Marketing Plan Part 2 

 In part one we laid the foundation for a medical marketing / dental marketing plan.

Without a plan, any medical marketing tip, advice or consultant is doomed to fail.

Now that you have a simple plan from part 1, here are the four things that will put the plan into action and guarantee a steady flow of new patients.

Step #4: Make a To-Do List

  In part one we made separate goals for each medical marketing source.  Now we’ll use those goals to make separate to-do lists for each referral source.

1. Pick a referral source and write down the marketing strategies you are already using in that area. For instance, in the area of existing patient referrals, you might have a newsletter that includes special offers for new patients or a gift program that rewards existing patients who refer a friend or family member.
2. Once you’ve added your medical marketing strategies to the list, think about one or two things you could add to meet the goal you set in step three. (Ideas: a post-card campaign, or sweeten the new patient deal advertised in the newsletter.) Whatever you decide, be sure to write it all down for future reference. Your goal is to find things that work and keep the winners in the rotation.  Work through this process for each of your marketing sources.

Step #5: Schedule It -

  Take your finished to-do lists and set due dates for each activity.  Set a date for every step.  Then put all dates on a large calendar to be displayed for you and your staff. Every activity, no matter how big or small should go on the calendar.  Having something out in the open will ensure you and your front office staff remain in sync and guarantee action is taken to implement your medical marketing ideas. Without a visible calendar that you see every day, typically only about 20% of intended medical marketing strategies ever make it past the planning stage.

  Assign someone to be responsible for each project and create accountability steps to be sure the projects moves along.  You, the Doctor, are busy and shouldn't be managing every step.

Step #6: Track Your Sources – the Secret Ingredient

  This task is THE MOST IMPORTANT step, yet most medical marketing consultants don't do it.  This is where your employees’ understanding of referral sources comes into play, and where they have the opportunity to shine. When new patients begin to call, it’s your staff’s job to find out which referral source they came from. This information is power. It allows you to determine which strategies are working and which need work.  You can't take this for granted. Going back to Step #2 in Part 1, you must educate your staff on your referral sources.

Step #7: Review Results – Don’t Skip This Part!

  The final step is probably the one that you will be tempted to skip. However, it’s the step that will save you the most time in the future and will eventually allow you to set a large part of your medical marketing on autopilot.

  At the end of the month, once you’ve had a chance to track your strategies in action, create a write-up for each strategy. The format of this may be different based on your preferences or the tools you have in the office.  My office uses an Excel spreadsheet.  Every activity is listed on the spreadsheet along with date of launch, cost, # of calls received, # of sales (sales for me would be scheduled new patients for you).

  Include a description of the marketing piece (always keep a catalog of marketing pieces you’ve used – either hard copies in a binder or digitally on your computer) and your thoughts on possible improvements for next time. That way, you will build up a stash of medical marketing strategies to be recycled and refined for years to come based on their success.  And obviously you’ll learn what doesn’t work so you don’t make the mistake of repeating it again.

  So many doctors start from scratch every time they begin a marketing campaign, or race off to hire a new medical or dental marketing consultant to create new things.  They’re doing themselves a great disservice, not to mention wasting time by not reusing what works first. 

   Medical Marketing Plan Expectations

  Keep in mind when creating and executing a medical marketing to-do list, to maintain reasonable expectations. One mailing is unlikely to double your number of new patients—it’s unreasonable to expect such outcomes. In fact, sometimes it’s okay to just break even on marketing dollars as long as its generating new patients at a reasonable new patient value. The reason is this: new patients are investments in and of themselves.   They return for future visits and refer their friends and family.

  If one new patient refers a friend, then you’ve essentially doubled your ROI

  Don’t be quick to cut. Think twice before scrapping a strategy that you think isn’t working well enough. Try fine-tuning it first. Not every campaign is going to be a home run, but stringing together single base hits scores runs too.

  Review your to-do lists weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. After a few months, medical marketing will no longer be a chore, and you’ll begin to see the bigger picture. You may even have more home runs than you realize.