What is a practice marketing plan?

What Is Medical Practice Marketing?

Medical Practice Marketing is not simply a list of marketing or advertising ideas from which you randomly select different concepts to test or combine for trial-and-error experimentation. That is just random, mud-on-the-wall marketing activity – which is almost always a high-risk prescription for disappointment, frustration and failure.

Practice Marketing is a strategy that is designed to facilitate the achievement of specific business goals and objectives over a specific time period. It is not simply scheduling an occasional patient screening or patient event; it is an overall strategy that encompasses in-bound marketing, advertising, physician referrals, patient referrals, and patient events.

You must advertise as part of a successful marketing program. Never look at advertising as an expense. Advertising is an investment for which you will receive a return in the form of new patients and additional revenue to your practice.

Here are the primary components of an effective practice marketing plan:

1. Development and revision of marketing materials
2. Website evaluation, design, and maintenance
3. Search Engine Optimization-designed to maximize your web presence
4. Referral Physician Marketing
5. Out-Bound Marketing; advertising, etc.
6. In-Bound Marketing Strategies, including but not limited to:
   • Practice Marketing Blog
   • Practice Marketing email newsletter
   • Social networking, i.e.; Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
7. Effective, monitored tracking systems

Benefits of a Practice Marketing Plan

An effective practice marketing plan allows you to anticipate and to prepare; to create a map to follow that allows you to grow your business and improve your chances for success.

Target Marketing – Establishing Target Customers

Your development plan and your marketing budget will be most effective when they reach your selected target market. The benefit of target marketing is simple; efficiency. Solid target marketing is a method to more efficiently reach your target patient. Target marketing is a better use of your resources.

Focus on Benefits

This is critical to effective target marketing. How will your patients benefit from visiting your office?

What tangible or intangible benefits might patients realize, and is it possible to quantify these benefits? What is your customer (patient) really buying? This much is certain: No one wants to buy surgery! People purchase services and products (including healthcare services) to realize one or more of the following life-improvement benefits:

1. Relief from Pain
2. Enhanced Appearance
3. Increased Productivity
4. Peace of Mind

Basically, we all sell the same product – an improved quality of life. At least, that is what your patient wants to buy!

How Inbound Marketing can GROW your practice!

According to the latest information from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 80 percent of American adults look online for health information.

How can you connect those “E-patients” to your clinic online? Social media!

Social media includes a variety of web-based tools allowing potential patients to begin a dialogue with you. Used correctly, these tools will attract your best prospective patients to you like a magnet. Social media helps you to develop a relationship with your potential patients. They can get to know you, begin to trust and like you, and the next thing you know they are calling you for an appointment!

This doesn’t happen overnight. It requires planning and attention. Someone on your staff–or an outsourced partner–must be the “social media champion”. This assignment must be a priority on somebody’s list or it will not happen. In the social media world, when you provide valuable medical information to your prospective patients, you become a respected authority on a particular topic.

Over time, and done right, the prospect begins to anticipate receiving this valuable content. He or she may even share it with others. Then you know you’re on the right path.

So how to start? You likely have a website, and hopefully you are utilizing search engine optimization to help prospects find you. You may have a Facebook page, or a Twitter account. You may even have a blog. Utilize all of those tools together to enhance your practice’s credibility and acquire more patients!

Look at these recent statistics:

• 60% of e-patients say their most recent search had an impact on their own health.

• 4 in 10 said it affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition.

• 3 in 10 said it led them to ask a doctor new questions, or get a second opinion.

• 2 in 10 said it changed the way they cope with a chronic condition or manage pain.

While those numbers are small today, they have increased significantly over the past several years.

Now is the time to jump into the social media pool, and begin to take advantage of inbound marketing-marketing focused on getting found by YOUR NEW PATIENTS!

Practice Marketing can bring more patients into your vein clinic!

• Practice Marketing can bring more patients into your clinic!
• Practice Marketing can create more physician referrals!
• Practice Marketing can develop more patient referrals!
• Practice Marketing can develop more revenue for your office!

What Is Practice Marketing?

Vein Clinic Practice Marketing is not simply a list of marketing or advertising ideas from which you randomly select different concepts to test or combine for trial-and-error experimentation. That is just random, mud-on-the-wall marketing activity – which is almost always a high-risk prescription for disappointment, frustration and failure.

Practice Marketing is a strategy that is designed to facilitate the achievement of specific business goals and objectives over a specific time period. It is not simply scheduling an occasional patient screening or patient event; it is an overall strategy that encompasses advertising, media relations / PR, physician referrals, patient referrals, and patient events.

You must advertise as part of a successful marketing program. Never look at advertising as an expense. Advertising is an investment for which you will receive a return in the form of new patients and additional revenue to your practice.

Benefits of a Practice Marketing Plan

A good vein clinic practice marketing plan allows you to anticipate and to prepare; to create a map to follow that allows you to grow your business and improve your chances for success.

Target Marketing – Establishing Target Customers

Your development plan and your marketing budget will be most effective when they reach your selected target market. The benefit of target marketing is simple; efficiency. Solid target marketing is a method to more efficiently reach your target patient. Target marketing is a better use of your resources.

Focus on Benefits

This is critical to effective target marketing. How will your patients benefit from visiting your office?

What tangible or intangible benefits might patients realize, and is it possible to quantify these benefits? What is your customer (patient) really buying? This much is certain: No one wants to buy surgery! People purchase services and products (including healthcare services) to realize one or more of the following life-improvement benefits:

1. Relief from Pain
2. Enhanced Appearance
3. Increased Productivity
4. Peace of Mind

Basically, we all sell the same product – an improved quality of life. At least, that is what your patient wants to buy!

Medical Clinic Marketing: Medical Practice…or business?

 

 

Why did you decide to become a doctor? My guess is that it wasn’t so you could spend your time managing employees & cash flow, or reading financial statements and income statements!

 

Well, unfortunately most of us have discovered that we need to learn about, and manage, those activities if we want to do what we love; taking care of patients.

 

While we usually hire a accountant or practice manager to manage the day to day business activities of our practice, here are a few important topics that you need to become conversant in if you want your business to be successful and grow:

 

• Customer Service
• Marketing
• Goal Setting
• Planning

 

 

We need to develop the habit of looking at out patients as “customers”. After all, in most cases they have the option of going to another provider for treatment, so how do we keep our “customers” happy? Let’s look at a couple of key elements:

 

1. Treat patients the way you would want your mother to be treated!
2. Be considerate of their time.
3. Greet them by name.
4. Follow up with a patient survey.

 

Patient surveys are a terrific way to find out if your patient is an unhappy customer…or a disciple! If the survey illustrates that you have an unhappy patient on your hands be sure to follow up, perhaps personally. Always remember that while a happy patient goes in to the community and tells 10 people about their experience; an unhappy patient might tell 30!

 

Marketing is essential to the continued growth of your business. New patient acquisition is the lifeblood of a medical practice. Whether you’re marketing to patients, referring physicians or both; you simply must be proactive in bringing new patients in the door.

 

Goal setting is important in all of our endeavors, especially those that affect our livelihood. If you’re not setting goals for your business…you should be. Remember, if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?

 

Last but certainly not least: planning. Most of us think we are simply too busy to block out time for planning our business activities. Unfortunately, if we don’t make time to plan our activities, marketing programs, employee development, etc. then we will never reach our full potential as business people and physicians

Vein Clinic Marketing: Are you too busy to plan for success?

Successfully growing your vein practice takes planning!

• Schedule time to develop a vein specific marketing plan
• Create a time each week to review your results
• Schedule a regular time to make adjustments to your vein marketing plan

What is a vein marketing plan?

A vein marketing plan is a strategy that is designed to facilitate the achievement of specific growth goals. It is not simply scheduling an occasional free vein screening or patient event; it is an overall strategy that encompasses advertising, media relations / PR, physician referrals, patient referrals, as well as patient events.

You absolutely must block out time to develop a thoughtful vein specific marketing plan. To be effective, your marketing plan must be S.M.A.R.T:

S – Specific: What do you want to accomplish?

M – Measurable: How will you measure success?

A – Attainable: Are your goals achievable?

R – Realistic: Unrealistic goals are never met!

T – Timely: What is your timeline for completion?

Planning Time Requirements:

Most of us have a tendency to “hit the road running” each morning. We have office or personnel issues to deal with, patients to see, calls to return, procedures scheduled, family obligations…well, you get the picture.

So, where does our business planning come in? Most of the time it doesn’t; and our business suffers as a result.

It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY that you devote time each week to reviewing your vein marketing plan and making the necessary adjustments, unless you are willing to hire a professional to do it for you.

A successful vein practice does not happen by itself. Your vein marketing plan is much like a flower garden; it must be nurtured, weeded, replanted and watered before you can enjoy the benefits of new business growth!

I know how difficult it is to find time to do these things. If fact, in my experience we simply can’t “find” the time; we have to make the time. Prioritize your time in terms of importance. Surely there are activities that keep you busy that may not be as important to your vein practice growth as managing the success of your marketing plan?

You either plan to succeed, or you plan to fail! It’s up to you…

Vein Clinic Marketing: How to eliminate no-shows!

One of your best advertising tools is a satisfied patient.

One of the basic principles of your practice is the importance of the physician-patient relationship. Do you know your patients well? Do you usually ask about their life outside of their appointment in your office? Or their families? Do they know anything about you? Or your life outside of the office?

A fundamental building block of your practice is that relationship; and that is precisely what brings your patients back, time and time again!

Keep these two important points in mind as we move forward in our discussion:

• Patients are often vulnerable, weak, or scared when they enter your office.

• Their doctor’s office should be a place of trust, security, confidentiality and respect.

Here are several thoughts to help you retain patients and avoid those costly and disruptive no-shows; because happy patients will not only return to you for services, but they will recommend you to their friends, coworkers and families.

• Make certain that your office is a place where your patients feel welcome and safe. A pleasant environment, friendly welcoming staff, up to date magazines and comforting music are a few ways to let your patients know you care.

• Promote the benefits of your services, not the features of your equipment. Make sure the patient is not focused on your state of the art equipment or latest technology, but that they focus on how your newest tool will make them feel better or improve their quality of life; after all, that is why they walked in your door.

• When your patients feel like they don’t have a personal relationship to you or your staff, they have no problem canceling appointments at the last minute or never showing up for the first one. Focus a little time, effort, and perhaps money on developing those relationships.

• Prior to their appointment, have someone in the office call and remind them about their appointment and make them feel like you want them to come in to the office.  If they miss their appointment have someone call and reschedule for another time. Remember however; this isn’t a principal’s office and they aren’t a bad student. Don’t chastise them; simply let them know you are looking forward to having them come in to the office…

• Finally, it all goes back to making patients feel like they are welcome and wanted. If your patients visit your office regularly you and your staff need to get to know them and they need to get to know you.  It’s all about the relationship.

These ideas may not work with all of your patients, but I’ll bet they work most of the time. You will be surprised how these little changes can make a big difference in your office, and in your patient referrals!

Vein Clinic Marketing: How Health Fairs can drive patients into your clinic!

 

• Participation in local health fairs/expos is a great way to further educate people about your specialty or procedures!
• Health Fairs can be an excellent way to increase your visibility as an expert in your field.
  
  

Have you ever attended a community or hospital health fair? If so, I’m sure that you noticed an active engaged group of attendees who are all interested in their health. Health fairs/expos may be promoted by Hospitals, Radio Stations, Television Stations, Community Groups, Hospitals or Health Clubs; and often, you can get free or low cost advertising associated with these events.

Most health fairs will give you a six foot folding table and a back drop. The most effective use of this set up is to position the table towards the back of the booth and stand in front to greet your future patients. Set up a TV/VCR and play a procedure or practice video if you have one available; and always have information (handouts or patient brochures) available for people to take with them. Also, have a permanent banner made to use at these events; this will increase your exposure to attendees!

For the tabletop, plan on having the following:

· Several colorful practice or procedure posters mounted on core board with an easel backing.

· Brightly colored candy to sprinkle around the tabletop

· A glass bowl for a free dinner drawing, along with registration cards

The free dinner drawing is a great way to develop a mailing list for follow up. As you get the attendees to sign up, always put a small mark on the sign up cards for those participants who actually have the condition you treat. This will make your follow up much more effective. In addition, if you have free patient screenings, always mention this to the attendees, and give them an opportunity to pre-register!

Remember that you might not always leave the health fair with a lot of new patients; but don’t be discouraged. The long term benefit of name recognition will pay off in time.

Contact us today for a FREE marketing consultation!

Marketing Vein Clinics: Speaking Opportunities bring in MORE patients!

• Public Speaking Opportunities are an excellent way to gain public recognition as the expert in your field.

• Speaking opportunities are a great way to market yourself and your specialty to the community

Here are some terrific ideas for speaking opportunities:

• 50 + senior groups (Often sponsored by hospitals, banks, etc.)
• Hospital foundation functions
• Local women’s clubs
• Upscale Retirement Villages
• Health Fair Venues
• Grand Rounds (or) hospital meetings
• Civic clubs

In your community you can discover many opportunities to speak to community groups, professional groups and civic organizations. This is great way to contribute to your position as the expert in your field, and a very good way to bring patients into the office!

Most speaking opportunities only require about an hour of your time, and usually about 20 minutes of actual speaking. Most of the time you will be talking from behind a podium, although occasionally you will have the opportunity to speak from in front of some type of visual aid.

A patient oriented Powerpoint presentation is a very good tool to use in these settings if available. Many medical manufacturers have a procedure specific power point that you can use at no charge and they can be tailored to any timeframe that you desire. If this tool is not available, I recommend writing a patient oriented script for a 15 – 20 minute talk. Anecdotes are always interesting and humor is a great way to break the ice and get the talk started. You can always wrap up with a question and answer session.

When at a speaking engagement, always bring a supply of practice brochures with your contact information listed; and it is also a good idea to have an exam room type poster (mounted on core board) on an easel that illustrates your procedure or specialty.

If you have any type of patient oriented event coming up this is a great way to promote that event. You could even use a speaking opportunity to pre register patients! After all, you never know who is in your audience…

Vein Clinic Marketing: Communicating with Patients

It is critical that you continue to communicate with your patients after they have completed their treatment. They often need additional procedures, and they are a great source of referrals. The best ways to accomplish this are:

• Patient Newsletters
• Patient Surveys
• Personal Letters
• Regular Postcards
• Patient Appreciation Events

You have already established credibility with your patients, and they are already familiar with your services; consequently this is the easiest population from which to generate new procedures.

Patient Newsletters are a great way to keep your patients informed of new developments in your office and your specialty. New procedure? Put it in the newsletter. New employee? Put it in the newsletter. Sending this information out in this format will develop a greater loyalty from your patients, and make them more likely to come see you the next time they need the services you provide!

Personal surveys are a very good way to follow up with a patient immediately after a procedure. This is sometimes the only way you can determine if you have a satisfied patient, or a disgruntled detractor who can drive patients to another provider. Always follow up on their comments and do whatever is necessary to transform an unhappy patient into a happy one. A satisfied patient typically will tell 10 people about their experience. An unhappy patient will tell up to 30 people about their experience.

Personal letters can be a terrific source of new referrals from your satisfied patients. This can be as simple a procedure as sending a letter to all of your former patients a couple of times a year asking for referrals. You will be amazed at the response you get!

Regular Postcards are a useful method for keeping in touch with patients also. If you are sending a letter twice a year, you might want to send an occasional postcard as well; or substitute a postcard for one of you regular letters.

Patient Appreciation events work extremely well in developing patient loyalty. The most successful specialist I have ever known held a holiday open house for his patients. Coupled with his regular mailings and his newsletter, he generated as many referrals as he could handle. Now, that’s a great problem to have!

Vein Clinic Marketing: Follow up and tracking

Follow up and tracking the results of advertising is absolutely necessary to ensure that your marketing dollars are being distributed in the most effective manner. This involves several key components:

1. Office staff training and responsibility
2. Effective tracking forms
3. Regular review of the data collected

Office Staff Training:

Your office staff must be trained to ask each and every patient who walks in the door how they heard about you. We know how important it is for your staff to be pleasant and upbeat as they greet your patients; when prospective patients call, they are evaluating your practice. How they are treated on the phone will help them decide whether to make an appointment, or to go to another provider.

In addition to these basic telephone skills, your staff will need to develop a business attitude that makes them want to make your business run more efficiently and profitably.

Your marketing and advertising investment might be significant portion of your monthly expense budget, and like any good business person you want to make sure that investment is working hard for you.

In order to make this an effective process, you must develop tracking and follow up forms that collect the data you need in an easy to interpret format.

Effective Tracking Forms:

Tracking forms should be completed on a regular basis; I recommend a minimum of every four weeks. The information you collect should include the following:

How did the patient hear about you?

• Television? Which station and program?
• Radio? Which station?
• Newspaper? Which one? What Day?
• Referral? From Whom? From another physician?

Tracking response to a patient out reach event:

• How many patients attended?
• How many scheduled follow up appointments?
• How many procedures are scheduled to be performed?

Regular review of the data collected:

Now that you have collected this data, you will want to review it to determine how well your marketing dollars are working for you. If something is not bringing in patients then drop it from your marketing menu; simply put “do more of what works”!