The Executive Suite: Avoiding 4 Common Nedical Practice Marketing Mistakes

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Avoiding 4 Common Nedical Practice Marketing Mistakes

At first, it may not seem like physicians have to market their practices. After all, almost everyone inevitability gets sick and seeks treatment, right?
While there’s some truth to that logic, it doesn’t take into account that most physicians face competition from other practices and hospitals. That’s why medical practice marketing can be the difference between practice profitability and closing your doors for good.
But not all marketing efforts are created equal. There are certainly some common marketing mistakes you want to avoid.

Marketing Without A Plan

Brainstorming about ways to market your practice can be exciting. So many ideas come to mind that you just want to implement them all right away. But implementing tactics without planning beforehand can undermine your marketing efforts.
A good plan will outline the separate intervals during which you’ll implement individual tactics and the results you expect to achieve with each. This allows you to gauge what strategies are working and which should be abandoned.
If you try to implement all tactics simultaneously, you won’t be able to pinpoint which ones are actually effective. It could be that one tactic is bringing in all the extra revenue, while the others are simply a waste of resources.

Only Using Old-School Tactics

Unlike fine wine, medical practice marketing tactics don’t always get better with age. Placing ads in the Yellow Pages are one example. This used to be a must for physicians and small-businesses of all types for that matter. But nowadays patients are increasingly turning to the Internet in their search for potential medical providers
Yellow Page ads and billboards aren’t the only options anymore. While it doesn’t mean these tactics should be completely abandoned, more focus should be placed on online marketing like improving your reviews on physician rating websites.

Not Focusing on Your Website

Speaking of online marketing, having a top-notch website is now a necessity. With so many people using online search to find physicians, your website is where potential patients get the first impression of your practice. An aesthetically pleasing, easily navigable website will start your practice and potential patients off on the right foot.
Your website should also be search engine optimized so patients in your area can easily find your practice when searching for physicians online. Blogging is one way to make your site SEO friendly by adding fresh content that you can target for specific search terms.

Becoming a Social Media Pest

When using social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, it’s easy to post too often. Posting excessively on your social media sites can lead your followers to filter out your posts or stop following your practice altogether.
Social Bakers conducted a study in 2011 that revealed how often some of the country’s most successful companies posted to Facebook. On average, they posted about once a day. This is a great goal to strive for.
Twitter is different because feeds are updated more rapidly, so tweets are pushed down the page more quickly. Tweeting 3-5 times per day should help make sure your followers see at least one of your posts each day.
Medical practice marketing can be a trial-and-error type of process. What may work for your competitor may not work for you. But one thing is for certain: falling into any of the above four mishaps can seriously diminish the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.