Doctor Marketing Plan

First thing’s first, start over! Uproot what you’ve implemented, do some fresh research and start from the ground up. This may seem daunting and stressful but you may catch things you’ve missed in the past and hit new trends head on. Competition and patients have changed and are always going to but you must start with a plan! Without a plan your practice will go nowhere.

Know your strengths. There’s a lot of competition so know what you offer and what a patient needs to make your practice the optimal choice. Be SMART about your goals and objective. This acronym will spell out what you need in a comprehensive goal that is sound and worth reaching. A goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. You wouldn’t want to reach for a goal that could never be achieved, you need to know if you’re close to achieving it, and you need to know exactly what you’re hoping to achieve by setting this goal. Now that you’ve set a SMART goal your office needs to understand that this new goal will tap into your budget, no matter how much or little it is important to count this when discussing the target. Another helpful acronym to utilize is a SWOT analysis; this is simply strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This will help you get a better look at how well you are meeting your target and maybe let you see your practice from a different perspective or change your plan to meet this goal.

Back to a threat, look at your competition. Every practice, business and institution are different; although they are in the same field it is important not to copy another group because something is working for them. Instead, acknowledge what the competition is doing and not doing. See how that affects your business and where their strategies may be able to benefit your group. When branding it is essential to make your name stand out. The general public may not be familiar with the new direction healthcare marketing is going so it is imperative you try and make a name (brand) for yourself that the consumer can recognize and seek out.

Now you have a plan, a goal and you’ve looked at competition. How are you going to get your name out there? Referral marketing, internet marketing, branding, internal marketing, external marketing and public relations are how to do this. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool that most practices don’t have control of, therefore internal marketing and past patient experience can really help you build your brand. The internet and its marketing capabilities are the wave of the future so get yourself online and work on SEO whenever possible. Congratulations! You’ve met your goal. You’ve followed these important steps and your practice is going strong, what now? Keep an eye on your progress and remember to occasionally conduct a SWOT analysis to make sure your business is staying on point, or make a new goal!