{"id":8677,"date":"2022-12-30T10:18:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T10:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/?p=8677"},"modified":"2023-05-03T19:59:10","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T19:59:10","slug":"medical-marketing-how-to-advertise-your-healthcare-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/blog\/medical-marketing-how-to-advertise-your-healthcare-practice","title":{"rendered":"Medical Marketing \u2502 How to Advertise Your Healthcare Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 8 minutes<\/em><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re looking to bring in\u00a0new patients\u00a0to increase appointments and revenue,\u00a0word-of-mouth\u00a0and\u00a0referrals\u00a0can only get you so far. What your\u00a0medical practice\u00a0really needs is a\u00a0high-quality\u00a0marketing strategy. One that reaches more\u00a0potential patients\u00a0while maximizing your\u00a0return on investment. So where do you start?<\/p>\n

Evaluate Your Current\u00a0Marketing Efforts<\/h2>\n

If you never (or hardly ever)\u00a0<\/em>advertise your\u00a0medical practice<\/em><\/a>, skip ahead to defining your marketing goals.<\/em><\/p>\n

Make a list of the types of marketing and advertising you do today, how much you spend on each channel (social media<\/a>,\u00a0Google ads<\/a>,\u00a0direct mail<\/a>, etc.), how you\u00a0track performance<\/a>\u00a0and whether you’d consider some, if any, of these efforts successful. Knowing what works well for your\u00a0healthcare\u00a0marketing\u00a0\u2013 and what doesn’t \u2013 will help you make more strategic decisions going forward.<\/p>\n

Now, what are you missing? How’s your online presence? Does your practice need a website<\/a>? Is your\u00a0contact information\u00a0accurately listed in\u00a0Google My Business\u00a0and other online\u00a0directories? Do your\u00a0search rankings\u00a0need a little (or a lot of)\u00a0SEO\u00a0love? Filling in the gaps in your reach is also a critical component of a successful strategy.<\/p>\n

Define Your\u00a0Practice Marketing\u00a0Goals<\/h2>\n

You may be tempted to take your marketing day by day. While that may work for some aspects of your\u00a0healthcare\u00a0practice, it won\u2019t work for your marketing. You need to set realistic goal(s) and create a\u00a0marketing plan<\/a>\u00a0to act as a roadmap for your overall\u00a0marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

What’s your #1 advertising goal?<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Attract\u00a0prospective\u00a0patients<\/li>\n
  2. Retain\u00a0current patients<\/li>\n
  3. Increase\u00a0patient\u00a0referrals<\/li>\n
  4. Promote a product\/service<\/li>\n
  5. Return on investment<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"dentist
    \nWhen we asked this question to dental professionals as part of an\u00a0    ADA webinar<\/a>, patient acquisition was the resounding answer (78%) followed by\u00a0patient base\u00a0retention and ROI tied at 11%.<\/p>\n

    Let’s say your goal is the ever-popular\u00a0new patient. Think back… How many\u00a0new patients\u00a0do you typically acquire in a year? Do you get more\u00a0new patients\u00a0during a particular time of year, for example Oct. through Dec., just before benefits reset? What would a\u00a0realistic<\/em>\u00a0increase in\u00a0new patients\u00a0look like? And how much should you spend for that increase?<\/p>\n

    Set Your Print &\u00a0Digital Marketing\u00a0Budget<\/h2>\n

    On average,\u00a0healthcare\u00a0businesses spend 9% of their revenue on marketing. For physicians, dentists and chiropractors, this is roughly split between\u00a0print advertising (40%)<\/strong>,\u00a0digital\/online (35%)<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0TV\/radio\/OOH (25%)<\/strong>. OOH stands for out-of-home advertising, like billboards. Here are 3 markets by channel ad spend as an example:<\/p>\n

    \"medical<\/p>\n

    You should also determine the lifetime value of your patients before setting your ad budget. Here’s a basic calculation:<\/p>\n

    Patient Lifetime Value = V x N x Y<\/a><\/h3>\n