Healthcare marketing to protect your business from the recession,
healthcare reform, competition and change
Keeping the roof over your head
when it looks like the sky is falling.
A solid plan for healthcare marketing is a fundamental
business tool for coping and succeeding in the face of healthcare
reform and other changes. Competition has increased ...the
roll-up trend created more group practices...and economic
pressures push down on reimbursement and elective care. Here's
a checklist of challenges and situations where marketing means
business.
Despite the Democrats' recent (and surprising) loss of the
Massachusetts Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy, "healthcare
reform" remains stubbornly in the spotlight. Just
like the line sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, "the
rumors of healthcare reform's death are somewhat premature."
What's more, according to Yahoo News, consumer
confidence is falling again (surprise)
Ask one hundred people about what is going to happen and
you'll hear at least one hundred different answers.
The operative word is "change," and in our experience,
the only effective way to deal with change in any healthcare
organization is to operate from the strength of a specific
plan. That's true in business in general and no less so in
medical practices, hospitals, for physicians, surgeons, dentists,
and for healthcare organizations of all types.
What can cloud the horizon is that few physicians see themselves
as business entrepreneurs. Like it or not, a healthcare organization
is a small (sometimes not so small) company struggling with
demanding economic and social forces in healthcare. Medical
practice operating expenses have increased over 60 percent
in the past eight-plus years. Insurance reimbursements have
trended downward and discretionary (elective care) spending
is increasingly cautious.
As further frustration, the competitive landscape in healthcare
is challenging, particularly for the most sought-after, best-reimbursed
cases. Many small practices are facing increasing competition
from group practices and hospitals which may have larger marketing
budgets. What's more, younger doctors–almost by necessity–are
typically more aggressive and competitive than older colleagues.
Marketing is a fundamental business tool
Virtually all healthcare practices and businesses need to
think about growth. Most have made dramatic changes to reduce
costs and increase efficiencies, and for them, the "fat"
is gone. And having a solid marketing plan is not an after-though,
a 'nice to have,' a rainy-day option, or a second priority.
Effective and ethical marketing is a fundamental, priority
business tool to deal effectively with change and to:
- Achieve profitable practice growth
- Attract cases that practitioners enjoy
- Protect and grow market share against competition
- Build the professional reputation of the practice with
the community and peers.
You can have the most ideal healthcare enterprise on the
planet, but without marketing, no one will know about it...and
you really don't have a business at all. And you will not
go far without a plan...if you don't know where
you're going; any road will take you there.
Here's a checklist of some of common challenges in
healthcare and reasons for marketing. Check all that
apply:
- Answer aggressive competition which has emerged in my
area
- Attract higher paying, elective and/or cash cases
- Attract more cases that you enjoy or have special expertise
- Be able to hire the right people
- Become more profitable
- Become recognized as a leader in my field or community
- Bring cash or ancillary cases into the practice
- Build a practice I recently joined or purchased
- Build the organization's reputation (brand) for positive
recognition
- Build volume for new technology, equipment, procedures/services
- Ethically attract cases that reimburse well
- Grow your number of new patients
- Increase revenues
- Increase your marketing effectiveness
- Move my office and/or add another office; assure all locations
are successful
- Multiply patient referrals
- Reach more people to provide service to the community
- Rebranding for better differentiation in face of change
- Reduce my reliance on low paying insurances
- Reduce over-reliance on a small number of referral sources
- Spend more of my time as a doctor (not an administrator)\
- Support new providers, new partners, new locations
- Take more time off for family and/or other interests
- Win at Internet Marketing
- Win more doctor (or other professional) referrals
- Work smarter not harder
Marketing means business
How many of these goals, visions, challenges have been keeping
you awake at night? Marketing is one of your most important
and effective business tools and the foundation for handling
Healthcare Reform or other agents of change.
The worst thing to do in the face of change is...
nothing.
Call us about creating a new, well-considered marketing plan
to help address these and dozens of other issues. Call
today at (800) 656-0907.
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