Maximize Your Marketing Efforts
A new way to think about promoting your facility to patients and surgeons.
Y
ou probably spend more time focusing on the care you pro-
vide than thinking about promoting it to potential patients and
prospective new surgeons, but getting the word out about all
your facility has to offer is critical to its future success. Before jump-
ing headfirst into marketing your surgical services, however, dedicate
some time to answering these important questions, which will guide
your promotional strategy.
What's the end game? The more you put into marketing, the
more you'll get out of it (see "6 Building Blocks of Effective
Marketing" on page 14). I recommend against spaghetti marketing —
throwing different strategies against the wall to see what sticks.
Consider working with a marketing professional who can implement
a multifaceted promotional plan. One piece of advice: Look elsewhere
if a marketer starts giving advice within the first 5 minutes of your ini-
tial meeting. Anyone who rushes to provide a marketing strategy with-
out first listening to your objectives isn't willing to learn about the
specific needs of your facility or develop an individualized plan for
meeting your goals.
What's your brand? If you're like most amateur marketers, you
believe branding involves redesigns of your facility's logo,
brochures and website. Those elements make up your facility's brand
identity, but branding entails examining the overall reputation of your
facility and the entire experience patients have when they visit and
interact with your staff. Is the waiting room clean, accommodating,
stocked with refreshments and filled with current magazines? How do
staff members greet patients on the phone? You can improve the mar-
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Business Advisor
Stewart Gandolf, MBA