Marketing a medical practice is not complete with a simple ad or two. Sending off an announcement to the local media will not suffice. And marketing without networking is doomed to fail.

For effective and legal practice marketing, your approach should be methodical and varied. In this article we discuss planning a marketing strategy, potential tactics to use, and methods for implementation.

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Planning 

Building a practice through marketing must first start with a plan. Your plan should include market analysis, market strategy, implementation, and follow-up. Developing this plan and making it effective must begin with plenty of background information.

Consider:

• What funds are available to market the medical practice? How much are you and the practice comfortable spending? Knowing this limit will help you determine what tactics are possible.
• Are you able to implement a marketing campaign? Think about the staff in the practice, and their workload. Who will be responsible for sending out press releases or newsletters, follow-up with patients after visits, tracking the source of news patients, and more? Be sure to consider your staff’s workload and available time when creating a plan.
• Understand who makes up your community. Discover and digest demographic information on age, race, income level, education, and more. You can find this information through your local Chamber of Commerce, or through online library resources. 
• Understand how big your community is. How many people live in your city or town? What subsets of the population will make up your patients? How will these folks arrive at your practice? These factors are essential to consider when you are describing your practice and the role it serves in your community.
• Comprehend your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. What is unique about your practice and your staff? Why do patients come to you? This idea will be your message for patients and physicians.
• Appreciate the competition. Don’t ignore any competitors when considering marketing for your practice. Instead, figure out what makes them tick. What messages are they conveying? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do they differ from your practice? Knowing the answers to these questions help narrow in on your specific niche in the community.