5 Questions to Ask as You Create Your Marketing Plan
This Friday our marketing team will spend the day together hammering out our 2014 Marketing Plan. We will review our numbers from the past year, set goals for the next year, and figure out what strategies to repeat and what new strategies to incorporate to continue to grow our presence in the different markets where we have clinics. Part of that process has already started. For the past few weeks the marketing team has been compiling a list of events and strategies they want to use in their individual markets for 2014. They will bring that list with them to our planning session, and we will work together to creatively make the best use of those tactics. In addition to coming up with this plan, they have been asking themselves important questions. Below are five questions you should be asking yourself now as you start to prepare your 2014 marketing plan. 1. How do your customers want to get information? While the Yellow Pages, newspaper and television might have been great advertising venues for you five years ago, are they still the best use of your marketing dollars today? In order to answer this, you have to think like your customers. Where are your customers searching for information about healthcare? 2. What are your customers concerned about going into 2014? With growing competition in many cities for Medical Practices, how are you addressing those concerns in ways your competitors are not? 3. Who is your target customer, why do they support you, and what can you do to keep them? While this is a series of three questions, the answer to this is key to your marketing strategy. Imagine how big your Medical Practice business would be today if every patient who ever tried you still utilized your services today. 4. How can you utilize your current patient base to continue to grow your business through word of mouth and repeat visits? The answer to this question involves looking at internal marketing strategies, customer service, staffing models, and even your company culture. 5. What is your brand and how are you incorporating that into your marketing campaigns? When you look at your advertisements, do they truly differentiate you from your competitors? If your competitor could copy your ad and simply replace your logo with theirs, you’re not doing a good job differentiating yourself in the marketplace. November is the month you should be working on both your marketing plan and your marketing budget for next year. I will be discussing creating a marketing plan in-depth this December 5-8 in Las Vegas at the Medical Practice Success Summit.
Article By: Tina Bell Tina Bell is the Director of Marketing for HealthCARE Express®, where her responsibilities include spearheading the company’s social media and internet strategies, leading the in-house physician recruitment team, and developing aggressive programs to promote patient satisfaction and effective service recovery. Tina speaks nationally at industry conferences including the Medical Practice Association of America and the National Association of Occupational Health Professionals. She is the director of business development for Medical Practice Success and an independent Medical Practice marketing consultant.
