By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    benefits of using protein powder to build muscles
    Protein Powder for Muscle Mass: Everything You Need to Know
    December 12, 2021
    changes brought on by blockchain in healthcare
    Technology In The Healthcare Industry
    March 28, 2022
    What Does Core Body Temperature Say About Health?
    August 17, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    FDA Approves Diabetes Pill
    May 2, 2011
    Patient Gets Drunk on Hand Sanitizer
    June 20, 2011
    Cultivating Health Improvement
    July 20, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Physician Marketing Battles You’ll Never Win (and What to Do Instead)
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Physician Marketing Battles You’ll Never Win (and What to Do Instead)
BusinesseHealthHospital Administration

Physician Marketing Battles You’ll Never Win (and What to Do Instead)

Stewart Gandolf
Last updated: April 27, 2016 12:00 pm
Stewart Gandolf
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

no win marketing battlesMany doctors and medical practice executives have their marketing brains on overdrive. They’re looking for new, better, improved and/or more efficient ways to attract new patients and cases.

no win marketing battlesMany doctors and medical practice executives have their marketing brains on overdrive. They’re looking for new, better, improved and/or more efficient ways to attract new patients and cases.

The marketing and advertising plan (a left-over from last year) isn’t delivering results. The entire competitive landscape has changed, and not for the better. New patients seem to be scarce, reluctant to spend money and/or increasingly resistant to treatments, procedures or services that they need.

Throughout America, medical practices want to know how to stretch their budgets and how to produce maximum measurable results from their marketing and advertising investment. (BTW, if you’re arm wrestling with these or similar challenges, please give us a call. You can unload with us, and, more importantly, we’ll deliver some practical solutions.)

More Read

sovaldi treatment
Hooray for High-Priced Hepatitis Treatment Sovaldi
New Technology Improves Branding for Retail Health
Are We on the Verge of a Primary Care Renaissance?
Steps to Take Before Beginning Clinical Trial Recruitment
Persistence and the Market for Health Insurance

Here are two, no-win “marketing battles” that we hear about with some regularity—and what to do instead:


Some marketing forces are immoveable. If you can’t change them, use their energy to your own…
Click To Tweet


The Battle of Chevy Flats vs. Mercedes Heights

“No matter what we do,” a provider complains, “we can’t attract those upscale Mercedes Heights residents to our office in Chevy Flats.” Although these two areas are geographically close to each other, the demographic and psychographic characteristics create an impenetrable marketing barrier. Granted, our mythical Mercedes Heights is home to a desirable, more affluent audience with more buying power.

While buyers (customers/patients) may occasionally shop “up” for services or products, they will rarely shop “down,” especially for healthcare where there’s a perception of lower quality. You may have the fanciest office in Chevy Flats, the mental attitude is that it’s not as attractive as an office in Mercedes Heights.

What to do instead: If Mercedes Heights is home for your ideal patients, one solution is to go to them. Open a secondary, satellite or even a primary office on the Mercedes side of the marketing barrier. Heaping extra slices of budget into marketing and advertising will not change this human behavior. Ultimately, the better use of resources would be in setting up shop where their (real or imagined) perception is to your benefit.

The Battle of Good Months vs. Bad Months

Nearly every business experiences the ups-and-downs of seasonality. The long view picture shows that some periods traditionally and consistently outperform other slices of the calendar. And external advertising and other promotional activities are influenced by seasonality.

For illustration, let’s say the first quarter and the third quarter always produce the most revenue. Intuitively, you want to generate more business in the “low and slow” months of the second and fourth quarters. And, intuitively, you think that’s where you should pump up your marketing efforts. Unfortunately, you intuition is probably wrong.

Most likely, a close analysis will reveal that the slow periods have always been slow for business. Your up or down cycles may be due to vacation or holiday periods, employment patterns or community economic swings. Whatever the reasons, your extra marketing effort isn’t sufficient to offset the larger, root forces of seasonality.

What to do instead: The better alternative is to leverage the upside actively promoting during those periods that already have the strongest energy for the buyer. The specifics in every situation vary, and it may seem counterintuitive at first, but take advantage of your best revenue periods. Successful marketing and advertising in these good months will tend to lift business in other parts of the calendar, even the slower ones.

Confidential Marketing Assessment

If you’d like to talk about these or any other healthcare marketing challenges, please give us a call at 800-656-0907. You can also launch a free, confidential marketing assessment with a click-through to this page. Let’s start a conversation about how ethical, results-based programs can help you avoid mistakes and achieve your business and professional goals.

Kathy Gaughran

Author information

Kathy Roy Gaughran
Kathy Roy Gaughran
Senior Marketing Strategist at Healthcare Success Strategies
In her career, Kathy has helped over 4,000 clients all over North America achieve their growth goals. As an award-winning strategic marketing planner, Kathy has been involved in both the high level strategies required for long-term sustainability, plus the tactical execution used to accomplish day-to-day successes.
TwitterFacebookGoogle+

The post Physician Marketing Battles You’ll Never Win (and What to Do Instead) appeared first on Healthcare Success.

TAGGED:healthcare marketing
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Do You Grind Your Teeth at Night? Here’s How Night Guards and TMJ Treatments Can Help
Dental health
May 21, 2025
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
The Secret To A Confident Smile: Top Tips For Better Teeth
Dental health
May 21, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025

You Might also Like

BusinessMarketing

Digital Marketing For Healthcare: What You Need To Know

April 29, 2019

More Diverse Organizations Perform Better

May 1, 2012
individual mandate
BusinessHealth ReformPolicy & LawPublic Health

Why the Individual Mandate Is Important

June 12, 2014

Diabetes and Obesity Driving Global Treatment Markets

April 4, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?