In Search of the Ideal Doctor-Client: A Marketing-Savvy CEO

Most healthcare advertising agencies will not admit it, but some clients are simply better than other clients. The people and personalities are part of the chemistry, but more than a retail transaction, two business entities share mutual success goals.

Most healthcare advertising agencies will not admit it, but some clients are simply better than other clients. The people and personalities are part of the chemistry, but more than a retail transaction, two business entities share mutual success goals.

It’s similar to a doctor-patient relationship. Privately, many doctors have patients who they favor over others. In virtually any business interaction, it’s easier to work with some customers/clients/patients. But with others…not so much.

When the chemistry is right, the rewards are magnified; better outcomes, mutual success, and greater satisfaction all around.

Our job is to provide hospitals, medical groups and physician practices with a marketing expertise that achieves defined goals, measurable results, and continuing success. Over the years, we’ve found that there is a significantly higher measure of success in working with the client who is both medically skilled and business smart.

The MD as a CEO and CMO…

Searching for and working with the ideal, marketing-savvy CEO has personal and professional rewards for us. When the MD is also the CEO and CMO, there’s an added measure of satisfaction in working with a business-smart doctor-owner, entrepreneur or administrator. We are challenged to make our best work even better.

Here are a few of the ways that the CEO is our ideal doctor-client. In addition to good marketing instincts, he or she:

• Thinks bigger. Their perception of what is possible is often on a larger scale. They think beyond the horizon, past the competition and about taking things to the next level.
• Has a competitive nature. They are challenged to win at what they do, and to do what it takes to achieve the goals they set.
• Understands marketing fuels the flow of business: A constant and reliable flow of new business, repeat business, or referral business does not happen spontaneously. Marketing strategies and tactics achieve defined goals and drive success.
• Recognizes marketing is an investment, not a cost. Performance is measurable and the client closely monitors the Return-on-Investment (ROI).
• Takes calculated, “smart” risks. There are no guarantees in business or advertising. But well-informed clients minimize risk, understanding the risk/reward ratio, and take reasonable risks to seize opportunity.

It’s difficult to describe all the winning characteristics of the ideal client. Fortunately, we have many such clients with these and other success characteristics. It’s challenging work, but it’s a winning formula when the client hires the best, demands the best, and ultimately trusts their agency to exercise their experience and do the work at hand.