medical marketing
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Is marketing and advertising appropriate for a medical practice?
A: In today’s era of declining reimbursements, fierce competition and greater choices available to an aging population, marketing and advertising are not only appropriate, they are indispensable. Word of mouth is no longer enough. You must take control of your own image by differentiating your practice, its physicians and services from your competitors. These assets should be communicated efficiently and effectively to new and existing patients. Medical Marketing is the best way to achieve these objectives. Whether or not you choose to market, odds are your competitors are.

Q: How much should I budget for an annual marketing campaign?
A: There are several variables to consider when planning a marketing budget including: the marketplace, the aggressiveness of the campaign, existing name recognition, necessary media and overall practice income among others. We suggest that most practices budget between $30,000 and $120,000 per year for all marketing functions.

Q: My practice works exclusively on a referral basis,
how can your service benefit our practice?
A: The communication experts at Medical Marketing can help your practice
target your referral source and uncover untapped referral sources. Through
direct marketing and public relations campaigns, we can tastefully and
effectively bring positive results to practices we represent. Patient
retention is encouraged through implementation of survey as well as in
office communications.

Q: How will Medical Marketing understand our unique practice?
A:The professionals at Medical Marketing will devote time to understanding the
culture, methodology and unique differentiating points of your practice
through interviews with physicians, staff and personal visits. Further, we
will study all past marketing communications to assess the quality of
creative and message. Four hours of this time will be provided gratis; we
don’t expect you to pay us to be on the learning curve. Our vast experience
in marketing medical practices’ gives us a distinct advantage over
traditional advertising agencies.

Q: Why should you work with Medical Marketing rather than individual printers, newspapers, cable-tv outlets, radio stations, web developers, etc.?
A: Beside the headache of coordination among multiple vendors, they will never collectively present a consistent image and message like Medical Marketing can. By reaching your targeted patients with one consistent voice and image, Medical Marketing makes every individual piece in your marketing mix work harder and more effectively for your money. We concentrate your marketing presence so that every exposure requires less repetition, thereby saving your practice money. With a single point of contact, you devote more time working on the profitability of your practice.

Q: What does a retainer with Medical Marketing cover?
A: The services covered vary by the type of marketing package that is purchased. No matter which package you choose, our rates are 20% lower than those of national advertising agencies*. With Medical Marketing, your budget is an ideal fit for our structure. Expect the attention of our top creative marketing professionals. In general, a retainer covers a specified amount of time per month from Medical Marketing’s team of marketing professionals over the course of a one-year standard contract. Account supervision, art direction, copy writing, design, proofreading and other in-house services are generally covered under this retainer. Outsourced services such as photography, illustration, audio-video production, printing, hardware procurement, travel expenses and other costs not normally handled in-house are charged separately. Hours over and above the specified retainer will be charged at a reduced rate to be negotiated at the time the retainer is signed. Most importantly, we guarantee exclusivity for the term of contract for your practice. We will not work for a competing practice within 30 miles.

Q: How is your return on investment measured when working with Medical Marketing?
A: Most of our packages contain mechanisms for measuring the effectiveness of your advertising, such as ad tracking, web statistics, patient surveys and marketing audits to compare your current marketing efforts versus those of Medical Marketing. We can also work with you and your office staff to develop telephone strategies and procedures that evaluate how new patients became aware of your practice and its services. Strategic direct-response initiatives in your newspaper, radio and television advertising and direct mail campaigns will demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of your marketing efforts.

Q. How does a project typically flow through Medical Marketing?
A: Your dedicated Medical Marketing consultant will be in regular contact with you to plan and discuss your marketing needs. Most marketing strategies will be planned one year in advance, but we encourage contact anytime a new and desirable marketing opportunity arises. Your marketing consultant will discuss your needs and objectives for a particular marketing project, including all relevant deadlines, information and budget constraints. From this initial meeting, we will quickly generate an estimate of the time and costs involved with producing your project including an estimate of any and all outside costs.

Once you have given us approval to proceed, our designers and artists will begin working with your designated account executive to develop initial concepts. After an agreed upon length of time, we present initial concepts. Once a concept is approved, we will develop detailed images and text, schedule any photography, illustration or other production. Your designated marketing consultant will present all design and content to you as often as necessary to reach your final approval. Once your project has been approved we will proceed to final production. Once the final production is complete, we will bill you for any outsourced costs or any costs over and above the agreed upon retainer. Otherwise, the amount of your retainer will be payable upon an agreed upon date each month as set up during the initial retainer negotiations. Unless otherwise specified, your retainer with Medical Marketing will be in effect for one year.

Q: How do you contact Medical Marketing for more information?
A: Call 828 322 8889 to schedule a free, initial consultation.

*Source-The Second Wind Network 2004 National Advertising Agency Survey