In this two-part series, we will address the importance of assessing your practice’s brand identity to ensure your marketing materials have a credible voice and consistent plan.
No matter how large your practice or budget, everyone can benefit from having a well-thought-out plan of attack when it comes to marketing. After understanding the voice and personality you want portrayed when comes to content, the next step is putting together a plan that helps you reach your goals. These 5 tips will help guide your marketing execution:
- Budget
Plan your marketing efforts and budget at the same time for the year ahead to help you get a bird’s eye view of your efforts. Ensure that you are using your dollars effectively by taking advantage of frequency discounts and preferred rates when possible, while maintaining a strong brand presence across all channels. - Communication Strategy
The means and frequency with which you communicate your message to the public can be just as important as what you say. The extent to which you can create customized materials that speak directly to what your patients want to hear will help improve your practice’s relationship with prospects and patients alike. Making use of digital means when possible and appropriate will help you save money for some of the more expensive printed things. - Consistency
It is absolutely critical that whether a prospective patient visits your website, sees your display at an event, receives a mailer or reviews your patient education material in your office, that they know the materials all come from the same practice. Your logo must appear on every item, in a consistent manner. The colors, typefaces and language you use should be the same in all materials. Using the right tone of voice and conveying your key messages in all pieces will help you achieve this consistency and recognition. If you’re consistent, you can help build familiarity and trust, which will help you maximize on your marketing budget. - Ongoing Measurement and Monitoring
Developing an effective brand and marketing strategy to elevate your practice is part art and part science. You should establish systems to track the effectiveness of your programs. From having all staff members ask how patients came in to the practice to monitoring the return on marketing investments and performing customer service surveys, keeping track of how things are going takes a whole team commitment. Once you start tracking, be sure to review periodically to determine what is working and what may need to be adjusted to help your team keep your message, brand and strategy on target. - Professionalism
If you want patients to trust their vision to your staff, you have to demonstrate that you take it very seriously and that everyone in the practice is trustworthy. Ensure that all of your marketing efforts meet a high standard of excellence and remember that everything that happens inside your practice is part of your internal marketing – how the staff dresses, interacts with the patients and one another, greets others in the halls and interacts especially on case day is all a component of your marketing. Providing an environment where the team wants to make a difference and enjoys their work will help you portray this.
– By Rachel Rickert, Creative Marketing Manager for Sightpath Medical
If understanding your brand’s identity and marketing plan is more than you want to take on, contact us today for more information on our comprehensive marketing solutions. All Sightpath Medical customers receive access to a full range of practice-building resources. From staff training and sample forms, to video tutorials and monthly webinars, we are here to help. Customers, click to access our Customer Resource library. Additionally, Sightpath Marketing Services can help create interactions and energize a referral network to drive procedures, with ongoing practice development support on a variety of levels. Sightpath Marketing Services would be glad to help assess, create and deploy messages for you all year long. Learn more about Sightpath Marketing Services. 