Cardiology Medical Marketing and Advertising That Works
Planning for Success in Cardiology and Heart Center Marketing Audit: The First 7 Questions for Moving to the Next Level
Advertising and marketing in the world of cardiology has changed noticeably and quickly
As dynamics in society, medicine and the profession have changed, cardiology marketing and advertising has shifted from a casual “something new” to an aggressive “highly competitive.” Where once a few low-key cardiology practices were the only game in town, it’s now common to find two or more large “healthy heart” centres and practices going head-to-head for market share.
If you’ve navigated your way to this page, it’s likely that you:
- recognize increasing competitive pressures in cardiologist or cardiology group marketing;
- are serious about maximizing the impact of your marketing message and budget; and/or
- are ready and committed to grow the practice and move up to the next level.
In nearly two decades of helping cardiology practices grow, it’s a basic fact that the cardiology practices, heart centres and healthy heart programs achieve the greatest success because they planned it that way.
Nationwide, it’s the same story. The winners all have a comprehensive cardiology marketing plan which they use daily. Now, however, the program is no longer simple and introductory, it is now sophisticated with a lot of moving parts. Reaching, convincing and attracting an audience requires cost-effective plans and solid programs to increase revenue and cardiology practice profitability, through opportunities such as:
- Cardiac care and inter-disciplinary case marketing strategies
- Cardiac treatment and rehabilitation programs and classes
- Nuclear cardiology and mobile nuclear cardiology
- Comprehensive heart attack recovery programs
- CPR and ECC training courses
- Hospital-based and strategic alliance programs for patient and community
- Enhancing name recognition, reputation and community prominence
- Establishing and promoting profitable “healthy heart” services lines
- Hypertension, heart disease and heart attack prevention programs
- Increasing personal and professional satisfaction
- Inspiring patient directed self-referrals
- Lifestyle, exercise, fitness, nutrition, diet outreach programs
- Measuring and increasing patient satisfaction, retention and referrals
- Office-based and hospital-based services
- Paediatric cardiology, fetal echocardiography and consultation
- Prevention, diagnosis, treatment, fitness and exercise programs
- Protecting your practice from aggressive competition
- Rapidly growing revenues to expand services, locations or associates
- Risk assessment, executive fitness evaluation, stroke screening
- Targeting and educating high-risk/at-risk individuals
- Winning primary care and other discipline referrals
The first 7 cardiology marketing audit questions…
Regardless of how well you think you’re doing, a marketing reality check is a useful test. If everything’s just swell, you can take comfort in continuing your cardiology marketing effort just as it is today. But if you don’t know, if you’re a student of continuous improvement, or if you’re serious about breakthrough growth-here’s how to start a penetrating conversation with your marketing plan.
There are a couple hundred probing questions to ask yourself and others, but here are the first seven:
- Are you using an evidence-based marketing approach?
Does your marketing system include Proven Strategies, a well-designed Marketing Plan, Effective Implementation and a means to Evaluate Results? All four of these components drive the process. If you’re missing one or more you are not operating at full strength.
- What’s the date on your marketing plan?
Even well-considered plans become dated if they are not challenged at least quarterly. If it’s been six months or more since you took a fresh look at your cardiology practice marketing plan, carve out some quiet time to evaluate. Do you need “refreshment” or a completely new course of action?
- Do you have clear and specific goals?
Not everyone is clear about the marching order — goals are at the top; strategies support goals; and tactics implement the strategies. How have your goals changed? What are the new goals and how did you set the goals? What strategies and tactics are needed to achieve the goals, new or otherwise? Did you realign your budget for what’s changed?
- Is your marketing budget right for the job?
There are at least six different methods for setting a marketing budget. How did you set your budget and does it achieve the goals? Do you have enough resources in the right places to make it a winning plan? Above all, marketing is a revenue centre-not a cost centre. You should expect performance to be 3- to 4:1 overall. (See #7.)
- Does your branding message clearly differentiate your practice?
As long as you are the “only game in town,” branding and positioning for your practice or heart center might go unchallenged. But increased competition means there’s no sliding-by-patients and community need to clearly hear and understand how you are different and better.
- Are your internal, external and referral programs working together or independently?
Some parts of a well-tuned plan run all the time, while others may be seasonal, and still others are keyed to a target audience segment. Does your plan carefully coordinate these elements, providing desired overlap or avoiding conflict?
- How do you measure response and Return-on-Investment?
Sadly, many practices don’t have a reliable tracking system to identify the source of new patients and to measure the effectiveness of their marketing, advertising, promotion or referral efforts. Regardless of the size of the practice, the program or any of the strategic or tactical parts-if you don’t track you just don’t know what’s working. Do you have a tracking system? Is it working? Is it reliable and accurate? It’s impossible to manage the plan or calculate your ROI without this part of the equation.
…and a timely tip…
Don’t let the Treatment Plan get ahead of the Diagnosis. At least weekly in our consulting work with practices around the nation, someone will call and tell us they “need a flyer” or “have to have a newspaper ad” or whatever else for their practice. Imagine if a patient presented himself with a request for a specific medication before you did any exam, tests or procedures.
The same principle applies in successful marketing programs, especially in cardiology practices. Don’t jump ahead. Invest the time to ask these questions of yourself, and get a clear and unbiased perspective on where you are and what you need to do to achieve your practice development goals.
Call us if you need help finding these answers
Moris Group Healthcare Success Team can guide your cardiology practice marketing, as we have done for others around the nation, providing ethical, creative and evidence-based marketing strategies. Few professions are as competitive as cardiology, and we can help provide the answers you need.
We understand what works and what doesn’t work in heart health marketing and cardiology advertising. We know how to effectively communicate your value to your various “customers” in ways that help them appreciate and utilize all that you have to offer. In cardiology marketing these audience groups include patients, prospective (at-risk) patients, referring physicians, self-referral patients, health insurance plans, hospitals and others.
Call us today at (866) 768-1619 and we’ll help get all your questions answered.