Well…maybe just a bit less complicated for ENT

No so long ago, primary care practices referred patients to specialists…and that was the simple and uncomplicated channel for new patients arriving at your office. Marketing for the otorhinolaryngology practice was mainly a matter of working with FP or GP practices.

But dynamics in society, medicine, medical delivery systems, the professions (generalists, specialists and sub-specialists) have changed. Ear, Nose & Throat marketing and advertising has shifted from passive and straightforward to being increasingly competitive.

And where one or two low-key otolaryngology practices were once the only game in town, it’s common to find several large group practices going head-to-head (no pun intended) for market share. Today, ENT marketing reaches out to diverse and sometimes overlapping audiences including physicians, patients, prospective self-refer patients, insurance plans and others now part of the mix.

A passion to get it right; to do it right

If you’ve navigated your way to this page, it’s likely that you:

• recognize increasing competitive pressures in otolaryngologist or ENT group marketing;
• need help in the practice marketing to manage the process;
• 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 Ear, Nose & Throat practices and others grow it’s a basic fact that ENT and otolaryngology practice marketing programs achieve the greatest success because they planned it that way. Their goals are clear, supporting strategies are in place, and implementation tactics are well-considered and carefully coordinated.

Nationwide, it’s the same story. The winners all have a comprehensive Ear, Nose, Throat marketing plan which guides them. Reaching, convincing and attracting diverse audience segments requires cost-effective and solid programs to increase revenue and otolaryngology practice profitability, through adult and pediatric testing, diagnosis and treatment of various patient needs.

It’s a wide range—from general ENT diseases to elective and non-elective surgery and plastic surgery to hearing loss and hearing aid fitting, maintenance and OSHA compliance Industrial Hearing Conservation. Some of the other opportunities also include:

• Facial plastic surgery
• Hearing aids
• Allergies and allergy desensitization
• Balance and dizziness disorders
• Ear aches and ear infections
• Enhancing individual and group name recognition, reputation and community prominence
• Facial fractures, cleft palate and other deformities
• Facial paralysis
• Increasing personal and professional satisfaction
• Inspiring patient directed self-referrals
• Laser assisted or radiofrequency uvulopalatoplasty
• Measuring and increasing patient satisfaction, retention and referrals
• Office-based and hospital-based services
• Oral, throat, head, neck, skin cancer
• Protecting your practice from aggressive competition
• Rapidly growing revenues to expand services, locations or associates
• Sleep disorders, snoring and sleep apnea
• Tinnitus; TMJ; Tonsillitis
• Voice and swallowing disorders
• Winning primary care and other discipline referrals

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 ENT 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 break-through growth—here’s how to start a penetrating conversation with your marketing plan.
The first seven Marketing Audit questions…

There are several hundred probing questions to ask yourself and others, but here are the first seven:

1. 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 maximum strength or capturing full potential.

2. What’s the date on your marketing plan?

   Even well-considered plans become dated if they are not challenged routinely—at least quarterly. If it’s been six months or more since you took a fresh look at your ENT practice marketing plan, carve out some quiet time to evaluate. Do you need “refreshment” or a completely new course of action?

3. Do you have clear and specific goals?

   Not everyone is clear about the marching order — goals are quantified and 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?

4. 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—time, dollars, people—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 item #7 below.)

5. Does your branding message clearly differentiate your practice?

   As long as you are the “only game in town,” branding and positioning for your ENT practice 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.

6. 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 or needs. Does your plan carefully coordinate all these elements, providing desired overlap or avoiding conflict?

7. 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. In our consulting work with practices around the nation, someone will call at least weekly 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 history, 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 otolaryngology practice marketing, as we have done for others around the nation, providing ethical, creative and evidence-based marketing strategies. Few professions are as competitive or as diverse as ENT and we can help provide the answers you need.

Success in marketing requires the ability to recognize, identify, plan and capitalize proactively on opportunities as they present themselves. This process requires a common group vision and common goals, effective planning, skillful execution, consistency and frequency in communication strategies, as well as a process of measuring, quantifying and evaluating marketing performance so that real-time adjustments can be made to increase the performance and profitability of the marketing efforts.

We understand what works and what doesn’t work in Ear, Nose and Throat marketing and ENT 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 otolaryngology marketing these audience groups include patients, prospective 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.