Test yourself on marketing basics
By Marc Sencer, MD

You have decided to budget a portion of revenue towards marketing your multi-specialty group practice. Because a marketing program is a large investment in time and money, you have done a lot of research and feel you are ready to create your marketing plan and budget.

Which of the following statements are correct?

A. Studies have shown that one of the best returns on investment for professionals is a well-placed office sign, depending on your location, patient demographics, and your group's specialties.

B. To decide whether a particular promotion is successful, the most important statistic to consider is the number of new patients the promotion has brought in.

C. New patient visits are seasonally low for you in the summer, so you should spend more money on advertising to bring in more patients.

D. It is usually best to have the yellow pages representatives help in the design of a large ad.

E. Cable TV and print media are both excellent choices for practices with low advertising budgets because they allow you to target your ads to narrow demographic groups.

The correct answer — with some important qualifications — is "A." Because you only pay once for a sign but it keeps pulling in business for the duration of its life, a sign can produce a tremendous return on the initial investment. A sign also provides local name recognition for your business.

Usually a sign works better for chiropractic services than it does for medical services, except for walk-in or urgent care clinics. Signs also work best in blue-collar markets.

But, for any sign to do its job, it must be visible, while fitting in with the rest of the surrounding neighborhood.

"B" is incorrect. The number of new patients a promotion brings in is important, of course. But it is the actual calculated return on investment that is most important.

To calculate return on investment, use this formula: ROI = Number of patients x average value per patient / cost of promotion.

"C" is also incorrect. Savvy advertisers know that it is a waste of advertising money to advertise when the targeted audience is not available. Save those dollars and spend them during peak season!

"D" is incorrect. If advertising in the yellow pages is important to you, hire a good graphics design firm to design your ad. The yellow pages staff is geared to the retail market. Professional practices are out of their scope.

Position is everything in the yellow pages. Studies have shown that most people make their choice without ever getting beyond the first few pages of your section! Spend your dollars on the biggest ad and the number one position on the first page of the section.

"E" is incorrect. While cable and, to a much lesser extent, print media allow you to target geographic areas and patients in small demographic groups (for example, women with young children), they still are not the media of choice for those with very limited or no funds for a long haul.

Practices on a limited budget should market internally and use networking and direct mail to maximize results. If you decide to do cable advertising, make it a direct-response promotion. Unless you have a big budget, you will run out of money long before name recognition kicks in.

Marc H. Sencer, MD, is the president and founder of MDs for DCs, which provides intensive one-on-one training, medical staffing, and on-going practice management support to chiropractic integrated practices. He can be reached at 800-916-1462 or www.mdsfordcs.com.