External Marketing for Healthcare Practices [Easy Definition]

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

We examined the concept of internal marketing for healthcare practices in a previous blog. Let’s turn our attention now to the concept of external marketing for healthcare practices. Simply stated, [external marketing] for healthcare practices is any activity or event done outside the walls of your office to promote your practice. The most effective marketing strategies utilize a combination of internal and external marketing for practice success.

What are some examples of external marketing for healthcare practices? Effective and attractive business cards and brochures you give to prospective patients at events…a healthcare talk or series of healthcare talks hosted off-site…providing services at an athletic event…sponsoring a 5K…and so on. (Remember, don’t get caught up in the labeling because it is possible for an item or activity to be used for internal and external marketing.)

When establishing your marketing calendar each year, start by scheduling one external and one internal marketing event or activity each month. You may be tempted to schedule more than one of each, but resist the temptation. Consequently, you may overwhelm yourself, your staff, or your available resources. Then when the event occurs, you’ll likely be exhausted and unable to project the best image of your practice. You can always add more activities and events to your calendar throughout the year as your resources and energy permit.

Once the events are scheduled you can begin the planning process. Create a system to organize all your event information and materials. Try a 3-ring binder or a digital folder structure, depending on your preference. This way, the next time you host the same (or similar) event, you don’t have to start from scratch! Establish reasonable goals for what you hope to accomplish with your marketing activity (i.e.: New patients, increased awareness, raise money for a charity, etc.). Determine how you’ll track the progress of those goals. Research, collaborate, delegate, and modify as needed.

Finally, with proper preparation, you can relax and enjoy the event when the day arrives. Afterwards, debrief with staff and volunteers. (If you can get feedback from participants that’s even better!) Discuss what went well, what could have gone better, and what to change for next time.

I’d love to hear from you! What types of events and activities does your practice do for external marketing? Share your most creative and successful ideas in the comments section below!

For more information on building community connections, I encourage you to read my new book Community Connections! Relationship Marketing for Healthcare Professionals. If you want more valuable information about how to Connect with YOUR Community, you can find FREE healthcare practice marketing content, PowerPoint Presentation Jumpstart Kits, workbooks, blog articles, and my FREE “Practice Marketing Planner” Now!

Internal Marketing for Healthcare Practices [Easy Definition]

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Chances are, when you graduated from your healthcare education institution, you didn’t have a strong background in marketing. If you had to define internal marketing for healthcare practices could you do it? For most providers, the answer is no, yet internal marketing is critical to the success of a practice. If you’re among the majority in this case, take a deep breath. I’m going to give you an easy definition you can use when developing your marketing strategy.

Simply stated, internal marketing for healthcare practices is any activity or event done within the walls of your office to promote your practice. The most effective marketing strategies utilize a combination of internal and external marketing for practice success. (We’ll address external marketing in a subsequent blog, so stay tuned!)

What are some examples of internal marketing for healthcare practices? Effective and attractive business cards and brochures you give to patients…patient newsletters…happy employees…a movie and discussion night …a healthcare talk or series of healthcare talks…a community corner…patient testimonials…and so on. (Yes, it is possible for an item or activity to be used for internal and external marketing. Don’t get caught up in the labeling!)

When establishing your marketing calendar for the upcoming year, a good rule of thumb is to schedule one internal marketing event or activity each month. You may be tempted to schedule more than one, but be careful you don’t overwhelm or exhaust yourself. You can always add more activities and events to your calendar later if you find you have the energy and resources.

Once the events are scheduled, plan them carefully with an attention to detail. Modify your plans as needed, and debrief after the event is over. Discuss what went well, what could have gone better, and what to change for next time. I recommend having a system to organize all of your event information and materials. A 3-ring binder or a digital folder structure both work well. This way, the next time you host the same (or similar) event, you don’t have to start from scratch!

I’d love to hear from you! What types of events and activities does your practice do for internal marketing? Share your most creative and successful ideas in the comments section below!

Mid Year Goals Review: Are You on Track?

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

The first six months of this year are behind us, and the final six months are ahead. The July 4th weekend – celebrating America’s Independence – is a great time to perform a mid-year goals review. Step back and reflect on your accomplishments, goals, and progress toward your financial independence. Block an hour or two out of your busy schedule this week to work on the framework of your practice. You can do this review alone, with your partner, office manager, spouse, or anyone intimately involved in the running of your practice. Bring a copy of your written practice goals, paper and pens (or computer) and be prepared to brainstorm, reflect, and reassess.

Where do you start? First, make a list of the major wins and accomplishments you or your practice have achieved since January. Did you hire a new employee? Meet a goal? Land a speaking engagement? Develop a key community connection? Maybe you were able to take your first vacation in five years or give a bonus to your staff. As you look back over the past six months, you’ll probably find more things to celebrate than you thought. Pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself on a job well done!

Next, take out your written goals. (If you didn’t set written goals last year, make sure to do it this year. In the meantime, take out your mental list of goals and continue with this activity!) Read each goal one at a time. Did you achieve that goal? What were the results? Check off the goals you’ve already reached. (Doesn’t that feel good?!)

Let’s turn our attention to the goals you haven’t yet accomplished and review them individually. If you haven’t reached a goal because it was slated for the second half of the year, simply review the goal and make sure you’re still on track. Do you need to change or modify anything for the second half of the year based on the first six months? For example, if a goal was to hire a new staff member in August, but you had to replace an expensive piece of equipment in May, perhaps you shift the new payroll expense to October.

Finally, examine the goals you wanted to accomplish by now but didn’t. Why do you think you were unable to accomplish your goal(s) in the desired time-frame? Was the goal unreasonable? Did something else come up that required your time or resources? Does the goal need to be modified? If so, in what way(s)? Taking the time now to assess and modify your remaining goals as needed can set you up for success in the latter half of the year. A small investment of your time now can pay off big dividends in the months to come.
I’d love to hear from you! Have you smoked your goals? Tell us so we can celebrate your successes! Are you struggling to reach your goals? Share your story so others can give you feedback. Use the comments section, below, to continue the conversation. I look forward to seeing you there!

Mid-Year Goal Check

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Can you believe we’re halfway through the year! It’s time for a mid-year goal check so we can see how far we’ve come and how far we have to go before the end of the year.

Review Your Goals

Earlier, we discussed setting goals . Because summer is slower for many practices, now is the ideal time to track your progress. Look at each goal. Why was it important? If you don’t have a good answer for that question, you aren’t likely to stick to those goals. Reaching a goal requires sacrifice, and if the goal isn’t compelling, you aren’t going to be motivated to work towards it.

A lot can happen in six months; you may have to make adjustments to both your goals and your plans to reach them. There’s nothing wrong with that, running a business is dynamic, and you have to be willing to change what isn’t working. What seemed urgent in January might not be a priority now.

Be careful that you aren’t doubling down on a goal that isn’t helping your business. It’s easy to fall victim to sunk cost fallacy when making business decisions. Car repairs are a typical example of the sunk cost fallacy. You spent money to put in a new transmission and then the brakes go out. The cost of the transmission and brakes together add up to more than the car is worth. The ideal decision would be to eat the cost of the transmission, it’s money already spent that you can’t get back, and buy a new car. But because you just spent all that money, you decide to spend money on new brakes too. Admit a mistake and don’t throw good money after bad.

Use a Real Measure

Hard numbers don’t lie, so make sure you look at them when you measure progress. Did your marketing campaign grow your patient numbers? Did the EMR system you implemented save you the time and money you thought it would? If the numbers aren’t adding up, you need to reassess your goals so you can “right the ship” before the end of the year.

Prioritize

Now that you’ve reviewed your goals, you need to spend your energy in the right place. Is there a goal on your list that stands out? There should be! Focus your attention on the big goals, the ones that will grow your business. That might mean enhancing your web presence, spending more time on community outreach programs, or improving the training methods for your staff.

No Zero Days

“No zero days” means that every day, you have to do something towards a goal, it can be a small thing, but you can’t let a day pass without doing something. Getting started is often the hardest part for many people. They’re fine once they get going, but getting going can be hard. That’s why implementing a “no zero days” policy is so helpful to eliminate that kind of procrastination.

You want to communicate more often with your patients by sending out a monthly newsletter, but it never seems to happen. From now on, you’ll do something to reach that goal every day. Sit down and decide on a subject for your next letter. Got the subject? Great, you can quit for today. But you’re already in front of your computer, and you already know what you want to write about, so you might as well write the opener.

Now that you have the opener, you might as well write the first paragraph. And so on until, voila! You’ve written the entire newsletter!

Accountability

Did you know that people who write down their goals and share them with others are much more likely to meet those goals? It’s true! A study found that more than 70% of people who wrote down their goals and gave weekly updates to a friend on their progress, met those goals, compared to just 35% of people who didn’t do the same.

Get yourself an accountability partner and let them give you the push you need.

Goals Not Traditions

If you find yourself making the same goals year after year, they’ve stopped being goals and become traditions. Use the mid-year goal check to cross those goals off your list once and for all. There’s nothing as motivating as a clean slate. That’s what you want to take into 2025, a clean slate, so you have a place to write down your new goals.

Healthcare Marketing Mindset Series: Pace Yourself

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Healthcare Marketing Mindset Series: Pace Yourself

The way in which you think about marketing your healthcare practice – what I call your healthcare marketing mindset – is critical to the success of your business. In my last blog, we explored the difference between looking at your practice marketing as an expense versus as an investment. (To briefly recap, marketing your practice is an investment in the future health and success of your business, and should be viewed as such.) In today’s second installment of the healthcare marketing mindset series, I’d like to consider attitudes about time and pace as they relate to marketing.

When a patient receives your service, treatment, or product, when do they wish or expect to see results? Immediately, right? (One of my professors jokingly used to say “patients want a forever cure, yesterday, in the mail, for free.”) We’ve been conditioned to expect fast results in this fast-paced world. How many times have you had to explain to a patient that results – and healing – take time? It’s common sense: You can’t take one small action and reverse months or years of behaviors and choices.

However, many practice owners are guilty of looking at their practice marketing in much the same way patients look at their health. These practitioners want (and perhaps need) a “quick fix” to generate cash flow, dozens of new patients, office visits, and referrals. My professor might say they want marketing results…yesterday…easily…for free.

In this mindset, practice marketing might be thought of as a sprint, with the practice pushing fast and hard for immediate results. The focus is on the short-term, such as how many marketing activities can be done in a short amount of time to obtain the desired results. There’s a brief flurry of activity, then the event is over and although you’re exhausted it’s time to plan the next activity. Does this sound familiar?

Imagine if – instead of viewing marketing as a sprint – you approached practice marketing as a marathon. You’re in it for the duration. The expectation is not about quick results, but rather a steady pace. Practitioners with this mindset focus on the long-term, and their marketing reflects that attitude. They take the time they need to develop genuine relationships in the community instead of seeing how many business cards they can distribute in 15 minutes. Healthcare practice marketing activities are carefully selected and planned for maximum impact.

In the end, the businesses of the practice marketing sprinter and the practice marketing marathoner may wind up in a similar place, but the sprinter expended much more energy and perhaps burned themselves out mentally and physically. I’d like to hear from you! Do you approach your marketing from a short-term or long-term view? How has your healthcare marketing mentality changed over the years? I invite you to share your story in the comments section, below.

Healthcare Marketing Mindset I

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Healthcare Marketing Mindset I

If you spend any amount of time speaking with healthcare professionals in private practice, it’ll quickly become clear as to their healthcare marketing mindset. In other words, what do they think about the concept of marketing their healthcare practice? I find this topic so interesting that I decided to write a series of blogs on the subject of practice marketing mindsets. This first installation will discuss the two main mental perceptions regarding the financial aspect of healthcare marketing.

We all know marketing takes time and money. The question is, how do you view that expenditure of resources? Some healthcare professionals focus on the expense involved, while others accept the cost as an investment into their practice. Have you ever had this conversation with a patient? Where they saw the cost of care in your practice as an expense and you tried to help them see it as an investment into their health and future?

When you view something as an expense – in this case, your marketing efforts – the tendency is to want to minimize the expense. Every decision becomes about the bottom line – dollars and cents – instead of how it could impact your practice or community in multiple ways. An expense is part of the cost of maintaining a business, but doesn’t necessarily help it to grow and thrive.

Conversely, when you view something as an investment, there’s a willingness to commit the necessary resources to make sure it’s successful. The hope is that the investment will pay off in some form in the end. An investment seeks a long-term outcome such as practice growth.

It can be easy to fall into the habit of seeing marketing as just another expense…dollars flowing out of your accounts, never to be seen again. And actually, that can be the reality if you aren’t monitoring, measuring, tracking, and modifying your marketing activities to implement the ones that work best for you.

A better approach is to look at your healthcare practice marketing from the perspective of an investment. Do your research. Determine your goals (what are you hoping to achieve with your healthcare marketing?). Consider your options carefully. Obtain expert guidance when necessary. Have a plan. Invest in the future growth of your practice and your life by financing those activities that successfully grow your practice.

A word of caution – not every marketing activity will produce spectacular results in terms of new patients or revenue. In fact, not every healthcare marketing activity is intended to produce patients or revenue, so be clear on your goals. (For example, perhaps you host an event simply to raise awareness of a serious health condition.)

I’d like to hear from you! How do you perceive the commitment of time and resources necessary to market your healthcare practice? Have you recently switched from seeing healthcare practice marketing as an expense to an investment? How did that happen for you? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below!

Who Are Your Healthcare Patients?

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Who Are Your Healthcare Patients?

As Seth Godin, marketing genius, once commented, “Everyone is not your customer.” In the solo healthcare practice realm, this can be re-stated to say that everyone is not your patient. What?!? A healthcare marketing consultant and published author is telling you not everyone is your patient? It’s true. On a superficial level, of course every single one of the billions of people on this planet aren’t your patients. Let’s look closer and use a specific example.

Imagine you’re a dentist in private dental practice in a town of 40,000. Of that population, perhaps 500 people have seen you professionally. What about the other 39,500? Do they all need a dentist? Yes. But do they all need to see you as their dentist? The answer is no. You can’t be the “right” dentist for all people.

So how can you help increase the chance that those who find themselves in your dental practice are your “right” patients? By being crystal clear on who your ideal patients are. What characteristics do they have? What are their demographics? Et cetera. If you’re passionate about instilling proper dental habits at an early age, your ideal patients are likely to be moms with young children. You’d build your branding and private dental practice identity around this concept. You wouldn’t necessarily turn away patients who didn’t match your ideal, but you wouldn’t spend time and money marketing to them.

When you develop a clear picture of who your ideal healthcare patient is, you’ll be able to identify those for whom you’d be a good match. You can spend your time and resources marketing directly to them instead of trying to be all things to all people.

What does your “ideal healthcare patient” look like? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comment box below!

Are You Attractive?

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Are you attractive? I don’t mean to get too personal with this question, so let me clarify. Are you “attractive” to other people in the sense that you draw people to you and your healthcare practice? This isn’t a discussion of the sort of attractiveness which includes cosmetics, clothing, accessories, or physique. Instead, I want to talk about your personal ability to interest and engage people.

I’ve heard it said that everyone has the ability to light up a room. The difference is some people light up a room when they enter…and others light up the room when they leave. (Be honest…which one are you?) This has little to do with physical build, clothing, or make-up and has everything to do with your personal charisma and personality. Do people want to be around you, or do they seem to take the first opportunity to leave?

In my experience, two things draw other people to you. The first is a sense of positivity – including a warm smile. No one wants to be around someone who’s negative all the time, but being around a positive person can help lift your spirits. The second item is a passion for what they believe in. Use caution here – this doesn’t give you permission to ram your beliefs down everyone else’s throats. Rather, a firm passion that’s evidenced by actions can be very compelling.

When someone is positive and passionate, they’ll constantly attract others to them. This provides them with the opportunity to meet more people and get to know them on a deeper level than someone who’s negative or apathetic. As part of your healthcare practice marketing plan, step back and check your attitude and passion. If they’re not where they need to be, make the necessary adjustments and create the best year of your practice.

What are your experiences with positivity and passion? Did you make an attitude adjustment that changed your practice or your life? I hope you’ll share your thoughts and ideas in the comment box below!

Be Your Local Healthcare Authority

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

If we polled 100 people in your community and asked them who the best [fill in your healthcare specialty here] is, would your name come up? Are you considered to “Be Your Local Healthcare Authority” in your field? If not, here are five things you can do to begin the process of being recognized as the local healthcare authority in your field.

1. Get involved in your community. The more your community gets to know you as a person, the more they will get to know and trust you in your professional capacity.

2. Write a book or e-book. Select a topic that’s important to your community and allows you to highlight your healthcare expertise.

3. Be a contributing healthcare author for local magazines and websites.

4. Engage the press. Contact the local media and let them know of your expertise and willingness to answer questions they may have. When you obtain continuing education, receive additional certifications/expertise, host a public lecture, sponsor a charity event, et cetera, send a press release to TV, radio, and magazine companies. They may run your press release as-is, or they may ask you for a personal interview. Here is a link to my press release for my first book Community Connections! Relationship Marketing for Healthcare Professionals:

5. Constantly educate the public on topics relevant to your field. You can offer health talks, sponsor panel discussions, host awareness events, or even host your own radio show. When people consistently see or hear your name and healthcare expertise, they’ll begin to rely on you for information.

No matter how you choose to promote yourself as a local healthcare authority, make sure you’re worthy! If you put yourself out there as an expert on something, keep up on the latest research and information. Constantly educate yourself so you can bring the best and most accurate information to your community. If your community trusts you enough to make you their “local authority,” then exceed their expectations!
How have you built your reputation as a local authority in your field? Please share your experiences and ideas in the comments section below!

Impact and Influence

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

I recently attended several sessions of the virtual Influence and Impact Summit produced by Michael Hyatt of Platform University. Online summits are everywhere these days, and some are worth your time to listen in. The Influence and Impact Summit was one of the best online summits I’ve ever participated in. The speakers were top-notch, the topics were relevant, and the take-aways were truly meaningful. For those of you who didn’t have the opportunity to attend, I thought I’d highlight some of the best quotes from some of my favorite sessions.

I actually had two favorite sessions, for two entirely different reasons. I couldn’t possibly pick one over the other, so to be fair, I’ll talk about them in alphabetical order! John Maxwell, a well-known leadership guru, has written over 70 books. Many of them are New York Times best-sellers. He recently released his newest book, Intentional Living. I got so many fantastic nuggets of wisdom from his 30-minute talk…

“You have to write your first book to get to your best book.”

“You should write books in order to influence people you’ll never meet.”

These two quotes resonated on a deep level for me as I’m in the finishing touches on my second book, Practice Excellence! An Integrated Approach to Creating a World-Class Healthcare Practice. While my first book, Community Connections! will always hold a special place in my heart, I’m super excited about the next one. It’s filled with so much more information, so many more tips, and so much more heart…I can’t wait for healthcare professionals all over the world to read it!

My fiancé, Michael, and I started Sage Media, LLC over a year ago with the stated purpose “To facilitate Practice Excellence in healthcare.” Writing books helps me to expand my reach and achieve this purpose in a way being in private practice never could. As John Maxwell would agree, my books are allowing me to help and influence practitioners I’ve never met!

“Preparation releases pressure.”

“Don’t wing it…work for it.”

John Maxwell shared these two quotes when talking about public speaking. Although it was something that came easy for him, he never got complacent about it. He could easily have gone on auto-pilot, but instead he was intentional about every talk he did, no matter how large the audience. Apply this to your practice. Have you ever gone on auto-pilot when taking a history, performing an exam, rendering care, or talking with your team? (I think we’ve all done it at some point…) Maxwell would say that no matter how good you are at what you do, never take it for granted. Work on every single interaction you have and ignore the temptation to “wing it.” Consistent preparation will help to combat pressure or stress you may feel, while honing your performance until it’s razor-sharp.

“What you have to share is more important than the perfection

with which you present it.”

“People want your heart more than they want your skill.”

Perfection is stagnation These quotes were a great reminder that we’re often harder on ourselves than anyone else. And…if we’re really being honest…your patients connect with you, not just the information you provide. Stop beating yourself up, struggling for perfection, and holding yourself back. Don’t put off a great marketing event or speaking opportunity because you’re worried it won’t be perfect. Because,…guess what? It won’t be perfect, no matter how hard you try. Do your event, learn from your mistakes, and commit to constant improvement. Be authentic and genuine, and people will respond.

“Don’t despise where you are…love where you are. If you don’t love where you are, you won’t love where you’re going.”

“Everyone influences someone.”

love Finally, in case you’ve forgotten…your life is amazing! Regardless of where you are right now, you’ve been blessed with opportunities, friendships, skills, and lessons no one else has. The best way to move forward is to be grateful and appreciative of what you currently have. Oh…and not only does everyone influence someone…but everyone is loved by someone.

Phew! I didn’t realize when I started writing just how many great pearls I took from John Maxwell’s talk! So I think I’ll end this post here, and save my “tied-for-first-place” other favorite speaker from the Impact and Influence summit for the next blog!

What about you? Were you able to listen in on the summit, or do you have an impactful quote which changed your life? Please share your comment, quote, or story in the comments section!

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