By D.J. Verret
Practice promotion is one of the most important jobs of a medical professional. There are many different ways for successful practice promotion but they all require an investment either in time, dollars, or both. The first thing to consider when starting a practice is whether the promotion will be for the provider or for a more generic practice. One of the main factors in his decision is what may happen to the practice when the practitioner leaves. In some instances, this will be determined by state law’s which may limit the continued use of the practitioner’s name after he has left the practice or it may be limited by the desired to have a more generic name for promotion sake.
The best approach to practice promotion and development is a combination of strategies. Paid advertising, meeting attendance, community involvement, hospital involvement, community service, and media appearances can all help to build the notoriety of a practice. Developing a strategy will depend not only upon financial means but also the starting point of practice promotion. In some cases the goal may be to continue the current notoriety of the practice while in others it may be to promote the practice from the ground up.
Practice promotion, unlike other marketing realms, may be governed by a unique set of laws. For instance, professionals are often prohibited by state law from advertising testimonials which are a common practice in most marketing schemes. Please laws or specific to each state and often set by the governing board for the practitioner. Please laws not only applied to media marketing but also websites.
The marketing strategy will also be dependent upon the type of practice. If the practice is primarily a third party payer system, namely commercial health insurance, the promotion will be geared more towards either procedures or towards other practitioners, commonly referred to as a business to business promotion. If the practice is more a cash business, promotion may be towards other practitioners or directly to consumers. If the goal is the direct consumer, the practice promotion may be simply to get name recognition for the practice or to bring in people based off of a particular procedure in certain results. Continue Reading
