keting of your center with very little investment simply by focusing on
the little things that enhance the patient experience.
What's your budget? The cost of a marketing campaign can vary,
from $2,000 to upwards of $20,000 a month, depending on your
goals and intended outreach. The unsophisticated physician-owner
says, $20,000 to promote the center, are you nuts? The sophisticated
surgeon thinks, $20,000? If I get a 4-to-1 ROI, I'll pay that every
month. Marketing isn't measured by how much you spend; it's meas-
ured by how much you make on how much you spend. That's a key
concept to get.
How do you know how well your promotional efforts are working?
Marketing firms can track the results of online and offline ads and
provide you information about who responded. The $10,000 you
spend to promote your facility's new total joints program could gener-
ate 35 phone calls from potential patients. You can then calculate the
campaign's ROI by determining how many of those patients end up
undergoing surgery in your facility. It might take capturing just 1 joint
replacement patient for you to make money on the marketing invest-
ment.
Who's on board? Marketing by committee doesn't work.
Somebody needs to lead the efforts, and you'll likely be the
unsung hero who will take charge. But you also need the support of
the physician-owners who write the checks. They'll likely be willing to
chip in a few dollars to rebrand the center, but urologists might balk
at promoting your total joints program. They might not benefit direct-
ly from adding more joints cases, but they will gain financially from
the associated facility fees. It's important to make all the physician-
owners aware of the overall benefits of marketing, even if it's intend-
ed to pump up a specific service line. You might get the promotional
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Business Advisor
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