Here are four key concepts to successfully marketing your orthopedic practice.
1. Employ selective marketing techniques. One way orthopedic and spine practices can boost their profits is by selective marketing, which is increasing marketing efforts to a target audience and those people most likely to have need for a practice's services. According to Alan Davidson, executive director of the Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania in Camp Hill, "Selective marketing efforts pay off." He suggests that practices should improve their phone response to patients and processing of patients at all levels of service (reception, clinic visit, etc.) in the practice. Adding an online service or electronic medical records can help with scheduling and registration by allowing patients to take care of this information before they come into the office.
"Efforts to make it easier for referring practices to communicate with an orthopedic practice are essential," says Mr. Davidson. "Aging baby boomers and young sports participants are obvious markets. The middle-aged market with candidates for preventative and life-improving services such as joint resurfacing is likely to be a good population for targeted marketing."
As an example, Mr. Davidson's organization is resuming a once defunct DEXA scanning service in an osteoporosis service, not in expectation of profits but rather in fulfillment of a community need for the identification and treatment of osteoporosis. Ken Austin, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Airmont, N.Y., agrees that selective marketing can be beneficial for practices. "It's important to remain involved in the community," he says, and by using marketing techniques, a practice can do just that.
2. Market through program development. Program development is key in recruitment of physicians and marketing that specialty to patients by essentially building programs around orthopedics, says Jeremy Bradshaw, vice president of operations at Denver-based HealthOne, which includes 12 surgery centers. For example, we just formed a sports medicine institute at one of our locations, Centennial Medical Plaza, which includes a new pediatric orthopedic facility for kids and adolescents. Through that, we've recruited physicians from another facility because we didn't have enough physicians from this particular specialty. Marketing efforts are underway to promote that program.
3. Utilize websites and social media. If your practice is looking for ways to connect with current and potential customers to increase retention, word-of-mouth referrals and gain new patients, social media is an inexpensive, direct way to do so, says Kassi Beltz, vice president of the healthcare division of Healthcare Mass Media Marketing.
However, the world of social media is new, vast and can be overwhelming, so it is crucial to develop a plan before embarking on social media outreach. Identifying your target audience, finding out what social media platforms they are using and strategically entering into their conversations through applications and advertising is the best approach. It’s also critical to budget time within your workweek to manage the content and allow the project several months to grow. Assign an office manager or hire an outside marketing agency to assist in the planning and implementation of social media strategy.
4. Host outreach activities. Once the orthopedic practice is established within a community, Lester Morales, executive director of Laser Spine Institute in Scottsdale, Ariz., suggests scheduling different activities and programs at the practice for education and networking purposes. Specifically, an executive can hold an after-hours open house or invite members of their community into the practice in order to demonstrate the common treatments as well as showcase any unique aspects of the facility. Additionally, Mr. Morales suggests executives host programs for specific orthopedic professionals, which can spread the practice's reputation. For example, the practice could host a gathering or forum for physical therapists discussing the latest technologies and treatments related to physical therapy.
1. Employ selective marketing techniques. One way orthopedic and spine practices can boost their profits is by selective marketing, which is increasing marketing efforts to a target audience and those people most likely to have need for a practice's services. According to Alan Davidson, executive director of the Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania in Camp Hill, "Selective marketing efforts pay off." He suggests that practices should improve their phone response to patients and processing of patients at all levels of service (reception, clinic visit, etc.) in the practice. Adding an online service or electronic medical records can help with scheduling and registration by allowing patients to take care of this information before they come into the office.
"Efforts to make it easier for referring practices to communicate with an orthopedic practice are essential," says Mr. Davidson. "Aging baby boomers and young sports participants are obvious markets. The middle-aged market with candidates for preventative and life-improving services such as joint resurfacing is likely to be a good population for targeted marketing."
As an example, Mr. Davidson's organization is resuming a once defunct DEXA scanning service in an osteoporosis service, not in expectation of profits but rather in fulfillment of a community need for the identification and treatment of osteoporosis. Ken Austin, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Airmont, N.Y., agrees that selective marketing can be beneficial for practices. "It's important to remain involved in the community," he says, and by using marketing techniques, a practice can do just that.
2. Market through program development. Program development is key in recruitment of physicians and marketing that specialty to patients by essentially building programs around orthopedics, says Jeremy Bradshaw, vice president of operations at Denver-based HealthOne, which includes 12 surgery centers. For example, we just formed a sports medicine institute at one of our locations, Centennial Medical Plaza, which includes a new pediatric orthopedic facility for kids and adolescents. Through that, we've recruited physicians from another facility because we didn't have enough physicians from this particular specialty. Marketing efforts are underway to promote that program.
3. Utilize websites and social media. If your practice is looking for ways to connect with current and potential customers to increase retention, word-of-mouth referrals and gain new patients, social media is an inexpensive, direct way to do so, says Kassi Beltz, vice president of the healthcare division of Healthcare Mass Media Marketing.
However, the world of social media is new, vast and can be overwhelming, so it is crucial to develop a plan before embarking on social media outreach. Identifying your target audience, finding out what social media platforms they are using and strategically entering into their conversations through applications and advertising is the best approach. It’s also critical to budget time within your workweek to manage the content and allow the project several months to grow. Assign an office manager or hire an outside marketing agency to assist in the planning and implementation of social media strategy.
4. Host outreach activities. Once the orthopedic practice is established within a community, Lester Morales, executive director of Laser Spine Institute in Scottsdale, Ariz., suggests scheduling different activities and programs at the practice for education and networking purposes. Specifically, an executive can hold an after-hours open house or invite members of their community into the practice in order to demonstrate the common treatments as well as showcase any unique aspects of the facility. Additionally, Mr. Morales suggests executives host programs for specific orthopedic professionals, which can spread the practice's reputation. For example, the practice could host a gathering or forum for physical therapists discussing the latest technologies and treatments related to physical therapy.