Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q: Why hire a professional marketing team?
A: There is a business side to the practice of medicine and it is “patient driven” – so, reaching the patient is very important for practice stability and growth. Hiring a professional marketing company is needed to keep your practice viable in today’s competitive medical environment. Professional marketers have the experience, time and resources to get the job done. Their business know-how can put you ahead of the competition from same speciality practices as well as others who may already be marketing similar services. An example of this type of competitive marketing of “cross-over” services is easily seen with cosmetic procedures. Often times dissimilar practices such as dermatologist, plastic surgeons, medical spas and others will offer the same procedures to the same patient. Marketing will help your practice stay competitive.
Q: Is marketing appropriate for any type of practice?
A: Medicine is a highly specialized profession. As such, it is both appropriate and necessary to market a practice. Even high end practices such as neurosurgery, orthopedics, cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, cardio diagnostics and others can benefit from marketing programs aimed at keeping them visible in the marketplace, which in turn helps keep their bottom lines healthy. Many practices offer a full compliment of different services. Marketing of a particular one may be just what is needed to bring an underutilized area of the practice up to par.
Q: What should a practice look for in a marketing company?
A: Look for a company with a proven track record. One that has specific experience with medical marketing plus a good grasp of consumer related know-how. Both elements are needed to get a good return on dollars spent. Additionally it is also a good idea for a practice to have specific goals in mind when it considers marketing. This can be anything from increased volume for all services or the marketing of a particular service within the practice. Clear goals help your marketing team target the right demographic and media mix. This type of information will make a big difference in the success of your ad program.
Q: BAC Medical Marketing isn’t located in my area. Why should I hire an out-of-town firm when there are plenty of firms in my area that I could work with?
A: There are advantages to be had by working with a local agency, but there are also advantages to working with a firm that has a specific focus on healthcare and proven experience with clients across the country.
With e-mail, overnight delivery, teleconferencing technology and the capability to view project schedules and approve work online, working with BAC Medical Marketing is as convenient as working with a local firm. In today's marketplace, the quality of a firm's work and its ability to communicate your practice's message is much more important than its physical location.
If supporting local businesses is important to your organization, we will happily work with vendors in your area to help you support the economy of your hometown.
Still not convinced that we can be as easy to work with as the agency down the street? E-mail us or call us at 800.240.9473 and let us convince you.
Q: Why specialize in medical marketing?
A: Specializing in medical marketing allows us a degree of familiarity with the healthcare industry that general marketing firms don't have. Our specific knowledge of the healthcare industry gives us the ability to tell our clients' stories clearly and in a compelling way. It also allows us to provide our clients with relevant, effective marketing strategies, designs and collateral.
Most marketing agencies are like a Swiss Army Knife: they have a lot of tools at their disposal, but they lack the effectiveness of a single-purpose tool. BAC Medical Marketing is like a saw or a drill: we're designed to do one thing and do it extremely well.
Q: Is there a cost effective way to advertise?
A: Newspaper and magazines ads rank high as cost effective marketing mediums. They remain a reliable way for people to get information. In addition they also offer a variety of cost saving programs such as controlled circulation discounts, year long contract discounts, and access to a reader demographic that may be a good fit for your practice profile. Also, newspaper and magazine ads are far less expensive to produce that other mediums such as TV or direct mail. Aside from cost saving considerations, you also get added benefits from the status of the publication your ad runs in. For example a high-end lifestyle magazine may be “just what the doctor ordered” for marketing of cosmetic services.
Q: What trends are going on in medical marketing?
A: The trend today is that marketing is becoming more and more available to any practice, any size without worry that “advertising” will tarnish its image, reputation or adversely affect the quality of care it delivers. The interest in medical marketing is higher that ever. On both sides of the advertising equation (doctor and patient) we see an increased level of trust in traditional marketing methods. Traditional methods have proven their value over time and are used with great success by the biggest and most prestigious institution. Traditional mediums such as newspapers, magazines, direct mail, radio, etc. are also used to spearhead the effectiveness of newer electronic methods such as the Internet and a practice web site. A web site functions best as a meaningful marketing tool when the amount of traffic it generates reaches a critical mass. This happens when it is promoted so that people know how and where to find it. Without traffic a site has minimal value.
Q: Does focusing on healthcare organizations ever create conflicts of interest?
A: In theory, it could, but the situations that would create a conflict of interest are fairly rare and we don’t allow ourselves to get into those situations. We don’t bid on projects that could create a conflict of interest for one of our current clients, and if taking on a new client would create a possible conflict of interest, we don’t take on the new client. In the very unlikely case that a conflict of interest arises between two of BAC Medical Marketing’s current clients, we would sit down with the clients and talk about what to do to resolve the situation.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: We can’t tell you why. But we can help strengthen the chicken's brand, design a new logo for the chicken, produce a television special highlighting the chicken’s journey, create the chicken’s new website, review the chicken’s performance and advise the chicken on when, where and how to cross the road next time!
Web awards & commendations
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