6 Steps to Creating a Marketing Budget for Medical Practices

Healthcare marketing budgets can vary widely depending on the size and speciality of the practice as well as the size of the target audience and methods used to reach them. A small local clinic, for example, may only need a few thousand dollars for a basic online and print advertising campaign, while a large hospital system may require several hundred thousand dollars or more to implement a comprehensive marketing plan that includes a variety of tactics such as television and radio advertising, social media campaigns, and public relations efforts. Ultimately, the budget for a good healthcare marketing plan will depend on the specific goals and objectives of the campaign, as well as the resources available to the organization. 

How much should practices spend on marketing and advertising? 

How much medical practices should spend on digital marketing should be based on their specific goals, target audience, and resources. According to a survey by Software Advice, medical practices spend on average 6-10% of their total revenue on digital marketing. Some practices may spend more on digital marketing if they are in a highly competitive market or if they are trying to reach a specific niche audience. While others may spend less if they have a limited budget or if they are in a less competitive market.

6 steps to creating  a marketing budget

To determine how much your practice should spend on digital marketing, follow these 6 steps: 

1. Establish your marketing goals: Determine the specific goals and objectives of the campaign, such as increasing awareness, generating new patient leads, or driving procedure volume. This will help you determine the specific tactics and methods needed to achieve those goals.
2. Research your target audience: Understand the demographics, behavior, and needs of your target audience, as this will help you determine the most effective methods for reaching potential patients.
3. Analyze relevant benchmarks: Look at industry benchmarks and standards to get an idea of what other practices in your specialty are spending on marketing.
4. Assess internal resources: Consider the resources that are available internally, such as staff time and expertise to determine how much you’ll need to budget for external resources.
5. Allocate budget by tactics: Once you have a general idea of the budget, allocate it among the various tactics and methods that will be used to achieve the marketing goals.
6. Continuously monitor, optimize, and adjust: Continuously monitor the results of your marketing efforts and adjust your budget as needed.

PRO TIP: It’s important to note that a higher budget does not always result in better results, it’s important to make sure that the allocation of budget is aligned with the practice’s goals, target audience and methods.

Marketing channels practices should invest in

Medical practices should invest in a variety of marketing channels in 2023, depending on their specific goals, target audience, and resources. Here are some marketing channels that are likely to be effective for medical practices in 2023:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your practice’s website for search engines can help increase visibility and drive more traffic to the site. This includes optimizing website content, meta tags, and images, as well as building backlinks to the site. 
• Social media: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can be used to connect with patients and potential patients, promote services and events, and provide updates and information about the practice.
• Email marketing: Email marketing can be used to stay in touch with patients, promote services and events, and provide updates and information about the practice.
• Content marketing: Creating and sharing valuable, informative, and engaging content can help establish a medical practice as a trusted and authoritative source of information, as well as attract and retain patients.
• Video marketing: Video marketing can be used to promote services and procedures, provide patient testimonials, and provide updates and information about the practice.
• Online Reputation Management: Monitoring and managing online reviews and ratings of the practice and individual physicians can help maintain a positive online reputation and attract new patients.

It’s important to note that these are not the only channels that medical practices should invest in. It’s important to assess which channels align with your practice’s specific goals, target audience, and resources. It’s also important to remember that these channels are constantly evolving. Your practice should stay up-to-date with the latest trends in digital marketing and adjust strategies accordingly.

When creating your marketing budget, it’s important to keep costs in line with your overall practice goals and objectives, and be re-evaluated regularly to ensure that it is being spent effectively. No matter what you do, it’s especially important that you set up a system to measure and track the ROI of your marketing efforts, as this will help you understand which efforts are working and which are not to make better decisions in the future.

How to determine if hiring a marketing agency is a good idea

There are several factors to consider when determining whether your medical practice should hire a marketing agency. Some questions to ask yourself include:

• “Do I have the resources and expertise in-house to effectively market my practice?” 
• “Am I having trouble reaching new patients or increasing practice awareness?” 
• “Am I seeing a decrease in patient volume or revenue?” 
• “Do I want to expand services or reach a new audience?” 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it may be beneficial to consider hiring a professional medical marketing agency to help your practice grow. Here at Practis, our marketing team can provide the expertise and resources needed to develop, execute, optimize and scale any digital marketing campaign effectively – ultimately helping to increase patient volume and revenue for your practice.

6 ways Practis can help your practice growth 

1. Our team will work with you to develop a strong online presence. Starting with a beautiful, professional website that is SEO optimized and HIPAA compliant to attract and convert new patient leads. 
2. Create and manage any marketing campaigns. Our team can help you expand your reach in your local market and zero in on your target audience through various marketing channels, such as email, social media, and paid advertising.
3. Analyze ROI and optimize your budget. All Practis client’s are given a MyPractis Dashboard used to track analytics and the effectiveness of our campaigns that is accessible 24/7. 
4. Optimize search engine results. Practis employs a team of medical SEO experts that are dedicated to helping physicians improve their Google search rankings by optimizing their website and online content on a weekly basis. 
5. Reputation management. Your online reputation should never take a back seat. Our team will help manage your online reputation and respond to any negative reviews as soon as they appear. 
6. Creating content.  Our team will save you time, money and effort by creating all the patient education and medically relevant content your website needs to boost organic search volume. We create high-quality content such as blog posts, infographics, and videos that educate and engage potential patients.

Next steps once you’ve identified your practice’s marketing budget

Once you have determined your marketing budget, you should develop a detailed plan outlining how you will allocate those funds. The plan should include specific goals, target audiences, and tactics for reaching those audiences. It should also include metrics for measuring the success of your marketing efforts. Once you have developed your plan, you should put it into action by implementing your tactics and monitoring the results. Regularly reviewing and adjusting your plan as needed to optimize your marketing spend and achieve your goals. If you need help or have any questions on your marketing strategy or plan, Practis can help with this too!