Doctor who? Why word-of-mouth no longer cuts it for medical service providers.
doctor who?
Why word-of-mouth no longer cuts it for medical service providers
Some of us put off going to the doctor... and that’s bad for business.
Medical service providers like your local GP, Dentist or Physio in business mostly operate on a recurring revenue model to keep afloat (and of course, keep us healthy).
So when it comes time to open a new practice, it goes without saying that acquiring new patients is high on the to-do list. And that’s the moment when doctors call us with big questions about the health of their brand.
By far the one question I’m asked over and over again by doctors, dentists, physios and the like is “how much should we spend on marketing?” to which the answer is always “how much you need to spend.”
Let’s crunch some numbers.
Statistically, the average rate of patient attrition is just under 20%. Now, let’s imagine the average dentist might have between 125 and 250 patients on their books… that means to replace old patients with new, our friendly dentist would need to onboard between 25 to 50 new patients every month.
That’s a rate at which word-of-mouth simply can’t keep up!
So what is one new patient worth? Consider that a new patient is worth roughly $650 (more if they come with family members in tow) and the average patient will stay loyal to that practice for 7-10 years. That means a new patient will generate at least $4500 in revenue for a practice, excluding those referrals and family members, making it well worth the time and money to put a monthly marketing budget in the mix.
On average, the Cost Per Acquisition should be between $150 to $300 per new patient, and for a dental practice to grow, a single dentist should be seeing 25-50 new patients per month. That means you should expect to budget just under $4k to achieve a slow and steady level of growth, but up to $15k if you’re particularly ambitious or starting from absolute scratch.
That will buy you a strategic program of search engine marketing, direct mail, social media advertising, and either some local press or billboards.
But remember...
There’s one thing money can’t buy… trust.
Building trust is where your corporate identity is critical. It must make a positive first impression and work to position your brand as experts in your given field. So too, marketing collateral needs to clearly convey your expertise, the experience of your team, the quality of patient care you provide, and the efficiency of your practice management.
