As 2012 comes to a close, medical practices are gearing up for the new year. If you haven’t already done so, this is the time to create a growth strategy for 2013.

Marketing and strategic planning often take a back seat to the more pressing matters of the here and now in medical practices. No matter how big or small your budget is, you should have a growth strategy in place to measure your practices performance year over year.

Most medical practices want to grow while spending as little as possible in marketing. To achieve this, they must be fully engaged with their medical marketing strategy. A marketing strategy should list projected growth, annual budget and a budget utilization schedule for the year. Without a plan many practices participate in spontaneous marketing. This is where you market at random times throughout the year (typically when you have time in your day to think about marketing) or when one of the many marketing calls received each day sounds appealing. The downfall of this is that the majority of practices that spontaneously market spend much more than they would if they created a marketing strategy that they adhered to.

It is often difficult for medical practices to conceive that they will most likely spend less money in marketing when they begin working with a marketing firm. This is because it is the responsibility of the firm to manage the practices marketing budget wisely. They create a plan and put the plan into action. If an item in the plan is not producing the results that were anticipated, the item can be removed and replaced with another. Keep in mind that not all marketing firms are the same.  At MindStream Creative, many of our clients are pleasantly surprised to discover that they spent a considerable amount less in marketing while growing their practice.

So take some time and contemplate 2013. Ask yourself the following questions: What are your growth goals? How do you plan to achieve them? How much can you spend on marketing in 2013? How will you divide this money throughout the year? Next you should put a plan in place. Review your plan throughout the year and modify it as needed based upon results. Keep in mind that what works one year may not work the next. If you need help, contact our office at (888) 324-5559 for a free marketing consultation.