Your Medical Marketing Strategy: Should You Go Local or National?

07 Jul Your Medical Marketing Strategy: Should You Go Local or National?

Should you pursue a local or national medical marketing strategy?

For most healthcare providers, concentrating on attracting patients from the local area seems to make the most sense. If you provide a service that many other doctors in your area and in surrounding areas also provide, your goal should be to appeal to patients who can easily get to your practice. In other cases, however, your medical marketing strategy should take a more widespread approach in order to attract people from different areas of the state, country or even the world. How do you know which is the best way for you to go?

How Common Is Your Specialty?

This might be the first question you should ask yourself. Are you a pediatrician or a gynecologist? In most cases, a local medical marketing approach would probably work best; most patients are not going to cross state lines or get on an airplane in order to get their children caught up on their vaccinations or have routine well-woman care, because while you may be the best in the area, other areas have their own best pediatricians and gynecologists.

On the other hand, do you specialize in treating children with rare metabolic disorders or perform a special gynecological surgery that no one else in the area can do? If this is the case, then expanding your medical marketing strategy to include other areas of the country may make sense. Patients very well might travel in order to get the care they or their children need.

How Big Is Your Medical Marketing Budget?

When it comes to marketing your practice, you do need to be pragmatic. If your medical marketing budget is limited, then focusing on local patients is most likely the best way to go. Concentrate your marketing dollars on the segment of the population most likely to need your services in order to get the maximum ROI.

Of course, if you have allotted a fairly large portion of your budget to marketing, then branching out could help you grow your business more quickly. This is something that a medical marketing specialist, such as the gurus at HealthCare Marketing Group, can help you decide.

Do You Have Balance?

In some practices, finding a balance between the two types of medical marketing can be the best option. For example, you can extend some effort into a national marketing strategy while also focusing on the issues important to your local patient base.

At HealthCare Marketing Group, we are able to guide you through the process of looking at all of your options when it comes to both local and national medical marketing. From social media to web design, and Internet advertising to billboards and radio spots, we help you by thinking outside the box to help you get your practice to where you want it to be. For a free consultation, please call 800-258-0702.