When you started your practice, what did you determine to be your business strategy? In most cases, your marketing strategy includes a business strategy. But even then, if your business has grown, then likely you have also outgrown your initial business strategy. Here are 4 signs you’ve outgrown your communications strategy and you need to create a new one.
1. Your Business Strategy is not aligned with your revenue streams
As your practice grows, so does your revenue goals. And as your revenue goals evolve, so do your revenue channels. Does your marketing plan align with your current revenue goals or are they behind? One quick way to answer this question is by performing a market analysis. If you don’t know how to do a market analysis you can hire a marketing company to do one for you. Through this service you can learn how much market share is available, how much you own, and how much you want to own. Most importantly, a marketing company can help you identify which strategies will be effective to grow your business. And based on that information you can evaluate your current marketing initiatives.
2. Your conversion rate has decreased
A true and sure sign you’re in need of an update is your conversion rate. First, you need to be tracking your conversions for you to identify your current conversion rate. For example, when you send an email to your patients, how many of them read the email? That’s one conversion rate. How many patients make an appointment through the email? That’s another conversion rate. All of these analytics are very important to track and most systems will track these for you. But as you grow your communications evolve. In fact, maybe it’s not your message that needs to change but the communication platform you are using for that message. Programs like AppointmentReminders.com give you the ability to utilize SMS communication for a variety of actions. Whether you want to survey your current patients, cross-sell, or simply promote, this could be a great option.
3. You don’t have a business strategy
Many small businesses do not establish a business strategy. In fact, many businesses have succeeded without them. However, you will find in this case that growth is very slow. When you know how best to reach your target audience you understand how effectively to grow your business. As Big Data becomes a more valuable tool you have to start using it before your practice is left behind.
4. You don’t have enough platforms
When a practice starts out small you only need a limited set of services to manage your patients and employees. This includes databases, marketing and advertising channels, etc. But as your patient base grows, these programs become more inefficient. To keep up with your growing practice you also need programs that can keep up with your needs. In some cases, the same companies or systems you use now just need an upgrade. In other cases, you may need to look for new providers. Either way, do a proper evaluation before making any changes. Programs like appointmentreminders.com offer tiered pricing to fit a variety of businesses’ needs.
