Success in partnering with a marketing agency can hinge on many components that go beyond “is this working?” That’s because in order for your investment to really “work,” and generate ROI, you need to pay attention to several key areas:
1) Great Communication is Essential: The foundation of any good relationship is communication, and it’s especially essential when working with a digital marketing agency, since 99% of the interaction is by phone or email. There needs to be a clear point of contact at the practice, just like there’s a point of contact at our agency: the account manager. This point of contact can be a practice manager, marketing coordinator, COO, a doctor, the practice owner, or any number of other positions, but they should be a decision-maker, and they should be reviewing all work.
If there are other decision-makers that are involved in the marketing – whether that be planning promotions or reviewing content marketing efforts – they need to be on phone calls to ensure that expectations are clearly spelled out. For example, it doesn’t make sense for a practice owner or partner to be reviewing and critiquing blog articles if they weren’t involved in the discovery phase, or monthly meetings, to determine the article topics and gather key details to pass along to the copywriters.
We also recommend a secondary point of contact, so there’s not only a backup person to connect with just in case the main point of contact is out or unreachable, but to have another decision-maker aware of the marketing plan and progress. It’s worth pointing out that we can reach a point of diminishing returns with too many “chiefs” involved in the marketing. Therefore, we strongly recommend one main point of contact and a backup contact.
2) Establish KPIs: Know what your goals are. Your key performance indicators will help you track and evaluate progress. Typically, this means tracking website traffic and leads through Google Analytics. However, lead generation should not drive every digital marketing tactic. For example, social media marketing should focus on engagement, including driving more “likes,” comments, and shares to your organic posts. TRBO will work with your practice to establish these KPIs and set expectations for what’s required of the practice to help with the marketing.
3) Understand Expectations: We start with timelines for completing all work, including set up and monthly deliverables. Communication is key, as we’ve noted above, so make sure all decision-makers know what to expect. There also needs to be a time set aside each month to review progress and identify opportunities for improvement.
Expectations also need to be set with KPIs. We want to make it clear exactly what we need from your practice to optimize our efforts. For example, for maximizing social media engagement we’ll need photos of the practice, including the doctor and staff. We’ll also need to establish expectations for how quickly we’ll need your feedback to publish blogs, social posts and send e-blasts in a timely manner.
It’s also important to understand where we’re starting from in terms of organic rankings, competition, traffic, and leads, as well how long it’ll take to grow and start to achieve some of our KPIs. We’ll review timelines as well as tools we’ll use to track this growth.
4) A Little Help with Content Marketing Goes A Long Way: Much of the content marketing is handled by TRBO. This includes keyword research, competitor research, and article topic suggestions. We’ll want the practice to obviously review all content we produce, but beyond that there are additional tactics we highly recommend.
Arguably the most important content marketing tactic that TRBO cannot provide for the client is taking before & after photos. We can optimize and publish these cases, but we cannot physically be in the office to shoot them. Much like the social media photos mentioned above, we need the practice to work to grow these cases. All we need is the raw before and after image file and we’ll handle the rest!
5) Invest in Advertising: Don’t shy away from advertising. Sure, it’s possible to be successful with your digital marketing efforts and not spend a dime on advertising, but you may be leaving opportunities on the table. If you could spend $1,000 to generate 10 more leads would you make that investment? It probably depends on the procedure, which is why TRBO will work with you to review best practices for successful campaigns, as well as set establish KPIs and set expectations.
6) Take Advantage of Segmentation: Internal marketing, including social media marketing and email marketing, is crucial to patient retention. Most of the time, your messaging will follow more of a one-size-fits-all approach, meaning your message is the same for every Facebook fan or email subscriber. In order to optimize your internal marketing efforts, you need to focus on segmentation to help you tailor your messages to your different patient niches.
The more patients you’re connected to online and the more procedures you offer the more crucial segmentation becomes. Therefore, we need the practice to gather as much data as possible about each patient and have that info organized and easily accessible.
7) Ensure that Leads are Being Properly Tracked Internally: A well-trained receptionist goes a long way in converting leads into consultations. Some basic sales training is essential, and from there it’s all about the thoroughness and organization of patient data. This is where having the right software can help.
8) Make Review Generation a Priority: Much like growing the number of before & after cases should be a priority, so should growing reviews. Luckily, there is software that can help. However, in order to truly optimize your review generation efforts we recommend you focus on simply asking patients for reviews and letting them know about the software and the process. In this case, you’re setting expectations with the patient, which as we’ve discussed, is crucial for optimizing any partnership.
9) Don’t Miss Out on Other Marketing Opportunities: Digital marketing is just one piece of the overall marketing puzzle. There will be other opportunities to explore and invest in, including local PR, direct mail campaigns, events, and more. While these tactics fall outside of the breadth of Turbo’s services, the messaging and branding stills need to align with what’s being promoted digitally. Therefore, it’s important to have good communication about all marketing efforts.
10) Align Yourself and Partner with Proven Consultants: No, I do not mean your laser sales rep! Respected industry thought leaders, such as Allergan Practice Consultants, can help evaluate all aspects of your business, including your marketing.
We’ve spent years perfecting our processes, all while evolving with the ever-changing digital landscape, with our key focus on increasing leads and growing revenue for our clients. We look forward to working with you, but if you have any questions in the meantime, leave us a note here or call us at 877-673-7096 x2.
