Marketing: don’t pull it or your competitors will thank you.

In my day-to-day job I speak with many surgeons, hospital administrators, and bariatric coordinators and many of the persons I speak with have little idea how to target the marketing of the program to reach patients in the bariatric industry. I have consulted with 600 or more surgeon’s through-out the country and I have compiled a short list of things that I recommend all practices do prior to the launch of a marketing campaign. I also have compiled some ideas that might help define not only how to market, but where to market.

Top ten things a practice needs to know before launching a marketing campaign:

1. Bariatric marketing is not like other demographics. The patients are wise, Internet savvy, and have in most cases become very educated on the topic of obesity surgery.

2. In some markets the competition has become fierce, forcing some practices to increase marketing budgets to compensate. Areas that are highly concentrated and may require higher budgets:
-Southern California.
-Seattle, Washington.
-Houston and Dallas, Texas.
-New York, New York.
-North and South Florida.
-DC metro area and part of Virginia.

3. Name branding in bariatrics is a key component of success. Establishing a unique brand will help the practice stand out from the crowd. Be careful to not use terms that might cheapen the brand. For example: Budget Bariatrics. (Fail) A somewhat better choice would be “Affordable Bariatrics.” However, I coach programs to define the program by the mission. An example of a great name for a bariatric program: New Hope Bariatrics. The name reflects the desired outcome and is simple enough to be remembered. If your practice is failing on this point, I can help redefine your brand if you have been struggling in this area.

4. Don’t confuse marketing with advertising. This is a common mistake. Professionals attempt to advertise their practice and give up after one or two months. Keep in mind that the average turn-around time from consult to patient is six months. The key to a successful bariatric marketing campaign is to plan on long-term advertising that will create name recognition and branding. . It is a process. You may advertise many times in the history of your practice, but you should always be branding. Launch your marketing and let it stay in-market for as long as your dollars can withstand. This will result in name recognition and ultimately in patients. (Average time is one year or more) The average marketing budget can range from $12,000 to $60,000 annually depending on the media mix you choose. (See number six below for media mix.)

5. Advertise when you have something new to say or sell. Are you recently trained in a special procedure and are now offering these services to your patients? If so, it’s time to advertise. If you have succeeded in branding, (from number four above) you can freely advertise your new services. Make sure the ad is complimentary to your brand image. Do not make the mistake of sending mix message to patients. It is important to remain consistent in your message. Advertise the new service using some of the similar colors, messages, and schemes from your branding campaign. Continuity will be noticed. (The average is three to six months depending on your budget) The average dollars spent can range from $500 -$3000 a month,.

6. Advertise in multiple media outlets. Another big mistake a lot of programs make is that the tend to sink all their dollars into one type of advertising. Some programs swear by newspaper, others by online. Who’s right? They both are. Your practice should assess the amount of money budgeted to spend. Determine your market area. (Do your patients have a limited mileage range?) Define your market range and be sure to put your marketing dollars in a media mix that reaches that market. Below is an example of a distribution of $30K over an annual marketing spending. (With a diverse media mix.)
-Online marketing $12,000 40%
–Profile on listing site $4000
–Banner (geo-targeted) $6000
–Google or Yahoo $2000
Print $12,000 40%
–Industry publication $4000
–Newspaper $8000
Radio $6000 20%
–Seminar advertisements $3000
–Message and branding $3000
An easy way to look at media mix:
-Online (40%)-this is the most versatile type of advertising.
-Print (40%) -this is an age (demographically speaking) specific media. (30 and over.)
-Radio/television (20%) -usually more expensive than print and internet.
Each media outlet should be measured to determine the return on investment. (ROI) Adjustments should be made every six months based on outcomes.

7. Do not underestimate the power of value-ad services. An active surgeon who blogs may be more effective than some types of marketing. A surgeon should use message boards, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and social networks like ObesityHelp.com to stay in contact with patients, but also to reach out to the industry and market themselves by doing some of the simplest type of marketing; answering questions on a message board. For the patient and community members, your social interaction is priceless and sharing your expertise creates a positive effect on your practice.

8. The best marketing a surgeon can have is his or her own patient’s testimonials. Keeping in mind positive reviews on social networking sites like ObesityHelp.com, Facebook, Twitter and others, are worth their weight in gold to the surgeon. A surgeon should encourage his/her patients to use social networking sites to post personal testimonies. That practice will produce a self perpetuating snow-ball of patients.

9. Hold patient reunions. Many patients love to ’show off their new bodies’ and sponsoring a patient reunion in your area, for your own patients, will energize your patient population and will in-effect make them all ’sales persons’ for your practice. Not unlike the written testimony from number eight above but this is a patient telling their own family and friends about YOU. Programs that do this have higher success rates, happier patients and more patient referrals than those that do not support patients. Cost doesn’t have to be an issue - try a picnic (potluck style) it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Get creative.

10. Sponsor a support group. You would think this is a no-brainer, but I have met many surgeons that do not have a support group. If you do not have a group, you can contact organizations that train group leaders. ObesityHelp.com has a very low-cost training program for support group leaders. No matter which program you choose to train your leader, you should have a group. In the mean time, you can use an online group system to begin the process of contacting your patients and to get them ready for your new support group. Each group meeting should produce surgery ’seekers’ who have heard about you from a patient friend. (Remember number eight above.)

No mater what marketing you do for your practice, the worst thing a practice can do is- do nothing. The industry has become too congested to not market. Consider the adage “you can’t afford not to advertise.” During tough economic times it is easy to say “cut the marketing” however, that is a knee-jerk reaction. Remember that marketing is perception management to the patient consumer. If you pull your marketing, someone will notice. The message you send might be a negative one; the practice isn’t successful and/or is floundering. If economic times demand a cut-back then scale down your marketing but do not pull the marketing altogether.

I am available to help you with your marketing. I will conduct a one-on-one analysis of your current budget, plan, and focus. To reach me, email me at bomccoy@obesityhelp.com

Bo McCoy,
Director of Sales, ObesityHelp Inc.