As part of our webinar series we have been running this year I discussed how many practitioners are spending over 5 hours a month on marketing their practice, and how that could actually be costing them between $1000 and $5000 a month! You’re burning money in your practice.
A company called Thrive in the USA, surveyed practitioners and found that the biggest segment spend more than five hours a month on marketing their practice. They also found that biggest segment spend less than $250 a month on marketing their practice. So to put it simply, most practice owners pay with their time rather than with money.
Now some practice owners don’t have the cash to spend on marketing, particularly if it is a new practice. And as your practice is getting going you often have some time to spare as you are waiting for the patients to come in. In that case it makes sense to invest your time in building your practice.
There are also certain activities that you have to get involved in around marketing. You are the one that has to do the talk to local groups. You have to be the one to meet other practitioners in your area to build relationships. But there are also many things you could outsource.
What is your time worth?
When I look at marketing in my own practice, I consider what is my time worth? To work this out, look at how many patients you would see in an hour in your practice. I personally see 4 patients an hour at $77 a consultation. That makes my hourly rate $308 an hour.
Some practitioners will see up to 20 patients an hour. If you charge $50 a visit your hourly rate is $1000 an hour. If you see 4 an hour at $50 a visit then that is $200 an hour.
Now if you are going to be spending 5 hours a month on marketing your practice, that is 5 hours you can’t spend treating patients. That will cost you 5 hours of pay at your hourly rate. For most people that will be between $1000 and $5000 a month. That is what it costs you to do your own marketing. That’s $12,000 to $60,000 a year!
You can buy a lot of practice marketing for $12,000.
For most practices it simply does not make sense to try to do your own marketing. It isn’t your core competency, your skill is treating and educating patients. For a less than $12,000 a year most practices can set up outsourced and automated systems that will deliver you new patients and help you retain your existing ones.
If you really want to grow a successful thriving practice it is time to give up trying to be a jack-of-all-trades and focus on what you do best – your patients. Get a professional to help you with your marketing.
Would you like to know how you are currently doing with the effectiveness of your marketing? Request an obligation-free, free Strategic Focus Session by clicking here.
