In the world of healthcare, doctors and specialists often come together to form a medical partnership, and group practice marketing is one of their many collective efforts. While their main goal is to provide excellent care to patients, they also need to offer a unified strategy and voice when it comes to healthcare marketing.

If you oversee group practice marketing, you may have struggled with navigating the intricacies of inbound patient lead generation while promoting a shared vision, services, and brand identity.

This blog article delves into the world of group practice marketing, exploring key strategies and providing tips that empower healthcare professionals to provide exceptional care, reaching and resonating with their ideal target audience.

Group practice marketing 101

Group practice marketing refers to the promotional activities and strategies implemented by a group of healthcare professionals who work together in a shared practice. These professionals could include multiple physicians, specialists, or healthcare providers working collaboratively under a common entity.

Group practice marketing uses healthcare content marketing and other strategies to reach the right target audience with the right message at the right time.

Know your target audience

The first step in developing an effective group practice marketing plan and expanding your healthcare inbound tactics is to know your target audience. When you can identify your audience, you can tailor your approach, language, and strategies to meet their specific needs, preferences, and interests. Here are some ways to do it.

Demographic profiling

Understand the basics of your audience, such as their age, gender, income level, education level, and lifestyle. It might also help to know their marital status, family size, and what they do for a living.

Cultural sensitivity

Cultural factors can significantly shape roles and behaviors, so consider the cultural diversity within your target audience. Partnering with community organizations representing various cultures may be helpful to ensure your marketing materials are inclusive.

Healthcare journey mapping

Research deeper to map out alternative patient journey marketing paths your patients might follow before arriving at your practice. This helps you to anticipate their needs and create marketing messages that guide them toward your services.

Patient feedback analysis

Closely study your patients’ feedback and reviews for overall satisfaction, sentiment, and specific pain points. Use this information to refine your marketing messages and address concerns proactively.

Consider branding and positioning

Branding is deliberately creating and managing a distinct and cohesive identity for your group practice. It can involve a memorable logo, a unified visual style, and consistent messaging at the right time and place.

Developing a brand can be challenging when more people and personalities are involved. But it’s important because if you do it well, you will set your group practice apart from others in the healthcare landscape.

Dermatology, Inc. is a great example of a healthcare organization that used branding and positioning to improve its marketing. Tired of an outdated design that was hard to navigate and mobile-unfriendly, Dermatology, Inc. hired TBH to redesign its website.

With new colors, refreshed photography, and updated functionality to provide an easier, more seamless user experience, Dermatology, Inc. now has a website that helps elevate its group practice from other providers.

Build trust to build your reputation

Effective group practice marketing results in building trust and reputation within a community. When patients see a brand show up consistently (and repeatedly) with similar messaging, they begin to see the group practice as reliable and trustworthy.

But that doesn’t happen overnight. Some of the ways you can build this trust to strengthen your reputation include:

  • Providing quality care
  • Collecting and analyzing patient feedback
  • Demonstrating thought leadership
  • Communicating clearly and authentically
  • Providing patient education resources

Providing quality care

Above all else, the care your group practice provides must be stellar. That is what every single patient is looking for. Solid medical care, attention to detail, and consistent follow-up are the foundation of every group practice’s marketing plan.

Collecting and analyzing patient feedback

Comments and reviews from real patients will have more impact on potential new patients than anything you could say about your group practice through marketing.

Hearing from happy customers gives your group practice credibility and makes your new patients feel more confident in trusting their healthcare needs with you.

The Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center has a page on its website dedicated to successful patient stories. Each story explains the patient’s injury or health issue and how the Indiana Hand and Shoulder Center helped them get back to living their lives. These are powerful examples of how using patient stories can build trust and credibility.

Demonstrating thought leadership

Sharing valuable insights, expert opinions, and relevant information through blogs, speaking engagements, or articles helps build reputation and trust. It’s proof that the medical professionals in your group practice have a deep understanding of their field and a commitment to staying at the forefront of advancements.

Communicating clearly and authentically

Patients appreciate honesty and transparency, especially when the information is provided upfront. For example, it’s helpful to proactively share information about insurance and pricing before the first appointment so your patients don’t have any unwelcome surprises.

Providing patient education resources

Helping people better understand their condition and treatment options during their healthcare journey is a great way to demonstrate a commitment to your patients’ well-being beyond immediate care.

As part of your healthcare content strategy, consider investing in educating your patients—using everything from blog articles to interactive webinars—to give patients more confidence in their treatment plan decisions (and give them a stronger understanding of what to expect before, during, and after receiving care).

Plus, informed patients are more likely to trust their doctors, feel valued/supported, and recommend your group practice and its providers to friends and family.

Distinguish yourself from the competition

Patients have a lot of group practices to choose from. How will yours stand out? Here are some suggestions:

  • Competitor analysis
  • Identify differentiating factors
  • Create innovative marketing campaigns

Complete competitor analysis

The only way to stand out from your competition is to know what you’re up against.

Analyze who your competitors are, which services they provide, and how well they serve their patients. Identify what they are doing well and what gaps you find in their approach. These gaps become your opportunities.

Identify differentiating factors

To set your group practice apart, focus on promoting the services, treatments, and other attributes that your competition lacks.

For some groups, this might mean promoting that you have more locations (greater convenience). For others, it could be that your providers offer more specialized services (or possibly rare or innovative treatments).

Create innovative marketing campaigns

If you want to improve your inbound lead generation for healthcare, find a fresh and creative approach to marketing what your group practice provides. Mayo Clinic does an excellent job of employing a comprehensive marketing strategy to maintain its position as a trusted healthcare institution.

From prioritizing digital marketing and maintaining a user-friendly website to using content marketing and patient stories to leverage its reputation, the Mayo Clinic does it all.

4 benefits of working with an experienced agency for group practice marketing

Your group practice might not be able to “do it all” like the Mayo Clinic right away, but with an experienced healthcare marketing agency as your partner, you can lay the groundwork for a successful group practice marketing strategy.

1

Expertise and experience

An experienced healthcare marketing agency draws on its years of experience to lead you in the right direction and get the legwork done that you don’t have time for.

2

Strategic ideas

An experienced healthcare marketing agency can offer ideas and strategies you might not have considered. They ask the right questions and deliver the right suggestions to employ a marketing strategy with a fresh approach.

3

Campaign tracking and analytics

An experienced healthcare marketing agency knows how to measure and interpret data. This can help you know what’s working and what’s not so you can adjust your plan on the fly.

4

Maximizing return on investment

Partnering with an experienced healthcare marketing agency is an investment that pays for itself. By leveraging their industry expertise and strategic approaches, you can optimize campaigns and maximize the return on your investment.

Why choose TBH Creative as your group practice marketing partner

TBH Creative is a group practice marketing expert with years of experience in inbound digital marketing for healthcare. We have successfully identified target audiences for our group practice marketing clients, launched beautiful branding initiatives for them, and established a consistent online presence that has built trust and separated them from their competition.

We’d love to do the same for you.

If you are a CMO or marketing director looking for a healthcare marketing partner, we want to work with you. Contact us today to learn how TBH Creative can enhance your marketing efforts and achieve exceptional results.