Marketing Your Practice During an Economic Downturn
		by Paul Durban Marketing Director, Williams Group

We’ve all read the recent headlines about the stock market’s decline and decreased consumer spending. Economic experts have consistently used the words “slow down” while taking care not utter the “R” word (Hint: It starts with ‘re’ and ends with ‘cession’).

Whenever the economy heads south, one of the first budget items on the chopping block is usually marketing. If your practice is seriously considering cut-backs to your marketing plan, I urge you to reconsider. You may end up hurting yourself more than helping. In fact, many smaller size companies increase their budgets to gain a larger voice in their marketplace as their competitors cut back.

It’s not so much about how much you spend, but how you spend it. In short, you need to market smarter. This includes: Analyzing your patient base, being smart about your message, letting your objectives drive your spending and using inexpensive Internet tactics.

When you have less to work with, make sure you spend as much as your budget as possible on actual media dollars like email marketing, direct mail and advertising. You don’t want to spend too much of your budget on overhead that doesn’t translate into a message that your potential patients will actually see. Spending too much on overhead isn’t going to drive revenue. You may need to rethink your strategy and reallocate funds to getting your message out there...

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"It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is from the top.

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