healthcare marketing business plan

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Blog Healthcare

5 Steps To Create a Healthcare Marketing Plan [+Templates]

By Daleska Pedriquez , Oct 22, 2021

Every business aims to be the most productive and profitable by coming up with marketing strategies that are worth every penny they spend.

In the healthcare industry, a strategic and effective healthcare marketing plan could boost healthcare communications, which are vital in educating and influencing individuals and communities to arrive at decisions that benefit health.

What to create a healthcare marketing plan but don’t have design experience? With Venngage’s templates, you can design better healthcare communications for your company and patients.

START CREATING FOR FREE

Click to jump ahead:

What is a healthcare marketing plan, why is a strategic healthcare marketing plan important, what are the key elements of a healthcare marketing plan, step-by-step guide to making your own healthcare marketing plan.

A healthcare marketing plan is a report containing an action plan on how to achieve a healthcare facility’s goals and objectives.

The marketing strategy plan, which looks like the below, covers a specific time span, usually a fiscal year.

CREATE THIS PLAN TEMPLATE

Serving as the framework or blueprint of your healthcare company’s short-term and long-term productivity and success, a healthcare marketing plan is a vital document that is not all about marketing stunts and ideas.

The plan lists specific actions that need to be taken and decisions that need to be made in order to achieve the identified goals.

This healthcare marketing plan could contain key information about the medical practice and patient satisfaction statistics.

A healthcare marketing plan’s goals typically include the following:

• To improve patient education  about critical healthcare conditions and the ways to prevent catching them (e.g. heart disease, diabetes)
• To raise awareness about the services that can benefit their patients (e.g. prenatal care, cancer screenings)
• To determine the patients that best fit the company’s mission statement
• To demonstrate how the healthcare company’s facilities can deliver the best patient care and the best technology there is in the market

It’s important to note that healthcare marketers use  data storytelling  more often than marketers in other industries. This will also be a necessary component in creating healthcare marketing plans.

CREATE THIS CHART TEMPLATE

Related:  Visualizing Healthcare Data With Infographics to Save Lives

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Successful healthcare marketing strategies, including those incorporating advanced healthcare software solutions, result in notable improvements such as increased patient acquisition, retention of clients , and a boost in overall Return on Investment (ROI).

The below nonprofit example, which can be adapted into a marketing healthcare plan, can make it easier to tailor healthcare services to patients’ specific needs.

We share the biggest benefits of creating a strategic healthcare marketing plan below.

A healthcare marketing plan promotes healthcare brand visibility

The traditional healthcare marketing and advertising scheme, through word of mouth or direct mail, may still be used today to supplement modern strategies such as social media postings.

Most healthcare marketing nowadays is done exclusively online due to its broad audience reach. For example, an infographic poster like this would be shared widely online.

CREATE THIS INFOGRAPHIC TEMPLATE

Over the past few years, innovative technologies have given healthcare organizations newfound avenues to reach potential clients.

But how can a healthcare provider decide what posts to create? Which channels to use? What are the posts aimed at, awareness or acquisition?

The decision process becomes easier when all avenues for reaching patients and investors have been included in the marketing plan.

With a healthcare marketing plan in place, healthcare marketers will be better able to retain current patients, improve patient journeys, and educate both patients and the public.

Download your marketing plans, fact sheets, and more with a Venngage business account. We offer a variety of download options, including PNG, PNG HD, PDF, Interactive PDF, and PowerPoint.

Healthcare marketing plans provide healthcare organizations with a competitive advantage

Oftentimes, hospitals and healthcare practitioners compete to acquire patients by highlighting the cost and quality of the care they offer.

Although you need to go the extra mile in improving your services, you should also put a premium on your healthcare advertisement in order to boost your presence everywhere.

For example, healthcare services would need to find ways to build brand awareness. Thus, a social media plan would be a necessary addition to a healthcare marketing strategy.

You can use this template to boost your healthcare organization’s reach to find new partners, investors, and patients.

Easily import chart data from Google sheets with the Venngage editor. Use our Chart Maker  to choose a chart for your marketing plan. Adjust the data and settings and finalize your chart.

Related:  10 Tips to Make Eye-Catching Infographics for Social Media

Growth opportunities for healthcare providers are easily recognized

Patient health and welfare are the top priorities for any healthcare organization, which is why new business opportunities are often overlooked.

With the help of a healthcare marketing plan, it becomes easier to conduct a more detailed evaluation with just one look at new business opportunities.

The nonprofit example below can be easily adapted for a healthcare provider who wants to assess and predict growth opportunities.

Use a healthcare marketing strategy as the benchmark for expanding your practice,  opening new branches of your healthcare facilities, and improving avenues to gain revenue.

Patient interactions lead to advantageous networking

Establishing a good relationship with patients and clients should be one of the main marketing strategies of a healthcare organization.

These interactions could help healthcare marketers generate new ideas to improve search engine optimization, products, and healthcare services.

A bold healthcare marketing plan for social media engagement will make this process easier for healthcare professionals.

Related:  How to Identify Patient Learning Styles: Teaching Patients More Effectively with Infographics

Developing a marketing plan for the healthcare sector isn’t just about throwing in random ideas to promote a hospital, medical group, or healthcare professionals.

An effective marketing strategy is borne out of meticulous planning and of careful consideration of the following key elements.

• SWOT analysis
• Target market
• SMART goals
• Marketing strategies and tactics
• Marketing funds

Create a successful healthcare marketing plan by following these simple steps.

Step 1. Conduct SWOT analysis

SWOT Analysis , also known as the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis, is a technique used to assess or identify a person, or an organization’s internal and external environment.

This is what a standard SWOT analysis would look like:

CREATE THIS DIAGRAM TEMPLATE

A SWOT analysis is critical in crafting comprehensive healthcare marketing strategies

To build an effective healthcare marketing plan, conduct an extensive SWOT analysis to assess and understand your company’s current state in relation to the medical industry.

It’s a great way to help you understand the needs of prospective clients, have a clear understanding of the current market, and think about the service or product you can offer to give you a competitive advantage.

Step 2. Define your target market

You know you are bound to get your money’s worth spent on healthcare marketing strategies when you’ve reached your selected target market.

To streamline customer reach, create a well-target marketing plan. This will be a better use of your company’s time and energy and will generate favorable returns.

Take inspiration from this marketing plan and how it describes the company’s ideal audience personas.

Invest time and effort in getting to know your target market – their demographics, location, healthcare habits, or the lack thereof – for you to find out what approach would be best applied to them, what particular medical service suits their needs.

In the hopes of coming off as inclusive and cost-effective, many healthcare companies gear their marketing strategies towards the general public, failing to recognize the importance of target marketing.

Restricting your audience does not necessarily mean you are being selective and discriminating. Rather, it just means that you are standing by your niche and dominating it one marketing plan after the other.

Here’s an example of a user persona template that healthcare providers can customize for their prospective patients.

CREATE THIS REPORT TEMPLATE

Step 3. Establish SMART goals

Establishing SMART Goals, also known as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based Goals, is a vital element in a business’s success.

However, many tend to overlook its importance in goal-setting discussions, leading often to failure.

Determine what you want to achieve with your healthcare marketing plan and make sure you state your SMART goals clearly and realistically.

This template will make it easier to divide goals according to the SMART categories.

Most medical practices say that the most ideal number of goals to include in a marketing plan is two but you can always arrive with four goals.

Step 4. Discuss and analyze key marketing strategies

Goals, strategies, and tactics go hand in hand. Marketing strategies are the ideas and approaches that are needed to be done to achieve established goals.

In order for those strategies to succeed, tactics should be put in place. These tactics are the particular actions, activities, and relevant information that must take place for a specific strategy to work.

For example, healthcare brands can determine whether posters, like the below, or digital flyers are a better way to reach clients by examining their SMART goals and user personas in their marketing plan.

CREATE THIS POSTER TEMPLATE

Understand what steps you will be taking to achieve your SMART goals as well as the appropriate channels to implement them.

Your strategies should be the perfect blend between being easy and difficult to execute; not too easy that you become complacent and not too difficult to still keep you motivated.

Step 5. Stay ahead of the competition

Pay attention to your competition. Instead of ignoring them, devise proactive plans and strategies to stay ahead in the industry by projecting the issues and influences you might encounter.

Related: How to Create a Competitor Analysis Report (Templates Included)

Step 6. Set your budget

For most healthcare institutions, funds are allocated for many different components of operational expenses but only little goes to marketing.

Allocating a budget for healthcare marketing is essential to determine a plan’s feasibility.

For instance, creating a vaccine infographic  is necessary to educate patients but healthcare providers would need adequate budgets to design such documents.

The budget you will be using in every activity stated in your healthcare marketing plan is vital as success would be far from achievable if you lack enough funds for it.

While working on your plan, take into account the estimated budget to be spent.

Use the healthcare marketing plan templates to reach patients effectively

Being in a constantly evolving industry, a healthcare organization should always bring its A-game. It should be ready with innovative and groundbreaking healthcare marketing strategies.

An effective healthcare marketing plan contributes to the success of your medical practice.

To help you work on your healthcare communications needs, Venngage offers a variety of reports and healthcare marketing templates so you can grow your business and improve patient education.

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All You Need to Know to Create a Healthcare Marketing Plan

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A healthcare marketing plan is a vision-driven, strategic detailed document that’s meant to help facilitate the accomplishment of specific healthcare business objectives, mission, and goals over a given period of time (usually a fiscal year).

As the blueprint or roadmap to your business short-term and long-term success, this vital document is not all about a bunch of marketing gimmicks and ideas from which you can pick randomly to test out. It brings together clear-cut objectives, tactics, systems, strategies, and an appropriate budget to help your business achieve its goals and deliver better-than-average performance.

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If you’re not a newbie to the world of healthcare marketing , the chances are that you’re familiar with a SWOT Analysis (an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) . It’s a tried-and-tested approach that has been used for decades to create actionable marketing plans. However, in the digital age of instant-everything, healthcare marketers and planners have to do more than SWOT analysis to succeed.

That’s why we have put together this comprehensive guide to the most important steps you need to follow to get your healthcare marketing plan off the ground.

In this article, we will cover:

• The Benefits of a Comprehensive Healthcare Marketing Plan - Why You Need to Create One
• What You Need to Include in Your Healthcare Marketing Plan
• Healthcare Marketing Strategies and Tactics
• Healthcare Products and Services Audit
• SWOT Analysis
• SMART Goals
• Your Business SMEs
• Marketing Plan Gap Analysis
• Your Marketing Campaigns Foundation

Watch this video to find out more about how Digital Authority Partners can create a great marketing strategy for you!

The benefits of healthcare marketing plan - why you need to create one

In today’s complex and increasingly globalized economy, running a healthcare business is no easy walk in the park.

It’s crucial that you have a crystal-clear healthcare marketing strategy, including a well-designed plan and budget, to stay ahead of the pack. After all, patients have more options when it comes to where to seek health care than ever before. If you snooze, you lose.

With lots of info available on the web, patients no longer feel that they need to go the nearest practice, clinic or hospital. That’s where a robust healthcare marketing plan comes in especially handy. Together with a budgeted and refined strategy, a good marketing plan will help you boost patient inflow, keep returning customers happy, and eventually increase your business ROI.

In practice, a great healthcare marketing plan enables you to anticipate, evaluate, prepare, and develop a roadmap to stick to in order to drastically enhances your chances for marketing success. It’s an all-important business tool every medical group, practice, clinic or hospital need to have in their marketing toolkit.

Of course, there are plenty of other benefits that come with having a good healthcare marketing plan:

• Reach New Patients Faster and Cost-Effectively : You do a bang-up job as a medical practice, and your healthcare services are top-notch. However, without a steady inflow of patients, you won’t be able to meet your growth plans. The good thing is that an agile marketing plan can help you with new patient acquisition.
• Get Everyone Internally on the Same Page : I’m sure you don’t need us to remind you that a healthcare business is made of many departments and cogs that have to work in tandem to achieve overall success. Creating a marketing plan means setting goals and objectives for the entire practice. As such, a robust marketing plan that everyone subscribes to internally makes sure that all decision-makers are on the same page, streamlining your business, and making operations more efficient.
• Evaluate New Growth Opportunities More Effectively: Do you plan to expand your practice? Perhaps you’re planning to open a new office in a new location. Examining new opportunities is a privilege that most healthcare facilities don’t get to enjoy. After all, you are focused on what really matters: taking care of patients. Thankfully, a market plan makes it easy to take a closer look at new business opportunities and make proper decisions quickly.

Do these new opportunities align with your current objectives, goals, and vision?

A healthcare plan can help you come up with these answers with a high level of precision so that you can know when to act and when to walk away from a new opportunity.

• Stay on Top of the Latest Trends: Healthcare is an ever-evolving industry that’s often influenced by changes in technology regulations, and rules of engagement. Having a marketing plan on hand can help you stay abreast of groundbreaking healthcare technologies like AI, Big Data, Machine Learning, and mobile apps so you can make your business stand out from the crowd.
• Build a Visible Healthcare Brand: Gone are the days when healthcare marketing and advertising were carried out simply through word of mouth or coupon mailers. In the era of social media, things have changed dramatically. Healthcare marketing is now done almost exclusively online. That’s why you need to put your healthcare brand in front of an online audience, an area where a marketing plan can come in particularly useful.
• Measure the Effectiveness of Your Marketing Spend: When you’re investing heavily in your healthcare business, it’s hard to tell if you are making real progress. Having a marketing plan allows you to have a framework within which you can set up metrics and key performance indicators for your business. Ultimately, this provides you with the tools and an opportunity to re-examine and possibly refine elements in your plan. In other words, laying out a strong healthcare marketing plan helps you set your business up for success right from the outset.
• Clearly Define Your Goals, Objectives and plan of attack : Who knows what the future holds for the healthcare industry? The last thing you want is to stay in the dark as your competitors get a head-start. A healthy marketing plan provides your practice with a compass or North Star to follow. More importantly, when you leverage a plan, your mission, objectives, and goals, as well as your strategies for attack, become more clear and well-defined.

Interested in learning more about the top healthcare marketing strategies? Check our our article on 9 Healthcare Marketing Trends for 2022

Creating a holistic healthcare marketing plan: what to include

An agile healthcare marketing plan is much akin to an instruction manual for your business success. It should help marketers see the big picture, have a sense of the business objectives & goals and know what’s expected of them to achieve them, all while staying out of the weeds.

In this next section, we will walk you through key elements that you need to incorporate in order to create an all-rounded healthcare marketing plan:

1. Well-defined healthcare marketing strategies and tactics

Clearly defined marketing & PR strategies should be at the heart of your healthcare marketing plan. In the digital generation, the criteria of patient satisfaction have transformed in more than one way. Nowadays, patients expect healthcare facilities to offer more than just the right treatment.

According to a recent study by McKinsey & Co ., patients are no longer just patients; they are more like consumers, and therefore expect a certain level of customer service and consumer experience. If you don’t have a marketing strategy in place to help you stay on top of these expectations, you may as well say goodbye to regular patient inflow.

Even if you are happy with your current volume of patients, it doesn't hurt to keep your practice at the top of their minds. Think of all the reasons why they might ditch you for your competitors. It could be anything, from wait time frustration to a change in the insurer. And because they consider themselves consumers of healthcare, patients now have great expectations and anticipate to get more value as well as good customer service from you, just as they would from a non-healthcare company.

Having solid healthcare marketing tactics and strategies go beyond your marketing plan; they are an investment that can do wonders for your business in both the short term and long haul, especially when it comes to patient retention and volume growth.

Here are 6 tips that will help you define an exceptional healthcare marketing plan briefly summarized in this infographic (with more details below!):

Tip#1: Have a clearly defined product roadmap for your healthcare company’s website

You’d be forgiven for thinking having a website and slapping on a few pages is sufficient to make an impression on potential patients and improve your brand visibility.

That’s not enough to offer a worthwhile patient online experience. Given that your website is your online front door, be sure to go above and beyond to wow prospective patients. For more details on what to do and what not to do when it comes down to your healthcare website, check out or healthcare website design guide .

As mentioned in the infographic above, here are the basic principles every healthcare website should abide by:

•  Your website design should be user-friendly, easy-to-navigate, and highly responsive.
•  Get a handle on your site speeds: with every second delay while your site loading, you’ll lose 20% of visitors
• Clearly indicate your services, location, and business contact. As a rule of thumb, your site visitors should be able to see this info within 5-10 seconds.
• Quick to help: Most patients visit your online channels to get help, and find answers. Ensure that your FAQ page is rich and information. Your Contact Us page should be higher on the page, and not buried in the clutter. Include a live chat functionality that’s attended to 24/7.

Tip #2: Have a well documented SEO strategy to be found online

In the digital age, you’re going up against both small and big healthcare players, which makes it hard for business to get found online . That’s where search engine optimization comes into play. SEO is a fantastic tool for getting your healthcare business to the first page of search engine search results (SERPs).

The right SEO strategy is more than keywords. You have to use your keywords naturally in your web content because search engine crawlers care about readability and value for the reader. Generating awesome content, mobile-ready website architecture, link-building, and backlinks are some of SEO best practices that you need to consider.

Tip #3: A robust social media strategy for your healthcare business

Social media should be at the core of your healthcare marketing strategy.

The chances are that you’re using platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to interact with your patients and build your reputation. You need to kick it up a notch by leveraging paid social media ads and tools to get your brand in front of your target audience.

More importantly, you should have a healthcare social media strategy in place, and as a crucial element of your healthcare marketing plan.

Tip #4: A strategy to get feedback from your patients

Patients provide you with feedback, both bad and good, through a diversity of channels, from your social media pages to in-house suggestion boxes.

As part of your marketing strategy, you should set up an avenue for following up with patient feedback . This way, you can showcase to your patients that you care about their two cents, and willing to take action based on their feedback.

More importantly, take inspiration to how the most popular mobile apps in the world today leverage product feedback. When users leave negative reviews in the App Store, an app owner has the option to reply with comments to those negative comments. Many apps have successfully improved their products and gotten customers back by simply reporting back when an issue is fixed.

Tangible example: let's say some mobile users complain that a specific app is crashing often or it is too slow. After the issue has been fixed, many apps would publish an app update mentioning how the performance issues were fixed, retested and the app has been redeployed.

The same principle applies to healthcare marketing. And to your plan. You need to assume, right off the bat, that there will be some issues with customer experience, waiting times, delivery of medical care and more.

And you must make it a priority - and a documented item on your marketing plan - that any time there is feedback from your customers, that feedback will be collected and analyzed. More importantly, your job as a marketer for a healthcare company, it is your job to try to persuade the company to make changes and to improve the customer experience. And after that happens - you need to go back to the people who left you feedback and report on how your company has leveraged that feedback to improve its processes, train its staff and more.

Tip #5: A strategy to request customer reviews & post them online

Reviews can be a powerful marketing tool when used creatively and honestly.

No patient wants to visit a healthcare facility that doesn’t have reviews online. As such, make sure that you have review pages on an array of sites like Google, Yelp, BBB, and local directories. Even better, ask your patients to leave a review on your website.

So make sure to include a line item in your healthcare marketing plan to actively go after your most satisfied customers and elicit reviews. These reviews though should not be anonymous. You want to get the consent from your best clients to blast those awesome endorsements across social media, on your website and to even print them on your brochures/ fliers and having them displayed prominently in your office.

Reviews = power. Reviews = endorsement of the good work you do. You must include the collection and promotion of positive reviews in your healthcare marketing plan.

Tip #6: A strategy to standardize your branding message across the company

As a healthcare company, you may feel confident that your expertise and top-notch services will set you apart.

But in your patient’s mind, one doctor in a white coat looks just like the next. That’s exactly why you need to incorporate a consistent branding into your marketing strategy.

Are you a family-friendly practice? If yes, let that theme flow down your practice, from customer service to marketing materials to patient care.

2. Learn your company's healthcare products (so you can market them like a pro)

When creating a practical marketing plan for your healthcare company, it pays to know the ins and the outs of your services and product. Your marketing will be much more efficient, cost-effective, and result-oriented if you know the back and front of your services and products. In fact, it takes the hassle out of creating a robust healthcare marketing strategy.

With that said, you need to carry out a thorough audit of your services and products.

This way, you’ll create a matrix that aligns these services with the patient persona. Who is your target patient? What are they looking for in healthcare services? What patient issues do your services hope to solve?

By making sure that you have a clear-cut understanding of what your services and products are, why they are needed, and how they are perceived by your target audience, you will be in a better position to market them more precisely and without much hassle.

3. Do a thorough SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)

SWOT, short for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is an analytical methodology that can help you take marketing planning to the next level. As you might infer from the name, it simply means evaluating and re-examining crucial elements of your strategic marketing planning process.

Strengths: These are your business resources, abilities, and capabilities that can be leveraged as a basis for gaining a competitive edge, especially in today’s healthcare market that’s riddled with cut-throat competition. Your strengths to include your marketing plan could be:

•      You new, groundbreaking service or product (those that make your stand out)
•      Your unique experience and special expertise
•      The strategic location of your practice (e.g., an area with parking space or heavy foot traffic).
•      Your well-known procedures, processes, and quality assurance
•      Or, a plethora of any other facets of your healthcare business that add more value to your services or products.

Weaknesses: These encompass areas which you may want to avoid or improve.

In a way, weaknesses can be taken as the absence of specific strengths that are crucial in your specialty, especially in comparison with your competitors. A few examples of weaknesses could be a poor location, understaffing, bad reputation, wanting products/services, and other external factors that you hamper your healthcare business.

Opportunities: Your business opportunities can come in many forms. They could be:

•      New technologies (like AI), procedures or services that you could leverage to spruce up your business
•      Strategic alliances, joint ventures, and mergers
•      An upcoming market (such as online healthcare provision)
•      Changes in lifestyle, social patterns, population profile, etc.
•      Departure of competitors
•      Changing to a market segment that delivers better profits

Threats: a threat is simply anything that could stand in the way of the success of your healthcare business. Needless to say, turn a blind to these threats at your own peril. Common healthcare sector threats include:

•      Ensuing price wars due to shrinking demand or patient volume
•      An entry of a competitor into your local market
•      Economic Downturns
•      A rival gaining an added edge over you, e.g. introducing better service, technology, etc
•      Changes in government regulations, rules, and policies
•      Changes in insurance plans that could affect most of your patients

A SWOT analysis is one of those things that are easier said than done. Here’s some rule of engagement that could make your SWOT analysis effortlessly easy:

•      Don’t underestimate or overestimate your weaknesses and strengths. Be realistic about them.
•      The SWOT analysis should be able to tell where your business is currently is, and where it’ll be in near future.
•      Keep it brief and to the point. Be as specific as possible, avoiding gray areas at all costs.
•      Do your SWOT analysis in reference to your close competition
•      Don’t make it complicated. Your analysis should be simple, brief, and result-oriented to produce good insights.

4. Define your healthcare marketing S.M.A.R.T goals

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely goals. Defining each of these goals will keep your healthcare marketing plan and your business goals clear and unambiguous. In fact, there’s no room for guesswork when it comes to achieving SMART goals. To boost patient volume by 20% is a good SMART goal - it’s measurable, easy to understand, and specific.

As a far as a healthcare marketing plan is concerned, SMART goals can be overall business goals (that touch on the big picture), marketing goals (which can be chunk down into social media, content, email , inbound, etc.) and sales goals (to help bring more leads into your sales funnel).

5. Make sure you've defined your business subject matter experts

SMEs is an acronym for Subject Matter Experts. These are experts who will help facilitate your marketing campaigns.

They are your go-to specialists when you need their assistance for your marketing initiatives. For instance, if you are looking to boost volumes of your cardiac patients, you’ll want to have a well-known and respected cardiologist on the speed dial.

Making a list of in-network doctors, physicians, and other key experts in your practice will help you with PR, branding, and advancing your healthcare marketing strategies. That’s why you need to be specific and know exactly who to approach when you want to talk to the media about something happening in your practice.

6. Create specific buyer personas for your marketing campaigns

Having a clear understanding of your buyer personas can make a huge difference in your marketing strategy. As such, you need to state and clearly define these buyer personas in your healthcare marketing plan. Start off by conducting top-down market and competitor research so you can gain insights into your typical customer (patient).

In simple terms, you cannot effectively market your company's services unless you know exactly who you need to communicate with. 

Your market research should involve taking a closer look at your existing patients, as well as review market trends and check out channels where your customers are finding you on.

Go the extra mile to better understand your customer’s wants, dislike, interests, and whatnot. Ultimately, use these insights and key data points to create well-defined and non-vague buyer personas which will inform your marketing campaigns.

7. Do a gap analysis to make sure you're on the right track

Gap analysis helps you identify where you are, where you want to be, and what you need to do to get there. In other words, this analysis examines your current marketing strategies and assesses what you may need to do to accomplish your target outcomes. Which of your marketing approaches seem to work and which doesn’t contribute to your bottom line?

At this point, you might want to take a peek at what your competitors are doing, and how you can beat them. Your gap analysis will help inform your healthcare marketing strategy and identify areas of improvement and opportunity.

There you have it folks - 7 key elements to incorporate into your healthcare marketing plan. Depending on your business, you might also want to include marketing systems, budgets, further competition analysis, and current marketing summary, as well as lead identification and sales process overview.

Do you need help figuring out your healthcare marketing plan in 2022? Digital Authority Partners works with some of the best names in the industry to create content and marketing campaigns that convert patients and improve the overall ROI on your marketing investment.

For a limited time, Digital Authority Partners is offering a FREE content & SEO audit to healthcare companies interested in assessing their current brand in order to build a robust content marketing plan for 2022. Interested? Drop us a note at [email protected]  or call us at 312-820-9893 for details.

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How to create a healthcare marketing strategy: a step-by-step guide.

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There are two key reasons why hospitals, health providers, and medical practices need an effective healthcare marketing strategy.

First, the healthcare sector is ultra-competitive. In 1950, there were fewer than 50 health systems operating in the United States. Today, there are over 400 . In addition, there are over 6,100 hospitals and almost 10 million medical professionals, including more than 1 million physicians. That’s a ratio of one physician for every 332 people in the country .

At the same time, patients are demanding a superior customer experience from their healthcare journey. An effective healthcare marketing strategy promotes loyalty from patients, enhances the patient experience, attracts new patients, and builds the healthcare organization’s brand. It is an opportunity for a healthcare provider to drive revenue.

In this step-by-step guide, we will discuss major healthcare marketing trends and the best tools to create winning healthcare marketing strategies for healthcare organizations. We’ll lead things off with a quick overview of what healthcare marketing is all about.

What Is Healthcare Marketing?

Marketing strategies are essential for the growth of healthcare organizations and for helping these businesses stand out in a crowded marketplace. Marketing is a channel for ongoing communication with patients and new customers alike, and it reinforces brand awareness. Effective healthcare marketing helps providers build trust with their patients and maintain a positive image in the communities they serve. 

Importance of Strategic Healthcare Marketing

Healthcare marketing strategies play a pivotal role in ensuring healthcare organizations connect effectively with patients across multiple channels. Healthcare businesses use marketing to provide target audiences with details about their mission, services, practices, and values so they can make informed decisions about their healthcare.

There are eight key steps you can take to develop a comprehensive healthcare marketing strategy. The first few involve assembling the all-important patient and market research necessary to inform your plan.

There are eight key steps you can take to develop a comprehensive healthcare marketing strategy. The first few steps involve assembling the all-important patient and market research necessary to inform and shape your marketing plan.  

1. Conduct a Healthcare Market Analysis

First, deepen your understanding of your market. A healthcare market analysis is a systematic examination of trends and dynamics in healthcare industry areas that are relevant to your business. The goal of this process is to gain insight into the market landscape in which your organization operates.

You can accomplish a detailed picture of your market by undertaking three types of analysis: 

Conduct a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a tool to create a big picture of your market. You can use a SWOT analysis to assess individual marketing projects or a full-blown healthcare marketing strategy.

Conducting a SWOT analysis requires you to critically assess your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. What do you do well? And how can you improve?

Once you address those questions, you can identify market opportunities to pursue and incorporate into your marketing plan. That will help you to align marketing efforts toward targeting those opportunities. Also, be sure to include threats you’ve identified in your plan, like growing demand for a particular service that you don’t offer — but your competitors do.

Analyze Market Trends

Examining more gradual and subtle shifts and changes in the healthcare industry, in addition to obvious new or dramatic developments, can provide useful insights to inform your healthcare marketing strategy for today, and for the long term.

Here’s an example: Before the recent pandemic and the lockdowns and isolation that it drove, many healthcare providers considered mental and physical health as separate issues. But now, many physicians are embracing a more holistic strategy, acknowledging correlations between mental health and physical treatment and recovery. If you’re among them, this may be the right time to ramp up marketing messaging about your approach.

Identify Competitors

The third type of analysis, which is valuable for healthcare marketing benchmark efforts, is a competitor assessment. Direct competitors are those that offer the same services as your organization in the same market and are targeting the same patient population.

As you assess the services and facilities of these competitors, you should also evaluate their marketing strategies. And don’t just consider obvious competitors: Try to identify and audit indirect competitors whose services may overlap with yours and may be starting to encroach on your turf. 

2. Define Your Target Audience

The next step in the process of creating healthcare marketing strategies is to grow you knowledge of your existing and potential patients so you can serve them better. You want to consider basic but important questions like:

• Who are they?
• Where are they located?
• What do they need?
• Why do they need it?
• When do they need it?

The answers to these questions will help you develop a clearer picture of the target audience or audiences you aim to reach and engage with through healthcare marketing campaigns.

Build Patient Personas

One powerful way to define your target audience is to build a customer persona or patient persona. Personas are detailed, semi-fictional representations of ideal customers, or in the case of healthcare organizations, patients.

Personas are based on data analysis of real patient interactions, market research, and other sources. This data allows a marketer to construct a detailed but holistic picture of a generic patient that the business can use to create targeted and personalized marketing messages and refine strategies for marketing campaigns.    

Changes in Patient Preferences

Even if you’re armed with well-researched personas, you should always be on the lookout for changes in patient preferences. Patients are consumers, after all, and consumer tastes and preferences constantly change. Stay on top of healthcare marketing trends and data to make sure your efforts align with patients’ interests and needs.

For example, the move toward home healthcare is a recent and major shift among patients. Along with this preference for treatment at home, many patients have moved toward subscriptions for services such as telemedicine and home delivery of prescriptions. This has prompted many healthcare providers to adapt long-standing practices to stay relevant.

Craft a Unique Value Proposition

As we’ve already established, healthcare is a competitive field. So, you need to excel at differentiating your brand and everything behind it.

Health systems with a unique value proposition to market will stand out to patients. How do you know if you are providing one? Through measurable results that show you excel.

You can measure improvements in patient outcomes, for example, or how you are making it easier for new patients to understand and navigate the healthcare process. Share metrics with your target audience to show the distinct benefits and advantages of your healthcare organization. Also, encourage patients to provide online reviews and other feedback.

3. Set Measurable Goals

Let’s talk more about the value of measurement. Measuring results toward achievable goals creates a road map to success for healthcare providers. It helps to drive growth and improvement in patient care and overall performance. There are several ways to measure your organization’s marketing success. But here are two methods to consider:

You can use relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) to help manage expectations for a marketing project or campaign and track progress toward stated goals. Some KPIs you might consider including are click-through rates, conversions, and new patients.  

Set SMART Goals

The goals you set for your healthcare marketing initiatives should be SMART—that is, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. A SMART goal might be to improve patient acquisition by a certain percentage over a 12-month period, or to increase the number of patient reviews you receive.

4. Build a Strong Brand Identity

Establishing a strong brand identity is essential for any modern business. But in the hyper-competitive healthcare industry, you could argue it counts even more.

Building a strong brand identity includes creating and communicating a distinctive representation of your healthcare organization’s values, mission, and personality. This can be achieved through:

Consistent Branding Across Touchpoints

Everything that features your brand, from a highway billboard to a TV commercial to a digital ad online, should present that brand in a consistent way. Your branding should extend to all other patient touchpoints, too. For example, when a patient contacts your call center for information, that experience should be in tune with what they see and hear from your brand through other channels.

Cross-Channel Integration

To achieve brand consistency in an omnichannel world, you must strive for seamless coordination and alignment of marketing efforts across all the different communication channels you employ to engage with audiences. So, if you have a big email campaign going out in December to get new signups for your health system, make sure the messaging is consistent with and is supported by your website and any digital ads you have scheduled. 

Develop Brand Messaging Guidelines

Creating a formal style and messaging guide with standards and principles that govern the tone, look, language, and key messages used in your marketing efforts should be seen as a must-have versus a nice-to-have tool. The entire organization can use this guide to make sure they are true to your brand’s voice.

5. Develop a Multichannel Marketing Plan

Don’t put all your marketing eggs in one basket. A multichannel marketing plan is a strategic approach that involves utilizing various communication channels and platforms to reach and engage a defined target audience. Among the tactics to consider for multichannel marketing strategies in healthcare are:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Staying on top of SEO will help to supercharge your marketing strategy. You can use SEO strategies to make your website more visible in organic, unpaid search results on Google and other search engines.

Google is always updating its SEO practices. So, adhering to “good” SEO practices that can help you rank well on Google requires reviewing and updating your website content regularly so it stays relevant to your target audience. You can hire independent agencies that specialize in SEO to help you, or you can assign this task to in-house marketing or social media staff with relevant skills and knowledge. 

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC is a model where advertisers pay a fee each time a user clicks on their online ad. It’s cost-effective and helps preserve your marketing budget because you only pay for interested leads. And healthcare organizations can make their PPC ads even more valuable by tracking appointments made by potential patients who click on these ads.

Appointments made over the phone can be attributed to PPC ad responses if you use call tracking and recording software like Invoca. Invoca tracks and analyzes 100% of calls and can attribute them to ads so marketing teams can optimize marketing spend and campaigns to drive even more high-value calls. 

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a form of content marketing that uses social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and TikTok to promote healthcare services, engage with patients, and build community.

Make sure you offer a mix of content that your audience will consider relevant — and engaging. The popularity of platforms like YouTube and TikTok demonstrate users’ desire for video content that is informative, entertaining, and viral-worthy.

Email Marketing

Email marketing campaigns can be a highly effective marketing tool. It can take the form of quick-read email blasts on individual topics (like a webinar) or more in-depth, educational content in a weekly or monthly newsletter. Whatever your approach, make the content informative and engaging — from the email subject line to the call to action. 

Offline Marketing Strategies

In today’s marketplace, digital marketing is a must for any healthcare provider that wants to compete. But there are traditional, offline channels you can use to reach current and potential patients, too. Print advertising, direct mail, community events, and phone campaigns are just some examples of these methods.

Remember that there are ways to gather valuable data from your offline marketing efforts, including those designed to drive phone calls. For example, Invoca’s call tracking software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly analyze data from every phone call and detect where callers are finding out about your service. You can use that data to optimize marketing spend and much more.

6. Create a Content Calendar

A content calendar is a strategic plan that outlines content creation and distribution over a specific period. This calendar can prevent you from being too repetitive in your campaigns and undermining the effectiveness of your efforts. It also helps you to focus strategically on topics that will resonate most with your target audiences, based on your research.

To create a content calendar, you should consider: 

Content Distribution Channels

Which channels do you want to use? If you plan to run regular content on YouTube, for example, you’ll need time to create the videos so plan for this accordingly. Your content calendar might include monthly videos supported by short social posts that promote the content every few days so you can stay in front of your audience without overdoing it. 

Healthcare Marketing Ideas

Healthcare marketing ideas run the gamut from blog posts to education videos to targeted emails to sponsored content to gamification. If you’re looking for more details on these and other healthcare marketing ideas to inform your content calendar, check out this post.

7. Ensure Regulatory Compliance

It’s critical that your healthcare marketing strategies fully conform with all relevant healthcare standards and regulations. These standards of compliance include: 

HIPAA Compliance

Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a statutory requirement under federal law for all healthcare organizations as well as “ covered entities .” HIPAA is designed to safeguard the privacy and security of patients’ protected health information (PHI). 

Healthcare Marketing Regulations

Healthcare marketing regulations encompass other legal guidelines and standards that govern marketing practices within the healthcare industry. These regulations are set by federal and state governments as well as professional bodies. Some examples marketers should be mindful of in the U.S. include:

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations: The FDA regulates the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, medical devices, and certain biological products. Complinace with FDA requirements includes providing accurate information about a product’s risks and benefits in marketing material targeted to consumers.
• HIPAA regulations: As mentioned earlier, HIPAA includes provisions that regulate the use and disclosure of PHI. Healthcare marketers must obtain patient consent before they can use PHI for marketing purposes, and they must ensure the security of patient data.
• False Claims Act: This Act prohibits the submission of false or fraudulent claims for payment to the government, including claims related to healthcare services or products. Healthcare advertising and promotional materials with false or misleading statements could lead to False Claims Act liability.

8. Measure Marketing Performance

Your healthcare marketing strategy may be innovative and compliant, but you won’t know it’s successful unless you measure performance. As explained earlier, metrics can validate your strategy. Measurement can also help you optimize future marketing strategies because it gives you a clearer idea of where to invest more resources, and where to pull back.

Analyze KPIs

The first step toward measuring the effectiveness of marketing performance is to check your KPIs. Basic marketing KPIs might include things like open rates for email and click-throughs for ads. You can also track conversion rates, such as patients signing up for appointments, or using services, such as ordering a prescription or receiving treatment.

Patient Feedback and Surveys

Patient feedback from surveys and online reviews is a great way to hear the voice of the customer or VoC. You can collect insights directly from patients to assess their satisfaction, preferences, and experiences with your healthcare marketing initiatives (and your brand, in general).

Google Tools

You can also use digital tools, such as Google Analytics, to get analytical insights into how website content is performing. You can track traffic and how long users are staying on a page, for example. You can use this information to optimize your digital content and online marketing efforts.

Conversation Intelligence Tools

Another entry point to the VoC is data captured from phone interactions with patients. Since most healthcare consumers still prefer to pick up the phone when making an appointment, phone conversations hold tremendous data value.

Conversation intelligence solutions like Invoca, which tracks and records 100% of calls, provide a huge database of topics that can be mined for trends, patient preferences, and consumer behavior. Invoca also tracks the full value of your marketing strategy by factoring in ad conversions attributable to phone calls. This detail can help you measure your true return on investment and help you make more strategic optimization decisions.

Social Media Analytics Tools

Most social media and digital platforms, like Facebook and LinkedIn, offer analytics tools. There are also third-party platforms, such as Sprout Social and Hootsuite, that can help you track social media analytics in one place. Healthcare organizations can use these tools to measure the performance of their social media marketing efforts across channels.

Best Practices for Healthcare Marketing

That sums up the eight steps you can take to develop a comprehensive healthcare marketing strategy. And now, here are some best practices to keep in mind when you implement your strategy.

Integrate Telehealth and Remote Services

As noted earlier, telehealth and remote services are becoming more popular with patients. Integrating telehealth and remote services using video technology to enable virtual consultations, remote monitoring, and other healthcare services delivered at a distance is fast becoming a best practice for healthcare. 

Leverage Healthcare CRM Systems

Healthcare customer relationship management (CRM) systems use specialized software to manage and analyze interactions with current patients and potential ones. These systems can help healthcare organizations and marketing teams maintain HIPAA compliance while keeping track of patients and preferences.

Conversation Intelligence Software

Call tracking and conversation intelligence software tools track appointment scheduling and other calls to create a significant log of offline data that can be matched with online data to inform a healthcare provider’s overall marketing strategy.

Invoca’s HIPAA-compliant software can be trained to detect overarching trends and insights from patient interactions. You can use this information to create or refine customer personas and establish resonant messaging for marketing purposes.  

Implement Proactive Reputation Management

Trust is a major factor for healthcare patients when choosing a hospital or doctor. There is even evidence that trusting a healthcare provider leads to better patient outcomes.

Since a modern healthcare organization’s digital interaction with patients is likely to grow, maintaining a superior reputation through online reviews, social media posts, and on message boards is critical. Healthcare providers that actively monitor and manage their online reputations will be better positioned to establish and maintain trust with their patients in an increasingly digital world.

Create an Adaptable Marketing Strategy with Invoca

The healthcare market is constantly evolving. And any provider that wants to develop and deploy flexible and actionable marketing strategies for healthcare needs to stay on top of changing trends and customer preferences.

Invoca’s AI-powered conversation intelligence software can help with that — and many healthcare industry leaders already know this. Invoca’s conversational intelligence is an integral part of the operations of six of the top 10 largest hospitals and health systems in the U.S. and four of the top six dental service organizations in the country.

We’re helping these and other businesses in the healthcare industry get a comprehensive view of the entire patient journey, from the moment a current or potential patient interacts with a digital ad or website to the instant they make an appointment over the phone.

Invoca’s HIPAA-compliant phone tracking and recording software provides insightful data that helps marketers understand which ads are most effective for patient outreach and generate the most appointments, so they can confidently let go of underperforming campaigns and strategies and double down on what works best.

Additional Reading

Want to learn more about how Invoca can help support your efforts to create a successful (and compliant) healthcare marketing strategy? Check out these resources:

• Digital Marketing for Healthcare: A Road Map for Success
• The Top 7 Healthcare Marketing Challenges and How to Solve Them
• HIPAA and Marketing: How Invoca Secures PHI and Maintains Compliance

Reach out to us today to schedule a customized demo so you can see for yourself how Invoca can provide your healthcare organization with a competitive advantage.

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6 Steps to a Successful Healthcare Marketing Plan

If you are just setting up your medical practice, it can be hard to know where to focus your efforts on achieving your business goals. After all, having read so much about social media, content marketing, online reputation management, and search engine optimization – it’s normal to feel overwhelmed and unsure of what needs to be done and how.

When you feel like this, just take a step back and consider creating a healthcare marketing plan.

What is a healthcare marketing plan?

A healthcare marketing plan is a document that outlines the medical practice’s marketing strategy and includes details about the specific actions to be taken for achieving business goals. A healthcare marketing plan also serves as a roadmap to execute and measure marketing efforts over a specific period.

A typical healthcare marketing plan includes SMART business goals and vision, resources, skills, and marketing tools to achieve these goals.

Why is creating a healthcare m marketing plan so important?

The success of your medical practice depends on your marketing plan. This plan will help establish your marketing strategy, and depending on the needs of your medical practice; this plan will change over time.

A successful healthcare marketing plan is set to understand your target market and competition. Your plan should also help you determine and handle your marketing efforts’ impact and results, and it provides direction for future initiatives.

In this blog post, we look at the differences in creating a successful healthcare marketing plan, and how you can use it to achieve your business goals.

Steps for Creating a Healthcare Marketing Plan

Here are the critical steps to creating a successful marketing plan.

Step 1: Define your target audience

The key to any medical practice’s success often lies within your target audience. You must know your target audience, including their demographics, location, and wellness habits, to offer them a service that perfectly suits their needs. Directing your services to “everyone” for fear of losing potential patients is one of the most common mistakes most healthcare marketers make. You may be thinking that restricting your audience will limit your medical practice’s growth, but this isn’t true. Start by finding a niche and dominate it by creating a service and a well-written message that responds to your target audience’s needs.

Step 2: State your business goals

What was the business objective that drove the need to create a healthcare marketing plan? Was it increasing brand awareness, strengthening your online reputation, or improving your profitability? Make sure to state your business objective in your marketing plan clearly. However, be realistic about your goals. Make sure they are quantifiable and specific so you can assess the progress and measure the results. If possible, try to limit the number of goals to less than four, though two is ideal for most medical practices.

Step 3. Conduct a SWOT analysis

This is one of the most integral steps in creating a healthcare marketing plan. Assessing your current situation – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – is key to getting started with your marketing plan. Conduct an extensive SWOT analysis to understand the current situation (also called situational analysis). Comparing your infrastructure, brand awareness, service quality, pricing, and online reputation score with your competitors (also called competitor analysis) will also help you successfully conduct a SWOT analysis. Think about how your services are better than competitors. Identify the gaps in the competitors’ approach. Assess new services that you can you offer that will give you a competitive advantage. Think about your strengths what sets you apart.

Step 4: Establish key marketing strategies

After assessing your key strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to detail the marketing strategies you will use to reach your business goals. We recommend taking each goal separately and listing the action items underneath it. This will allow you to see what needs to be done to push yourself toward that milestone. It is also a fantastic way to assess whether a particular goal is realistic or if it needs to be adjusted. You must keep your goals easy enough to stay motivated, and difficult enough to keep you complacent. Simply put, this part of your healthcare marketing plan should provide a tangible roadmap to help you achieve your business goals.

Step 5: Determine a budget for different activities

Most healthcare marketers dread this part the most! Since most marketers or medical providers are not great with numbers, the word “budget” can send them running for the hills. However, setting and managing budgets is a necessary evil when it comes to running a medical practice. In your marketing plan, aim to answer questions like:

• What do you plan to spend on each marketing activity during the planned period?
• Where will the money come from?
• Are you keeping any money aside for an emergency? What if one of the scheduled activities demands more budget?

Budgets are not easy, but are important to being successful. It is better to tweak your plan now —rather than re-writing the entire plan six months down the road when you have forked over your credit card.

Step 6. Establish KPIs

A healthcare marketing plan’s value lies in its effectiveness, which requires timely implementation and monitoring of results. It is essential to measure results against the benchmarks you set in establishing your business goals. Review your marketing plan periodically (we recommend quarterly) by comparing results with the implementation schedule. There are several ways to measure the results of your progress:

• Increased bottom line
• Patient survey scores
• Increased patient volume
• Improved referral sources
• Reduction in the number of negative reviews.

However, if you find that the results are not as expected, assess your marketing activities to understand the reasons for the same. By regularly evaluating and monitoring your marketing strategies, you will be able to modify your plan timely and try more promising approaches.

A successful healthcare marketing plan outlines realistic goals, practical strategies, and relevant actions based on market research and assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. However, the plan is only as good as your determination to implementing it. Your marketing plan should not just be a document that is put away on a shelf. Instead, it should be an evolving blueprint that monitors your progress and guides your efforts Marketing will show results when you are committed to it. It’s up to you!

Looking to create a compelling healthcare marketing plan for your practice? Contact our experts today!

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Sharon Mason Parker

Sharon has spent 25 years building teams and developing people to work together to help improve the client experience in the markets we serve. This ultimately benefits both customers and staff equally. Sharing best practices and ideas helps clients and team members envision new alternatives, which is quite fulfilling when positive change results. Sharon enjoys working closely with clients to understand the true drivers that are affecting their business environment. By engaging clients in meaningful exploration of their goals and challenges, she often discovers that an issue they asked for help in solving is merely a symptom of something else or something greater. Solving the real issue through truly listening and not just addressing the symptoms helps create true partnerships with clients.

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6 Steps To Create A Healthcare Marketing Plan [Free Templates] 

• Healthcare Marketing
• December 25, 2023

Whether you’re a medical practice, a healthcare facility, or a health-related service provider, a well-structured healthcare marketing plan can significantly impact your visibility and patient engagement.  This article shares the six key steps for a successful healthcare marketing strategy. What is a Healthcare Marketing Plan? A healthcare marketing plan is a strategic roadmap tailored specifically […]

Whether you’re a medical practice, a healthcare facility, or a health-related service provider, a well-structured healthcare marketing plan can significantly impact your visibility and patient engagement. 

This article shares the six key steps for a successful healthcare marketing strategy.

What is a Healthcare Marketing Plan?

A healthcare marketing plan is a strategic roadmap tailored specifically for healthcare providers or organizations to promote their services, engage with patients, and establish a strong presence within the healthcare industry. 

It outlines detailed strategies and tactics to reach target audiences, including patients, referring physicians, healthcare networks, or the community. This plan encompasses a range of growth channels and marketing tactics such as digital campaigns, content creation, patient education programs, community outreach, and branding efforts. 

Healthcare marketing plans integrate market research, competitor analysis, identification of key performance indicators (KPIs), and a clear delineation of goals to guide the implementation of marketing activities. The ultimate aim is to enhance brand visibility, attract new patients, retain existing ones, and ultimately improve patients’ overall health outcomes and experiences within the healthcare ecosystem.

Also See: Leading Healthcare & Medical Marketing Companies

Why Do You Need a Healthcare Marketing Strategy? 

Here are the top reasons why a healthcare marketing plan is useful: 

• Market Differentiation: In a crowded healthcare landscape, standing out is essential. A marketing strategy helps healthcare entities highlight their unique services, specialties, or patient-centered approaches. 
• Patient Engagement and Acquisition: Nowadays, patients actively seek healthcare information online. A robust healthcare marketing plan allows providers to engage with these patients effectively. Whether through informative content, social media engagement, or community outreach, it helps attract and retain patients by building relationships and fostering trust.
• Credibility and Trust Building: A well-crafted strategy enables healthcare providers to demonstrate expertise, share valuable health-related information, and showcase success stories. By consistently delivering reliable and helpful content, they establish themselves as trustworthy and credible sources, encouraging patient confidence.
• Reputation Management: Reputation is vital in healthcare. A marketing strategy helps manage and shape a healthcare organization’s narrative. Providers can shape a positive reputation by actively engaging with patients, addressing concerns, and showcasing positive experiences.
• Performance Measurement: Metrics are crucial for assessing success. A marketing strategy defines Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that allow healthcare organizations to track the impact of their marketing efforts. Metrics such as patient inquiries, website traffic, conversion rates, or patient satisfaction scores help gauge performance and refine strategies.

Also See: Biggest & Newest Healthcare Marketing Trends For 2024

What Are The Different Components of Successful Healthcare Marketing Plans?

Successful healthcare marketing plans encompass various components tailored to meet the healthcare industry’s unique needs. Here are the key components:

• Market Research and Analysis: Understanding the market landscape is crucial. This involves identifying target demographics, analyzing patient needs, studying competitor strategies, and assessing industry trends. Comprehensive research forms the foundation for informed decision-making.
• Target Audience Identification: Defining the target audience helps in tailoring marketing strategies effectively. It involves creating patient personas based on demographics, behaviors and needs to ensure messaging resonates with the intended audience.
• Strategic Messaging and Positioning: Crafting compelling and consistent messaging that aligns with the brand’s values and resonates with the target audience is crucial. This messaging should highlight unique selling propositions (USPs) and address patient pain points.
• Multichannel Marketing Strategies: Effective healthcare marketing involves leveraging various channels. This might include digital marketing (website, social media, content marketing), traditional marketing (print, radio), email campaigns, patient referrals, events, or community engagement initiatives.
• Content Creation and Educational Initiatives: Providing valuable and informative content builds trust and positions healthcare providers as authoritative sources. This might involve sharing health tips, articles, blogs, or educational materials addressing common health concerns or treatments.
• Patient Experience Enhancement: Improving patient experience is integral to successful healthcare marketing. This encompasses quality care, empathetic communication, ease of access, and post-care engagement strategies.
• Performance Metrics and Analytics: Defining measurable KPIs and regularly tracking performance metrics is critical. Metrics might include patient inquiries, website traffic, conversion rates, patient satisfaction scores, or ROI from marketing initiatives.
• Compliance and Ethical Considerations: Healthcare marketing plans must comply with ethical standards and regulatory requirements. Ensuring all marketing activities adhere to patient privacy laws (HIPAA) and industry regulations is essential.
• Adaptability and Continuous Improvement: Healthcare is dynamic, requiring plans to adapt to changing patient needs, industry trends, or technological advancements. Regularly assessing strategies and making data-driven adjustments is vital for ongoing success.

Also See: Best Social Media Marketing Tactics

Step By Step Guide To Create A Healthcare Marketing Plan

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help:

Market Research and Analysis

Example: Let’s consider a new healthcare clinic planning its marketing strategy. Analyze demographics, such as age, gender, location, and health concerns prevalent in the area: research competitors’ services, pricing, patient satisfaction levels, and marketing approaches.

Set Clear Objectives and Goals

Example: Once the research is complete, define specific goals. For instance, the clinic aims to increase patient appointments by 30% within six months, enhance brand recognition in the local community, and establish itself as a go-to provider for preventive care.

Identify Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Example: Determine what sets the clinic apart. It specializes in holistic care, offers extended hours, or has a team of renowned specialists. Highlight these unique aspects in the marketing strategy to attract patients seeking these services.

Define Your Target Audience

Example: Develop patient personas. One persona might be “Sarah,” a health-conscious working professional in her 30s seeking convenience and personalized care. Another could be “John,” a senior citizen looking for affordable healthcare solutions for chronic conditions.

Also See: Best Healthcare Marketing Ideas For Doctors

Develop Marketing Strategies and Tactics

Example: Based on the personas, decide on marketing channels and tactics. For “Sarah,” utilize social media platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn for targeted ads promoting convenience and personalized care. For “John,” consider community outreach programs or health workshops at local senior centers.

Allocate Budget and Resources

• Determine the budget for each marketing initiative.
• Allocate funds for digital marketing, content creation, staff training in patient engagement, and possibly hosting community events.
• Invest in a user-friendly website and patient-centric technologies.

5 Best Examples of Healthcare Marketing Campaigns

Here are five successful examples of healthcare marketing campaigns:

Cleveland Clinic: “Empathy Series”

Cleveland Clinic’s “Empathy Series” features touching patient stories and testimonials shared through emotional videos. These stories highlight the human side of healthcare, emphasizing compassion, care, and the impact of the clinic’s services on patients’ lives. The campaign resonates with audiences by evoking emotions and showcasing the clinic’s patient-centered approach.

Also See: Healthcare Digital Marketing: Best Practices For Medical Companies

Mayo Clinic: “Sharing Mayo Clinic”

Mayo Clinic’s “ Sharing Mayo Clinic ” campaign revolves around patient stories and experiences shared through blogs and social media. It humanizes the clinic’s services by featuring real-life patient journeys, successful treatments, and personal insights from patients and medical professionals. It serves as a powerful educational tool while building trust and credibility.

Jude Children’s Research Hospital: “Thanks and Giving”

St. Jude’s “ Thanks and Giving ” campaign runs during the holiday season, encouraging donations and support for pediatric cancer research and treatment. It utilizes emotional storytelling and celebrity endorsements to raise awareness for the hospital’s mission, effectively leveraging the season of giving to drive engagement and donations.

Mount Sinai Hospital: “Stories of Excellence.”

Mount Sinai’s campaign focuses on real patient stories , showcasing diverse medical cases and successful treatments. Through testimonials, videos, and print materials, the campaign emphasizes the hospital’s expertise, personalized care, and innovative treatments, reinforcing the trust and credibility associated with the institution.

Also See: B2B Healthcare Marketing Guide

American Heart Association: “Go Red for Women”

The “ Go Red for Women ” campaign by the American Heart Association aims to raise awareness about heart disease among women. Using social media, events, and educational materials, it educates women about heart health, prevention, and early detection of cardiovascular diseases. The campaign empowers women to take charge of their heart health while advocating for better healthcare access and support.

3 Free Healthcare Marketing Plan Templates

Creating a healthcare marketing plan is crucial for successful marketing strategies. While specific templates might vary, here are three free healthcare marketing plan templates available online:

HubSpot’s Healthcare Marketing Plan Template

HubSpot offers a comprehensive marketing plan template tailored for healthcare organizations. It covers executive summary, market analysis, target audience, goals, strategies, tactics, budgeting, and measurement. It’s free on the HubSpot website and can be a structured guide for healthcare marketing plans.

Smartsheet’s Healthcare Marketing Plan Template

Smartsheet provides a customizable marketing plan template specifically designed for healthcare providers. This template includes sections for competitive analysis, SWOT analysis, target audience personas, messaging, channels, budget allocation, and KPIs. It’s accessible for free on the Smartsheet website and can be adapted to suit different healthcare marketing needs.

Canvas Healthcare Marketing Plan Template

Canva, known for its design tools, offers customizable marketing plan templates , including some tailored for the healthcare industry. These templates feature sections for market analysis, objectives, strategies, tactics, timeline, and budget. Canvas templates are user-friendly and free to use, providing a visually appealing way to structure healthcare marketing plans.

Also See: Medical Content Marketing Agencies List

Impact of Healthcare Marketing Strategies in Healthcare Systems

Healthcare marketing strategies wield a profound impact on the dynamics and success of healthcare systems, influencing various facets critical to their effectiveness, growth, and sustainability:

Patient Acquisition and Retention

Effective marketing strategies are pivotal in attracting new patients to healthcare systems. By highlighting unique services, specialties, or patient-centric approaches, marketing campaigns create awareness and draw individuals to seek healthcare services. Moreover, strategic patient engagement initiatives and personalized communication contribute to retaining existing patients, fostering loyalty, and encouraging repeat visits.

Brand Visibility and Differentiation

Robust marketing efforts enhance brand visibility and differentiation within the healthcare landscape. They establish a strong brand identity, distinguish the healthcare system from competitors, and build a recognizable presence within the community. A well-crafted brand message communicates the organization’s values, expertise, and commitment to patient care, resonating with patients and healthcare professionals.

Improved Patient Engagement and Experience

Marketing strategies for patient education, communication, and empowerment enhance patient engagement. These initiatives, such as informative content, user-friendly portals, and proactive outreach, facilitate meaningful interactions between patients and healthcare providers. They empower patients with knowledge, streamline access to care, and contribute to a positive patient experience.

Optimized Resource Allocation and Growth

Data-driven marketing strategies enable healthcare systems to allocate resources efficiently. By analyzing patient demographics, preferences, and behavioral patterns, systems can identify high-yield areas for investment. This data-driven approach guides decisions regarding service expansions, technological advancements, or targeted interventions that optimize growth and service quality.

Enhanced Reputation and Trust

Marketing campaigns showcasing success stories, patient testimonials, and community involvement contribute to building a positive reputation. A strong reputation fosters trust among patients, referring physicians, and the community. Trust and a positive perception influence patients’ choice of healthcare provider, impacting patient volume and loyalty.

Promotion of New Services and Programs

Marketing initiatives are instrumental in promoting and encouraging the adoption of new healthcare services, programs, or initiatives. Through targeted campaigns and educational content, healthcare systems create awareness, educate stakeholders, and encourage participation in preventive care, screenings, or specialized services.

Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations

Marketing efforts often involve forming strategic partnerships and collaborations. Collaborations with other healthcare entities, community organizations, or industry stakeholders lead to shared resources, innovative solutions, and expanded service offerings, benefiting healthcare systems and the community.

Ethical and Regulatory Compliance

Ethical healthcare marketing practices ensure adherence to industry regulations, ethical standards, and patient privacy laws. Transparent and ethical marketing ensures compliance and contributes to maintaining the integrity and credibility of healthcare systems.

Also See: Healthcare Advertising Guide For Beginners

Conclusion 

Crafting a comprehensive healthcare marketing plan is a dynamic process that requires careful consideration, research, and strategic thinking. Healthcare professionals and organizations can develop a strong healthcare marketing plan tailored to their unique needs and goals by following these six essential steps and utilizing available free templates. 

These steps, coupled with the assistance of free templates available online, empower healthcare entities to navigate the complexities of the industry, engage with their audience effectively, and, ultimately, drive positive outcomes within the healthcare ecosystem. 

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How to make a strategic healthcare marketing plan

Last updated

3 July 2023

Reviewed by

Melissa Udekwu, BSN., RN., LNC

The digital revolution has delivered numerous changes to the healthcare industry. 

The healthcare landscape is full of choices, so you could have a hard time attracting new patients if you don’t market your facility. Lack of engagement could see even your most loyal clients dropping off. 

However, with a sound healthcare marketing plan, you can improve your reach, get more patients coming in, and keep them thinking about your brand. 

Unsure how to hack this hyper-competitive industry? Keep reading for practical tips and a healthcare marketing plan example guide to set you well on your way.      

• What is a healthcare marketing plan?

A healthcare marketing strategy or plan outlines how a healthcare facility will promote itself and grow over time. It informs your methods of creating, communicating, and using healthcare information. 

A sound healthcare marketing plan can execute and measure your efforts over time to determine their effectiveness. 

This strategy typically spans one year, relies on offline and online tactics, and is highly segmented.  

• What is the importance of a strategic healthcare marketing plan?

Your medical facility needs to stand out in an increasingly competitive healthcare landscape to:

Attract new clients or patients

Retain current clients

Augment patient journeys

Maximize your return on investment (ROI)

Here's how a sound healthcare marketing plan can come in handy: 

Increased brand visibility

Healthcare businesses can use digital marketing to reach more potential customers than ever before. 

However, it helps to have a strategic marketing plan that draws the right people to your facility. 

Maintaining a familiar tone of voice, look, and feel makes your brand more recognizable, increasing patient trust.  

A competitive edge

A solid healthcare marketing plan can connect your facility with patients. This can give you an advantage over competitors who rarely think about digital marketing.  

More patients

When patients are unsatisfied with a particular healthcare facility's services, they are more likely to switch. 

Dissatisfaction can come from a lack of or poor engagement online. 

A sound marketing strategy ensures you can draw these patients to your facility.  

• What are the key elements of a healthcare marketing plan?

Some notable elements to make your healthcare marketing plan stand out include the following:

A mobile-friendly and responsive website

A responsive website can adjust to whatever device your client is using, whether it's a tablet, PC, or phone. 

When you optimize your website for multiple platforms, you may expand your reach. Why?

That's because more than 80% of patients  use their phones regularly to interact with medical professionals. They also use them to browse through healthcare reviews. 

Plus, it's a great way to improve your search ranking as Google ranks mobile-friendly sites higher. 

Search engine optimization (SEO)

With most patients turning to the internet for healthcare information, investing in SEO makes plenty of sense. 

This begins with publishing unique, authoritative content and optimizing your web pages.

Employee advocate marketing

Your employees can greatly contribute to your marketing efforts in and out of the workplace. That includes everyone from the front desk team to your specialists. 

Creating a positive healthcare environment can win over patients unsure about your services. 

They could also use social media to advocate for your facility and create a loyal customer base.  

Patient and professional referrals

Patients and professional partners can help create a great brand reputation by saying good things about your facility. 

You should develop great relationships with consistent communication, respect, and kindness. 

Simple things go a long way, like saying hello to a patient who has not been to your facility for a while or wishing them a happy birthday. 

Social media marketing

Social media can assist you in attracting new patients and strengthening your relationships with existing clients. 

While you do not have to use each platform available, ensure you have a great strategy for the platforms you post content on. 

Some great tactics include:

Advertising your healthcare services, promotions, and products to boost revenue

Consistently posting informative content to establish brand authority and enhance engagement rates, such as videos about health conditions

Answering patient questions and engaging your followers to boost patient loyalty and brand affinity

• A step-by-step guide to making a healthcare marketing plan

Here's how to make a strategic healthcare marketing plan:

Step 1: Conduct a SWOT analysis

A swot analysis simply refers to evaluating the following aspects of your medical care business: 

Your business can leverage its capabilities and resources to gain a competitive edge. 

They include: 

A groundbreaking service or product

Massive industry experience

Your facility's strategic location

These are things you should improve or avoid. For instance, your facility could be in a poor location or already have a bad reputation. 

Opportunities

Novel opportunities can include: 

Strategic alliances

New technologies

The departure of competitors

An upcoming market base

These uncontrollable aspects stand in the way of your healthcare facility's success. 

They can include: 

Economic downturns

Entry of a new competitor

Changes in insurance plans or government regulations

A rival gaining a competitive edge

Step 2: Define your target market

Trying to reach everyone will water down your message. Establish specific personas that describe the people and entities you target. 

This ensures you speak their language better and promote the aspects they care about most. 

When defining your target audience, list everything you can about them, including their: 

Medical needs

Healthcare habits

Other demographics

Step 3: Establish SMART goals

The SMART system calls for objectives that are:

Time-bound 

Smart business goals help your team stay on the same page as they execute your healthcare marketing plan. 

Step 4: Discuss and analyze key marketing strategies

Meet with your staff and analyze your current marketing tactics with them. 

Evaluate the strategies that meet your facility's goals and the demands of your current and potential patients. 

This step may uncover missed opportunities while improving your communication and messaging channels. 

For instance, after analyzing your user personas and SMART goals , you may determine that posters are better for advertising than TV ads.  

Step 5: Stay ahead of the competition

Being the undisputed leader in your sector takes plenty of work. You have to make your facility's services or products unique and offer value beyond just the price. 

Assume your competitors are competing on price, and look for another value proposition that keeps customers walking into your medical practice. 

A competitor analysis report will help you understand your competition and develop future-proofing strategies. Forecasting the problems and influences you may encounter is how you stay ahead.

Step 6: Set your budget

You will require some money to roll out your marketing plan. Plan and stick to a budget to implement all your strategies throughout the year. Avoid blowing money on one or two things. 

Talk with your finance team to know what's possible and align your budget appropriately. This includes creating estimates for each marketing activity you have planned. 

While you need to stick to the budget, leave some room for flexibility due to changes in priorities. 

Step 7: Establish KPIs

Any solid marketing plan relies on effective tracking and analytics. With the relevant data, you can prove your strategies were successful, and you’ll know what works so you can replicate it. 

You'll use key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the performance of your marketing tactics. Establish these metrics from the start to track them as time goes on. 

Some top healthcare marketing plan KPIs you could use include: 

Bounce rate 

Demographics

Conversions

Number of pages viewed

Average time spent on your website

Sources of traffic

Top landing pages

Search trends on your site

What does a healthcare marketing plan look like?

A healthcare marketing plan typically includes a medical business's goals and tactics for promoting its services.

It also outlines the facility's target audience, competitive analysis , and key metrics to measure performance. The plan works within a set budget.

What is a good marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a carefully curated strategy outlining a business's goals and objectives. 

It includes the organization's: 

Target audience

Main messages

Value propositions

Key marketing tactics

Competitive strategies

Methods of measuring success

Set timeline

What is patient-centered marketing?

Patient-centered marketing features the patient as the key aspect. 

It's when your facility customizes all messages, objectives, communication, and value propositions to meet the patient's needs. 

This strategy should increase engagement and patient satisfaction . It can also ensure positive clinical outcomes. 

What is the goal of healthcare marketing?

Healthcare marketing aims to: 

Promote your healthcare facility's services

Deliver authoritative, beneficial content to patients

Enhance patient health

Improve customer satisfaction and brand loyalty

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How To Create A Strategic Healthcare Marketing Plan In 5 Steps

Healthcare marketing is an important part of running a successful medical practice. How you reach your target market, how you get people to choose your practice over a competitor, and what marketing measures you track are all aspects of healthcare marketing.

But without a plan, it can be hard to know where to start when you’re trying to build a strong brand and increase the number of patients you have. In this article, you will learn how to create a healthcare marketing plan for your practice.

Healthcare Marketing Explained

Healthcare marketing is the process of attracting, generating, and managing demand for healthcare services. Healthcare marketing plans are used to drive sales, generate leads, and develop relationships with prospective customers. A healthcare marketing plan can be customized to meet the unique needs of a particular business, industry, and target market.

Curious about why some healthcare providers aren’t able to market themselves effectively? Check out this article: The Biggest Challenges in Marketing in the Healthcare Industry

5 Steps To A Strong Medical Practice Marketing Plan

Define your target audience.

Your target audience is the group of people you want to attract to your medical practice or hospital. For a business, the target audience is the group of people who are most likely to need what you have to offer. However, for medical practices, you need to look at your target audience from a different perspective.

Medical practices need to understand the demographics of their local market, as well as why they’re in need of their services. They will use this information to tailor marketing messages specifically to this market. Not only that, it’s important that you understand the niche you operate in. By having a niche and understanding your market, you improve your chances of long term success.

Decide on your goals

Depending on where you are in your practice, your goals for your healthcare marketing plan will be different. Opening a new practice in a new city requires different goals than growing an existing practice.

Is your goal to increase the number of patients in your practice? Is it to improve your practice’s reputation? Or is it to open up new opportunities for a new location? Decide why you need a healthcare marketing plan and move forward based on that. Don’t deviate from your original goal by trying to satisfy every possible metric!

Use a SWOT Analysis To Assess The Situation

A SWOT analysis is a common tool used to assess the situation of a business, either new or existing. It consists of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are specific to your organization, whereas Opportunities and Threats have to do with the situation such as competition and the economy.

Once you do it, don’t sit on it: use what you have in your SWOT analysis to determine what you need to do in order to meet your goals.

Decide Your Marketing Activities & Budgets

Now that you know your target audience, your goals, and your situation, you can decide which marketing activities you will invest in, and how much you want to invest in each. It’s tempting to just do everything all at once, but there are some things that matter more than others. For example, if your goal is to grow the number of patients in your practice, focusing on search engine marketing (SEM) and paid social media will likely be the key. However, if your goal is to improve your reputation, you’ll want to invest in reputation management, social media marketing and public relations.

Determine your budget based on how much you want to spend on each marketing objective. Assign the bulk of your budget to the most important activity. Remember the 80/20 principle: 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities.

Establish KPIs

Now that you’ve decided what you’ll be investing in, you have to decide on metrics for success. You need to be able to monitor the results of your marketing activities and make adjustments as needed, otherwise you’re shooting in the dark.

Your KPIs should be based on your activities and your goals. For example, if you’re trying to grow your practice and are investing primarily in SEM, you might want to track the amount of traffic to your website, your rankings on search engines, and the number of new patients you’ve acquired. If you’re trying to improve your reputation, you might be looking at the number of reviews you’ve received, improvement on patient surveys, and the reduction of negative reviews.

Sequence Health offers healthcare marketing services to help medical practices in all stages of the marketing process. If you’re looking to grow your practice, improve your reputation, or simply grow your brand awareness, learn more about medical marketing strategies !

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Creating a Hospital Marketing Plan that Meets Hospitals‘ Business Objectives

Crafting any hospital marketing plan is a near-impossible task. The principal challenge is to satisfy the numerous and diverse internal demands, and to do so with finite (and often shrinking) resources.

How to assign priorities among the many faces of  healthcare institutions  in the community.

Patients recognize the hospital facility, but individuals’ needs are typically more narrowly defined among:

• Behavioral Health
• Cardiovascular
• Emergency Department
• Neurosciences
• Orthopedics
• Outpatient Care
• Primary Care
• Rehabilitation
• Women’s Services

What’s more, there are the needs, interests and influences of — and the consensus among — the internal voices in your organization, including administrators, directors, medical staff, employees and many others.

Making it all more complex, the competitive environment — and even the delivery system itself — is constantly changing. Also the “customer” and their “purchase” are unlike any retail transaction. Often, the objective is to provide a convincing solution  in advance  of an actual patient need.

Did we mention patient experience/satisfaction, institution branding and messaging, professional reputation, wellness initiatives, community relations, cultural imperatives and government regulations?

The primary elements of a successful plan…

A marketing plan is a strategic document to achieve specific business goals and objectives over a specific time period.

The critical elements of a  hospital marketing plan  are detailed in a series of  previous educational articles .

• Target Marketing – Establishing Target Customers
• Competition Analysis
• SWOT Analysis  (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
• SMART Goals
• Strategies and Tactics
• Marketing Budgets
• Marketing System

It’s not an easy task, but it is an important one. A comprehensive marketing plan for hospitals provides the insight and tools needed to anticipate, assess, prepare, build a roadmap to follow, cover your bases, construct necessary support systems, protect yourself in the healthcare marketplace, win consensus, inspire a winning culture and specifically define the measure of your marketing success.

Disconnected marketers… and what to do instead.

In this circus-like environment that’s part art and part science, it’s nearly impossible to please everyone. Is it any wonder that many CEOs don’t really trust marketers? This observation isn’t exclusive to healthcare marketing. But, according to a  Fournaise performance survey in business , 80 percent of CEOs believe that “marketers are too disconnected from the short-, medium- and long-term financial realities of companies.”

“And that’s because 78 percent of these CEOs think marketers too often lose sight of what the real job is: to generate more customer demand for their products/services in a business-quantifiable and business-measurable way.”

In our experience, most successful marketing pros that we know are numbers-oriented people. A hospital marketing plan in their hands is designed to clearly express specific goals and quantifiable results. Ultimately, this is what creates business credibility with top management.

Internally, they have learned to communicate in hard numbers. They know that metrics, analytics and real-dollar Return-on-Investment (ROI) numbers are the primary language of administrators as well as physicians.

Doctors are trained in science, and they rely on evidence-based practices. Similarly, business-minded administrators, chief financial officers and managing executives will view a hospital SEO marketing plan from the bottom-line up. Neither group will be overly impressed with what they regard as “soft metrics,” such as “the number of brochures created and printed” or even “the number of people attending an event” (production outcomes).

The  true  scoreboard of success is an effective, strategic marketing plan that is carefully aligned with — and supporting of — your hospital’s business objectives.

• Embrace strategic outcome metrics  —  The number of website visitors, Facebook  likes,  blog articles posted, social media mentions and the like constitute useful — but intermediate — data. Construct the elements of your marketing plan to account for quantifiable, measurable return on investment (dollars out over dollars in). It should also account for other specific numbers, such as trackable new patients, referrals and referral-source activity, preference and image ratings, measurable market share and the like.
• Drive toward realistic expectations  –   The nature of strategic plans is to achieve quantifiable goals. For each service line or marketing campaign, include performance indicators that can be monitored and managed from baseline to conclusion. And, whenever possible, make midcourse adjustments that remove obstacles and enhance success.
• Research prospects for success  –   Business success favors those service lines where the marketing territories, target audiences and consumer needs are the strongest. Orient your plan to leverage those opportunities that meet public demand. It’s not about what you’re selling; it’s about what the market needs and wants.
• Firm goals and flexible strategies   –   The nation’s health care system continues to reinvent itself, and any viable plan needs to adapt when necessary. A good marketing plan will hold to achieving the defined goals and objectives, but also recognize that anticipated strategies, tactics, media and budget to achieve the goals can, and sometimes should, be modified for success.
• Track results in real time  —  While after-the-fact analysis has value for future planning, immediate feedback is a guide to flexibility and often allows for midcourse changes. Push the winners; fix or stop losers. If you’re not tracking, you’re flying blind. You’ve got to track… constantly and preferably in real time.
• Execute with enthusiasm  —  Marketing is neither a “nice-to-have” initiative nor a business afterthought. The sum effect of a plan is truly mission-critical for the viability and growth of a hospital, regardless of the size of the facility or organization. Consequently, an aggressive play-to-win attitude helps fuel success. The attitude is contagious with management, medical staff, colleagues, team members and ultimately the people and community that you serve.

A final thought…

For any hospital, large or small, the construct and implementation of a comprehensive marketing plan are complex and dynamic. (Please reach out to us, we can assist with that.) As a starting point,  connect with us here for creating a plan that meets your hospital business objectives .

You’ll find more information about  building a marketing system  in our instructional library. And for related reading, click through to these articles:

• Hospital Advertising Evolves : Achieving Results in an Ever-Changing Industry
• Healthcare Marketing : 15 Healthcare Strategies That Bring More Patients
• Building a Hospital Website
• The True Definition of ROI : Metrics for Profitable Hospital Marketing in 2014 [Podcast]

Marketing a healthcare organization can be challenging - even painful if you don't approach it with the right knowledge, tools, and guidance. By reading about mistakes and lessons others have learned the hard way, you can boost your marketing effectiveness and take a shortcut to success. Discover how to avoid these "Seven Deadly Sins". Plus, join over 30,000 of your fellow healthcare providers with a free subscription to our Insight Newsletter.

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Healthcare marketing plan: Top 6 ways your medical practice must act now

Creating and executing a great  healthcare marketing plan  is key to attracting and engaging your patients.

Healthcare organizations used to rely on word-of-mouth to attract new patients or customers. But today, the experience a potential patient has with your healthcare business most often starts online, where they’re researching you and your competitors to decide on where to receive care.

Unfortunately,  Prophet and GE Healthcare Camden Group  found that 81% of consumers are unsatisfied with their healthcare experience. Their dissatisfaction leaves a lot of room for improvement and gives healthcare companies and medical practices a growth opportunity for marketing. This is where a comprehensive plan and strategy for handling  healthcare marketing  efforts comes into play.

Read on to learn more about why it’s vital to build a healthcare marketing plan to grow your healthcare practice.

What is a healthcare marketing plan?

A marketing plan helps you plan and build the strategy to promote your company and help it grow over time.

In the medical industry, your healthcare marketing plan will outline your marketing strategy and detail how to achieve your healthcare organization’s goals and objectives.

A well-developed healthcare marketing plan is your roadmap to execute and measure your marketing efforts over a specific period—usually one calendar year. It covers multiple marketing channels, is highly segmented, and uses online and offline tactics to drive engagement.

Benefits of having a healthcare marketing strategy in place

The healthcare market in America has become increasingly competitive, making it more critical than ever for healthcare businesses to stand out.

Did you know …  in the United States in 2021, healthcare ad spending  increased by 18% ?

A strategic healthcare marketing plan can help you bring in new patients or clients, retain the clients you have, improve patient journeys, and increase your return on investment.

A healthcare marketing plan promotes healthcare brand visibility

Thanks to digital marketing, healthcare businesses can reach more potential clients than ever before. But to do so, you need a strong healthcare marketing plan to promote your business and attract the right people to your brand.

Good medical marketing strategies focus on consistent messaging and a recognizable look and feel (e.g., your logo, brand colors, etc.) across your online and offline properties. This helps people recognize your brand and builds trust with patients.

A healthcare marketing plan provides a competitive advantage

Developing a solid healthcare marketing plan gives your business a leg-up over competitors who treat digital marketing as an afterthought.

By investing the time upfront in building and documenting your strategic plan, you’ll know exactly what tactics to deploy and how to measure success throughout the year.

A healthcare marketing plan increases the patient base of your practice

Patients are highly likely to switch healthcare providers if they’re unsatisfied with their experience—and that includes their experience online. Meet new patients where they are with a great experience that makes it easy for them to learn more about you and schedule an appointment.

According to Google, 75% of users find information online through their smartphones to help them decide on a healthcare provider. Make sure your healthcare marketing plan outlines precisely how you plan to get in front of those patients as they search for new providers.

Healthcare marketing objectives

Different healthcare providers will have other goals for marketing. But some general objectives you may want to outline in your healthcare marketing plan include:

• Improve patient education about health and wellness
• Raise awareness about the healthcare services you provide (and why they’re important)
• Demonstrate how you deliver the best patient care

Why develop a strong healthcare brand

A thriving healthcare brand strategy informs your marketing and other communication efforts and enhances your appeal to patients in the marketplace.

What is a brand?

• A brand represents …  what your group stands for, how it serves constituents, and the directional future focus of the organization.
• A brand encapsulates …  how people experience your organization and reflect their POV on that experience back to the organization regarding its products, services, interactions, and conduct.
• A brand serves as …  an asset. You must develop, manage, nurture, look after, and leverage a brand as you would any other investment.

Healthcare providers look alike to most potential patients and clients, and many offer essentially the same services. If you take the time to learn more about your patients’ specific needs and build your brand around addressing those needs, you’ll stand out amongst your competitors and attract more business.

5 step guide to making your healthcare marketing plan

So, how do you market a healthcare program? Here are six ways to get started.

Define your target audience

If you try to cater your marketing messages to everyone, you risk watering them down. That’s why understanding the personas in your target audience is so important in healthcare marketing. It allows you to speak the language of your patients better and promote the offerings they care about most.

Within your healthcare marketing plan, your target audience should be made up of the types of patients you would typically work with, based on demographics, location, healthcare habits, and medical needs. (You may have multiple target audiences if you have different departments or services that cater to different personas.)

Set SMART business goals

As you layout your medical marketing plan, it’s essential to decide what goals you hope to achieve. That way, as your team executes your plan, everyone knows the objectives and is on the same page.

When setting marketing goals, the “SMART” system is a great formula to follow. SMART stands for:

• M easurable
• A chievable
• T ime-Based

As you set goals, make sure they check all these boxes. Just be sure not to set too many goals; focus on just a few (five or fewer) that are really essential to growing the business.

Conduct a SWOT analysis

Are you wondering how to make an effective SWOT analysis for your healthcare marketing plan? It’s not as hard as it sounds.

• W eaknesses
• O pportunities

The analysis part is simply what you do when you think through and document these items. Think about what your business is good at or what sets you apart (your strengths), what could use some work (your weaknesses), areas you’d like to grow or expand the business (opportunities), and competitors you keep coming up against (threats).

Document these things in your marketing plan for healthcare services and reference them whenever you’re making a strategic decision.

Plan your marketing budget

If you’re planning to run some excellent healthcare marketing programs, you’re going to need some money to do it. Planning your budget (and sticking to it) ensures that you’re able to do all the things you want throughout the year and don’t blow all the budget on one campaign.

Work with your finance team to see what is possible, then create a budget with estimates attached to all the marketing activities you have planned. While it’s good to stick to your budget as closely as possible, remember that it can be flexible as priorities change.

Establish KPIs (how you’ll measure success)

Analytics and tracking are the keys to a solid healthcare marketing strategy. Without data, the success of your marketing efforts is difficult to prove.

Your key performance indicators (KPIs) are the metrics you will track to gauge how your marketing programs perform. It’s important to lay these out in your healthcare marketing plan right from the start so that you can track them over time.

Here are some top healthcare website KPIs every marketer should be tracking:

• Average page views and time spent on pages
• Demographics
• Traffic sources and top landing pages
• Bounce rate
• Conversions
• On-site search trends

You can track these KPIs with tools like Google Analytics and other marketing software, like HubSpot, Marketo, and Salesforce Pardot.

Increase the effectiveness of your healthcare practice website

To create a seamless digital patient experience and scale the reach of your business, a great website must be the core of your healthcare marketing plan. Your website is most often the first experience a prospective new patient has with your business, and you want to make a good impression.

Healthcare website optimization

Here are three tips for building a best-in-class healthcare website that educates and converts.

1. Make sure your website is mobile responsive : Building a mobile-friendly website can give you a competitive advantage in the healthcare market. According to Smart Insights , 54.86% of today’s users perform online searches on mobile devices. That’s why it’s so critical to have a website that is just as easy to use on a phone or tablet as it is on a desktop computer.

You don’t need to change your brand, colors, or style to optimize for mobile. You need a design built to work in a mobile format and a design that uses responsive web design and scalable vector graphics technologies that recognize the user’s device and adjust the website specs to fit it. (A trusted website design and development partner can help you with this.)

2. Improve your healthcare website speed : If your website is slow , it could be causing potential patients to bounce from your page. Improving site speed has many benefits, including increasing conversions and improving user retention.

Consider these stats:

• 40% of people will bounce away from a website that takes more than three seconds to load
• As page load time goes up from one to five seconds on mobile, users are 90% more likely to leave before the page is fully loaded
• The team at the BBC discovered that—for every additional second their site took to load—they lost an extra 10% of its users

Use a speed test tool like Google’s Pagespeed Insights to monitor and improve the speed of your healthcare marketing website across all types of devices.

3. Build authority and improve SEO with your blog : Blogging is an essential content strategy that you should include in your healthcare marketing plan. Build your blog calendar by researching relevant keywords related to your audience’s search intent.

Starting with a keyword in mind can help you brainstorm relevant blog topics that you can optimize for search so patients and clients can find the issues they care about most. This adds value for your audience and makes your website rank higher in search.

It would help if you also tried to include as many relevant long-tail keywords as you can into your blog content. Long-tail keywords have lower search volume, are easier to target, and convert better.

Local SEO for healthcare practices

Localized marketing is essential for healthcare providers. It would help build a solid local presence so that people searching online for healthcare services in your geographic area will find your practice. Because of this, you are improving and maintaining your local SEO ranking should be outlined in your healthcare marketing plan.

As a healthcare marketer, you want your business to show up in the Google local traffic results, as that is where most people will click when Google displays search results.

It’s also important to keep your organization’s Facebook page and Google My Business profile up-to-date and ask for client/patient ratings to boost your SEO.

Use effective messaging in your healthcare marketing copy

When it comes to an effective healthcare marketing plan, it’s not just about what you say but how you say it.

In the healthcare industry, in particular, the language you use in marketing copy matters. This applies to the words on your website pages, blog posts, emails, printed materials, social media posts, videos, and more.

Any place you are communicating with patients or potential patients, your messaging should reflect your brand and the services you provide. If your copy is poorly written or too complicated for people to understand, it will be ineffective.

Focus on writing marketing copy that is honest, consistent, easy-to-understand, and free from typos or grammatical errors.

Identify your unique selling proposition to compete in a crowded field

Healthcare is a competitive industry, with many practices attracting new patients in the same local area. To stand out from the crowd, your organization needs a unique selling proposition.

Your unique selling proposition is what differentiates your medical practice from your competitors. It can also include a specific niche or specialty that makes your business unique.

When building your healthcare marketing plan, defining your USP can help you identify the right target markets and provide direction for your marketing efforts.

It helps you emphasize what makes your healthcare practice special and why patients should choose you over your competitors.

Healthcare marketing examples to inspire you

As you build your healthcare marketing plan, it can help to see what other providers are doing to maximize their marketing efforts and create a great digital experience for patients.

Here are some best-in-class healthcare marketing examples:

• Dermatology Inc.
• Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center
• Logansport Memorial Hospital
• OrthoVirginia

Common healthcare marketing FAQs

What are the advantages of having a healthcare marketing plan.

A strategic healthcare marketing plan can help you bring in new patients or clients, retain the clients you have, improve patient journeys, and increase your return on investment (ROI). It also helps you promote brand visibility and create a competitive advantage in your market.

What is healthcare marketing strategy?

A healthcare marketing strategy helps you execute and measure your marketing efforts. It establishes who you’ll target and the programs you’ll deploy across multiple marketing channels using online and offline tactics.

How do we develop a healthcare marketing strategy?

To develop a healthcare marketing plan strategy, you must define your target audience, set SMART business goals, conduct a SWOT analysis, plan your marketing budget, and establish KPIs. (Learn more about these steps above.)

What are the ethical issues in healthcare marketing?

Just as ethics matter in healthcare practice, they matter in how your organization is marketed. An ethical healthcare marketing plan should consist of honest and proven messaging. It should follow all advertising guidelines mandated by your local medical board and comply with HIPAA regulations.

What are the challenges to successful healthcare marketing?

Like marketing in any industry, creating an effective healthcare marketing plan comes with specific challenges. That is why measurement and tracking are essential to ensure your programs stay on the right track. Test your marketing campaigns regularly and make tweaks over time to provide the best results.

Partner with a healthcare marketing agency

To build an effective healthcare marketing plan and optimize your ROI, consider consulting with a healthcare marketing agency that can help you connect with patients across all your digital channels.

TBH Creative specializes in helping clients build and execute effective healthcare marketing plans that convert. In 2021, we were awarded six Aster Awards—five gold and one silver—for our excellence in healthcare web design and healthcare marketing.

You might also like …

• Patient Marketing Strategies to Help You Grow Your Healthcare Practice
• 3 Ways Our Healthcare Marketing Agency Will Deliver the Results You Need
• Hospital Marketing Trends You’ll Want to Add to Your Strategy in 2022

About the author | Tatum Hindman

Tatum is the president of TBH Creative and is responsible for building long-term client relationships. She enjoys the strategy behind web design and collaborating with clients to define and execute online marketing goals. She likes to blog about hot topics in web design and digital marketing, as well as share tips for strengthening your online presence.

View more posts by Tatum Hindman

10 Examples of Brilliant Healthcare Marketing

Updated: August 29, 2018

Published: August 01, 2018

Sure, the medical industry may have once been considered a slow adopter to the world of inbound marketing, but it's safe to say that these 10 examples of healthcare marketing are making up for lost time.

1. Carilion Clinic

Campaign: #yesmamm.

Several years ago, in order to raise awareness about breast cancer and the need for early detection, Carilion Clinic of Virginia's Roanoke Valley started the "Yes, Mamm" campaign.

This campaign used the #YESMAMM hashtag to answer common breast cancer questions in a Twitterchat. It also drove traffic to the Carilion Clinic website to encourage women to make an appointment at one of its screening locations. The #YESMAMM campaign is a perfect example of the power of hashtags to start a movement.

2. New York Presbyterian Hospital

Campaign: patient stories.

For most businesses today, storytelling is a boon for their branding. Healthcare, in particular, is a perfect candidate for telling uplifting success stories of patients who were saved by the care of a medical center. New York Presbyterian Hospital has built an entire video marketing strategy around this concept.

The story of patient Michael Kiernan is one example of how New York Presbyterian connects with its audience, publishing raw accounts of its doctors and nurses who were on the scene and at the public's service. Watch Kiernan's story below, and try not to cry a little.

3. UnitedHealthcare

Campaign: we dare you.

The multi-award winning " We Dare You " campaign from UnitedHealthcare stands out as the gold standard for what can happen when healthcare organizations engage with their following.

With monthly "dares," quizzes, and prizes on its website, United Healthcare encouraged followers to make one small healthy change per month and document it on social media. This interactive campaign not only led to healthier habits, but it also fostered an interactive online community of brand loyalists.

#WeDareYou to snap a photo of fresh produce & tag it #FreshVeggiesWDY for your chance to #win ! http://t.co/FbxtpbU91B pic.twitter.com/5KtZyxfpzJ — Source4Women (@Source4Women) June 7, 2015

4. Anne Arundel's Medical Center

Campaign: stachie facebook contest.

This contest, organized by Anne Arundel's Medical Center, asked participants to post their best "stachie" -- otherwise known as a selfie with either a real or fake mustache. The purpose was to raise awareness for men's health during November (or, "Movember" or "No Shave November," as it has popularly come to be known).

This clever contest not only took advantage of social media hilarity, but it also drove traffic to the medical center's webpage for Men's Health -- which has other attractions for awareness, like their blog, podcast, and calendar of events.

5. Dana-Farber Brigham & Women's Cancer Center

Campaign: you have us.

It's an incredibly powerful slogan: "Right now you may have cancer. But what your cancer doesn't know is -- You Have Us." Through confidence-inspiring web videos , the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute shows its personal approach to cancer treatment and state-of-the-art facilities.

By sharing these videos on social media (as well as using more traditional marketing techniques, like television and radio) the cancer center embodies what it means to build trust with your target audience.

6. Medical Realities

Campaign: surgical training in 360 degrees.

Medical Realities is a medical training service that uses virtual reality (VR) to teach complex healthcare topics to an audience of healthcare professionals. And some of its VR content is quite inventive.

The marketing campaign below teaches the video viewer a surgical procedure from the point of view of a patient. Using Oculus Rift, a VR product owned by Facebook, Medical Realities allows you to drag the video 360 degrees around with your cursor. It's an excellent way to show current and future surgeons how surgeries should be experienced according to the patient. Try it out below:

7. Floating Hospital for Children -- Tufts Medical Center

Campaign: ourcircleofmoms.com.

One of the main covenants of effective marketing is catering to your target audience -- and the online community/blog OurCircleofMoms.com does exactly that. The content and community of support that Our Circle of Moms offers for mothers whose children are patients at the Floating Hospital for Children lives up to their slogan: "Just What Moms Ordered."

By creating this space for mothers to find the support they need, the Floating Hospital for Children is positioning its medical center as a trusted resource for parents.

8. The Mayo Clinic

Campaign: sharing mayo clinic blog.

The Mayo Clinic sees patients from literally all around the world and the goal of the Sharing Mayo Clinic blog is to unite these diverse patients into a global online community. The blog showcases stories from patients, family members, and Mayo Clinic staff.

These inspiring stories and the sense of community that comes from sharing them in one place plays directly into Mayo Clinic's well-known reputation as a trusted healthcare resource. Of course, Mayo Clinic is no stranger to having multiple blogs and general healthcare marketing awesomeness , so its inclusion on this list shouldn't come as any surprise.

9. Arkansas Children's Hospital

Campaign: #100deadliestdays.

In order for a hashtag-driven marketing campaign to be successful, it has to be memorable and worth sharing.

The shock factor of the #100DeadliestDays social media campaign from the Arkansas Children's Hospital (in partnership with the Injury Prevention Center) aimed to raise awareness of the dangerous time period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when the risk of death for children and teens is increased.

Arkansas Children's Hospital shared safety facts and tips on its social media channels, as well as an interactive pediatric care center, which can be found here .

10. Banner Health

Campaign: infographics.

Speaking of infographics, visual content is widely popular with digital marketing audiences, as exemplified by these wellness, parenting, nutrition, and mental health infographics by Banner Health . Infographics are best used to simplify a potentially complicated or controversial topic, like children's sugar consumption.

Infographics tend to resonate with audiences who may not be interested in sitting down to read a full blog post on an important topic. Plus, infographics are highly shareable across all social media channels, making them a great attention-grabber to attract new patients.

Of course, this list is far from a complete collection of all the great healthcare digital marketing happening on blogs and social media. With so many ways to connect with patients and prospective patients online, healthcare organizations are finding more and more ways to market brilliantly every single day.

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Step-By-Step Actionable Healthcare Marketing Plan for 2024

A healthcare marketing plan refers to the set of strategies and activities employed over a period of time to drive specific business-driven key performance indicators. It is the blueprint used by a healthcare organization to achieve tangible and measurable objectives that are in line with the health organization’s overall goals for a given year.

A marketing plan is not exactly something one just throws together while hoping for the best outcome. Rather, it is something that is carefully defined and agreed on among various internal stakeholders, with a step-by-step plan of attack clearly laid out for the year ahead.

A good marketing plan helps you anticipate, assess, prepare and build your strategy so that your company grows and matures over time.

When it comes to healthcare marketing, you shouldn’t cut corners or look for an easy path. Trust should be the main pillar for success in the healthcare industry; it is not a characteristic that is easy to build.

To build client confidence, a step-by- step actionable healthcare marketing plan is required. Luckily, we’ve got a great example for you to sink your teeth into!

New year, new you, right? There’s never a better time to start something new than in January. If you are building your healthcare marketing plan from the ground up, it’s going to be a busy month.

Self-assess your current marketing plan

First thing’s first, wherein your marketing plan do you currently stand?

You can’t move forward if you don’t know your current position. Gauging the company’s current position is a great way to get involved in the marketing process.

Figure out what your current strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to digital marketing to help identify which steps are most suited to your business. Some of the step-by-step plans may be necessary for your company, whether it’s been previously created or has been rendered obsolete by the team, there’s plenty of room for customization within the actionable plan. Check out this article on some experiential marketing campaigns too. 

Take a couple of days to build an analysis of the company’s current marketing plan if you desire to take full advantage of the year ahead.

Claim your Google business listing

Next up on our New Year’s resolutions list is claiming your Google business listing. A Google business listing on Google My Business is a standard, and more importantly free, service provided by Google to all local businesses throughout the US.

As Google search is one of the main tools available to the general public for finding information about healthcare and locating local healthcare services, having a listing profile could simply make or break your business and flip a negative impression to a positive.

If your business does not currently have a business listing on Google, it’s time to claim yours. The free listing is great for customization and lets you add pictures of your establishment, the hours of operation and, incredibly importantly, allows patients to review your practice.

Claiming your Google business listing could be one of the most powerful tools in your library, especially when it comes to local traffic searching for trustworthy practices and locations.  

Build a LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn may have been a bit of a stale, grey network in the past – but it’s really coming into its own in 2019 with the introduction of hashtags, articles, and posts and a variety of other new tools from the network.

With over 500 million members LinkedIn is a B2B and B2C gold mine when it comes to healthcare marketing. Kevin Pho, MD, estimates that 10-15% of all of his patients have found him through his online presence – accrediting LinkedIn for increased business online.

Put simply, LinkedIn is serious underpriced attention and if there’s one thing you should be doing in January 2019, it’s creating a profile and getting serious with the professional social network.

Add your listing on popular websites

You’re more likely to receive and benefit from positive reviews just from your presence on popular physician rating websites.

From an analysis of 4999 online physician ratings, it was revealed that the majority of patients give favorable online ratings to physicians.

Adding your listing on popular sites might just give your brand the boost it needs to promote positive reviews and build a better reputation throughout.

Moving into February, the month of romance, we’re focusing on some major website related issues that are more than likely to help build your brand and your healthcare marketing plan.

Build a mobile first website

Put simply, if you don’t have a website in 2019 then you’re setting yourself up to fail from the get-go.

A staggering 81% of consumers perform online research before making a purchase. By owning the content that goes out to the public, you can put your own spin on your company and make sure you are presenting the products and services for what they really are.

With 52.4% of all users on the web coming from mobile platforms and Google unequivocally putting mobile users first – a site with the focus on its mobile platform is imperative if your company is to be successful.

Whether it’s a simple WordPress-themed site or a much higher budgeted site to be used long-term, a professional site that positions your business and associated keywords high in the Google ranking algorithm is beyond important for a business to survive in 2019.

Proactively monitor your presence

No smart healthcare marketing plan operates without presence monitoring for good reason.

Your online reputation as a doctor can change in a matter of minutes and one bad review or questionable news story can change the face of the company and the image that is brought to mind when it’s considered.

It’s important to keep on top of what people are saying, whether that means trawling the comments sections or setting up Google Alerts to notify you whenever your name or practice/company name is mentioned online.

Keep up-to-date with your presence on the web to ensure that you are receiving good news and reviews and tweak them accordingly.

Be careful online

Not just a point for February, but a point that cannot be emphasized enough year-round: Being careful online, especially when it comes to your healthcare marketing plan is imperative.

There is nothing that looks worse than companies arguing and disputing with their clients and customers. With 24-hour access across social media outlets, this is, unfortunately, something we regularly see.

The bottom line of this is simple: Be careful online.

Make sure the brand is not promoting anything offensive or causing arguments with those in the comments sections of posts. Great customer service and brand behavior is vital to gaining trust in your healthcare marketing plan.

Moving into the third month of the year, your healthcare marketing plan should really be taking shape with the rewards for the time spent promoting awareness just beginning to appear.

However, you would be very foolish to let your foot off of the gas pedal and begin coasting if there’s so much to continue collecting from riding the wave – so why stop here?

Customer service training for staff

Great customer service has always been the selling point of so many industries, from hospitality to retail and everything in between. It might surprise you just how valued good customer service is in the healthcare industry.

A combined 48% of patients stated that they value the friendliness of medical staff and ease of scheduling appointments over other information when reading online reviews.  

Customer service training for staff within the company is a hugely beneficial factor. With patients leaving reviews about the areas they feel are the most important – it’s wise to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Training every staff member in basic customer service is the best course of action. With a policy in place to encourage standardized behavior, the company will quickly build a great reputation.

Don’t be surprised if accompanying a better approach to customer service you suddenly notice a happier work environment, along with increased business, as wellbeing and customer interactions are improved.

Respond to each and every comment

When seeing positive feedback, thank patients for kind words about the company and aim to brighten the day of the commenter. Be sure to avoid personal details and stick to pleasant inoffensive remarks/statements.

When responding to negative feedback, do not reply in anger or attempt to solve any issues that the commenter may present. If the comments are spam or automated messages that could harm the business, simply remove them from the comments section, if possible. Better still, where possible act to problem solves.

Maximize the engagement and minimize the damage when it comes to responding. You want as much engagement as possible without any of the backlash from heated conversations and sarcastic comments – even if they are deserved.   

Backlinks and Search Engine Optimisation

Building up your site is one of the most beneficial elements of a healthcare marketing plan. It can be a fantastic method for boosting the authority of the domain and start your business or practice on the path of higher rankings for keywords in the area of expertise.

Attempting to rank for locally searched terms is vital for a healthcare marketing plan and with the use of search engine optimization (SEO), it can be achieved through the use of clever writing.

Authority of the site is primarily built with backlinks. In this process, an incoming link comes to your site from another one, thereby giving your site authority on the subject. The more backlinks your site has, the higher that it will rank in search engine results.

A staggering 93% of searchers don’t move past the front page, focusing all of their attention on the top 10 search results. As a consequence, it’s imperative that you’re in the top 10 for the areas you are targeting if you want to make any impact from your site.

Generate great, valuable content that the company is proud of and that informs readers in a way that they can understand with a focus on SEO. This is the best way to create organic backlinks that will build over time as the site builds in authority.

The bottom line

There’s plenty to be excited about and get busy with when it comes to planning your marketing techniques for the first quarter of 2019.

• Self-assess your current marketing plan : Take a couple of days to build an analysis of the company’s current marketing plan in order to take full advantage of the year ahead.
• Claim your Google business listing: Claiming your Google business listing could be one of the most powerful tools in your library, especially when it comes to local traffic searching for trustworthy practices and locations.
• Build a LinkedIn profile: LinkedIn is seriously underpriced attention and if there’s one thing that you should be doing in January 2019, it’s creating a profile and getting serious with the professional social network.
• Add your listing to popular websites: Adding your listing on popular sites might just give your brand the boost it needs to promote positive reviews and build a better reputation throughout.
• Build a mobile-first website: Whether it’s a simple WordPress-themed site or a much higher budget site to be used long-term, a professional site that ranks for your business and associated keywords is beyond important for your firm to survive in 2019.
• Proactively monitor your presence: Keep up-to-date with your presence on the web to ensure that you’re receiving good news and reviews; tweak accordingly.
• Be careful online: Make sure that the brand is not promoting anything offensive or causing arguments with those in the comments sections of posts. Great customer service and brand behavior is vital to trust in your healthcare marketing plan.
• Provide customer service training for staff: With a better approach to customer service, don’t be surprised if you suddenly notice a happier work environment along with increased business as wellbeing and customer interactions improve.
• Respond to each and every comment: Maximize the engagement and minimize the damage when it comes to responding. You want as much engagement as possible without any of the backlash from heated conversations and sarcastic comments – even if they are deserved.   
• Backlinks and Search Engine Optimization: Generate great, valuable content that the company is proud of and that informs readers in a way that they can understand with a focus on SEO. This is the best way to create organic backlinks; they will build over time as the site increases its authority.

Of course, at the end of each month, it is a great idea to measure, test and optimize your strategy based on what results you’ve seen from the previous month and what effect each of these has had. This is really just the tip of the iceberg, there are plenty more available in 2024!

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Healthcare Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

There are several types of Healthcare businesses, from family medicine practices to urgent care centers to home health care agencies. Regardless of the type of healthcare business you have, a business plan will keep you on track and help you grow your healthcare business in an organized way. In addition, if you plan to seek funding, investors and lenders will use your business plan to determine the level of risk.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

Below is the business plan outline you should use to create a business plan for your healthcare company. Also, here are links to several healthcare business plan templates:

• Assisted Living Business Plan
• Counseling Private Practice Business Plan Template
• Dental Business Plan
• Home Health Care Business Plan
• Medical Practice Business Plan Template
• Medical Spa Business Plan Template
• Non Medical Home Care Business Plan Template
• Nursing Home Business Plan Template
• Pharmacy Business Plan
• Urgent Care Business Plan

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Healthcare business plan example outline, executive summary.

Although it serves as the introduction to your business plan, your executive summary should be written last. The first page helps financiers decide whether to read the full plan, so provide the most important information. Give a clear and concise description of your healthcare company. Provide a summary of your market analysis that proves the need for another healthcare business, and explain your company’s unique qualifications to meet that need.  

Company Analysis

Your company analysis explains your healthcare business as it exists right now. Describe the company’s founding, current stage of business, and legal structure. Highlight any past milestones, such as lining up clients or hiring healthcare providers with a proven track record. Elaborate on your unique qualifications, such as expertise in a currently underserved niche market.

Industry Analysis

The healthcare industry is incredibly large and diverse, but your analysis should focus on your specific segment of the market. Do you specialize in pediatric healthcare? senior healthcare? emergency medicine? family medicine? Figure out where your healthcare company fits in, and then research the current trends and market projections that affect your niche. Create a detailed strategy for overcoming any obstacles that you uncover.  

Customer Analysis

Who will your healthcare company serve? Are they families? The elderly? What is important to them in a healthcare business? How do they select a healthcare provider? Narrow down their demographics as closely as you can, and then figure out what their unique needs are and how you can fulfill them.

Finish Your Healthcare Business Plan in 1 Day!

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Competitive Analysis

Your direct competitors are those healthcare companies that fulfill the same needs for the same target market as yours. Your indirect competitors are healthcare businesses that target a different market, or other companies that fulfill a different need for your target market. Describe each of your direct competitors individually, and talk about the things that set your healthcare company apart. Categorize your indirect competitors as a group and talk about them as a whole.  

Marketing Plan

A solid marketing plan is based on the four P’s: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. The Product section describes the healthcare you sell along with any other services you provide. Price will change according to the specifics of the property, but you can delineate your fees here. Promotion is your means of getting new business. Place is your physical office location, along with your web presence and the areas where you sell. Another category, Customer retention, refers to the ways you will build loyalty.

Operations Plan

Your operations plan explains your methods for meeting the goals you set forth. Everyday short-term processes include all of the daily tasks involved in servicing clients. Long-term processes are the ways you will meet your defined business goals, such as expanding into new markets or new types of service.  

Management Team

The management team section highlights the backgrounds of the key members of your team. Focus on those aspects that prove your team’s ability to build and run a successful company. A business mentor or advisor can help fill in any gaps, provided you can identify the specific ways that your advisor will influence your company’s growth.  

Financial Plan

Investors and lenders heavily scrutinize the financial plan, but it is often the most challenging part of the business plan to write. Healthcare is a strong market, it usually not subject to economic turns. The financial plan requires you to detail your individual revenue streams by implementation timeline and relative importance, and disclose any sources of outside funding. You also need to summarize your past and future Income Statements, Cash Flow Statements, and Balance Sheets, based on key assumptions that must be both reasonable and verifiable based on an analysis of similar companies. You should also provide a solid exit strategy that shows your understanding of the market and your desire to capitalize on profitability.  

Your full financial projections should be attached in the appendix along with any other documents that support your claims, such as letters from key partners.

Healthcare Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my healthcare business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Healthcare Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of healthcare business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a healthcare business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of healthcare businesses?

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Healthcare business plan?

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Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how our professional business plan writers can create your business plan for you.

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The impact of marketing strategies in healthcare systems

The dynamic evolution of life has inevitably affected the healthcare systems generating significant changes and imposing healthcare marketing as an indispensable element of health brands. Healthcare is a field in a permanent evolution, the plethora of opportunities stimulating creativity, enthusiasm, and will exploit the specialists in the field.

As the philosophy and marketing techniques in other fields cannot find applicability in the healthcare services, healthcare need their own approach and present certain features that are not found in other industries (Thomas RK. Health Services Marketing, A Practitioner’s Guide, 2008, Ed. Springer).

Through its specificity, healthcare marketing is an interdisciplinary field because it uses certain concepts, methods, and techniques specific both to classical and social marketing. The specificity of healthcare marketing is that there are services and markets but no money equivalent. This means the effectiveness of its application can be found in the image of a healthy population, the detection of a chronically ill category of people, ensuring the treatment of ill people by going through the whole rehabilitation process, professional reintegration, social reintegration of ill people, etc. The application of marketing in the field of healthcare was imposed by the problems in the health of the society.

An effective marketing approach involves in-depth investigation of the patients’ needs, identifying latent needs and offering new health services that patients have not explicitly requested (Purcarea VL. Marketingul Ingrijirilor de Sanatate - curs Universitar, 2017, Ed. Universitara “Carol Davila”).

Patients’ involvement in the achievement of the medical act has become a necessity of present life with wide and complex meanings, not only beyond changing the mentality of the providers but also with significant changes like lifestyle, consumption habits and medication of beneficiaries. As the daily process evolves, change will be fundamental to the fundamental purpose of our existence: life. In addition, this will undoubtedly bear the hindrance of how the relationship will harmonize the need for health. Structural changes forces health systems to accelerate towards the future, considering the current needs, and the future strategy cannot be viable without performing management and marketing abilities (Popa F, Purcarea Th, Purcarea VL, Ratiu M. Marketingul serviciilor de ingrijire a sanatatii, 2007, Ed. Universitara “Carol Davila”).

The marketing of healthcare services differs primarily through the nature of demand for health services. Secondly, the beneficiary may not be the target of the marketing campaign, the physician being the one who decides what, where, when, and how much will be provided for a particular service. The decision-maker may be the doctor, the health plan representative, a family member. Healthcare services also differ where the product can be very complex and may not be easily conceptualized. Many of the procedures used in healthcare, especially those based on technology, are complicated and difficult to explain to a person who is not specialized in that particular field.

Another healthcare challenge, especially for service providers, is that not all potential clients are considered “desirable” for a particular service. While service providers are required to provide services to all applicants, regardless of their ability to pay, there are certain categories of patients whom the marketer may not encourage to request a particular service. The marketer faces the challenge of attracting customers to healthcare organizations, however, without attracting too many from the category of those who are likely to represent economic debts.

Over the past decade, healthcare has experienced many marketing trends that have fundamentally altered marketing. These trends are the follows:

• — From a mass marketing approach to a more specific approach.
• — From image marketing to service marketing.
• — From “one measure for all” to personalization.
• — From the emphasis on a health episode to a long-lasting relationship.
• — From “ignoring” the market, to market intelligence.
• — From low-tech to high-tech (Thomas RK. Health Services Marketing, A Practitioner’s Guide, 2008, Ed. Springer).

Marketing plays an important role in helping healthcare professionals to create, communicate, and provide value to their target market. Modern marketers start from customers rather than from products or services. They are more interested in building a sustainable relationship, than in ensuring a single transaction. Their aim is to create a high level of consumer satisfaction so that they return to the same supplier. Marketers have used many traditional methods that include marketing research, product design, distribution, pricing, advertising, promotional sales, and sales management. These methods need to be joined by new ones, related to new technology and new concepts, to attract customers through messages and offers.

Although the consumer typically receives most of the information about a product through the commercial media. The most important information comes from recommendations or from publicly available independent authorities. The two categories of sources provide complementary functions; commercial media – informs, while personal or expert sources legitimize or potentiate the evaluation process. For example, physicians often find out about new drugs from commercial sources, but they turn to other physicians for legitimate opinions.

Although much has been written about subliminal decisions, current models look at the process from a cognitive perspective, which means the consumer/patient, makes his own judgements on a rational basis (Kotler P, Shalowitz J, Stevens RJ. Strartegic Marketing for Health Care Organizations. Building a Customer Driven Health System, 2008, Ed. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint).

In an attempt to meet a need, the patient expects certain benefits from the chosen health service and provider. The patients’ attitudes, judgements, and preferences about certain brands through a procedure of evaluating the attributes of these brands, develop a set of beliefs about the attributes that correspond to each brand (Kotler P, Rackham N, Krishnaswamy S. Ending the War between Sales and Marketing, July 2006, Harvard Business Review).

The main actor who marks the process of production and delivery of healthcare services is the patient and his presence is part of the delivery system .

In the field of healthcare services, the performance occurs only in the presence of the healthcare consumer and his wiliness to the service. Thus, the consumer becomes an indispensable factor for any service; the consumer interacts with the supplier, becomes co-provider of the service, participating with time and effort in the delivery process (Popa F, Purcarea Th, Purcarea VL. Ratiu M. Marketingul serviciilor de ingrijire a sanatatii, 2007, Ed. Universitara “Carol Davila”).

Healthcare consumers are actively or passively involved in delivery, but their presence has implications for the medical organization’s activity because any specialist who meets the patient will contribute to the service production. In addition, any tangible element, which the healthcare consumer meets, is part of the health service delivery process; in fact, any changes occurring at the place of service delivery, will lead to changes in the patient’s behavior.

From a marketing perspective, the process of providing healthcare services must be conducted in full compliance with patient requirements, activities are being designed to meet these requirements. However, achieving such a goal implies the identification of all points of interference of healthcare staff with the healthcare service consumers and the assessment of the extent to which the activities carried out at these points correspond to the needs and expectations expressed by the patients. Since the behavior of the health services consumer is difficult to predict, the presence of the patient in the delivery process may be a source of major uncertainty.

Far from having a passive behavior, the consumer has multiple functions in the production of services as a “co-producer”, which determines many specialists to consider him an “ external human resource ”.

Patient satisfaction must be the main objective of any healthcare organization and this requires a thorough knowledge of their needs and expectations. Providing a high-quality healthcare service is based on meeting certain requirements so that the service attains the level desired by the patient. In order to gain the trust of healthcare consumers, the specialized staff of the organizations in the field must be more receptive to the wishes, suggestions, patient complaints and, at the same time, become more sensitive to their concerns. The effectiveness of this approach depends on how the medical organization has an effective communication with patients, presents a correct image of the health service, and delivers the promised service properly, and presents a permanent concern for the continuous improvement of the service provided to exceed the expectations of the patients (Ciurea AV, Cooper CL, Avram E. (coord). Managementul sistemelor şi organizaţiilor sănătăţii, 2010, Editura Universitară “Carol Davila”, Bucureşti).

By acting in a dynamic and unpredictable environment, (in order to survive) the health service provider must be able to detect the opportunities and threats of the market on which it operates. In this context, the formulation of a realistic, coherent, and explicit strategy by the medical unit is of crucial importance in anticipating its future and reducing uncertainty in the activity.

The marketing strategy is the way an organization acts under the influence of environmental factors. In practical terms, marketing strategies outline a path following the analysis of environmental factors. The marketing policy defines its general framework of action in order to carry out its entire activity, including several strategies.

Developing the marketing policies and strategies specific to health services providing units is a complex process. Taking into account many internal and external factors, the interdependencies and conditioning links between them, as well as the favorable or unfavorable impact they can exert on the health unit, they must be analyzed in depth, interrelated, and interpreted for making strategic and firm decisions regarding the future development of the medical institution.

The core of the marketing strategy in the field of health services is represented by the quality of services. Successful organizations in the healthcare field have a clear, competitive, strategy that empowers and forces them to adapt to environmental conditions. The marketing strategy in the healthcare services field is in fact the attitude of the medical organization in relation to the marketing environment and, at the same time, its position in relation to its components.

At present, patients have so many options regarding the choice of healthcare services and providers that the only way the healthcare practices can really be distinguished is by establishing a well-differentiated, memorable, and unique proposal alongside a marketing strategy adapted to the digital era.

A valuable proposal must have the following characteristics:

• — It is true
• — The value offered is superior to the one of the competition
• — It is important to the target public
• — It is memorable and easy to remember
• — It is difficult to copy by the competition.

According to a Harvard Business Review, 64% of the consumers have “genuine common values” as the main influence on their relationship with the brand (Hirsch L. The 8 Most Important Marketing Strategies for a Healthcare Practice – Part 1, November 22, 2017, retrieved from: https://hirschhealthconsulting.com/8-important-marketing-strategies-healthcare-practice-part-1/ ).

Today, major healthcare organizations focus on content to win the race of digital supremacy. Content marketing strategies for the healthcare field are not just about blogging and producing tangible results. Since hospitals are linked to patients and physicians, digital marketing is the way to bring this process to a completely new level.

At present, digital content helps build positive brand impressions. The use of new digital marketing strategies is essential to maximize the efficiency of marketing expenses and generate higher return rates. By applying innovative health marketing principles to reinvigorate the medical organization’s marketing initiatives, organizations will be able to better position their service offers to consumers.

For healthcare providers, the use of informative blogs or articles published on social media can be effective ways to stay relevant to patients. Moreover, infusing targeted keywords into the content can add a marketing boost.

For organizational marketing to be effective, the digital platforms in which the organization will operate on must be identified, the target public will have to be segmented correctly, and customized marketing messages will have to resonate with the audience.

Marketing strategies for marketing a healthcare practice in the healthcare field. Source: Hirsch Healthcare Consulting, https://hirschhealthconsulting.com/8-important-marketing-strategies-healthcare-practice-part-1/ .

To understand the impact of marketing strategies on the quality of healthcare services, it is important to understand today’s medical consumer who prefers to look for medical information online, where he also has a wealth of healthcare services, healthcare providers, reviews from patients who contacted the provider, etc.

With digital marketing, almost everything can be tracked and measured. Healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations no longer need to insight what works and what does not work. With the help of marketing performance information, healthcare professionals, and healthcare organizations can make an informed decision on how to improve their efforts, along with the ability to continually measure and evaluate them.

The healthcare industry has the potential to significantly increase its coverage and effectively engage consumers with digital marketing tactics.

As the marketing progress grows, organizations are moving towards more digital approaches to remain relevant to consumers. Digital marketing expenses have been the highest of all time, with healthcare companies spending over $ 2.5 billion on marketing, estimated at $ 4 billion by 2020 (Health Works Collective, Digital Marketing Dominates Healthcare Advertising, October 20, 2018, retrieved from: https://www.healthworkscollective.com/digital-marketing-dominates-healthcare-advertising/ ).

In this context, 44% of the marketing costs for health-related products and services are dedicated to mobile and digital platforms. TV advertising costs have dropped to less than 33% and are expected to continue to decrease, as the cost-effectiveness of placing a product or service on TV seems to no longer justify the investment.

The way consumers use the internet to find hospital units and healthcare providers evolves in favor of smart devices. With more than 80% of the patients who frequently use smartphones, to either identify or interact with physicians, it is essential to reconfigure marketing initiatives to better fit the era we live in. In addition, as Google reconfigures its search algorithms to favor mobile-friendly websites, now it is the right time to prioritize rethinking digital ads.

At the same time, the marketing mix strategy is necessary in medical organizations to ensure their success. Thus, the strategy leads to a significant impact on the medical organization, including its performance measured by patient satisfaction, the co-ordination of planned marketing efforts to address organizational performance being essential.

Therefore, the benefits of implementing marketing strategies are

• — to improve the competitive advantage,
• — to increase the visibility,
• — to create a solid reputation among patients,
• — to understand the needs and expectations of consumers,
• — to understand the patients’ perceptions of the quality and results of their experience within the medical organization, offering memorable experiences to patients and, of course, building a strong, effective, dominant brand on the health services market.

Healthcare Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Healthcare Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Healthcare business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Healthcare companies.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Healthcare business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Riverside Medical is a family medical clinic located in San Francisco, California. Our goal is to provide easy access to quality healthcare, especially for members of the community who have low to moderate incomes. Our clinic provides a wide range of general and preventative healthcare services, including check-ups, minor surgeries, and gynecology. Anyone of any age or group is welcome to visit our clinic to get the healthcare that they need.

Our medical practitioners and supporting staff are well-trained and have a passion for helping improve the health and well-being of our clients. We serve our patients not just with our knowledge and skills but also with our hearts. Our clinic was founded by Samantha Parker, who has been a licensed doctor for nearly 20 years. Her experience and compassion will guide us throughout our mission.

Product Offering

Riverside Medical will provide extensive general care for all ages, creating a complete healthcare solution. Some of the services included in our care include the following:

• Primary care: annual checkups, preventative screenings, health counseling, diagnosis and treatment of common conditions
• Gynecology: PAP tests, annual well-woman exam, and family planning
• Pediatrics: infant care, annual physicals, and immunizations
• Minor procedures: stitches, casts/splints, skin biopsies, cyst removals, and growth lacerations
• Health and wellness: weight loss strategies, nutrition guidance, hormone balance, and preventive and routine services

The costs will depend upon the materials used, the physician’s time, and the amount designated for each procedure. Medical bills will be billed either directly to the patient or to their insurance provider.

Customer Focus

Riverside Medical will primarily serve the community living and working within the San Francisco bay area. The city is diverse and growing and includes people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Everyone is welcome to visit our clinic to receive the health care they need.

Management Team

Riverside Medical’s most valuable asset is the expertise and experience of its founder, Samantha Parker. Samantha has been a licensed family doctor for 20 years now. She spent the most recent portion of her career on medical mission trips, where she learned that many people are not privileged to have access to quality medical services. Samantha will be responsible for ensuring the general health of her patients and creating a viable and profitable business medical practice.

Riverside Medical will also employ nurses, expert medical staff, and administrative assistants that also have a passion for healthcare.

Success Factors

Riverside Medical will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Location: Riverside Medical’s location is near the center of town. It’s visible from the street with many people walking to and from work on a daily basis, giving them a direct look at our clinic, most of which are part of our target market.
• Patient-oriented service: Riverside Medical will have a staff that prioritizes the needs of the patients and educates them on the proper way how to take care of themselves.
• Management: Samantha Parker has a genuine passion for helping the community, and because of her previous experience, she is fully equipped and overqualified to open this practice. Her unique qualifications will serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than our competitors.
• Relationships: Having lived in the community for 25 years, Samantha Parker knows many of the local leaders, newspapers, and other influences. Furthermore, she will be able to draw from her ties to previous patients from her work at other clinics to establish a starting clientele.

Financial Highlights

Riverside Medical is seeking a total funding of $800,000 of debt capital to open its clinic. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures and location build-out, acquiring basic medical supplies and equipment, hiring initial employees, marketing expenses, and working capital.

Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

• Clinic design/build: $100,000
• Medical supplies and equipment: $150,000
• Six months of overhead expenses (rent, salaries, utilities): $450,000
• Marketing: $50,000
• Working capital: $50,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Riverside Medical.

Company Overview

Who is riverside medical, riverside medical history.

Samantha Parker started the clinic with the goal of providing easy access to good quality health service, especially to those members of the community with low to moderate income. After years of planning, she finally started to build Riverside Medical in 2022. She gathered a group of professionals to fund the project and was able to incorporate and register Riverside Medical with their funding support.

Since its incorporation, Riverside Medical has achieved the following milestones:

• Found clinic space and signed Letter of Intent to lease it
• Developed the company’s name, logo, and website
• Hired a contractor for the office build-out
• Determined equipment and fixture requirements
• Began recruiting key employees with previous healthcare experience
• Drafted marketing campaigns to promote the clinic

Riverside Medical Services

Industry analysis.

The global healthcare market is one of the largest and highest-valued industries in the world. According to Global Newswire, the global healthcare services market is currently valued at $7548.52 billion and is expected to reach $10414.36 billion in 2026. This growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

The biggest drivers of industry growth throughout the next decade will be a continual increase in illnesses and diseases as well as a quickly aging population. With more people aging and needing daily/frequent care, hospitals and medical clinics are bound to be in even more demand than they already are.

One obstacle for the industry is the rising cost of care. Though this results in greater profits, more and more Americans cannot afford basic medical care. Therefore, they are opting out of procedures they believe are unnecessary or unimportant.

Despite the challenges of the next decade, the industry is still expected to see substantial growth and expansion.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Riverside Medical will serve the residents of the San Francisco bay area as well as those who work in the area.

The population of the area experiences a large income gap between the highest earners and the lowest earners. Therefore, it is hard for middle and lower-class families to find quality care that is affordable. As a result, they are in need of the services that we offer and are looking for accessible medical care.

The precise demographics of San Francisco are as follows:

Customer Segmentation

Our clinic is a general family practice and will treat patients of all ages, incomes, physical abilities, races, and ethnicities. As such, there is no need to create marketing materials targeted at only one or two of these groups, but we can appeal to all with a similar message.

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Riverside Medical will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

City Medical

Founded in 2008, City Medical is a membership-based, primary-care practice in the heart of the city. City Medical offers a wide range of primary care services for patients who subscribe to the practice for an annual fee. Patients enjoy personalized care, including office visits, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of common health problems. The patient membership fee covers the services listed below, and most care is received in-office. However, some additional services, such as lab testing and vaccinations, are billed separately. Furthermore, though the annual fee is convenient for some, it is too high for many families, so many are priced out of care at this facility.

Bay Doctors

Bay Doctors is a primary care practice that provides highly personalized medical care in the office or patients’ homes. Bay Doctors includes a team of dedicated healthcare professionals with dual residency in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. The practice offers same-day/next-day appointments, telemedicine, office visits, and home visits. Some of the medical care services they provide are primary care, urgent care, emergency care, gynecology, pediatrics, and minor procedures.

Community Care

Established in 1949, Community Care is a non-profit regional healthcare provider serving the city and surrounding suburbs. This facility offers a wide variety of medical services, including 24-hour emergency care, telemedicine, primary care, and more. In addition to their medical care, they have a wide variety of fundraising activities to raise money to operate the hospital and help families cover the costs of their care.

Competitive Advantage

Riverside Medical enjoys several advantages over its competitors. These advantages include:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

The Riverside Medical brand will focus on the company’s unique value proposition:

• Client-focused healthcare services, where the company’s interests are aligned with the customer
• Service built on long-term relationships
• Big-hospital expertise in a small-clinic environment

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Riverside Medical is as follows:

Riverside Medical understands that the best promotion comes from satisfied customers. The company will encourage its patients to refer their friends and family by providing healthcare benefits for every new client produced. This strategy will increase in effectiveness after the business has already been established.

Direct Mail

The company will use a direct mail campaign to promote its brand and draw clients, as well. The campaign will blanket specific neighborhoods with simple, effective mail advertisements that highlight the credentials and credibility of Riverside Medical.

Website/SEO

Riverside Medical will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all of the clinic’s services and procedures. The website will also provide information about each doctor and medical staff member. The clinic will also invest heavily in SEO so the brand’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Social Media

Riverside Medical will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. The marketing manager will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Riverside Medical’s pricing will be lower than big hospitals. Over time, client testimonials will help to maintain our client base and attract new patients. Furthermore, we will be able to provide discounts and incentives for lower-income families by connecting with foundations and charities from people who are interested in helping.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Riverside Medical.

Operation Functions:

• Samantha Parker is the founder of Riverside Medical and will operate as the sole doctor until she increases her patient list and hires more medical staff. As the clinic grows, she will operate as the CEO and take charge of all the operations and executive aspects of the business.
• Samantha is assisted by Elizabeth O’Reilly. Elizabeth has experience working as a receptionist at a fast-paced hospital and will act as the receptionist/administrative assistant for the clinic. She will be in charge of the administrative and marketing aspects of the business.
• Samantha is in the process of hiring doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to help with her growing patient list.

Milestones:

The following are a series of path steps that will lead to the vision of long-term success. Riverside Medical expects to achieve the following milestones in the following twelve months:

3/202X            Finalize lease agreement

5/202X            Design and build out Riverside Medical location

7/202X            Hire and train initial staff

9/202X            Kickoff of promotional campaign

11/202X          Reach break-even

1/202X            Reach 1000 patients

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

Riverside Medical’s revenues will come primarily from medical services rendered. The clinic will either bill the patients directly or their insurance providers.

The major cost drivers for the clinic will include labor expenses, lease costs, equipment purchasing and upkeep, and ongoing marketing costs.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

Below are the key assumptions required to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and to pay off the startup business loan.

• Year 1: 120
• Year 2: 150
• Year 3: 200
• Year 4: 275
• Year 5: 400
• Annual lease: $50,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, healthcare business plan faqs, what is a healthcare business plan.

A healthcare business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your healthcare business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Healthcare business plan using our Healthcare Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Healthcare Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of healthcare businesses , some examples include: Nursing care, Physical home health care, or Home health care aides:

How Do You Get Funding for Your Healthcare Business Plan?

Healthcare businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Healthcare Business?

Starting a healthcare business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Healthcare Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed healthcare business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your healthcare business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your healthcare business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Healthcare Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your healthcare business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your healthcare business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Healthcare Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your healthcare business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your healthcare business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Other Helpful Business Plan Templates

Nonprofit Business Plan Template Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Business Plan Template Medical Practice Business Plan Template Home Health Care Business Plan Template

Small Business Trends

How to start a personal training business.

Personal trainers are in more demand than ever as more people look to stay fit and improve their health. This has created a huge opportunity for people who want to work in this industry. Follow these steps to learn how to start a personal training business and take advantage of the growing personal fitness segment. 

How to Start a Personal Training Business: Key Steps

Starting requires the following:

• You need to determine your specialty or niche. To decide on one, consider market demand, your expertise, and your interests. Some options include strength training, sports training, weight loss, and rehabilitation.
• Industry-specific certifications include those from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and others that consist of a self-paced online program . 
• After you develop a business plan, you should register and make sure to obtain liability insurance.

As a trainer, you’ll want to invest in equipment that might include mats, resistance bands, and weights. 

Starting a Personal Training Business: Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to a successful business.

Types of Personal Trainers

Trends are essential in the personal trainer market. Personalized nutrition plans and wearable technology can help personal trainers meet client expectations.

You need to understand your competition and the specialized training methods they use, too. Remember, the industry offers a wide variety of specializations and roles so that you can carve out an individual niche. 

Gym-Based Trainer

Gym-based trainers work in health clubs, fitness centers, and gyms. They can also use other areas designated for yoga and group fitness classes.

One benefit of this business model is that every day can be different, and you can work with diverse clients. Challenges include having to work irregular hours to accommodate them. 

Independent Trainer

As the name suggests, independent personal trainers use a different business model. They work outside the traditional gym settings, taking advantage of greater flexibility and opportunity.

These trainers can work in public parks, rented studio spaces, clients’ homes, or virtually. One challenge is that they need to develop business skills like marketing and finance. The income can vary and be inconsistent at times.

However, one of the big bonuses here is the potential to scale their business by hiring staff and leveraging digital tools. 

Specialized Fitness Trainer

Consider several niche areas if you’re starting your enterprise.

• For A Specific Sport: Personal trainers need to have a good understanding of the agility, endurance skills, and strength required for a particular sport. For example, someone opening a business dealing with golf would need to understand the biomechanics of a swing.
• For Rehabilitation: These trainers help people recover from surgery or injuries. The goal is to help patients regain mobility, flexibility, and strength. Business owners here need to understand psychology, anatomy and healing processes deeply.
• For Strength and Conditioning: These trainers work with athletes from various sports to boost their performance levels and physical capabilities. To satisfy prospective clients, they must be familiar with and employ scientifically based training practices and regimes. 

Online Personal Trainer

Online trainers are a growing trend. One significant advantage is that this type of business has a global reach and flexibility in scheduling. Business owners training clients online can enjoy reduced overhead, and digital platforms can be scaled up and down.

Conduct Market Research

Understanding the fitness niche is critical, and that’s where this research comes in.

• Outline what you want to achieve. Are you adding a service or location?
• Finding potential clients involves considering factors like age, gender, income level, location, and lifestyle.
• Remember to use location and lifestyle when you’re defining your target market.

Obtain Certifications and Education

Getting a professional certification is a must-have. People with a certified private trainer certificate understand exercise science, nutrition psychology and anatomy.

These trainers also have education in other essential areas like First Aid and CPR. Ongoing education in the dynamic fitness industry is necessary for specific regions like senior fitness and strength conditioning. Personal trainer certification is invaluable.

Choosing a Business Structure

There are a few different types of business structures to choose from. Each one has implications for taxes and liability.

• The sole proprietorship is the most straightforward choice. The income is reported on the owner’s taxes, and there is unlimited personal liability.
• A Limited Liability Company (LLC) offers flexibility by combining the tax implications of a partnership or sole proprietorship and a corporation’s liability protection. This choice protects against personal liability but is more complicated to set up than a sole proprietorship. 

Register Your Personal Training Business

Research the top fitness business names for inspiration and then c heck if your business name is available in your state’s database. There’s a Secretary of State office you’ll need to file with.

• Getting a general business license and maybe even a specific health or fitness service provider license is essential. Check with your local city or county government.
• So you can maintain credibility, make sure to file for copyright protection for your logos, workout programs, and marketing materials. 

Secure Insurance

Insurance needs to be covered. Deal with a local agent or research small business insurance online . Consider the following types:   

• Professional liability insurance covers claims centering around misconduct, negligence and failure to deliver services. It’s essential for these trainers because it could involve allegations of injury.
• General liability insurance protects against third-party claims for personal injury, property damage, and bodily injury.
• You’ll also need product liability insurance if your business sells fitness equipment and supplements.
• Commercial property insurance protects the location of your enterprise and the contents from theft and fire.

Craft Your Business Plan

A well-designed business plan is the cornerstone of a successful enterprise. It must include detailed information on your services, like online coaching and group training. The pricing strategy needs to include package deals and membership fees, as well as whether you’ll charge per session or have a tiered pricing structure.

The financial projections are the meat and potatoes of a business plan, and they need to include revenue streams and startup costs.

Source Exercise Equipment

Are you planning on starting your business outside of the gym? Then, you’ll need to consider sourcing quality equipment. Here are a few things to consider.

The quality of the choices you make will reflect on your company. High-quality equipment fosters a professional image.

Line up your equipment with the type of training that you’re offering. For example, strength and conditioning training should include resistance bands, free weights, and kettlebells.

Quality equipment is designed with safety in mind and is more durable. Look for secure locking mechanisms and non-slip surfaces.

Ultimately, higher-quality choices allow for a more extensive range of exercises and a better revenue stream. 

Managing Finances

Managing your finances properly is essential for several significant reasons. Top of the list is maintaining a cash flow to cover operational costs and invest in growth.

Opening a Business Bank Account

Having a business bank account helps you to track your finances accurately. It’s the bedrock for budgeting and forecasting with your own business.

Separating personal and business finances simplifies tax reporting. Getting started requires an EIN (Employer Identification Number) and personal identification documents.

Financing Your Business

Here are some options for funding your business.

Personal Savings  

Using your money allows you to control the operations completely.

Small Business Loans 

With one of these loans , you can expand your business and invest in more equipment without giving up any ownership of your enterprise.

Get Investors 

Venture capitalists can bring in industry connections and expertise as well as mentorship.

Marketing Your Personal Training Business

A multifaceted strategy is best when you’re marketing your business.

• Free webinars and online courses can be offered to generate leads.
• A resource section blog with infographics, videos, and articles works well.
• A professional website that’s mobile-friendly and optimized is critical.
• Choosing the right social media platforms can mean anything from LinkedIn to Facebook, depending on your target market.
• Local networking can include attending industry events.

Consistently showcasing testimonials on your website has a good impact.

Embracing Technology in Your Services

Digital tools and platforms can help you succeed.  Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems and software can manage client data, improve customer service, and track interactions.

Video conferencing software boosts virtual training sessions. Analytics can help track the performance of your social media channels and website. Finally, don’t forget to use social media management tools to schedule posts and manage all your accounts from one place. 

Scaling Your Personal Training Business

Expanding a fitness business means hiring professionals, mining niche markets and leveraging tech to offer online sessions.

• Offer subscription models with a library of workout videos with your personal training business.
• Scale your business up to include mental wellness workshops and nutrition counseling.
• Look for staff members who have certifications in specialties like strength training and pilates.

Launching Your Personal Trainer Business

Personal training services motivate people to change their well-being and health positively. Train clients using tech, build relationships and streamline your operations. Passion, knowledge, and personalized experience can make a difference in your client’s goals and struggles as a certified personal trainer.

FAQs: How to Start a Personal Training Business

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about these fitness professionals.

How profitable is personal training?

Wondering “ how much money do personal trainers make ?” Good profits can be made but they depend on your business model expertise, clientele, and location. 

How much does it cost to start a personal training business?

The cost varies. A basic at-home or online setup usually only costs a few hundred dollars. If you have some basic equipment, it may even be possible to start a business with no money . However, a fully equipped gym with equipment, insurance, and marketing can cost tens of thousands.

What’s the best way to find clients when starting out?

Offer free social media workshops and/or partner with local health businesses to get started.

Can I specialize in more than one fitness area as a personal trainer?

Yes, there are many low cost business ideas to start in the fitness industry, and many services you can offer under the umbrella of personal training. Doing this can broaden your client base.

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Marketing: Driving the Consumer Process

Why do people buy Gucci handbags and Newman’s Own salad dressing? Why choose Coke over Pepsi? Adidas over Nike? Marketing is a crucial part of any business, and it’s about more than just promoting products. Drawing from economics, psychology, sociology, and finance, it entails understanding the competition, connecting with customers, and building brand recognition.

We stay at the top of our field with a faculty equally steeped in research and professional experience. They’ll teach you the latest in web and mobile marketing as well as quantitative methods for gathering precise, useful data. You’ll have the chance to work on real-world projects for companies while learning to apply ethical business practices.

About Our Program

Development of students' decision-making and managerial skills are the major objectives of Santa Clara University's marketing program, with special emphases in innovation, high technology, retailing, and digital marketing. 

As a marketing student, you will have the opportunity to apply what you learn in the real-world, working with local Silicon Valley companies on team projects or in individual internships.

New Fall 2024–The Department of Marketing offers a minor in marketing that provides a broader understanding of the customer experience that is critical to companies today.

The Retail Studies Minor is both curriculum and experience-based programming. Our curriculum offers strong business theory in the classroom through a diverse set of core requirements covering marketing, economics, data analytics, consumer behavior and technology and information systems.

This online marketing master's degree program has been designed in the heart of Silicon Valley to help you grow into a visionary leader conversant in the burgeoning field of marketing technology, or “MarTech".

If you have any questions regarding accounting department programs and events, please contact the following individuals:

Undergraduate Accounting Program Admission Inquiries

Jo-Anne Shibles Email: [email protected]

All Other Inquiries

Marketing Administrative Assistant Email:  [email protected]

Marketing Faculty

CHAIR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, MARKETING

Desmond (Ho-Fu) Lo

PROFESSOR EMERITUS, MARKETING

Albert Bruno

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MARKETING

Rebecca Chae

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, MARKETING

Xiaojing Dong

Beyond the Classroom

Get involved outside of the classroom!

Join one of our student networks to participate in SCU's marketing community and to meet others interested in marketing. Check out our Beyond the classroom page .

Marketing Association

Retail Management Institute

Study Abroad

As a participant in the  Contemplative Leadership and Sustainability Program (CLASP) , you'll learn to examine your values and explore how your leadership aligns with those values, especially as organizations begin to grapple with sustainability.

Want to learn more about out CLASP? View our page

Explore additional offerings in the Leavey School of Business Leavey Campus Community

News and Events

Professor Kirthi Kalyanam speaks about retail post covid-19.

Leavey School of Business students have been very busy this summer. We asked a few of them to share their summer experiences.

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IRS principal business codes: What they are and how they're used

Using the right principal business code is crucial for your company's taxes—and the health of your industry as a whole.

Ready to start your business? Plans start at $0 + filing fees.

by   Connor Beaulieu

Connor is a writer living and working in Chicago. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, reading, and spoiling his resc...

Read more...

Updated on: April 4, 2024 · 12min read

What are IRS principal business codes?

How to find the correct irs principal business code, the irs list of business codes, changing your principal business code, what are irs business codes used for, frequently asked questions.

If you've ever filed taxes for your business, you've likely encountered a section asking for your IRS principal business code. This is part of the North American Industry Classification System, or NAICS, which is a system used by the American federal government to label and organize different businesses based on their respective industries and the goods or services they provide.

Using six digits, the NAICS applies a specific code to each business type. Then, business owners use those business activity codes when filing taxes. This allows the federal government to correctly tax each business according to its industry and collect valuable economic data.

Before you can find the right principal business code for your business, you'll need to fully understand your business' main revenue-generating activity. Even if your company engages in several smaller types of activities beyond its main purpose, that core purpose is what matters most for identifying your code. Here are some ways you can go about finding the correct code for your business.

Review the IRS instructions for your tax forms

Whenever you receive tax forms that require a principal business code, such as Schedule C (Form 1040) for sole proprietors, Form 1065 for partnerships, and Forms 1120 and 1120-S for corporations, you'll also be provided a list of instructions for finding the appropriate code for your company. These instructions often include a list of codes or a reference to where you can find them.

Use the NAICS website

Sometimes, finding the right principal business code is as simple as visiting the official NAICS website. There, you can browse industries and specific codes by keyword, such as "construction" or "consulting." Then, the NAICS website will provide detailed descriptions of each code that you can use to make sure it's right for your business.

Focus on your primary source of revenue

As we mentioned above, it's important to focus on your company's core revenue-generating activity when choosing the business code to use on your taxes. Remember that the right code is the one that best describes the primary source of your income, even if it doesn't necessarily explain the entirety of everything your company does.

Look at examples

Sometimes, seeing examples of other businesses and their codes can help to more clearly identify which code is right for you. While such examples aren't always published by the IRS, business forums, industry publications, and materials provided by a qualified tax professional will often include clear examples for you to reference when making a choice.

Talk to a qualified tax professional

If you're still unsure which code to choose, talking to a qualified tax professional or accountant may be your best bet. These experts are specially trained to help you understand the ins and outs of different codes, industries, and any implications they may have for your tax situation.

Consult the official IRS list of codes

For business owners with a relatively clear understanding of their business's main purpose, the IRS publishes a regularly updated list of principal business activity codes, which you can reference when filing taxes. This list is typically included in the instructions you would receive alongside business tax forms. Additionally, we've included the full list of business codes below for you to browse.

To simplify your search, we've included all major codes from the IRS business activity codes form, categorized by industry.

Agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing

110000 Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing 111000 Crop production  

211110 Oil and gas extraction

211120 Crude petroleum extraction

211130 Natural gas extraction

212000 Mining (except oil and gas) 

221000 Utilities 

Construction

230000 Construction

236000 Construction of buildings 

Manufacturing

310000 Manufacturing

323100 Printing and related support activities

339110 Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing 

Wholesale trade

423000 Merchant wholesalers, durable goods

424000 Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods 

Retail trade

441100 Automobile dealers

442000 Furniture and home furnishings stores

444100 Building materials and supplies dealers

445100 Grocery stores

445200 Specialty food stores

446110 Pharmacies and drug stores

446199 All other health and personal care stores

448000 Clothing and clothing accessories stores

451110 Sporting goods stores

451211 Bookstores

452000 General merchandise stores

453000 Miscellaneous store retailers

453220 Gift, novelty, and souvenir stores

453310 Used merchandise stores

454110 Electronic shopping and mail-order houses  

Transportation and warehousing

480000 Transportation

485000 Transit and ground passenger transportation

493000 Warehousing and storage  

Information

511110 Newspaper publishers (except internet)

511120 Periodical publishers (except internet)

511130 Book publishers (except internet)

511140 Directory and mailing list publishers (except internet)

511190 Other publishers (except internet)

512000 Motion picture and sound recording industries

515100 Radio and television broadcasting (except internet)

517000 Telecommunications (including paging, cellular, satellite, cable, other telecommunications, and internet service providers)

519100 Other information services (including news syndicates and libraries)

519130 Internet publishing and broadcast  

Data processing

518210 Data processing, hosting, and related services  

Finance and insurance

522100 Depository credit intermediation (including commercial banking, savings institutions, and credit unions)

522200 Nondepository credit intermediation (including credit card issuing and sales financing)

522110 Credit card issuing

522220 Sales financing

522291 Consumer lending

522292 Real estate credit

522298 Other nondepository credit intermediation

523000 Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities

523920 Portfolio management

523930 Investment advice

524113 Direct life insurance carriers

524114 Direct health and medical insurance carriers

524126 Direct property and casualty insurance carriers

524130 Reinsurance carriers

524292 Third-party administration of insurance and pension funds

524298 All other insurance-related activities

525100 Insurance and employee benefit funds

525920 Trusts, estates, and agency accounts

525990 Other financial vehicles (including mortgage REITs)  

Real estate and rental leasing

531110 Lessors of residential buildings and dwellings (including equity REITs)

531120 Lessors of nonresidential buildings (except mini-warehouses) (including equity REITs)

531190 Lessors of other real estate property (including equity REITs)

531310 Real estate property managers

531390 Other activities related to real estate

532000 Rental and leasing services

532420 Office machinery and equipment rental and leasing  

Professional, scientific, and technical services

541100 Legal services

541990 Consumer credit counseling services

541200 Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services

541300 Architectural, engineering, and related services

541380 Testing laboratories

541511 Custom computer programming services

541519 Other computer-related services

541610 Management consulting services

541700 Scientific research and development services

541800 Advertising and related services

541860 Direct mail advertising

541900 Other professional, scientific, and technical services  

Management of companies and enterprises

551111 Offices of bank holding companies

551112 Offices of other holding companies  

Administrative and support services

561000 Administrative and support services

561300 Employment services

561439 Other business service centers

561499 All other business support services

561500 Travel arrangement and reservation services

561520 Tour operators

561700 Services to buildings and dwellings  

Waste management and remediation services

562000 Waste management and remediation services (sanitary services)  

Educational services

611420 Computer training

611430 Professional and management development training

611600 Other schools and instruction (other than elementary and secondary schools or colleges and universities, which should select a code to describe their unrelated activities)

611710 Educational support services  

Healthcare and social assistance

621110 Offices of physicians

621300 Offices of other health practitioners

621400 Outpatient care centers

621500 Medical and diagnostic laboratories

621610 Home health care services

621910 Ambulance services

621990 All other ambulatory health care services

623000 Nursing and residential care facilities

623990 Other residential care facilities

624100 Individual and family services

624110 Community centers (except recreational only), youth adoption agencies

624200 Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services

624210 Meal delivery programs, soup kitchens, or food banks

624310 Vocational rehabilitation services

624410 Child day care services  

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

711110 Theater companies and dinner theaters

711120 Dance companies

711130 Musical groups and artists

711190 Other performing art companies

711210 Spectator sports (including sports clubs and racetracks)

711300 Promoters of performing arts, sports, and similar events

713110 Amusement and theme parks

713200 Gambling industries

713910 Golf courses and country clubs

713940 Fitness and recreational sports centers

713990 All other amusement and recreation industries (including skiing facilities, marinas, and bowling centers)  

Accommodation and food services

721000 Accommodation

721110 Hotels and motels (except casino hotels)

721210 RV (recreational vehicle) parks and recreational camps

721310 Rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers’ camps

722320 Caterers

722440 Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)

722511 Full-service restaurants

722513 Limited-service restaurants

722514 Cafeterias and buffets

722515 Snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars  

Other services

811000 Repair and maintenance

812300 Dry cleaning and laundry services

812900 Other personal services

812930 Parking lots and garages  

900001 Investment activities of section 501(c)(7), (9), or (17) organizations

900002 Rental of personal property

900003 Passive income activities with controlled organizations

The 999999 code

While the NAICS outlines a wide range of codes, including those falling under "other" categories, some businesses may still fall into the grey area between industries. In the event that a business doesn't cleanly fit into any one principal business activity, using the 999999 code may be appropriate.

Even more than the "other" category, the 999999 code serves as a catch-all for hard-to-define or unusual businesses, such as those in emerging industries.

Keep in mind, however, that assigning your business a 999999 code when filing taxes should only be done after extensive research and preferably with the help of a tax professional. In cases where the 999999 code is mistakenly used, businesses may open themselves up to audits or other regulatory actions.

Sometimes, your business will undergo a significant change in structure and, because of that change, require a new principal business code. This structural change could be anything from the business model and industry focus to the products or services it provides. Regardless, updating your NAICS code to reflect the new nature of your business is important for staying above board with the IRS and other federal agencies.

In the case of such a chance, simply use the newer, more appropriate code the next time you file taxes. This process is straightforward and doesn't require anything beyond changing one piece of information on your taxes, but you may want to consult a tax professional to ensure that the new code is correct. If you believe you've used an incorrect code on an already-filed return, however, the process is significantly more complicated. Filing taxes for your business with the incorrect code can affect your eligibility for specific deductions or credits, open you up to regulation issues, and may even trigger an audit.

To fix such an error, you'll need to amend your return through a form such as Form 1040-X or 1120X. While this can be done on your own, it's almost always better to consult a tax professional to make sure that no details or paperwork are overlooked—especially if the misfiled taxes have already been processed.

Although their primary uses are tax-related, principal business codes actually serve several important purposes in the American economy, meaning they are crucial to properly classify and report your business.

Filing taxes

When filing taxes for your business, using the correct principal business code ensures that you not only maximize any industry-specific deductions or credits but also minimize the risk of unnecessary audits. Generally, your principal business code should be included in the following sections of your taxes (depending on the size and structure of your business):

• Schedule C (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) : Used by sole proprietors and single-member LLCs, your principal business code should be entered in Part I, line B.
• Form 1065 : Used by partnerships and multi-member LLCs, your principal business code should be listed on Page 1, in the section labeled “principal business activity.”
• Form 1120 (U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return) : Used by C corporations, your principal business code should be entered on page 1, in the section for “business activity.”
• Form 1120-S (U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation) : Used by S corporations, your code should be listed on page 1 in the business activity section.

Regulations

Similar to how different industries allow different deductions or credits, they also impose different regulations specific to the goods or services provided by businesses within that industry. When a business is coded improperly, it may be subjected to unfair regulations and, often, punishments for not adhering to those regulations.

Industry comparisons

By assigning your business an activity code, you're instructing the IRS to group you with other businesses within your industry. This allows the IRS to compare your business' financial information to similar businesses and check for any outliers or discrepancies.

Audits and reviews

In instances where your reported financial information doesn't match up with industry standards, the IRS may flag your business for further inspection or even an audit, meaning it's especially important to label your business with the correct code in order to ensure you're being compared to the right industry standards.

Economic analysis

Beyond their use for tax purposes, principal business codes grant the IRS access to a vast database of economic information broken down by industry and business size. This database, in turn, serves as one of the most powerful resources for the government and economists alike. Using this data, experts can:

• Identify industry trends : By comparing and contrasting data across various industries, the IRS and federal government gain invaluable insight into industry health and trends, allowing them to pinpoint industries that may need more help the following year.
• Produce statistically accurate reports : Agencies like the IRS, Census Bureau, and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are all responsible for taking data, such as that provided by principal business codes, and translating it into accurate reports used by countless organizations, both public and private.
• Develop new policies : Even the best data and reports are only as good as the action they drive, and information from principal business codes is often used to develop new economic policies to stimulate growth and promote a healthier economy. By taking the time to correctly code your business and file taxes, you're doing your part in driving the creation of these policies.
• Analyze imports and exports : Just like business activity codes help the government understand how businesses are performing within the United States, they can also help explain how U.S. companies with international dealings are behaving. This, in turn, allows economists to better understand the U.S. economy as a whole and any trends in our international imports and exports.
• Support small businesses : Between limited resources and the heavy workload of starting a new business, it can be difficult for small business owners to effectively communicate their needs and pain points to larger organizations, such as the IRS.

Principal business codes improve those communications by automatically letting the federal government know how businesses in your industry are performing and, consequently, whether extra tax credits or looser regulations may be appropriate.

What happens if I use the wrong code?

Business owners who use the wrong principal business codes when filing taxes may face serious complications such as revoked eligibility for credits and deductions, breach of industry regulations, and even financial audits.

Can I have more than one business code?

Yes. In the event that you are engaged in more than one professional activity, you may need to list multiple business codes when filing taxes. When doing so, list these codes in order of the businesses with the largest gross income to those with the smallest.

Can the IRS change my code for me?

In certain rare cases, the IRS may change your principal business code during the course of an audit if they find that your previous code didn't properly reflect the nature of your business.

Does my code affect how much taxes I pay?

While your principal business code doesn't directly affect the amount of taxes you'll pay, it does determine which credits or deductions you may be eligible for.

Are principal business codes and NAICS codes the same thing?

Yes, both terms may be used interchangeably, though the phrase "principal business code" is more commonly used by business owners and tax professionals.  

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I quit my tech job to be a stay-at-home boyfriend who cooks, cleans, and sews for my girlfriend. I have no plans to return to the 9 to 5.

• William Conrad, 25, and his girlfriend Levi Coralynn, 26, have been together for three years. 
• Conrad is a stay-at-home-boyfriend, while Coralynn, a content creator, supports them financially. 
• Conrad previously worked in tech but has no plans to return.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with William Conrad, a 25-year-old stay-at-home boyfriend and content creator from Canada. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

For the last three years, I've been a stay-at-home boyfriend. I cook, clean, and do the laundry — and I've never been happier.

My girlfriend Levi is big on social media and makes enough to provide for us both financially. She works from home, and I do 90% of the domestic chores. Our dynamic very much flips societal norm on its head, but it works for us, and we love it.

On a typical day I wake up a little earlier than Levi to make us some coffee. We usually share a coffee, hang out for a while, and do Wordle together. Then, she'll do some work while I either prepare food or do other household chores. If we're not ready to eat, I might do some work on the computer alongside her.

Since she works from home, we pretty much spend every minute of every day together, which I love because she's my best friend before anything else.

We lead a very communal life, and that applies to how we navigate money too. We've never had the perspective of "this is my money, this is your money." It's very much a joint venture, and most of our purchases are done together anyway.

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I help with the backend of her business, doing the accounts and bookkeeping, just as much as I do things around the house.

Being a stay-at-home boyfriend allows me to do what I love

Levi and I met on Hinge around three years ago when we were living in different cities. I was living in Toronto, near where I grew up, while she was in Alberta. We started talking online and knew we needed to meet in person, so she came to see me in Toronto.

Our first date was a week long and we stayed in an Airbnb . Shortly after that, we moved in together in Ontario, and we've been together ever since.

Growing up, I didn't have a strong sense of what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn't want to sit in an office all day looking at a monitor. I've always liked creating things and working with my hands. But I ended up studying computer science at college and then found a job at a tech startup .

When I met Levi, I was doing freelance jobs here and there, and some more consistent stuff in the tech world. She was deep into her career as a content creator and needed help running her online business. She thought I'd be the perfect fit and asked if I would work for her. So I quit my job and became a full-time stay-at-home-boyfriend.

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy my job, but this was just a greener pasture that I could step toward. It was an opportunity that was better suited to me, I think, in the long run. I was really into cooking and sewing before I even met Levi, and this meant I could focus on those interests more and hone my skills.

I have no plans to return to the 9-to-5 and would only do so if our online businesses stopped working.

I started posting online to show the world a softer type of masculinity

In August 2022, I started posting snippets of my life on TikTok. My videos mainly showcase the meals I cook for Levi, but sometimes it's me braiding her hair, hemming her clothes, or fixing things around the house. I'm soft-spoken and have a gentle manner, and the comments from my mainly female audience have been overwhelmingly positive. These are all things I do anyway, but it was Levi's idea to share it with the world.

It was around the time that Andrew Tate , the anti-feminist influencer, was really popular, and there was an oversaturation of toxic masculinity online. We saw this need and an opportunity to present a kind, loving man in the online space. One thing I'm very proud of is showing the duality a man can have. I have both feminine and masculine characteristics, but I'm still a man.

I was raised in a very nurturing household where both my parents worked and split the domestic tasks evenly. Everyone contributed to the household, and gender was never tied to a specific role, so living this way has never affected my sense of masculinity.

Social media is giving young men a skewed image of what women want

Women often comment things like "Where do I buy mine?" on my content. And while it's always nice to hear that someone thinks I'm a good boyfriend, it's also sad that a loving dynamic seems to be a scarce thing.

Lots of women are looking for a man who will cook them a nice meal and be gentle, but maybe not enough men value these things.

I think toxic masculinity on social media might be giving young men and boys a skewed perspective of what women want. I hope to inspire other men to lean into their feminine traits more without feeling like it threatens their manhood.

Watch: It's tougher out there, says Diageo North America's chief marketing officer; "Productivity is really important"

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