Why Your Practice Needs a Fractional Marketing Expert

How a Fractional CMO Helps Drive Sustainable Growth for Your Medical or Dental Practice

Running your practice isn’t easy. You are constantly juggling patient care, keeping up on regulations, plus keeping the lights on. That means marketing often falls toward the bottom of your priority list. 

But here’s the problem with that: If you don’t let referring providers and potential patients know your practice exists and what makes you uniquely qualified, you’ll continue to struggle to keep the lights on. 

If your idea of a marketing plan is posting an occasional blog or asking patients to spread the word, it’s time to call in a C-suite professional. But don’t just waste your money on any marketer. Here’s why you should hire a fractional marketing expert.  

Why You Should Hire a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer

A fractional chief marketing officer (fractional CMO) is experienced when and where you need them. They have the marketing expertise but also the strategic knowledge of your specific industry, so you have peace of mind knowing your marketing is in good hands. 

This intrinsic knowledge is just the beginning. Here are five other benefits of hiring a fractional marketing expert:

1. Knowledge with a smaller price tag. A fractional CMO brings the same level of expertise to your industry plus marketing, but at a fraction of the cost.

2. Agility when you need it. A fractional CMO can scale up and down when and where you need, helping your practice remain agile in a constantly changing digital world.

3. Fresh eyes with bold ideas. We’ve all heard the sentiment about being “too close” to your own business to see what is and isn’t working. An outside marketing expert can look at your practice with fresh eyes and bring new, bold ideas for marketing.

4. More results with less headaches. Marketing moves fast and you are already juggling the day-to-day of your practice; a marketing expert takes the stress of marketing off your plate.

5. They actually know how to attract and retain patients. Healthcare marketing isn’t about slapping together a few social posts. A good fractional marketing expert understands the nuance of patient acquisition and retention, helping you develop strategies that boost your visibility and improve patient engagement. 

Is a Fractional Marketing Expert Really Worth It?

Even with those benefits, you might still be wondering if a fractional CMO is really worth it. And we get that–you are paying money and you want results for that investment! 

The short answer is absolutely. But let’s break down the why:

• They can make data-driven decisions that move beyond guesswork and maximize ROI.

• A fractional CMO can easily scale up or down as your practice needs change, offering flexibility.

• They know how to create marketing plans directly tied to your business goals. 

• They are up-to-date on digital innovation and marketing best practices so you don’t have to be.

• They know the rules so you don’t break them–which is especially important in a highly regulated field like healthcare. 

• A fractional marketing expert can help you stand out from the competition, highlighting what makes your practice unique. 

Physician’s Liaison: Your Trusted Fractional Marketing Resource

Physician’s Liaison has been helping practices just like yours grow one handshake at a time since 2005. We offer digital marketing services, supportive tools, and our “Rep Ready” Turnkey Medical Referral Marketing services. Our years of industry experience and our successful track record with nearly all specialties give you the peace of mind that you're being well represented while driving sustainable practice growth. 

Learn more about our expertise and dynamic approach to fractional referral marketing today.

Vacation Season Transition

How Practices can Plan Ahead for the Cyclical Nature of the Year

There’s always an ebb and flow to the schedule in any medical practice. The nice thing is that you can plan ahead for some of those busy seasons that you know are coming up. One of those seasons is the post-vacation season. Many people return from vacation and are now wanting to get appointments and procedures done with specialists. Are you ready to deal with that influx of patient needs later this year? 

Planning Ahead for the Uptick in Needs

Now is the time to start thinking about getting those relationships in line to prepare for the uptick in needs from patients this fall. You could cold call and do catered lunches on your own, taking away time from your practice and your patients, or you could work with Physician’s Liaison! We know your time is important and that catering lunches gets expensive. So skip the waste and work with a referral marketing specialist with a proven track record. 

For nearly 20 years our experts have taken on the role of Physician’s Liaison, helping practices just like yours build their referral network with area healthcare providers and specialists. We take a dynamic approach, tailoring messaging while also listening for competitive information. Our years of industry experience and successful track record with nearly all specialties means we can help any practice build their referral network for all the future needs their patients will have. 

Having your relationships in line now means you won’t have to stress when the busy season of specialist appointment needs hits! 

This Helps Get You Through Downturns Too!

We understand that it’s not just the busy season that weighs heavy on your mind as a practice owner, but also the times where it’s not so busy or when there are economic downturns, where patients hold off on getting healthcare. 

Having a larger referral network means that your practice can fill gaps during the less busy parts of the year and even during economic downturns. You could just take what walks in the door, or you could build a referral network that helps fill out your practice schedule with genuine referrals! 

So no matter the season or the shape of the economy, your practice will continue to grow and succeed with referral marketing relationships! 

The Physician’s Liaison Promise

We take pride in having helped clients benefit from referral marketing relationships that have lasted 10 years and counting! We know the perfect formula to build, maintain, and multiply referral relationships. 

Our proven service provides you with a trained and experienced Physician's Liaison to meet with area healthcare providers with the focus of expanding your referral network. Plus, our service is commission free–always! We are committed to our clients and have non-compete representation, only representing one client per specialty or subspecialty per metro area. 

Ready to learn more about how Physician’s Liaison can help your practice grow and deal with the cyclical nature of the healthcare practice? Let’s talk further about how we can help your practice succeed!

Don't Underestimate the Power of Your Front Desk

How to Build Trust in Referral Marketing 

When it comes to building relationships through referral marketing and growing your practice, you should never underestimate the power of your front desk staff. Just like with clients, the person at your front desk makes a great initial contact point for potential referrers.

Climbing the Ladder in a Relationship

When you are getting to know a practice, it’s a great idea to get to know their people. When reaching out to prospective referrers, don’t forget to speak with and get to know the front desk staff; they can offer a lot of insight for you. And from the other side, it’s key to have prospective referrers also work their way up the ladder relationship by having them get to know your front desk staff. So don’t be afraid to let a prospective referrer call your main number and speak with the front desk staff first, rather than giving them your direct number. 

The Power of Your Front Desk Staff

Your front desk staff are experts in first impressions. They handle new and returning patients all the time and are pros at what they do. The person, or people, manning your front desk are known for their friendly attitude and authenticity. Their attention to detail and their ability to be a team player makes them an excellent person to put forward as the initial contact for prospective referrers.

Why It All Matters

So why does the front desk play such a critical role in referral marketing? 

First, if a prospective referrer does decide to become a referring partner, they want to know that their patients are going to have a good experience at your practice as soon as they walk in the door. No provider wants to hear from their own patients that they had a bad experience at another practice they were referred to; at its worst, it can break the trust between patient and provider. By getting to know your front desk staff on a personal level, a prospective referrer will know that their patients are in good hands as soon as they walk in the doors of your practice. This helps build trust between you and your prospective referrers, a key ingredient in long-lasting referral relationships! 

How Physician’s Liaison Can Help Your Practice Grow

Physician’s Liaison understands that referral marketing takes time and energy to build great and long-lasting referral relationships. That is why we offer our expert services to help you begin that referral relationship! Our services provide the initial contact with prospective referrers. Our dynamic approach tailors your message to the unique needs of prospective referrers. Once the initial introduction is made, it’s up to you to continue to build on that relationship. But we’ve seen great success with our formula; we have clients that have benefited from referral marketing relationships that have lasted 10 years and counting! Learn more about our commission-free referral services today.