Healthcare marketing, like healthcare itself, is a one-of-a-kind industry. When it comes to healthcare marketing, much depends on niche specialties like radiology marketing, advertising surgical procedures, or improving the online reputation of a specific physician.
So, when you’re looking for a healthcare marketing agency to promote your medical practice or healthcare startup, how do you find the one that is best for you, especially as a smaller healthcare organization?
First, your organization’s leaders need to sit down and settle on specific goals they want to achieve. If your company is so small that you alone are the decision-maker, you still have to vocalize your goals. You may feel silly saying them aloud, so a good old-fashioned list works just fine. This will help you figure out which services you need and which ones you can go without.
Maybe you have a few great people on your team that can handle social media or blogging in-house, but you need extra support when it comes to SEO and media/public relations. So what questions should you ask a potential healthcare marketing agency before you start working with them?
There are many healthcare marketing agencies offering huge suites of services and every one delivers in different ways. Some companies offer all their services as a package deal while others can provide services a la carte. Depending on your needs and goals, the following questions are important to ask.
How do your services work?
Can we pick and choose which services we use or is it only a packaged deal?
How many people are on the team that will be dedicated to working on our account?
Will we have a specific person of contact/account manager to work with directly?
Our medical specialty requires in-depth knowledge when it comes to marketing our services, how much of a learning curve are you anticipating?
Will we have the chance to approve all content before it’s posted on our website, blog or social media sites?
How will you execute healthcare digital marketing; are you limited to just Google Adwords or are you also experienced in other forms such as social media advertising?
Will you rely on us to come up with a content calendar for blogs or will you be handling that on your own?
Will you rely on us to come up with a social media strategy or will you be handling that on your own?
What costs outside of a monthly fee we be responsible for?
Are you considered a full-service agency or do you have to outsource any of your work?
Have you already developed any unique plans for our organization?
I already have a website and a social media account, will you be able to work from that one or will you need to create us a new one?
How soon until we can expect to see results?
Can you please provide at least two references from previous clients?
Approximately how many hours of work does this agreement cover?
Which marketing tools will you be using? Ex: Hubspot, Cision etc.
What sets you apart from other marketing agencies; is it your unique take on marketing materials, your team, your background knowledge?
How will you be evaluating your team’s success?
How will you be showcasing the results to us?
Hiring the right healthcare marketing agency is essential to accomplish your marketing goals and bringing in more business to your practice. Make sure to ask all of your questions and don’t be afraid to be blunt about your expectations and needs. Want to learn more about how to accomplish your marketing goals? Contact us! We at Atlantic Health Solutions have nearly 10 years of experience dealing with healthcare marketing and we’re more than happy to serve your specific needs.