Doctors Don't Do Marketing

Most doctors don't do marketing. Those that do are usually in a cash-based, highly competitive specialty, like cosmetic surgery or dentistry, and know that they have to fight for market share.

Bloggers, digital health gurus, and consultants and trying to change doctors’ minds and insist that a practitioner's survival in the brave new digital care world depends on them acquiring marketing knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Yet, doctors are still resisting. Why:

Doctors don't do marketing because:

1. They don't know how and they are afraid of repercussions from state boards of medical examiners and offending those in their referral networks.

2. They don't think they need to, despite all the noise. Remember, there is a doctor shortage and projected to get worse.

3. Employed physicians leave it up to their employers. “Why bother? They have enough to do making the numbers.”

4. They don't want more patients who won't pay the bills. “Do you really want to spend money attracting patients who want to pay the least and get the most for their care?”

5. They don't think it's part of their job. “I take care of patients, not business.”

6. They don't want to spend the money. “My costs are high enough”

7. They question the return on investment. “Show me it works and how I benefit”

8. They think it's a fad perpetrated by consultants. “Everybody wants my business.”

9. They don't know how to measure the results. “What do I do and how much time will it take?”

10. They don't want to spend the time doing it. “Do you really want me to cut my time seeing patients to review website analytics and conversion rates?”

The old days of spending Wednesday's on the golf course schmoozing potential referral sources are long gone. However, most doctors are not convinced that teeing up a marketing plan makes much sense either and they are suspect of the pros in the club house trying to convince them otherwise.