4 keys to marketing—and branding—your physician private practice

Why did you become a physician? What inspires you every day? What do you do best?

They sound like questions that might be asked of an AMA member featured in an exclusive Q&A. But the answers to these and other questions about you, your physician partners, and the other professionals who help you deliver high-quality care can be the start of a journey that helps you boost the marketing of your physician private practice to another level.

In four video primers available from the AMA, the marketing and branding experts Rob Rosenberg and Donna Arbogast, of Springboard Brand and Creative Strategy in suburban Chicago, cover common issues that physician private practices encounter when implementing basic marketing strategies.

These include identifying marketing advantages, conducting research to gauge community satisfaction, and using social media and other paid digital platforms. Each video is accompanied by written guidance, detailed below, that helps physician private practices take their own steps toward a strong brand presence. 

1. Identifying your practice's marketing advantage (PDF)

   1. This guide focuses on helping private practice physicians and their care teams understand the marketing concepts of differentiation and positioning. Using this assessment as a starting point, physicians and their care teams can discuss their practice, the needs of their patients and community, and the competitive environment—all designed to uncover the unique brand story most relevant to the people they need to reach.

2. Conducting market research (PDF)

   1. This primer focuses on how to use market research to assess relevant community health needs and patient satisfaction levels. This information can lead to more effective and responsive practice positioning and promotional strategies. This guide provides a structure for choosing the research options that meet your needs and allows you to record key findings and determine the implications and action steps for your practice.

3. Building trust (PDF)

   1. Public relations and community outreach are critical in strengthening a private practice market position. This guide helps you integrate relationship-building tactics into your practice in manageable ways, offering key definitions, step-by-step recommendations and best practice tips for long-term success.

4. Basic digital strategies (PDF)

   1. Digital strategies are becoming a must-have for all organizations, including physician private practices. A practice’s digital presence is often the go-to for patients, prospective patients, those in your community, referral sources and others who want to know more about you. This guide gives you with knowledge and insights into the basic uses and strategies that can help your physician private practice build a digital presence.

Learn more from the brand mavens at Springboard with an education session that is part of the AMA Private Practice Simple Solutions series of free, open-access rapid-learning cycles that provide opportunities to implement actionable changes that can immediately increase efficiency in private practices.

The session, “Advanced Marketing and Branding for Private Practices,” starts today and is available to view on demand through Oct. 17.

It takes astute clinical judgment as well as a commitment to collaboration and solving challenging problems to succeed in independent settings that are often fluid, and the AMA offers the resources and support physicians need to both start and sustain success in private practice.

Find out more about the AMA Private Practice Physicians Section, which seeks to preserve the freedom, independence and integrity of private practice.