7 Rules to Picking an Audiology Marketing Firm That Will Help You Grow Your Practice

Before You Spend Another Dime on Marketing, You Should Know…

Want to attract more new patients and hit your goals? 

But your current marketing isn’t doing much if anything for you?

You’re not alone.

The biggest mistake we see over and over is that practices don’t have a clear set of selection criteria to use when picking an audiology marketing firm. The result is, even after spending thousands of dollars a month, they still aren’t getting the steady stream of new patient leads they want.  

To help you, below we’ve outlined the 7 rules to follow to find a qualified marketing firm, one that can help your practice thrive.

Rule 1 – Focus on the Results that Matter

Currently there are 6,139 digital marketing firms in the U.S. alone. Buying groups and hearing aid manufacturers often offer audiology marketing services too, with some providing them at a huge discount or even for free to increase loyalty. 

How do you choose the right one?

If you want to grow your audiology practice, there is only one answer. Pick the audiology marketing firm that has a proven track record of generating a steady stream of new patients. And skip all the other digital marketing companies that focus on traffic, impressions, clicks, keyword rankings and metrics other than new patient leads.

This means talking to the marketing firms that have a long track record of success. Sure, a few out there have started to mention patient leads but most have only a few case studies to point to. In other words, they don’t have a reliable system focused on new patient leads. 

In sum, focus on audiology marketing firms that can point to a plethora of success stories over the past 5 years. Want to hear more about MedPB’s success stories? Let’s Talk

Rule 2 – Cost Per Appointment is the Key Metric to Review

When you spend money on marketing, what are your goals? 

Aren’t they to generate the most new patient leads at the lowest cost per lead?

All too often practice owners confuse the monthly cost of marketing with their cost per lead. As a result, many sign up for marketing which looks cheap but is actually expensive. 

If you pay $900 per month for marketing that generates, at best one lead, then your cost per lead is $900. On the other hand, if you are working with an audiology marketing firm that does a better job of converting your cash into leads you’d be better off. For example, even if you ended up paying $1,800 per month and got 10 leads, your cost per lead would be $180. 

Now imagine if you were working with an audiology marketing company whose cost per lead was under $100, you’d be way ahead. BTW that’s what we do here at MedPB, provide practices with the lowest cost per lead in the industry. 

Interested? Let’s Talk.

Rule 3 – Avoid Hiring Family and Friends

What’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make in hiring? It’s paying money to friends and family to promote your practice. Sure, your marketing firm may be run by a super nice guy, but which is more important, that they like the same beer or wine you drink, or that they can help you grow your practice?

Why is it a bad idea to hire family and friends?

• They may be in marketing but not experts in medical marketing or audiology marketing
• It gets sticky when they offer bad advice
• It gets worse when, after paying them a bunch of money, they aren’t getting results
• It gets even stickier when you need to fire them

The bottom line is you are trying to grow your practice, and hiring someone because they are a friend is a bad idea. Instead, select a firm that has a proven track record of getting results for audiology practices.

Here at MedPB we’re friendly but that’s not why practices pick us. Our clients sign up because they want to get better results.

Rule 4 – Look For Established Marketing Firms

What’s one of the biggest problems audiology practices find – after they sign up with a digital marketing firm? After their initial sales call, they rarely if ever hear from the marketing firm. It takes forever to get their site built or get a response to questions. That’s because most firms only have a few people doing the work, or are shipping out your online marketing to the Philippines or Bulgaria.

If you want a firm that can grow your practice, look for one that:

• Has at least 10 or more people on the team (we have over 20 at MedPB)
• Has been around for at least five years and has well defined systems and processes for managing workflow. MedPB is almost 12 years old.
• Has hundreds of clients. MedPB currently works with 400 practices and manages the marketing for 800 locations. 

Rule 5 – Work with Specialists

When a patient has a hearing problem, who is the best person for them to get help from? Their pharmacist, their local internist or general practitioner?

Obviously the answer is someone who is a specialist in hearing. The local expert audiologist. 

Marketing is no different. While some companies claim to be good at marketing everything, the truth is more likely that they are Jacks of all trades and masters of none. 

Think about it, is marketing cat collars or plumbing supplies the same as getting new audiology patients in the door? Especially given the stigma associated with wearing hearing aids.

If you want an expert to help you market your audiology practice, start with a marketing firm that specializes in audiology and has done so for years.

Want to work with one of the only audiology marketing firms founded by an audiologist?  Let’s talk

Rule 6 – Pick a Firm That Stand On Its Strengths 

In audiology marketing there are two types of firms. There are the ones who can point to a plethora of case studies where they’ve helped practices increase profits. 

Then there are the ones who can’t compete on results. So what do they try instead? They badmouth their competition, and make up nonsense about why you shouldn’t work with so and so. Which just highlights the fact they don’t have a track record of success. 

In sum, avoid working with practices that try to sell themselves by bad mouthing others, instead of focusing on what they can do for you.

Rule 7 – AVOID Marketing Firms that Require a Contract

When a marketing firm mentions a contract and wants to sign you up for months to come, it’s a huge red flag. Long-term contracts tell you:

• Their marketing most likely won’t work
• If they believed in their marketing strategy, they would just charge you month to month instead. 
• When you don’t get significant results, you’re stuck paying the marketing firm thousands of dollars per month for something that is doing nothing. 
• Most of these firms use this churn and burn strategy to pad their profits and have zero interest in helping you grow your practice.

When the marketing firm mentions a contract, it’s time to look elsewhere. Instead find a firm that just invoices you month to month, and relies on providing great results to keep you as a long term client. 

Interested in paying for your audiology marketing month-to-month? Let’s Talk. 

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