1. And Making It Work For You
Building a Budget
And Making It Work For You
Anna Mueller | Minnesota Eye Consultants

2. Results Rule
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” - John Wanamaker
The difference between good marketing and great marketing is accountability and measurability.
You can produce the best marketing campaign in the world, but if the tracking doesn’t support it, its like it never existed.

3. Hope is NOT a Strategy!

4. Benefits of a Marketing Budget
Gives you a plan to work from. Helps you put stakes in the ground.
Supports the performance of cost-per-lead/conversion analysis.
Integrates marketing efforts.
Reflects spending planned per month, quarter, year.
Allows assessment of revenue impact of campaigns.

5. Budget Basics Determine how much you have to spend.
Understand your marketing environment and landscape.
Understand your target patient.
Track your spending and track your results.
What makes sense to YOU?

6. Questions to Ask
Who are the customers you’re trying to reach through advertising and marketing?
What stage of business are you in? Do you need to attract new customers, or create a strong brand that keeps the old ones coming back? What are your objectives?
Top of mind brand awareness or lead generation and conversion?
How often do you need to reach your audience?

7. Questions to Ask
What do you think is the most compelling way to reach them? Through what medium?
How much do you think your competitors are spending on marketing?
How much have you spent in the past, and did you get results?
How much can you realistically spend?

8. How Much?
Most practices determine the amount of dollars to be committed as a percentage of revenue (ranging from 1% to 7-10%).
Ophthalmology industry standard is 3-5%.
You should have a sense of how much your competitors are spending.
How does your physician group/board view marketing?
Priority or after thought?

9. Putting the Pieces Together
Once you have your annual amount, the challenge then becomes one of allocating among the many marketing channels available to you.
Traditional Media – Television, Radio, Print
Internal Marketing/Patient Experience
Internet & Website
Social Media
Direct Mail
Referring Physician Program
Community/Grassroots
Public Relations
Events/Expos/Health Fairs

10. Smarter Planning Leave wiggle room for unexpected opportunities.
Balance brand building and call to action.
Consider hiring a media buy consultant if you manage marketing internally.
Experts, know the media market and spending.
Have established relationships with local media.
Know how to place ads to hit your target every time.
Eliminate all the ad sales calls!!!

11. Presenting Your Budget
Have options – present tiers of budgets/plans that focus on different goals and achieve different outcomes.
Back up your plan with data: historical spend and results of past spends, industry benchmarks, competitor spending.

12. Measuring ROI
Marketing has evolved from a primarily creative discipline to analytical one.
Internal Tracking systems and processes.
Marketing automation solutions.
Cost per lead (and conversion!) analysis.
Each advertising element measures differently.
Which touch point gets credit?
Direct or Indirect revenue attribution.

13. Cost per lead is great, but what about Cost per conversion?
Sometimes, the last thing we need is another lead – we need to be able to convert the leads we already have!
Call to consult conversion rate?
Consult to surgery conversion rate?
Targeted Goals?

14. Calculating Cost Per Lead/Conversion

15. Tracking Options Ask the patient at any and every opportunity:
During phone calls and appointment scheduling
Pt satisfactions surveys
Online forms
When they check in for their appointment
Different telephone numbers listed for different ads
Online lead tracking system, i.e. MD Prospects
Advertising Calendar with phone volume overlay

16. Lead Tracking System

17. Advertising Calendar

18. Take Home Tips Be vigilant about tracking how each patient finds you.
If some part of your marketing plan is not working out as well as you expected, tweak it. What channel drives action? Which one doesn’t?
Invest in tools and/or people that can achieve the results you need.
Create monthly reports – to keep you on top of things; but also to have ready to present to the board when/if asked.
Big budget doesn’t mean better results.
Plan what you know.
Accept that there will be risk and uncertainty in any worthwhile plan.

19. Contact Me | p: 952.567.6055 | e: armueller@mneye.com
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