I love meeting and speaking with doctors all over the country and across many specialties about online marketing and creating a personal brand. However, some doctors hesitate to get started.
Here are the top five reasons I see why doctors hesitate about online marketing and why you can’t afford to wait any longer.
The Five Most Common Hesitations
1. I’m too busy
There’s no doubt that being a doctor is a time-consuming profession. The average doctor works over 51 hours per week. Add in a family and other commitments, and it’s easy to feel too overwhelmed to get started.
But here’s the thing: you can use online marketing to attract your ideal patients, which can actually allow you to do more of what you love, and, depending on your desires, work fewer hours while maintaining or even increasing your profitability.
Also, if you want to reap big rewards with minimal time investment, you can invest in a full-service, done for you program.
2. It’s over my head
Maybe you’re new to the opportunity of online marketing. Perhaps you’re not very tech-savvy. I get it, the learning curve can look extremely steep.
But that’s the whole point of my site, is to help lower that learning curve and make even the trickiest aspects seem possible for practically anyone. It’s not what you don’t know, it’s what you can learn by spending just a little time on this site.
And again, there are full-service options available.
3. I’m already the top doctor in my community without online marketing
First off, congratulations on building a great practice. But is online marketing for you too? Absolutely.
Even if you’re the go-to doctor right now, online marketing creates an incredible opportunity for you to increase your business potential.
Also, like any great sports team will tell you, it’s harder to stay on top than it is to get there. And with 81% of patients today going online before scheduling an appointment, online marketing represents the greatest opportunity, and threat, to well-established doctors.
If you’re on top and have several years of practicing still ahead of you, you really can’t afford not to make an investment in online marketing. Run up the score on your competition while you have the chance.
4. My budget is tight
I understand this side of the equation. For my full-service side of the business, this is the most common hesitation. However, what this really comes down to is a scarcity vs. abundance mindset.
Here’s the question I would ask if you find yourself hesitating for budget reasons: is marketing an expense or investment?
From my many years of experience, online marketing is an investment that produces excellent returns for the doctors who do it well. Not one of the doctors I’ve ever worked with hasn’t covered their investment many times over.
And I would just add this from a practical business standpoint: it’s very easy to take business away from doctors who don’t do online marketing. Even those working in large healthcare systems.
5. I’m just not ready yet
Maybe you’re not. But let me ask you this: what are you waiting for? As the old saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today.
You deserve a chance to grow your practice and personal brand. And patients need to be able to find great doctors like you. But that can’t happen until you start. Too many doctors hesitate to get started. Don’t let this be you.
If you’re serious about realizing transformational growth and enjoying your day-to-day a lot more by seeing more of the patients you want, there’s no better time to get started with online marketing than right now.