A private practice is a small business, though healthcare clinics and facilities aren’t often perceived as such. While you may have started out your practice as a healthcare professional, you’re probably more than aware how much more there is to it than treating patients.
In all small businesses, your budget plays an important part in how sometimes-limited funds are to be allocated. When your budget is a little strained, it can be hard to see how you can grow your business without breaking the bank. Here are four ways that you can grow your practice while staying on budget.
1. Showcase What You Have
Business growth happens in a few different ways. Sometimes businesses diversify, offering more products or services that can meet the needs of their customers in a different way. Other times, businesses find they can now meet the needs of an entirely new group of consumers. When you’re on a budget, diversifying your practice’s offerings can be hard—though it can be done.
However, if you want to grow your practice without straying too far from your already existing offerings, you need to really showcase what you already have available. You know what makes your business unique, whether that’s the type of treatments you offer, your approach to different conditions, or your interactions with patients. Find what makes you different from the competition, and focus on those aspects.
The next step is creating simple, cost-effective marketing strategies that highlight both existing features and practices, as well as what you determined makes you stand out from the crowd. These marketing strategies can draw renewed attention to your business without creating new procedures or buying new equipment. Social media, blog posts, and community engagement are all examples of how to showcase your practice’s assets within a budget.
2. Allocate Time Wisely
When your practice is operated by a small team, and especially a team of one, you need to be sure that you’re spending your time on things that are going to help the business sustain steady growth.
If you’re working with others, one key way to ensure that your team is cost-effective is to make certain that everyone is on the same page. By sharing your long-term goals and initiatives with your small team, you ensure that same priorities are resonating with everyone. When the entire team is focused on the same thing, their time is able to be spent in the right areas and managed more effectively. Your time will also be able to be spent more efficiently when you have time to complete your own tasks, rather than try to organize the efforts of everyone who works for you.
Using data and feedback from patients to determine what works and what didn’t is another way to make sure that your time is being used on the right things. If the feedback you receive shows that people are enjoying their experience at your practice, but struggled to find out about you while researching clinics, then you can rearrange your budget to more accurately fit the needs of your practice. Less time and money spent on the customer experience, and more in community marketing would then allow you to not waste money on unnecessary things.
3. Upgrade Strategically
One of the best ways to ensure growth is through customers. When customers review and rate businesses, they are providing free marketing that can be invaluable to small business growth. Keeping the customer and their experience in mind, finding places to strategically upgrade can give you the edge you need to grow through customer word of mouth.
One of the first things customers see when they come into your practice is the waiting room and office interior. Making sure that the initial welcome a customer receives is in an inviting space is a great way to win a patient over. After all, first impressions are everything. Giving a waiting room a makeover is a great way to proactively plan for customer experience.
You can upgrade furnishings and equipment without breaking the bank. Second hand stores and online shopping deals provide great ways to get gently used furniture and decor that can ensure a lasting impression on first-time and even returning customers. The same goes for equipment. Search through deals and sales for new or gently-used equipment at a lower cost. It may take some time, but it’s time well spent when on a strict budget.
When it comes to upgrading your office and equipment, it may seem like a better idea to put it off to save on the immediate cost. However, as you will find, most often the opposite is true. Good equipment for quality treatments are a better long-term investment. And while growing a small business with a limited budget it may seem more cost-effective to avoid upgrades, it is also key to keep long-term goals in mind.
There are also many ways to cut costs in the ways you treat patients. Making sure the equipment you pick is an investment that can help you scale and grow your business. For example, see how HillDT’s OnDemand program helps doctors offer spinal decompression therapy with a small investment and no risk. By getting the right equipment and training through HillDT, you can strategically upgrade to provide a great customer experience that will help you grow while on a budget.
Making the adjustment from practitioner to business owner can be a difficult transition. Thinking of a medical practice as a business, and implementing business and marketing strategies can be overwhelming, but thinking about and utilizing these strategies can help small business owners grow their practice both effectively and in a cost-effective way.