Your medical practice is really no different than any other type of business when it comes to the economy. Granted, perhaps medicine is a bit more insulated than the retail industry – people always get sick, but they don’t always need a new car or house. However, discussions we have had with physicians in a variety of specialties suggest that the economic downturn we are experiencing (recession, depression, or whatever you feel comfortable calling it) has had a detrimental effect on medical practices. So, when revenue is down, expenses should be trimmed. And what better area to cut than your marketing budget, right?

Many educated people confuse marketing and advertising, so it is important to distinguish the two. We all know what advertising is: billboards, magazine ads, radio or tv commercials, etc. But this is just a part of marketing. According to the American Marketing Association, marketing is defined as “the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, organizations, and events to create and maintain relationships that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives. ” But what does that really mean?

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