So Much Focus on Building your Medical Billing Company Brand
I’ve heard numerous billing companies say things like, “We go to trade shows because we want people to see us there.” But my question is, why do you care if they see you? Intuitively, it may make sense to say visibility equals marketing, and marketing is important, right? But more specifically, how does Building Your Medical Billing Company Brand actually contribute to your bottom line?
I’ve had other billing companies tell me they want national exposure. My first response is, why focus on national? What’s wrong with your local or regional market? Have you saturated your local market to the point where you can’t grow anymore? I doubt it. Wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to focus on nearby markets where you already have a presence, rather than far-off regions? And why focus on exposure and what does “exposure” even mean? Are you trying to generate medical billing leads, or is it more about awareness? Again, how does this relate to your bottom line?
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) at Trade Shows
I’ve even heard companies say, “We want people to see us at trade shows.” Is this because you’re concerned that competitors will steal your clients if you’re not there? Do you believe the trade show will generate such a high return on investment that you absolutely must attend? Or is it more of a FOMO (fear of missing out), where you’re afraid your competitors will swoop in while you’re absent?
If you’re thinking in these terms, you need to evaluate a few things. First, do you have enough market share to actually worry about this? Second, are your clients even attending these trade shows? And third, do you have any data suggesting that when your clients attend trade shows and you’re not there, you lose them?
If you do have that kind of data, then it’s a retention issue, not a marketing one. In that case, attending the trade show is about client retention, and you should measure it accordingly. If your attendance prevents client loss, that’s a retention ROI, not a marketing ROI.
What Is Branding?
Branding in medical billing typically means one of two things – increasing awareness of your company and positively impacting on the perception of your company. Do people know about your products or services? Do they have an unassisted recall, meaning can they name your company without any prompts? Or do they recognize your name when prompted (assisted recall)? Branding also involves perceptions. What is the target market’s perceptions and what words would they use to describe your company (this ties closely to marketing positioning)?
But here’s the thing – unless you’re a company with significant revenue, say $100 million or more, and you have a multi-million dollar marketing budget (not including your sales budget), branding in medical billing likely isn’t a good investment for you.
Focus on Lead Generation
If you’re focused on existing clients to improve retention, then yes, how people perceive your company matters. For example, what do your current clients think of your customer service, your results, or the value you deliver? This isn’t necessarily marketing – it’s about delivering a good product or service, which is more accurately described as customer satisfaction. This definitely improves your bottom line in retention, net retention, and even referrals that generate new business. But it isn’t building your medical billing company brand per se.
When it comes to your overall marketing strategy, your focus should be on generating leads that convert into profitable clients. Building your medical billing company brand, especially for smaller companies, would be hitting a broad audience to increase awareness, the vast majority of whom will never convert. If a potential client will never leave their current service provider, why should you care if they know about you or how they perceive your brand?
Lead Generation Instead of Building Your Medical Billing Company Brand
In the end, your priority should be generating qualified medical billing leads that convert into deals. Focus on sales to close more leads and the higher quality leads. For most revenue cycle management companies that aren’t private equity-backed and operating at a huge scale, this is the most important thing. Building your medical billing company brand, on the other hand, is a broad and expensive strategy that may not offer the return on investment you need at your current stage.
