Medical Marketing Goals VS KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

Medical marketing goals typically involve increasing patient acquisition, enhancing brand reputation, and improving patient engagement and retention. These goals can be achieved through various strategies, including digital marketing, content creation, and social media engagement.

PatientGain.com’s Platinum Service empowers medical practices with the integrated technology and analytics necessary to set meaningful goals, measure relevant KPIs in real time, and optimize marketing campaigns accordingly. This ensures marketing efforts drive tangible growth, patient acquisition, and engagement with transparency and precision.

Many doctors and practice managers confuse ideas, goals and KPI’s. Medical marketing goals define what your practice wants to accomplish, while KPIs provide measurable data on how effectively you’re progressing toward those goals. PatientGain.com’s Platinum Service empowers medical practices with the integrated technology and analytics necessary to set meaningful goals, measure relevant KPIs in real time, and optimize marketing campaigns accordingly. This ensures marketing efforts drive tangible growth, patient acquisition, and engagement with transparency and precision.

While often used in the same conversations, Medical Marketing Goals and Medical Marketing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) serve distinct but related purposes in guiding and evaluating a medical practice’s marketing efforts.

What does KPI stand for?

A KPI is short for Key Performance Indicator. These are measurements that indicate you are moving towards the desired result. There could be many indications that you are reaching your goal, but instead of focusing on every single one, you are monitoring the more critical or “key” indicators. These “keys” to your performance are why it is called a Key Performance Indicator. These measurements help you track your ability to reach the goals you set in your medical marketing plan.

To use an analogy, your marketing goal is the destination, and your KPI are the landmarks you pass while you are traveling to get there. If you are traveling and realize you haven’t seen what you should have passed while getting to your destination, it’s an indication you are not on the right path. KPIs help you get your medical practice to where you want it to be.

What makes for a good KPI?

A good KPI should be something that can generate evidence that you are reaching your stated goal. This measurement should have the ability to be compared to previous measurements to demonstrate any improvements. Often, the best KPIs are numbers over a period that can be compared to numbers from the same metric in the past.

What are some good examples of medical KPIs?

• Number of patients seen in a week compared to the last several weeks
• Number of new patients seen over a month compared to that month last year
• The number of positive flu patients seen during this flu season compared to the previous year to date.
What are some examples of bad medical KPIs?

• How the front staff is feeling (based on surveys)
• Number of strep throat tests conducted this year when it was not offered the previous year
• How often there is no parking in the parking lot in front of the medical practice

What is a medical marketing goal?

A medical market goal is an achievement you would like your medical practice to reach over some time. Generally, a medical marketing goal should have a metric assigned to it so it can be defined. An ill-defined medical marketing goal can be challenging to achieve and challenging to determine if you have met it. This can lead to frustration and some tension between an owner and medical marketing manager, often leading both to be not on the same page. Firm, defined, medical marketing goals should be the goal of any medical marketing plan.

What are some good goals and objectives for a medical practice?

1. Increase daily patient count at the urgent care center by ten patients per day in the next 12 months
2. Increase patient satisfaction by 25% at an urgent care center over the next 12 months
3. Reduce patient acquisition costs by 15% over the next six months

What are bad examples of goals and objectives for a medical practice?

1. Be the #1 foot doctor in the community in the end of the next year
2. Expand patient count in the community
3. Increase revenue

Bad medical marketing goal with a bad KPI

If you review your goals in your medical marketing plan, you may be surprised how often you provide ill-defined medical marketing goals and fuzzy KPIs. For example, if your goal was to “increasing revenue” and your KPI was “how often there is no parking in front of your medical practice,” you will have a tough time reaching that goal definitively. Why? Let’s this break it down.

Goal – Increase Revenue: What does that mean? Increasing revenue can mean a lot of things. Let’s say your medical practice made $300,000 last year in revenue. If this year, it made $300,100, then technically, you’ve achieved that goal. If you made $300,100 last year, but double expenses to do that, then again, you’ve achieved that goal, but it was done in a way that cannot be sustained. “Increase” is not defined, and “Revenue” is not something to look at alone without also considering expenses.

KPI – How often there is no parking in the parking lot in front of the medical practice: On the surface, like increasing revenue, this might seem like a straightforward KPI. It is something you can count and assign a number to. But as a KPI, how useful is it? Just because your parking lot is full, does that mean everyone there is a patient? Are some cars, your staff? Does a contractor who comes in to paint your facility count towards this metric? Do you share your parking lot with another medical practice? Is there a massive snow pile over winter that takes up three spots until spring? How many patients are coming in per car? As you can see, this KPI quickly is not a great indicator towards a goal.

A good medical marketing goal with a good KPI

Let’s break down a good goal with a good KPI.

Goal – Increase daily patient count at the urgent care center by ten patients per day in the next 12 months: This is a great goal. You’ve set a metric you would like and during a set time. Assuming your medical practice has been open for at least 12 months, you can see if you achieve that goal by comparing the average number of patients per day to the previous 12 months. You will either make that goal or not. There is no way for you to talk yourself into being successful or unsuccessful. It is cut and dry.

KPI – Number of new patients seen over a month compared to that month last year: Again, this is a clear KPI that can help you achieve your goal. If, after the first month, your average patient per day count is the same as it was compared to that month last year, then you know that you are not getting any closer to that goal. If you make changes and in the following month you see that number improve, then you know you are on the right path.

The key to having reasonable medical marketing goals and KPIs is being able to measure and define the metrics associated with them.

Outside Factors To Consider

One mistake that some medical practice owners make is considering the validity of the data they have despite having excellent medical marketing goals and KPIs. Using the “good examples above,” let’s say after reviewing the data, an owner notices that in June after months of improvement, numbers dropped deeply and then recovered the next month. One might think that the staff or a medical marketing manager got lazy or made a critical mistake. While possible, as an owner, you should also make sure there were no external factors that are beyond the control of your practice. In this example, it would be wise to see if any issues caused this drop-in patient. For example, maybe a critical bridge that people take to visit your practice had to close for two weeks for emergency repairs. Perhaps a severe storm knocked out power to the area for a week. Maybe the tenant above your medical practice had a burst water pipe, and it took several days to clean that up. In these cases, throw out that data and consider the bigger picture with untainted information.

PatientGain.com’s Platinum Service are designed to help practices with goals and KPIs

Medical Marketing Goals and Medical Marketing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). While related, they play different roles. Services like PatientGain.com’s Platinum Service are designed to help practices define these goals and then rigorously track the KPIs that measure progress towards them.

Medical Marketing Goals:

Definition: These are the broad, strategic objectives your medical practice aims to achieve through its marketing efforts. They answer the question: “What do we ultimately want to accomplish?” Goals provide direction and are often tied to the overall business growth of the practice.
PatientGain.com’s Role in Setting Goals: While practices define their own overarching business goals (e.g., increase revenue, expand service lines), a platform like PatientGain.com, through its expertise and initial market analysis (often part of their setup or strategy discussions), can help practices set realistic and achievable marketing goals. For instance, based on the competitiveness of the market and the practice’s current standing, they might help a DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice set a goal like: “Increase new patient memberships by 15% within the next 12 months through enhanced online visibility and targeted outreach.”

Examples of Medical Marketing Goals (and how PatientGain.com supports them):

Increase New Patient Acquisition:
- PatientGain.com Support: The entire Platinum Service is geared towards this, utilizing SEO, online ads, social media, and conversion-optimized websites to attract and convert potential patients.
Enhance Online Visibility and Local Market Leadership for Specific Services:
- PatientGain.com Support: Through targeted SEO for specific medical services, local SEO optimization (including managing Google Business Profile and other directories), and creating service-specific content, they aim to make the practice more visible when potential patients search for those services.
Improve Patient Engagement and Retention:
- PatientGain.com Support: Features like automated email marketing (newsletters, health tips), 2-way texting, social media posting, and patient referral apps are designed to keep current patients engaged and encourage loyalty.
Boost Online Reputation:
- PatientGain.com Support: Their reputation management tools help in generating more positive reviews on sites like Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades, and in managing feedback.
Streamline Patient Intake and Communication:
- PatientGain.com Support: HIPAA-compliant online forms, appointment scheduling tools, and communication apps like chatbots and intelligent auto-responders aim to make the initial contact and ongoing communication more efficient.

Medical Marketing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators):

Definition: KPIs are the specific, quantifiable metrics used to track and measure progress towards your marketing goals. They answer the question: “How will we know if we are succeeding?” KPIs provide tangible data points.
PatientGain.com’s Role in Tracking KPIs: The Platinum Service is built around providing measurable results, primarily through its Single Marketing Dashboard and integrated HIPAA-compliant CRM. These tools collect data from all the various marketing channels and apps being used, allowing practices to monitor a wide array of KPIs.

Examples of KPIs Trackable with PatientGain.com’s Platinum Service (linked to Goals):

Goal: Increase New Patient Acquisition by 20% in 6 months.
- KPIs Tracked via PatientGain.com:
  - Number of New Leads per Month: From all sources (web forms, calls, texts, chatbot inquiries) – tracked in the Leads Funnel App and CRM.
  - Website Conversion Rate: Percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action (e.g., fill out an appointment request form) – tracked via website analytics integrated with the dashboard.
  - Cost Per Lead (CPL) & Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) from Online Ads: Data from Google Ads and social media ad campaigns, managed by PatientGain.com, showing how much is spent to get a lead or a new patient – visible in their analytics.
  - Number of Online Appointments Booked: Directly measured through their HIPAA-compliant appointment scheduling app.
  - Phone Call Volume from Marketing Sources: Using call tracking features to see how many calls are generated from specific campaigns or the website.
Goal: Become a Top 3 Ranked Practice on Google for “Pediatrician Near Me [City Name]” within 12 months.
- KPIs Tracked via PatientGain.com:
  - Keyword Rankings: Monitoring the practice’s position in Google search results for targeted keywords (a core part of their SEO service).
  - Organic Website Traffic: Increase in visitors coming from search engines to pediatric service pages – tracked in their dashboard.
  - Click-Through Rate (CTR) from Local Search (Google Business Profile): How often searchers click on the practice’s GMB listing.
  - Number of “Directions” Clicks from GMB: Indicating local interest.
Goal: Improve Patient Engagement by increasing newsletter open rates to 25% and social media interaction by 15% in 3 months.
- KPIs Tracked via PatientGain.com:
  - Email Open Rates and Click-Through Rates: For newsletters and email campaigns sent through their system.
  - Social Media Engagement Metrics: Likes, shares, comments on posts made through their social media posting service (though detailed third-party social analytics might also be used).
  - Website Traffic from Email and Social Media: Tracked in the central dashboard.
Goal: Increase positive online reviews by 30% and achieve an average 4.5-star rating on Google within 6 months.
- KPIs Tracked via PatientGain.com:
  - Number of New Reviews Generated: Through their reputation management app that sends review requests.
  - Average Star Ratings: Monitored across key review sites.
  - Sentiment of Reviews: Qualitative analysis (often part of reputation monitoring).

The Key Difference, Amplified by PatientGain.com:

Goals are the “What”: Broad objectives like “attract more patients for dental implants.”
KPIs are the “How We Know”: Specific metrics that PatientGain.com’s platform tracks, such as:
- “Number of clicks on Google Ads for ‘dental implants [city]'”
- “Number of consultation forms submitted for dental implants via the website”
- “Conversion rate of the dental implant landing page”
- “Cost per dental implant lead”

PatientGain.com’s Platinum Service aims to provide a comprehensive system where marketing goals are not just aspirations but are actively pursued through a suite of tools that generate KPIs. The platform’s emphasis on a single marketing dashboard, CRM integration, call tracking, and app-specific analytics means that practice owners and managers can see tangible data on how their marketing efforts (managed by or through PatientGain.com) are performing against their objectives. This allows for data-driven decisions, optimization of campaigns, and a clearer understanding of their marketing ROI, all central to achieving their overarching practice goals.