With so many products and services available, it can be hard to know which type of marketing platform is the best fit for your plastic surgery practice. When you look around you will quickly find that businesses take one of two approaches to digital marketing management software:
- They assemble and maintain a system comprised of several programs from different providers (which we call a “duct-tape” approach), or;
- They invest in a quality all-in-one digital marketing platform.
In this article, we want to explore some challenges that you will face going the duct-tape route and why an all-in-one marketing platform for plastic surgeons will ultimately be the better choice for your business.
The Duct Tape Approach to Marketing Software
The allure of single-task marketing tools is that, in theory, you can build a fully custom digital marketing management system that can do roughly the same thing as an all-in-one solution – but at a lower cost. However, the reality is that duct-tape systems come with many challenges and hidden costs which actually make them more expensive in the long run.
Too Complicated
Unless you have a dedicated IT team who can properly configure all the different pieces into a cohesive system, you are going to have a hard time getting things done with a duct-tape marketing solution. You will need to learn the different rules and terminology for each platform, know when to use what tool for which task, etc. You’ll need to have a process in place to ensure consistency, as one or more tools might be able to roughly accomplish the same thing (to varying degrees of success). Moreover, since none of the tools are specifically designed to work together, you’ll also find points where they don’t interface correctly to complete a task, meaning you have to go out and buy another piece of software to fill the gap.
Too Much Time
Another issue with a duct-tape approach is the sheer amount of time that goes into using and maintaining the system. You are constantly having to toggle between different screens, sign onto multiple tools, and transfer data from platform to platform. These wasted minutes add up over the workday and can harm productivity. Moreover, you will need to keep up with all the different system updates, and you always run the risk of software/hardware incompatibilities popping up when any of the tool providers change something.
Wasted Money
When you have data spread out across multiple tools there is no easy way to get a full understanding of your true marketing ROI. Each tool you use will have a different, proprietary method of gathering and producing analytics data, making it almost impossible to get an accurate view of cross-channel performance. The end result of having discrepancies across your data sets is that it causes you to run ineffective campaigns based on inaccurate information – which ultimately leads to wasted dollars.
Poor Customer Experience
Another weakness of piece-meal marketing systems is that prospective customers often don’t receive the best possible customer experience from start to finish. Why? Because the more you spread out your marketing process across multiple software options, the higher the risk is of missing communications and touchpoints with your audience. It becomes more and more complicated to keep track of things, which can lead to unhappy clients, fewer referrals, and more negative reviews.
This is not to say that duct-tape marketing systems can’t work – however, they are much more time and resource-intensive than most business owners realize at first. There’s a reason that fully custom solutions are most often found in large enterprise-level organizations that can support full-time IT and marketing departments.
But for a small or medium-size plastic surgery practice? There is a better alternative.
Five Benefits of Using an All-in-One Marketing Platform
In contrast to the complexity of duct-tape systems, an all-in-one platform can simplify and streamline your online marketing strategy.
1. Reduce Marketing Expenses
While it is true that an all-in-one platform might cost more than a single duct-tape tool, the simple fact is that it takes multiple tools to effectively run a digital marketing strategy. And you will find that the associated fees and costs of running multiple different marketing tools quickly add up and negate any cost-saving you hoped to achieve by going the piecemeal route.
However, an all-in-one platform like Surefire Local gives you access to all the different tools and solutions you need for a single price. When you break things down, the cost can actually be lower than trying to run an equivalent duct-type system – and it is easier to budget for than trying to track multiple services.
2. Integrated Data Management
When you have an all-in-one marketing platform like Surefire Local at your disposal, you can eliminate the guesswork of tracking your marketing performance and the ROI of your campaigns. All of your marketing data is pulled together into a single place, allowing you to generate more accurate reports and metrics than if you try and manually compile information from multiple sources. You can discover which efforts are working, what marketing channels are costing too much money, and where the majority of your profit is coming from to make informed strategic decisions.
3. Optimize Your Marketing Strategy
The ability to access accurate data and all the necessary tools in a single marketing platform makes campaign optimization a straightforward affair. You can quickly determine when adjustments need to be made and implement said changes with a few clicks of a button. And by having all your marketing channels (website, social, paid advertising, email, directories, etc.) feed into a single platform, you can compare performance and focus your efforts on the most effective channels to drive more high-value leads for your business.
4. Maintain an Active Online Presence
Far too often, plastic surgeons make the mistake of setting up a bunch of online profiles which they then neglect as they get caught up in consultations, procedures, and the other day-to-day tasks of running a plastic surgery practice. However, one of the most important parts of gaining new patients is maintaining a strong and active online presence. Prospects want to be able to look at photos of your work, watch your videos, read your reviews, interact with you on social, and explore your website.
An all-in-one marketing platform like Surefire Local saves you time and makes it easy to maintain your online presence. Rather than having to sign in to each blog, social account, and business profile (Google My Business, Yelp, etc.), the Surefire Local platform allows you to create and publish content across all these channels from a single location.
5. Streamline Communications
Another critical component of successful digital marketing is the ability to easily engage with your audience, regardless of how they initiate contact. When your marketing efforts are spread out across multiple platforms, you risk overlooking key touchpoints that might have convinced potential clients to give your office a chance.
An all-in-one marketing platform for plastic surgeons solves this issue by allowing you to manage all your communications from a single location. You do not have to worry about missing someone’s message because you forgot to log into one of seventeen different tools. Rather, you can manage your email campaigns, social media accounts, website chat functions, and even use text message marketing to communicate with patients. Having a centralized communications hub means you can pull up a record of all your interactions with a client at a moment’s notice, which helps keep the customer journey under your control.
Request a Demo of the Surefire Local Marketing Platform
With all the different digital marketing tools and services available on the market, finding the right option for your practice might seem like an impossible task. Fortunately, Surefire Local has your back. Our innovative all-in-one marketing platform for plastic surgeons is designed to help you achieve your marketing goals, increase your leads, and convert prospects into repeat clients.
In addition to all the features we have already discussed, you can:
- Track and measure online sentiment about your business;
- Manage your paid advertising, social media, email, and content marketing campaigns;
- Track performance metrics to see where you are winning and losing your audience members;
- Easily store and organize your visual assets to easily share an image or video across your online presence;
- Manage online reviews, optimize your website, and ensure your NAP is consistent everywhere on the web to boost your search rankings.
Our goal is to help locally-focused businesses of all sizes to remove digital roadblocks hindering their growth and to take action to attract and engage new and current customers through measurable, multichannel marketing.
Learn how you can improve your digital marketing strategy by requesting a demo today.
