Why Us

We are invested in our clients’ continued success. Part of that success is achieved through a proven Strategic Planning process. We facilitate this process by digging deeper to assess the current state and maturation of your practice, enabling us to create strategies to help it improve and advance in the market. It is essential to look at what is happening now and the opportunities that may exist in the future. It’s also important to remember that your practice exists in an ever-evolving marketplace and is constantly competing with others for position.

We work alongside you and your team during the Strategic Planning process to save you time and resources, allowing you to maintain focus on the needs of the practice and patients.

There are three critical steps in the Strategic Planning process:

• Strategy Formulation
  • We assist in the assessment of your practice’s current state through an intake questionnaire and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.
  • As a result of the analysis, we work collaboratively with you to develop plans regarding target markets, how to best allocate company resources and action plans for any further gaps in service and/or operations.
• Strategy Implementation
  • After a strategy has been formulated, we will assist in developing specific metrics or goals related to putting that strategy into action (i.e., patient volume, number of referrals, referrals by physician, event attendance, patient experience/reviews, etc.).
  • We then build a solid implementation framework, maximizing utilization of relevant resources and redirecting marketing efforts in line with achieving the strategic goals and objectives.
• Strategy Evaluation
  • On an ongoing basis, we will review the internal and external factors affecting the implementation of the strategy.
  • We will measure performance based upon identified/agreed upon metrics.
  • We will take corrective steps to make the strategy more effective.
  • And we will always re-evaluate the plan, tactics and metrics.

Through the Strategic Planning process, we will look at opportunities for Programmatic Development and Operational Improvement and will make recommendations based on your practice’s needs. As a result of the Strategic Planning process, we will deploy specific strategies that will sustain your practice with increased growth, revenue and operational efficiency.

Many critical factors come into play to build a successful medical practice. One key critical factor is creating, and most importantly, maintaining a strong patient base. At Waechter Consulting Group, we create a highly engaged physician referral strategy that translates to meaningful relationships and a consistent stream of new patients for your medical practice.

We accomplish this through the four key functions:

1. Initial Referral Audit

• Market research
• Identification of referral trends, patterns and gaps
• Satisfaction with current referral process
• Competitive analysis
• Growth benchmarks

2. Referring Physician Strategy

• Create call targets based on practices, physicians and territories with the most potential volume
• Plan outreach visits
• Develop action-oriented collateral: business cards, insurance providers, other referral tools

3. Scheduling Meet and Greets

• Identify influencers in the practice
• Coordinate face time with the referring providers
• Consistently follow-up on all meetings and contacts at regular intervals

4. Ongoing Tracking and Reporting

• Document all call activity in SalesForce including intel and issues
• Communicate all physician outreach activity monthly
• Monitor referral data to identify month-over-month and year-over-year variances
• Follow up with referring physicians real-time as referrals are received

The terms ‘Marketing’ and ‘Business Development’ are often used interchangeably in healthcare. In reality, they are distinct and unique entities that are most effective when working synergistically with one another. Marketing focuses on the awareness, visibility and affinity for a practice’s logo and brand to grow patient volume in a medical practice. Business Development takes a more comprehensive approach and focuses on all aspects of a practice. This includes strategy, marketing, referral relationships and consumer and employee engagement. Business Development helps a practice achieve a level of evolution that goes well beyond volume growth. Combine the two — and optimal business performance can be achieved.

We will conduct an initial audit to evaluate the strengths and opportunities of your practice related to marketing.

Marketing tactics that we may utilize could include:

• Brand management
  • Developing or refining a logo for the practice, practice colors, brand standards, mission statement, differentiating factors
• Collateral development
  • Development of promotional pieces such as a brochure or rack card, business cards or referral forms
• Website development
  • Enhancement of the content and quality of the website, copywriting, content curation
• Social media enhancement
  • Improved engagement, increased following, content curation for routine posts, cross tagging and business engagement
• Digital optimization
  • Google page, consistency in directory listings, search engine optimization, keywords
• Media marketing
  • Print publications, radio, television, outdoor advertising, digital opportunities

Without a doubt, marketing is an essential piece of growing patient volume in a new or established practice. Brand awareness, market visibility, crafting the right messaging, reaching the right audience, frequency and online presence are all essential tactics.

Just as a physician referral strategy is important to growing patient volume, consumer engagement can also drive volume through brand recognition, self-referral and word-of-mouth. Consumers are becoming more savvy when it comes to their healthcare and you want them to choose you over your competitors.

There are a number of direct to consumer strategies that can increase consumer engagement. They involve face-to-face contact between practices and their consumers/patients at events such as seminars, conferences, charity events and virtual events, among others.

Live events provide attendees with a valuable opportunity to form in-person connections in an increasingly digital world. Our prospective patients, referring providers and media sources connect with your practice in order to identify with your personal and professional style, patient care expertise and niche and at times come together for a mutually agreed upon goal or cause.

Consumer engagement strategies could include:

• In-person, virtual and hybrid events
• Open house or anniversary
• Educational events
• Online videos — promotional and educational
• Chamber of Commerce involvement
• Event sponsorships
• Health fairs or trade shows