Marketing Tips for Doctors

In this episode, Barbara discusses: 

Key Takeaways: 

“AI will not save medicine if it simply speeds up broken systems, but it can help if leaders are willing to redesign the work.” 

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

TRANSCRIPTION (230)

I’m your host, Dr Barbara Hales, and I’ll see you in the next episode till next time. 

Chapter 1: Why AI Showed Up in a Broken System 

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Bob, welcome to another episode of marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host, Dr Barbara Hales, and today we are talking about AI and the future of medicine, leading with innovation without losing our humanity. Let me start with a confession. I didn’t come to medicine because I love paperwork. I came because I love people. I love listening. I love problem-solving. I love that moment when a patient feels seen. And yet, somewhere along the way, medicine became less about patients and more about portals, more clicks, more boxes, more metrics, less meaning. So, when artificial intelligence exploded into healthcare, it wasn’t because physicians were curious. It was because we were exhausted tonight or this morning, whenever you’re listening, I want to talk honestly about AI, not the hype, not the fear, but the responsibility, because AI is not a technology issue, it’s a leadership issue. And if you’re a physician or someone who leads physicians, this conversation matters. 

Chapter 2: Burnout as a Design and System Problem 

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Ai didn’t arrive because medicine was ready. It arrived because medicine was strained. Over the last decade, we’ve layered complexity on top of complexity. Electronic Health Records promised efficiency. Instead, they often delivered a burden. Inboxes exploded, documentation doubled, cognitive load skyrocketed. Physicians didn’t suddenly become bad at resilience. The system became unsustainable, so physicians started searching late at night between patients on weekends. How do I chart faster? How do I manage my inbox? How do I stop feeling like a clerk? AI entered medicine, not as innovation, but as relief. 

Chapter 3: What Physicians Are Really Searching For 

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

What physicians are really searching for? Let’s get clear, physicians are not searching for disruption. They are searching for time. They are searching for sanity. They are searching for a way to practice medicine without sacrificing their evenings or their empathy, ambient documentation, smarter inbox, triage, prior authorization, assistance, workflow, and automation. These searches aren’t about technology. They’re about dignity, and leaders who miss that point, we will all miss the moment. 

Chapter 4: The Real Role and Limits of AI 

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Burnout is a design problem. Burnout is not a personal failure; it’s a system failure. No meditation app fixes broken workflows; no wellness seminar cures moral injury. Physicians are burning out because they care, because they notice the gap between the medicine they were trained to practice and the medicine they’re allowed to practice. AI will not save medicine if it simply speeds up broken systems, but it can help if leaders are willing to redesign the work. AI is very good at repetition, very good at summarizing, very good at pattern recognition. AI is not good at nuance, not good at ethics, not good at human judgment. The danger isn’t replacement. The danger is reduction, reducing medicine to efficiency metrics, instead of meaning medicine runs on trust, trust between patient and physician, trust between clinicians and leadership. 

Chapter 5: AI as a Leadership Contract 

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Ai introduces a new contract, who governs it, who audits it, and who is accountable when it fails. These are not the questions. These are leadership questions. I’ve seen systems succeed with AI, and I’ve seen them fail. The difference is never the software. It’s the strategy, its physician involvement, it’s transparency, same technology, different outcomes. 

Chapter 6: The More-Human Future Physician & Call to Action 

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

The future. A physician is no less human. They are more human, more listener, more interpreter, more advocate. AI should carry clerical weight, so physicians can carry moral weight. If you’re a physician, pay attention to how AI enters your work. If you’re a leader, remember this technology doesn’t fix culture; leadership does. AI can either become the final straw or the turning point; that choice belongs to us. Thank you for listening, and thank you for caring about the future of medicine. Now, the thing is this: until the system changes, more and more physicians will be suffering from burnout. Contact me at TheMedicalStrategist.com, forward slash contact, and ask for the burnout assessment. By taking it, you can see how well you are coping versus how well you’re on the verge of being in critical burnout. It’s just a few questions, and I think that it’s important for you to know so that you can adjust your schedule, adjust how things are done in your office, and adjust your thinking. Remember the medical strategist.com, forward slash contact, and ask for the burnout assessment. We’ll speak again then. Thank you. Applause. 

In this episode, Barbara discusses: 

Key Takeaways: 

“If you find yourself longing for the past, you’re not broken. You’re responding intelligently to an overwhelming world.” 

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

TRANSCRIPTION  (229)

Nostalgia and Digital Burnout 

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Welcome to another episode of marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host. Dr Barbara Hales, lately, there’s a phrase popping up everywhere online. 2026 is the new 2016. Imagine, at first glance, it sounds like a meme, a throwaway line about fashion, music, or social media trends, but when you look closer, this isn’t really about throwback playlists or old Instagram filters. It’s about how life felt, and today we’re going to talk about nostalgia psychology, why it’s showing up so strongly during a time of digital burnout, and what this craving for the past tells us about mental health, emotional fatigue, and how we communicate, especially in marketing and health care. Nostalgia is not sentimental. It’s survival. Nostalgia isn’t weakness. It’s a coping mechanism during periods of uncertainty, rapid change, and overload; the brain looks backward for safety. That’s not romantic. It’s biological. And think of what’s going on now with the AI trends and craze, things are escalating like never before. Right now, we’re living through constant acceleration, AI disruption, algorithmic attention, endless comparison, always on expectations. So when people say they miss 2016, what they’re really saying is I miss feeling less overwhelmed. That’s emotional fatigue, speaking, and it matters. 

The Unique Nature of 2016 

[0:01:20] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Why 2016 and not another era? Here’s what makes 2016 unique. It was the last era of low-stakes, digital life. Social media existed, but it hadn’t fully transformed into today’s attention economy. Instagram wasn’t a storefront. We weren’t personal brands. Metrics didn’t define self-worth. You could be present without performing that loss of psychological ease is what people are grieving, even if they don’t realize it. 

A Healthcare Nostalgia Marketing Story 

[0:02:03] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Let’s hear about the practice that stopped selling and started remembering. I want to share a story that perfectly illustrates why nostalgia and storytelling in marketing work so powerfully, especially in healthcare, a pediatric practice I know was struggling to grow. They had modern branding, clean ads, optimized messaging, all the things marketing experts recommend, but nothing was landing. So instead of launching another campaign, they posted a single photo. It was an old picture of their waiting room from years earlier, mismatched chairs, a fish tank, and a hand-painted mural done by a nurse who no longer works there. I’m sure you can picture it, and maybe you’ve been to offices that looked like that, too, in the past. The caption read, this was our waiting room when we first opened. Some of your kids sat here. Some of you did. Parents flooded the comments. They shared memories, stories, gratitude, and appointments filled. Referrals increased, not because the practice sold harder, but because it reminded people how it felt to be cared for. That’s what nostalgia does. It reconnects with a physician. 

Nostalgia as Patient Coping 

[0:03:14] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

In perspective, nostalgia often shows up when the nervous system is overloaded. Patients don’t always say I’m burnt out. They say I’m exhausted. I feel numb. I miss when life felt lighter. That’s not regression. That’s the body asking for relief. Nostalgia is a signal, not a solution, but it points us toward what’s missing: safety, meaning, and manageable pace. 

A Consumer Marketing Example 

[0:03:42] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Let’s now hear about the brand that sold a feeling, not a product. Excuse me. Let me give you this example, this time from consumer marketing, a brand attempted to relaunch a discontinued product from the mid 2010s same formula, same packaging. Sales were disappointing, so they changed strategy. Their next campaign wasn’t about the product; it showed quiet moments, friends on a couch, phones face down, music playing softly, no influencers, no urgency. The voiceover said, before everything became content, some moments were just ours. That campaign soared not because people desperately wanted the product, but because they wanted the emotional state associated with it. That’s the power of nostalgia-driven storytelling. It restores humanity. 

Marketing Takeaways for 2026 

[0:04:38] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

What does this mean for 2026 and beyond? Here’s the takeaway. People don’t want to go backward. They want to feel grounded. The most effective marketing in 2026 doesn’t shout innovation, it whispers familiarity. If you find yourself longing for the past, you’re not broken. You’re responding intelligently to an overwhelming world. The real question isn’t how to recreate 2016, it’s how to build a future that feels more human than optimized, and that’s a conversation worth continuing. 

Call to Action 

[0:05:10] Dr. Barbara Hales: 

Please contact me at Medical Strategist.com, forward slash contact, and we can set up a free consultation to discuss what you are doing with your marketing, what your needs are, and how we could tweak it for you to be just that much more successful. Speak to you then. 

In this episode, Barbara discusses:

Key Takeaways:

“I finally realized the video wasn’t about me. It was about reaching someone before it was too late. Short Form. Video isn’t about popularity. It’s about access.”

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

Overcoming Resistance to Short Form Videos

[0:00:34] Dr. Barbara Hales:

Hello, and welcome to marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host. Dr Barbara Hales and I are talking about something that makes many physicians uncomfortable, skeptical, or even resistant to short-form videos. If the words TikTok reels or YouTube shorts make you cringe a little. You are not alone. Many doctors worry that short-form video feels unprofessional, gimmicky, or beneath the seriousness of medicine, and I completely understand that reaction. But here’s the reality: your patients are already there. They’re scrolling, they’re learning, they’re forming opinions long before they ever walk into an exam room, your exam room. Today’s episode is about why short-form video is no longer optional for doctors, how to use it ethically and professionally, and how to show up without feeling like you are performing or selling your soul

The Rise of Short-Form Video

[0:01:37] Dr. Barbara Hales:

First, let’s look at why short-form video took over. Let’s start with the obvious question: why video, and why now? Attention has shifted. Patients no longer search only by typing symptoms into Google. They search by watching; they want to see who you are, how you speak, and whether you feel human, warm, and trustworthy. Short-form video works because it mirrors how the brain processes information. It’s visual, emotional, and fast in under 60 seconds, so someone can decide whether you feel relatable or forgettable. This isn’t about entertainment. It’s about visibility and trust.

Case Study of a Primary Care Doctor

[0:02:23] Dr. Barbara Hales:

Let me tell you about a physician I worked with, a primary care doctor who was deeply uncomfortable with marketing. She felt that being online somehow cheapened her work. One day, she recorded a simple 32nd video explaining why patients should not ignore persistent fatigue, no filters, no fancy editing, just her in her office speaking calmly and clearly. A few weeks later, a new patient came in and said, I saw your video. I felt like you were talking directly to me. That’s why I’m here. That patient turned out to have a serious underlying condition that might have gone undiagnosed for much longer. That’s when the doctor said something powerful. I finally realized the video wasn’t about me. It was about reaching someone before it was too late. Short-Form. Video isn’t about popularity. It’s about access.

Effective Content for Short Form Videos

[0:03:27] Dr. Barbara Hales:

Let’s talk about what actually works, because no, you do not need to dance. What performs best is education, myth-busting, behind-the-scenes reassurance, and humanity. Patients want clarity. They want calm, authority. They want someone who can explain complex topics without talking down to them. The best videos answer questions like, Is this symptom normal? When should I worry? Why does this treatment matter? You are already doing this all day in your exam room. Video simply scales that conversation, the biggest mistake doctors may. Fake is trying to sound perfect instead of present. Short-form video rewards authenticity, not scripts that sound like journal abstracts.

Addressing Concerns About Credibility

[0:04:29] Dr. Barbara Hales:

Let’s address the fear head-on. Will this hurt my credibility? It won’t, if you do it right. Credibility is damaged when doctors Chase trends without context, speak outside their scope, overpromise outcomes, and mimic influencers instead of educators. Credibility is built when you stay in your lane, speak clearly and compassionately, use plain language, and show consistency over time. Short-form video doesn’t replace long-form expertise. It invites people into it. Here’s the good news: You do not need to create more content. You need to repurpose smarter. One idea can become a podcast episode, a YouTube video, multiple short clips, a blog post, and social captions. Short-form video is not extra work. It’s a better distribution of work you’re already doing.

Encouragement and Final Thoughts

[0:05:54] Dr. Barbara Hales:

Another physician told me she almost quit posting videos after a negative comment made her doubt herself. Then she received a private message from a patient who said, “Your videos helped me finally make an appointment.” I was scared, but you made it feel safe. That message changed everything. She realized that for every loud critic, there are quiet viewers who are grateful, and watching short-form video is not about becoming famous. It’s about being found. You don’t need perfection. You need presence. Start with one video, one question, one patient you wish you could have helped sooner, and if this episode helped shift your perspective, stay tuned, because in our next episode, we’ll talk about, hey, how AI is changing patient communication and how to use it without losing trust. Thank you for listening to marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host, Dr Barbara Hales, and I’ll see you in the next episode. Till next time.

In this episode, Barbara and Thomas discuss:

Key Takeaways:

“To make a decision and rationalize that decision takes 11 seconds… deciding to listen to me and keep me in your mind, that will take 11 seconds.”

Connect with Dr. Thomas Trautmann:

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

TRANSCRIPTION (227)

Chapter 1: Introduction & Guest Background

As a former certified neuro marketing instructor, Thomas leverages cutting-edge brain and decision-making science to enhance his clients’ marketing, sales, and business strategies, recognizing the need for a more human touch. In neuromarketing, Thomas developed the ethical persuader system and authored Make Me Great. Central to Dr Trautmann’s mission is the Make Me Great concept, which focuses on helping business owners stand out in 11 seconds. Keep that in mind. That is a great tagline. He guides CEOs, executives, and business owners to evolve from stressed chihuahuas into happy, successful Kangals, fostering trust, success, and fun in their lives. For all of you out there that say at this point, what the heck is a Kangal I will tell you, it is a dog that is similar in appearance to an Anatolian Shepherd, which is quite large, but he is very sweet, very protective, very astute, smart, very protective of the people around him, so now you know what a candle is. Also, a 10x performance coach with Grant Cardone Thomas combines brain science and ethical persuasion with Cardone’s expertise in money marketing and sales, helping clients achieve exponential growth. Today, Thomas delivers workshops, training, coaching, and seminars worldwide as a conference speaker. He empowers people to become ethical Persuaders and fulfilled business owners living life to the fullest. Wow, wow, wow. Welcome to the show. I’m so happy to see you today.

Chapter 2: The 11 Second Concept

I help business owners. I’m a business owner myself, and we all struggle a lot. You know, in my very first business, I remember sitting at my best desk, looking at the bank account and seeing that, well, no more clients were coming in, and no more money was coming in. So, it was either I got the job, or I found something else. So, I didn’t find it over. Find it over overnight, of course, but I paid attention to neuro marketing. It was the first time there was a documentary about it, quite some time back, and that’s how it started. We implemented some of the techniques and saw a 400% increase in our business. And it was a motorcycle tour business at that time. And we even had BMW friends approach us to organize the motorcycle tools for their clients. So that’s how it started, and then I decided to become a neuromarketing instructor. And yeah, that’s how I connected brain AI from the past, from my studies to real life. And yeah, during a conversation with my wife, it became clear that neuro marketing lacks humanity. You learn a lot when you do. Don’t get me wrong, neuro marketing works perfectly. It gives two-digit growth easily. It targets the human brain. So, you could say it’s human, yes, but the people attending the workshops were learning things to implement for their companies, not for themselves. So that’s why I say, okay, something’s missing here. So, I’m going to create something which is called the ethical persuader, which is about you learn first, how you get from people the decisions you want, why you help them make the decision they need, which is ethical, by the way, and then you can implement it in your everyday life, in your business, wherever. So that’s how the whole thing started.

Chapter 3: Happy Brains and The Power of a Smile

Chapter 4: Ethical Persuasion Beyond Marketing

Chapter 5: Emotions and Human Decision-Making

[0:10:16] Dr. Barbara Hales: Well, that makes a lot of sense, and I imagine a lot of decisions are also made with the heart first and then rationalized

Chapter 6: The “You Language” and Lasting Change

[0:11:24] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Well, the first thing I do is show them how their brain works. So every training starts with a few experiments. So, I don’t hurt anyone. I don’t open the brain bucket and scoop out the slice. Nope. We do some very simple experiences, and people see that, in fact, their brain is lying to them. Our brain is lying to us. So, I mean you, for example, when you go into a freshly painted room, okay, it smells like paint after two or three minutes, what happens? It’s normal, smelling like paint, right? But the paint is still there. The paint molecules are still in the air. But your primal brain, the decision maker, cannot process too much information, so it just filters out information, the smell of the paint. There is no contrast. It filters it out. So, for example, for your audience, if they always repeat the same message. You know, there is no contrast. Or if they adjust an MD among other MDs, there is no contrast; they will be invisible, completely forgotten. If you become a doctor, who, I don’t know, makes you one, one meter taller or three feet taller. I’m the only one doing that. That’s contrast. Then I will keep you in mind. Then I will maybe take those 11 seconds to keep you in my mind.

[0:15:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: That’s why, on your about page, when you’re when you’re when you could present information that instead of saying, like, I graduated here, I did this, that it is much more effective if you take that page to just say, I help this problem that you may have. I have a solution to that problem you may have. Because, you know, at the end of the day, that’s what they’re really interested in,

[0:15:34] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Yeah, in fact, you should not even do it like that. It’s not that I have you. You have this problem, and you need this so that you feel better because you, you, you, and then watch here, there is a solution for you. I say the same thing you do, but I don’t talk about myself. It’s like, if you have maybe for, for, for your, for your, I know what’s the name in English for, for, for the for a doctor’s office, but if you have a website for that, that’s a little exercise that everyone in the audience can do is look at your website and look at how many times you are talking about yourself and how many times you talk about them. I’m pretty sure it starts with Home, About Me. You provide the services. I am a doctor. I am doing this. I have graduated I and don’t worry, 95% of people have the same problem on their website. That’s one of my favorite moments during a training. I just use one website as an example. And yeah,

[0:16:42] Dr. Barbara Hales: Well, now it’s going to go to your website to see what you mean, and I probably will too, but your suggestions instantly, you know, turn things around. And you know, it’s easy to see how more enticing, you know, writing it that way would be,

[0:17:02] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Yeah, and you will see it’s, it’s a mindset to have. It’s, you can’t say the same thing in your language as in the I language. It’s just written the other way around, absolutely.

Chapter 7: Accessing Training & Final Advice

[0:17:33] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: I’m starting this week with a new client. We do it fully online,

[0:17:37] Dr. Barbara Hales: And it’s once a week. For how long?

[0:17:41] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: It depends in terms of coaching. So well, you can do the online training that’s at your own rate, and then the coaching. It’s either once per week, or we start with once per week, then go biweekly. Depending on how long we go for, it can be 90 days, 180 days, or 1 year, depending on how far you want to dive into ethical persuasion and making people Great.

[0:18:04] Dr. Barbara Hales: And how would they access that training program with you? What would they go to online?

[0:18:12] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Well, they go to my website, which is happy, Dash brains.com, and there you can select whatever you want, or even get in touch with me. Have a strategy call. It’s a free call, of course. So, we assess the problem and look at some pointers for moving forward.

[0:18:30] Dr. Barbara Hales: Your Make Me Great is a book that you’ve authored, correct?

[0:18:35] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Yeah, it’s the name of the system,

[0:18:38] Dr. Barbara Hales: five-step systems. That is also the name of a book that.

[0:18:41] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: You wrote? Yes, the book is also called Make Me Great.

[0:18:44] Dr. Barbara Hales: and a person can access through Amazon,

[0:18:49] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Amazon or my website.

[0:18:51] Dr. Barbara Hales: Okay, very good. So, at this point, could you give the audience two tips that they could implement right away? And, you know, making them visible in 11 seconds. And also, just elevating them as professionals,

[0:19:13] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Yeah, well, I already gave you the first one, which is the U language. Use the U language, try it now. Well, you know, when you try to be seen out there, use your language. Focus on what drives the decision in your audience’s brains: subconscious frustration. That’s the longer talk. It’s very human. It has nothing to do with a quick example, maybe not a good example, when it comes to me because I have no hair, but you have lovely hair. So, if I sell you a shampoo, the usual rational way would be to say, with that shampoo, bah, bah, you are going to have blonde hair that is going to fly in the wind, right? But you don’t buy shampoo for that. You buy to clean your hair, but you also want to be seen. For example. For example, maybe you want people to talk to you. So, I would say next time you go to a party, they will all look at you. They will all want to talk to you because of your hair. I’m not talking about my product, my shampoo, and so on, but doing something completely different. So that’s what you have to target. What drives a decision in the brain, and how does it use your language? That’s the first one. The second one is to use a very tough one, too. It’s called Silent listening. You know, most people say you should do active listening. You listen, write down, and so on, and try to interact. I’m pushing it further. I use silent listening. That means it has to be silent up there. You may say, “Okay, Thomas, I was on vacation,” and then your brain goes, “Oh, I have to tell her about my own vacation.” Oh, that was pretty cool, because I will tell her about when the kids went swimming and so on. The sea was so blue. And I’m no longer listening to you, because, again, my brain wants to focus on me and wants to be great, but I have to listen to you. So, you have to learn to silence that thing up there. So that’s the second technique,

[0:21:05] Dr. Barbara Hales: And that’s such good advice, because so few people can do that. You know, silence is, you know, a very difficult thing to achieve, and a lot of people are very uncomfortable with silence. They feel that they have to fill it up.[0:21:20] Dr. Thomas Trautmann: Yeah, exactly. Well, in fact, it’s a very important tool.

[0:21:26] Dr. Barbara Hales: Well, I’ve really enjoyed our session today, as I’m sure our listeners have, and I encourage you all to go into the show notes so that you can reach Dr Thomas Trautmann, because he’s definitely worth pursuing. He’s a really interesting, professional and really interesting guy. Thank you. Thank you for being with us today. This has been another episode of marketing tips for doctors with your hosts, Dr Barbara Hales and Dr. Trautmann. Thank you. Thank you, and till next time.

In this episode, Barbara discusses:

Key Takeaways:

“My intention moving forward is simple: to continue showing up with clarity, integrity, and heart, to create work that informs, inspires, and empowers, and to help professionals, especially doctors, feel seen, heard, and confident in their voice, because your voice matters now more than ever.”

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

TRANSCRIPTION (226)

Part 1: Welcome and Holiday Gratitude

Time (0:00 – 1:00)

Script

Welcome to another episode of marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host. Dr. Barbara Hales, I would like to say happy holidays and thank you for being part of my world. As the year ends and the holidays arrive, I want to pause for a moment, not to teach, not to market, not to analyze trends, but to say thank you, thank you for being here. Whether you’re a longtime reader, a client, I’ve worked closely with a podcast listener, a colleague, a fellow health professional, or a friend who supports this work, quietly from the sidelines, you are a part of a community that means more to me than I can easily put into words.

Part 2: Reflections on the Year and Connection

Time (1:01 – 2:30)

Script

This time of the year naturally invites reflection. We look back at what we built, what surprised us, what challenged us, and what ultimately shaped us. And when I look back on this year, one theme stands out clearly: connection. Connection through shared ideas, connection through meaningful conversations, connections through stories, questions, comments, emails, and moments of trust. Thank you for trusting my clients, thank you for trusting me with your vision, your practice, your brand, and sometimes your fears. I know that opening the doors to your business and often your heart is not easy. Watching you grow more visible, more confident, and more aligned with the work you were meant to do has been one of the greatest joys of my professional life.

Part 3: Acknowledging Healthcare Professionals

Time (2:31 – 4:00)

Script

To the doctors and health care professionals navigating an increasingly complex landscape, I see you. I see the long hours, the emotional weight, the administrative burden, and the quiet determination to keep showing up for your patients. Your resilience and adaptability inspire me more than you know. Many of the conversations I’ve had this year weren’t about marketing tactics at all. They were about clarity, sustainability, and how to practice medicine in a way that feels human again. As you look ahead, you find yourself wanting to strengthen your visibility, attract the right patients, or build a practice that feels more aligned and sustainable, know that support doesn’t have to start with a massive plan. Sometimes it begins with a thoughtful conversation about what’s working, what’s no longer serving you, and what could feel better in the next chapter. That door is always open.

Part 4: Community Interaction and Authenticity

Time (4:01 – 5:30)

Script

Thank you for showing up for my readers and listeners, week after week. Thank you for the messages that say this really resonated, or I needed to hear this today, or you put words to something I couldn’t quite explain. Those notes remind me of why I do this work. Content, to me, is not just content; it’s conversation, it’s a connection, it’s a way of reminding one another that ideas have power when they’re shared with intention and heart. Thank you for being human this year, as you have been every year, which came with its share of uncertainty, reinvention, and growth. We are all carrying a lot: careers, families, health, dreams, responsibilities, and the invisible emotional labor that rarely gets acknowledged. Thank you for your honesty, thank you for your vulnerability, thank you for being human in a. Digital world that often rewards perfection over authenticity. I believe deeply that our stories matter, not just the polished ones, but the real ones, the in-progress, evolving stories that reflect who we are becoming. Thank you for allowing me to share mine with you, and for trusting me with pieces of yours. Looking ahead with gratitude and hope as we step into a new year, I do so with gratitude for what we’ve built together and hope for what’s possible next.

Part 5: Intentions, Wishes, and Closing

Time (5:31 – End)

Script

My intention moving forward is simple: to continue showing up with clarity, integrity, and heart, to create work that informs, inspires, and empowers, and to help professionals, especially doctors, feel seen, heard, and confident in their voice, because your voice matters now more than ever. Excuse me. A holiday wish for you this holiday season: rest where you need it, joy where you are at least expecting it, and peace in moments, both big and small. May you unplug when you can, may you laugh often. May you feel appreciated, not just for what you do, but for who you are. Thank you for being part of my world. Thank you for walking alongside me this year, and thank you for the trust, encouragement, and connection that make this work so meaningful. Wishing you and those you love a joyful holiday season and a healthy, fulfilling year ahead with heartfelt gratitude. Dr. Barbara Hales, your host on The Medical Strategist. Till next time, thank you.

In this episode, Barbara discusses:

Key Takeaways:

” AI is the new stethoscope and the. New receptionist, the new assistant, the new educator. Start with one AI upgrade, whether it’s scheduling triage reminders or content; small improvements change the patient experience dramatically. Before we wrap up, I want to leave you with one question to carry through your week. What is the one change, big or small, I can make this month that will help my patients feel more cared for, more understood, or more supported? Because, in the end, marketing isn’t about algorithms or branding or automation, it’s about people, and people remember how you made them feel.”

Connect with Barbara Hales:

TRANSCRIPTION (225)

Chapter 1: The Five Marketing Shifts Doctors Must Make in 2025

[0:00:03] Dr. Barbara Hales:  

Welcome back to marketing tips for doctors, the place where medicine meets messaging and patient care meets practical strategy. I’m Dr Barbara Hales, your host and medical strategist. Today we’re diving into three big topics every doctor needs to understand in 2025 the five marketing shifts happening right now, how one doctor can become a powerful, trusted brand and what I call the AI patient, because expectations aren’t what they used to be along the way, I’ll share six heartwarming stories, three real case studies, and some clear steps you can take today to elevate your practice. So grab your coffee, settle in, and let’s make your marketing work for you instead of draining your time or energy. The first section is the five marketing shifts doctors must make in 2025. Most practices still operate like patients are passing through a turnstile, but today’s patients expect a relationship, familiarity, personal touch, and continuity. A cardiologist I worked with had a patient named Jim who had been in and out of the ER for years with atrial fibrillation. Every visit, he saw a different doctor, a different nurse, and never once felt known. The cardiologist finally implemented a relationship, first Follow Up program, handwritten notes after procedures, three-day check-ins, and a dedicated teaching nurse. Jim told the doctor, “This is the first time I’ve felt like a person, not a problem.” And guess what? His compliance improved, his outcomes improved, and he sent six new patients within three months. Marketing is simply the act of treating people like they matter. Content that starts with we provide, or we offer is ignored. Patients want to hear. What can you help me solve? How will I feel under your care, and why should I trust you as a pediatrician? A pediatrician began rewriting her website with the parent in mind. Instead of providing well-child visits, she said, we help you raise confident, healthy children, and we’re with you every step of the way. Parents would stop her in the hallway and say that line made me switch practices. Marketing works when people feel understood. Posting Happy Friday is not marketing. Posting with purpose, that’s marketing. An orthopedic practice in Chicago changed just one thing. They created a content calendar tied to patient search behavior, knee pain, Mondays, hip replacement, Wednesdays, and spine care Fridays. Within six months, website traffic grew 312% 312% but more importantly, appointment requests shot up because patients said I found exactly the question I was Googling on your page. Patients don’t want medical jargon. They want reassurance and action steps, practices that win in 2025 aren’t marketing. Sometimes they operate as brands consistently, authentically, and compassionately. If you want to make marketing easier in 2025, start with one thing, choose one shift and implement it this week, small steps create big momentum.

Chapter 2: How One Doctor Becomes a Trusted Brand

A doctor’s brand isn’t their logo, colors, or tagline. How one doctor becomes a brand patients trust a doctor’s is a feeling people get when they interact with you. Patients aren’t evaluating procedures. They’re evaluating you. Trust comes first. A family medical doctor named Hannah had a patient, Maria, who was. Terrified after a breast abnormality was found. After the biopsy came back benign, Maria told her Thank you for sitting with me while I cried. That moment was my decision maker. I knew I’d never switch doctors after that; the brand wasn’t Dr Hanna’s degree; it was her humanity. A dermatologist, Dr Patel, started placing a small sign in each room, You are safe. Your concerns are real. We are here to help patients. Took photos of it, shared it online. Called it the empathy clinic, one tiny message created an entire brand identity. Your story is your differentiator. No one has your background, your why, your mission, or your personality. Patients want to know why you became a doctor, why you chose your specialty, what you care about, besides medicine, show up consistently. Branding is not a single act. It’s a rhythm. A gastroenterologist who hated social media agreed to just one weekly video, 60 60-second shot on iPhone, answering one real patient question. After 10 weeks, his new patient said the same thing. I feel like I already know you. Branding is familiarity. Familiarity builds trust, and trust leads to appointments. Pick one part of your story and share it this week on your website, on social media, or in your waiting room. It’s not self-promotion, it’s a connection,

Chapter 3: The AI Patient: What Modern Consumers Expect from Healthcare

The AI patient: what modern consumers expect from health care. Today’s patients live in a world of 24/7, grocery delivery, instant flight changes, and hyper-personalized Netflix recommendations; they expect the same from health care, even if we’re not set up that way. Patients want speed and predictability. AI-enhanced scheduling, fast replies, and smart triage make patients feel supported. A mother of a four-year-old had a sudden rash scare at 10 pm, and she used the AI-powered triage chatbot. Within minutes, she received guidance, photos to upload, and the reassurance to come in first thing in the morning. She later wrote, You made me feel like I wasn’t alone at 10 pm, that is priceless. This is the new patient expectation. An elderly patient who struggled with technology used an AI voice assistant connected to the clinic’s system. He called to refill his medications, and the AI system said, I can help you with that. Let’s take it one step at a time. He told the staff the next morning that the robot was nicer to me than my grandson. AI isn’t replacing compassion, it’s extending it. AI can tailor follow-ups, reminders, education, lifestyle, guidance, and pre- and post op instructions based on conditions and history. It delivers what the modern patient craves. You understand me, a large multi-specialty practice implemented AI-driven appointment reminders customized by patient type. Bariatric patients received meal prep reminders. Diabetics received foot care prompts. Cardio patients received medication alerts, no generic messaging, everything. Personalized result, a 28% drop in no shows, this is the AI patient error. AI won’t replace doctors. Doctors who use AI will replace doctors who don’t. Patients don’t want robots. They want doctors who embrace tools that help them feel more informed, more secure, more connected, and more cared for.

Chapter 4: Implementing AI and Small Steps for Big Impact / Conclusion

[0:09:56] Dr. Barbara Hales:  

AI is the new stethoscope and the. New receptionist, the new assistant, the new educator. Start with one AI upgrade, whether it’s scheduling triage reminders or content; small improvements change the patient experience dramatically. Before we wrap up, I want to leave you with one question to carry through your week. What is the one change, big or small, I can make this month that will help my patients feel more cared for, more understood, or more supported? Because, in the end, marketing isn’t about algorithms or branding or automation, it’s about people, and people remember how you made them feel. Thank you for joining me today. If this episode inspired you, helped you, or gave you the push you needed, share it with another doctor who could benefit. And if you want support implementing any of these strategies, from AI tools to brand storytelling to patient experience upgrades, you know where to find me. I’m Dr Barbara Hales, the medical strategist. Go to medicalstrategist.com, forward slash contact until next time, keep connecting, keep caring, and keep showing up for your patients and yourself.

In this episode, Barbara discusses: 

Key Takeaways: 

” Doctors don’t push through the administrative burden because we’re stubborn. We do it because behind the curtain of bureaucracy, some real people need us, and sometimes, all it takes is a small red button to remind us that burnout is no longer a fringe topic. It’s a public health emergency.” 

Connect with Barbara Hales: 

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

TRANSCRIPTION (224)

Introduction – Where Medicine Meets Meaning 

Time: [0:00:02]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“Welcome to another episode of marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host. Dr Barbara Hales, this is the place where medicine meets meaning, strategy meets soul, and where we take the overwhelming day-to-day reality of practice and turn it into clarity, empowerment, and a little bit of hope…” 

The Biggest Search – Administrative Overload 

Time: [0:00:30]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“Today’s episode is a big one. We’re going to talk about the biggest problem doctors are Googling right now. And here’s the twist: it’s not a disease, it’s not a symptom, it’s not a new medical mystery or breakthrough therapy. The number one thing doctors are searching for is help navigating a system that has become too heavy, too complex, too administrative, and too unforgiving…” 

What Doctors Are Really Searching For 

Time: [0:01:20]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“When you look at aggregated physician search trends, professional forums, and what’s bubbling up in medical groups and conferences, the number one theme is unmistakable. Doctors are searching for relief, relief from the administrative burden, relief from burnout, relief from feeling like the system demands more documentation than healing…” 

Breaking Down Administrative Burden 

Time: [0:02:30]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“Let’s break down the big culprits contributing to administrative overload, prior authorizations. The number of required authorizations has exploded over the past decade. Every year, payers add more requirements, and physicians spend more hours fighting to get necessary treatments approved…” 

Heartwarming Story – The Button 

Time: [0:04:40]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“I want to pause here and share a story, a true one from early in my practice. I once had a seven-year-old girl named Lily accompanying her mom… When I entered the exam room, she handed me a small, bright red button shaped like a heart, on which she had written in her uneven, adorable handwriting, ‘For my doctor who helps me breathe…’ It reminded me, in a way, no memo metric or administrative checklist ever could, that behind every chart, every code, every authorization, there is a human being whose life is made better by what we do…” 

Burnout – A Public Health Emergency 

Time: [0:06:00]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“Burnout is no longer a fringe topic. It’s a public health emergency. More than half of physiciansphysicians report symptoms of burnout, and the majority say administrative tasks are the primary driver… Burnout isn’t just tiredness. It’s moral injury. It’s the pain of knowing the right thing to do for a patient and being blocked by systems not designed with healing in mind…” 

Strategies for Relief and Empowerment 

Time: [0:07:07]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“Here’s what physicians are actively trying to learn and what actually helps one: delegation, structures, doctors are looking up strategies for scribes, outsourced billing, AI, documentation assistance, and optimized staffing… doctors are not searching for escape. They’re searching for empowerment.” 

Heartwarming Story – The Man with the Photograph 

Time: [0:09:29]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“The second story comes from a physician of mine, a friend of mine, a cardiologist, who shared it with me after a particularly grueling week, a 78-year-old patient named Mr. Donnelly came in for a follow-up after a heart procedure, he arrived holding a small, worn photograph in his hand…” 

A Call to Action – Coaching Invitation 

Time: [0:10:32]   

Dr. Barbara Hales: 

“Hi, I’m Dr Barbara Hales, the medical strategist, and after decades in practice, I know exactly what you’re facing because I’ve lived it too. That’s why I created a personalized coaching program just for physicians like you, doctors who want to reclaim control, streamline their workflow, increase revenue ethically, and bring the heart back into their practice… You don’t need to struggle through this alone. You just need a strategy and a strategist on your side. Thank you. Applause.” 

In this episode, Barbara discusses:

Key Takeaways:

“Social media isn’t making doctors performers. It’s making them participants in a global conversation where credibility, education and connection now happen digitally. When physicians show up online with clarity and authenticity, they elevate not only their practice but the entire profession.”

Connect with Barbara Hales:

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

TRANSCRIPTION (223)

Introduction & Announcement

Dr. Barbara Hales:

Bob, welcome to another episode of Marketing Tips for Doctors. I’m your host, Dr. Barbara Hales, and today we are discussing where medicine meets meaning and strategy meets soul. Today’s episode is called How Social Media Is Changing Medicine, Doctors, Marketing, and Meaning. We’re talking about something redefining the health care landscape, not new drugs or devices, but digital connection. Nearly 70 percent of healthcare professionals now use social media for networking, education, or patient engagement, but only about 14 percent of doctors maintain a public Instagram presence. Most doctors aren’t online to perform. They’re there to participate, stay relevant, and stay connected.

 The Pace of Medical Change

Dr. Barbara Hales:

Medical knowledge used to double every 50 years; now it doubles roughly every 73 days. Staying current is survival. Doctors turn to digital platforms to keep up. They join Facebook groups, follow journals on X, use LinkedIn for networking, and even Instagram for education. Social media is now a digital faculty lounge, fast, global, and unfiltered, and it’s changing how physicians learn, share, and lead.

 Digital Credibility

Dr. Barbara Hales:

A white coat and diploma were once enough to establish credibility. Now credibility is digital. Patients Google symptoms, check reviews, and scan social feeds. When they see a doctor who communicates clearly online and educates instead of advertises, trust begins before the appointment. A cardiologist explaining chest pain in 30 seconds or a pediatrician posting a simple vaccine chart isn’t just posting content. It’s care delivered digitally. This is where marketing meets meaning.

From Authority to Accessibility

Dr. Barbara Hales:

For decades, medicine lived behind clinic doors. Now patients expect clarity and access. When doctors create educational content online, they’re not selling out. They’re showing up. A dermatologist sharing skin protection tips, an endocrinologist debunking diet myths, or an ER physician walking through CPR steps is public service. When physicians share what they know, they raise the collective health IQ. Medical education online is here to stay, and it’s redefining what it means to practice medicine.

Networking in a Digital World

Dr. Barbara Hales:

Physicians often overlook networking, but it’s part of being a lifelong learner. Platforms like LinkedIn and Threads have become new medical meetups. Communities like Med Twitter, Women in Medicine, and healthcare leadership groups aren’t vanity hashtags. They’re digital think tanks. They connect physicians across specialties and generations. Visibility online amplifies the physician’s voice, which is essential because when doctors stay silent, misinformation fills the gap.

The Role of Ethical Marketing

Dr. Barbara Hales:

Marketing can feel uncomfortable for doctors, but ethical healthcare marketing is simply clear communication with purpose. Medicine diagnoses and treats. Marketing explains and connects. Together they form a bridge between care and clarity. Doctors don’t need a viral campaign; they need a consistent message rooted in trust, empathy, and expertise. That is a digital health strategy.

A Roadmap for Doctors

Dr. Barbara Hales:

Start with clarity. Define your purpose. Do you want to educate, advocate, or inspire? Choose your platform. Instagram for visual storytelling, LinkedIn for insights, YouTube for long-form education, TikTok for quick awareness. Show up consistently. Authentic beats perfect every time. Engage thoughtfully and build community. Physician branding is about voice and values. You are your brand, and your credibility is your currency.

Closing

Dr. Barbara Hales:

Medicine has always been about connection. That conversation now lives on podcasts, posts, and platforms. When doctors use social media well to teach, listen, and uplift, they grow their practices and grow medicine itself. When physicians share what they know and connect with authenticity, everyone benefits. So, here’s my invitation to every doctor listening. Don’t fear the feed. Shape it. Your voice has value, and someone needs to hear it. I’m Dr. Barbara Hales, and this has been another episode of Marketing Tips for Doctors. Until next time.

In this episode, Barbara and Sean Garner discuss:

Key Takeaways:

“Nobody wants your products or services. Nobody wants a doctor, Barbara. They want health. Nobody wants a personal trainer. They want to be fit. Nobody wants an accountant. They want their taxes done right.” – Sean Garner

Connect with Sean Garner:

Website: https://www.seangarner.co/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanagarner/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seangarner/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SeanGarner 

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/SeanGarnerConsulting/ 

Connect with Barbara Hales:

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

Books:

TRANSCRIPT: (222)

**Chapter 1: Introduction & Sean’s Background**  

[0:00:02] – [0:03:38]

“`

[0:00:02] Dr. Barbara Hales: Welcome to another episode of Marketing Tips for Doctors.

I’m your host, Dr Barbara Hales, and today, we’re fortunate to have Sean Garner with us. Sean is an entrepreneur, marketing strategist and the founder of Sean Garner consulting, a full service agency and fractional CMO partner for local service based businesses with over a decade of hands on experience.  Sean has helped health and wellness companies, medical clinics, law firms, coaches, consultants and home service providers, and he’s helped them grow with clarity, confidence and consistent lead generation. In other words, Sean is just everywhere and helps everyone. If you’re a professional, Sean is there, drawing from his background as a gym owner, firefighter, and faith-driven family man, which is the other end of the spectrum. Here, Sean understands the realities of running a business while juggling life’s priorities. His superpower is simplifying marketing, turning confusing tactics into clear, actionable steps that drive real growth, whether it’s through story, brand, messaging, website design, or sales funnel strategy. Sean empowers business owners to take control of their marketing and become the trusted go-to choice in their market. So again, welcome to the show, Sean.

[0:01:54] Sean Garner: Thank you so much for having me. I definitely think somebody on my team wrote that, because I wouldn’t have said that much about myself. It’s an honor to be here, and I’m looking forward to serving some people here and hopefully giving them some good marketing tips for our docs.

[0:02:08] Dr. Barbara Hales: Okay, well, the first thing that some people may have asked themselves while I was chatting about you is, what is fractional CMO?   How does the word fractional play a part?

[0:02:21] Sean Garner: Yeah, absolutely. So typically, when somebody is hiring a CMO, right? This usually big enterprise companies, well, if you are a private medical practice or, you know, you’re just an individual practitioner running your own clinic, you can’t afford to hire a full time chief marketing officer, and it doesn’t really make logistical sense for you, because there’s probably not a lot of other staff members for them to manage. For smaller businesses, we offer fractional CMO consulting services —one of the services we provide. So what you can do is have that person overseeing your entire holistic marketing strategy, working with other vendors, different internal team members, and so on. So you have that person, but it’s fractional, so we’re also doing that for other companies at the same time, so you don’t have to worry about, like, full-time salary and benefits for somebody to come in and still oversee all of your marketing and vendors.

[0:03:10] Dr. Barbara Hales: You work with. Another thing people may have wondered about while I was talking about you is that you were a firefighter. Now, in many villages and towns, no matter what a person’s career is, they volunteer as firefighters to make sure their town doesn’t burn to the ground. Was that the case for you? Or were you a regular full-time

**Chapter 2: From Firefighter to Entrepreneur**  

[0:03:38] – [0:05:59]

“`

[0:03:38] Sean Garner: protection No, ma’am, yeah, I was, I was a full-time firefighter paramedic, and I did that for about five, about five and a half years. And that’s kind of, honestly, what drove me into entrepreneurship. Because when you’re working as a firefighter, you’re on a shift like the one I was on: 48 hours on, 24 off, so you have a lot of free time. And so that’s how I got into fitness. It’s because I wasn’t, I was like, this skinny video game dorky kid growing up. I wasn’t an athletic girl, anything like that. But then, once I was trained, I started training to become a firefighter. That’s how I got into fitness. And then once I was on shift, you know, you’re only working 10 days a month, and so with this extra free time, that’s how I got into fitness. And we started our entrepreneurial journey by opening gyms and going through the whole process. Well, I did

[0:04:21] Dr. Barbara Hales: Don’t know that you only work 10 days a month. That’s pretty remarkable, and it leaves a lot of time to think about other things. So I guess you could say that after being a firefighter for five years, you were burnt out.

[0:04:38] Sean Garner: No, I’ll be. No, not really, if I had to. I’m very blessed Miss Barbara, to do what I do now, and to own all the businesses and companies that my wife and I do and but I always like joked, but was also serious, if I had to go back and, quote, unquote, get a real job and we didn’t have our own business, I would 100% go back to being a firefighter. I love that job. It was amazing to get to. You know, unfortunately, people are typically calling you not because they’re having a great day, but because they love what I did as a firefighter. But I ended up stopping because, whenever we started the gym, they grew way faster than we ever expected. So what was supposed to just be a part time job very quickly became a scenario where I was making dramatically more money from running these gyms, and I was as a firefighter, so I had a choice to make, you know, do I want to, you know, hire somebody to take the gym off and run it, or maybe even sell it and just stay being a firefighter? Or do I want to go all in on this entrepreneurial journey? And that’s what we ended up. My wife and I, after we talked about it, were like, “Let’s go all in on this.” And as soon as we did that —like it was already successful to begin with —once we were able to put our full focus on something, that’s when it really blew up and was really successful.

[0:05:49] Dr. Barbara Hales: So when you were running the gyms, was it then that you realized you needed to know about marketing so that you could promote the gyms?

“`

**Chapter 3: Digital Asset Ownership & Common Pitfalls with Agencies**  

[0:05:59] – [0:13:54]

“`

[0:05:59] Sean Garner: Yeah, absolutely, so kind, especially how I run and have my eight marketing agencies set up. Now, unfortunately, I got burned by multiple marketing agencies throughout the gym process. So my kind of entrepreneurial journey was once I started the gyms, yeah, we hired a marketing agencies to help us build our website, do our SEO and get our name and our branding and stuff out there, but I was always frustrated by how they were doing things, because I didn’t feel like I had any input or say or control in it. And then Ms Barbara found out that they actually ended up owning everything. So they own the website. They own the domain. So whenever I went to find another provider, they owned everything. I thought that I did. And this is unfortunate. What we see now with many of the clients we work with is that they feel they own their website, but they really don’t. They might own the domain, like www.yourpractice.com, but they don’t actually own the website, because it’s built as a third-party tool that the marketing agency specifically owns. So if you ever want to separate from them, well, you lose all that content and all that web stuff, and so learning all of that and seeing how that was done, that was a really frustrating experience for me. And so then, whenever we moved to Miami, Florida, and I did, I was still in the fitness space. I did a lot of stuff in the online fitness space. I was a writer and Fitness Advisor for Men’s Health magazine. I did a lot of online coaching and online training. And as I started doing that, that’s where I really started learning digital marketing because I began to learn how to sell things online, and then throughout covid, when everything shut down, I had already been doing this for other gym owners and personal trainers, but then my wife started her a medical practice, and she’s like,

Hey, you’ve been doing all this digital marketing stuff for the fitness industry. Do you think that it would work for my medical practice, which she was starting? Well, yeah, it’s the same stuff. Let’s do it for you. And did it for her practice, and her practice exploded. And I had my attorney come to me, and he was like, Hey, you did this for your wife. You’re doing this for these fitness people. Don’t you think it worked for me? It’s like, well, yeah, I would. So I started doing it for him, and then the agency slowly evolved to where it was less about me coaching people and more about us being a full-service agency, doing story and brand copywriting for people. We’re building websites, sales funnels, search engine optimization, and now even AI optimization to make sure people are showing up, and things like ChatGPT and, now and then, fractional CMO services. So that way, we make sure that, especially as a private practice, you’ve got all your marketing and stuff covered so the right patients can find you. Well,

[0:08:18] Dr. Barbara Hales: I can hear all your passion. We’re going to backtrack a little bit. Yeah. As you know, most people would be kind of shocked to hear that they don’t own their website and think they’re paying someone to create one. Naturally, they pay for it. It’s theirs. So finding out that they actually don’t own it is probably pretty shocking to them. So, since most professionals do what they do best, they’re going to hire a marketing agency. What are some, you know, scary stories or things that people should look out for before hiring a particular marketing agency?

[0:09:07] Sean Garner: Barbara, this is a great question, and the best one I’ve ever been asked, because that’s a better question: what to avoid? A lot of people want to know what they need to be doing in marketing, but when they go to a marketing agency, they don’t ask these questions, and they end up in bad situations. So here’s a couple of quick, dorky marketing terms for people to know and understand and differentiate, because a lot of times people interchange them, and that’s where the confusion and stuff come from. So the first thing is to know, like a domain or a URL, the address you type in a search bar to pull up a website. So you can own a URL, which is typically hosted on platforms like GoDaddy or similar, where you own the address people type in, but that address is just that. It’s an address, then you have your website, which is typically built on a CMS, or content management system. The. It is very popular. Public platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify, Wix, and Webflow are good options because they are easy to transfer from person to person. But then there are also ones that are called Private CMS, and so that means it’s something that the agency has made, and I’ve seen this, unfortunately, Barbara, a lot in the medical profession, people that like to specialize in just private practice medicine or, you know, dental or functional medicine. Providers like whatever it is. Because what happens is, for the agency to scale, they have to create systems. I love systems, but what they’ll do is make it super scalable as they templatize the CMS, so it becomes their proprietary system. So you, as the provider, might own the URL that people are typing in. You might even own the words or the content on the website, but you’re not going to be able to take that and move.

You can move the URL —the address —but you can’t take everything from the website and instantly put it on another website. So, unfortunately, what has to happen is that whenever you do want to separate from them, you have to pay an agency to rebuild everything for you. So because of that, that’s unfortunately what we see a lot of our clients that come to us is, I always joke with them is like, we’re everybody’s second or third favorite marketing agency, because they’ve typically gone to a marketing agency gotten burned, and then they come to us like, oh my gosh, I didn’t realize all this stuff. Because when we start, you know, asking questions, to start doing all of their setup for them, we find out those things that, well, hey, just so, you know, you don’t own your website. And a really scary thing is they don’t own their data. So what a lot of marketing agencies will do is they will host things on their, you know, CRM platform, or on their Google Analytics or Google Ads account. So all the data the practice has been collecting, like patient interactions and stuff, is handled at the agency level. So whenever you separate from that agency, you lose all that historical data, tracking, and everything else. So what I would say is Miss Barbara. I actually just put a YouTube video out on this a couple of weeks ago from a marketing agency. Red flags I want to look for are, like, a 40-minute video of me just ranting for a little bit. But the main thing you always want to know is: you want to own everything.

Ask the awkward questions now up front, hey, if we are to separate and stop working together. What can I take with me? What do I keep rights to and be very specific on? Well, what CMS, or is this built on, or what platform is this built on? Because there are no dorks in my world, and I’m one of them, I will debate like, which one is better. But the main thing is, you want to be a public one, so another agency can easily step in and get it. You want to make sure you own all your data, that you are the admin or owner of everything the agency creates, and that they give themselves manager access. Because another thing that people will say is agencies will be like, well, you know, we’re not going to give you ownership access, Miss Barbara, because you might accidentally go in there and mess something up. And so to protect the website from you, we’re going to keep ownership access and let you in every once in a while. That’s not how we want it, because the analogy I give to people is if you built a brick and mortar building, you wouldn’t expect or want the general contractor and the real estate agent to open the front door for you every day or to let you know when you could change the paint on the walls. But when it comes to our digital storefront, which is our website and everything, that’s what we expect. Like, although that’s the marketing agency’s job, they’ve got it, and unfortunately, they’re they’re not all bad because, because we’re one of them, but there are people that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, just because of their systems and process, people can get taken advantage of if they don’t know this stuff going into the practice or to that to the agency.

[0:13:44] Dr. Barbara Hales: That’s really very interesting. So, what SEO tips would you give our listeners to help health clinics rank higher locally?

**Chapter 4: SEO & Effective Website Strategies**  

[0:13:54] – [0:23:22]

“`

[0:13:54] Sean Garner: Yeah, this. This might be a long answer, but there are several factors, and what I would say is that you need to understand what SEO is, how it works, and what it’s becoming now. So I think a lot of times people think of SEO, so it’s Sir, it’s been known as search engine optimization, and what that typically means is making sure whenever customers or potential patients go to places like Google and Bing and type in what they’re looking for, your business shows up. If somebody goes to Google and types in your practice name and your practice shows up, that’s technically SEO, but that’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for people who are searching for problems, symptoms, and treatment protocols, and then your website shows up, because that’s how we acquire potential patients we wouldn’t have gotten before. Now, SEO Barbara has access to these LLMs, or large language models, like ChatGPT, GPT-4, and Bing. Now it’s not necessarily that we stopped calling it SEO for search engine optimization. Internally, we call it search everywhere. Optimization, because the practice is still the same, as far as making sure that whenever your potential clients are searching for something, your business is found wherever that search may be taking place. So in order to do that, try, I’ll try not to dork out on this stuff, but you have to have a holistic approach to SEO. So there’s not just one thing that you can do to pull the lever.

There are actually five, especially for a local business: five different levers or pillars of SEO that you need to understand to make sure they affect your ranking. Because it’s not something as simple as, oh, I need to use the word’ Dallas functional medicine practice’ in my headlines and website. It’s way more in-depth than that. So the first thing that we have to understand with how SEO works in these pillars is what’s called the technical and so there’s a lot of technical things that happen whenever it comes to SEO, and that’s doing things like your site title tags and your meta descriptions, which is just letting Google know what the content on that page summary is about. So there are lots of things to make sure that the page is set up properly so Google can read it. Because if I could simplify SEO, it would be this: be clear to Google, be clear, and prove it. That’s all it is. Google and these search engines and everything—they don’t want to have to work to figure out what it is you do, and they want you to prove it. So if you think that you should be the number one, you know, private practice in Denver, I’m sure you think that, and every practice in Denver is going to think that. But what we want to do is make sure we are clear with Google about why and prove it. So, how we do that from a holistic SEO standpoint is that our job as the agency is to take your knowledge and expertise in the real world and put it there digitally. There is a chiropractor we just started working with in our local city who’s been a chiropractor for 25 years, but his website is the lowest-ranked one in the entire city, and he’s like, “I don’t know.” I don’t know. I don’t understand. I don’t have all this experience. How come this guy, who just got out of med school, you know, his website’s already number one? I said, well, because he has done a better job of putting his knowledge on his website.

You’ve been in practice for 25+ years, but your website hasn’t really changed since then. So, in Google’s eyes, it doesn’t know all the new treatment protocols you were using, or the types of treatment you were treating. You have to tell it that, so Google doesn’t have to figure it out. And then, man, you’ve told me you’ve treated 1000s of patients. We only have about 10 Google reviews. So, in Google’s eyes, you haven’t treated 1000s of patients, so you have to take what’s happening in the real world and spread it digitally. And to give a quick recap, it’s a technical SEO to make sure all the technical stuff is set up. It’s the authority, so those are things called backlinks, citations, or brand mentions. Now, with these AI overviews, we want to prove to Google again that it is a digital referral. So a backlink is another website linking to yours to show, Hey, this is trustworthy. You can trust this one right here. Another one is called the UX, or the user experience. So when somebody goes to your website, do they actually take an action, or because Google showed them a result based on what they typed? Did they stay on that website and do something, or did they click off and then leave? Another big one is local, and that’s with something called your GBP, or your Google Business Profile. If you are a local clinic and you want to be found in more places, you have to optimize your Google Business Profile. That’s going to mean making sure the profile is completely filled out, up to date, and accurate. You’re adding new content to it regularly —images, FAQs, and reviews —and you’re always making sure it’s optimized, so when people are searching for you, you’re found. I can talk a lot about SEO because that’s what we specialize in, but that’s kind of a not-so-quick overview of what it all is and what you can start

[0:18:58] Dr. Barbara Hales: doing. Yeah, one of the misconceptions people have when they get their website up is, well, you know, ‘my website is up.’ I don’t really need to do anything further about the website. And so, over time, it just becomes old because nothing is added to it, which begs the question in viewers’ minds: “Well, did this guy retire?” Did this guy die? You know, like, how come there’s, like, nothing up there since he first put it up, like, 10 years ago? So in addition to the fact that the perception of the quality of his care is going to, you know, drop, because people will say, Well, if his website and all the information on the website is old, is he current in his medical care and his medical knowledge, or is it all just old?

[0:19:58] Sean Garner: Yeah, it’s like the same thing. Analogy, like, whenever you go to a restaurant and the bathrooms are filthy, it’s like, okay, if the toilet is dirty, how clean is the kitchen really going to be? And so it’s the same thing. Whenever we refer to our websites to our clients, we tell them, This is a digital storefront. So think about all the things you know: you clean your office regularly. You probably update the painting on the wall, the signage, and the brochures and stuff out front regularly—you’re constantly changing what’s out there. We’re pretty good at taking care of our brick-and-mortar, but the digital — what I’ve noticed, unfortunately, especially in a lot of the medical community —is that they build it up like, oh yeah, I got a website. I’m good. No, no, you may have a start, but now we need to get people to come to it. Because we’re just, we don’t want a digital business card. We want a place that is actually pulling in, tracking, and converting potential patients into our new patients.

[0:20:48] Dr. Barbara Hales: Absolutely, people don’t realize that they still need to do blogs. They need to update the about page, too. You know what I say is that the about page is not just yours, you know, like about you the doctor, you know, it should also be of each one of your staff members, and what their, what their, you know, Job is in that office, so that when a person comes in, they’ll say, oh, there’s Mary. She’s the front desk person, and she’s going to take my information. There’s a bill, and he’s going to go through my insurance. And you know, so even when a person has not been in the office before, they have some sense of what the office flow will be, what the procedures will be, and they’ll recognize the people that they’re coming in contact with.

[0:21:46] Sean Garner: Yeah, it makes them feel connected, and they even before they show up for the first time. And one thing that we have seen a lot, I used to not put a significant emphasis on about pages, but now what we’re starting to see is that is becoming a pillar of trophy content for these large language models like L, like chat GPT, being perplexity, what they’re doing is they’re crawling and looking for those about pages to look for things like brand mentioned. So whenever people are searching for you in ChatGPT and similar platforms, that’s one of the types of content pages they are looking for to see all the information — your experience, awards, reviews, your staff, and things like that.

[0:22:25] Dr. Barbara Hales: Yeah, another thing that most people really are not as diligent about is the reviews and rankings. You know, they may want to see that the reviews they get are good. But there are people out there that have, like, no reviews and one star, and again, you know, you have to say, Well, is this person still in practice? You know, did he retire? Did he sell the practice? Did he die? You know, like, why? Why is there nothing there? And for people that are, even if a person is opening their practice for the first time, you know, there’s got to be something. I mean, they have to, you know, be networking with people. And, you know, like to have nothing there. It really, you know, speaks very poorly for that practice.

[0:23:22] Sean Garner: Yeah, and that’s something that we actually automate for all of our clients. So we own one, I guess. Side note of context: I should have said that, with all of this stuff, this is not just a guy who owns a marketing agency coming to give some marketing tips. I also do the thing too. So my wife and I own a functional medicine practice. It’s a private practice. It’s been in business for about five years. We also own a medical spa that does IV therapy. So we’re doing everything from Myers cocktails, bags, to high-dose vitamin C treatments and some really advanced cancer stuff called RGCC. And so we’re doing some really cool medical stuff. That’s how I am. That’s like my secret here. That’s why we know how it works. And so this isn’t just theory. We are actually doing it. So one of the things we do is automate that whole process, because if you leave it up to the front desk to ask, or “Oh, tap this little thing and scan a review,” you’re not going to get that many. So, what we do —and how we have it set up for the Med Spa —is that, as soon as they check out and swipe their card for their final payment, they’ll be sent through a review request sequence. And then the same thing: how we do it for the medical practice side is because, typically, they become patients, and it’s a private practice, membership-based medicine. And so after that, the automation is set up so that after my wife flags, they’ve done their first lab review call with her. Then it sends them through the automation. And what we have found is we have to go ask them three times, two different places. So what the automation typically looks like is that, as soon as it fires, they’ll get an email and a text asking for a review. Then it waits three days, and it’s going to ask for another review via text and email, and then three days later it asks for another review via text and email. And what we found was to get the majority of them, actually. On the second and third questions, that’s where it’s essential to have this automated, because if you’re asking your front desk staff, they’re not going to take it seriously. They’re not going to do it. But by having those automations and stuff set up, it’s all hands-off. It’s done for you. And that’s how we’re able to rank number one in our cities, because we dominate everybody with reviews where we have several hundred, where the competition has, you know, a couple of dozen.

**Chapter 5: Marketing Automation, Myths, and Actionable Tips**  

[0:23:22] – [0:36:20]

“`

[0:25:21] Dr. Barbara Hales: When you see your manicurist with this funnel, and as soon as you leave, you’re getting the requests. And you get it until you do it. When you see your dog groomer, do it. When you visit, you know, the newspaper delivery guy doing it makes you say, well, if these, you know, like, ancillary services are doing it, like, why aren’t professionals doing it as well? You see, it’s like, Wake up and smell the coffee. You know, you’re like, part of society, and you have, I do get a lot of you know, it’s not just a question of opening the office, putting the shingle out, and expecting everybody to come.

[0:26:05] Sean Garner: Yeah, I do get pushback from the medical community sometimes, because they’ll instantly be like, well, I can’t do marketing because of HIPAA and stuff like that. So there are some nuances that I will say is so like, with I know that there’s certain HIPAA things like, Well, you can’t if somebody leaves a review, even if they say what they were being treated for, you can’t follow up and like, let’s say they say, Hey, I’m so glad I went to well spot functional medicine. Courtney’s done a fantastic job of helping me get my testosterone levels in check. Technically, you can’t respond to the review and say, Thanks for trusting us with your hormone therapy. You have to thank them for the view and acknowledge it. So sometimes, because people don’t know or understand those nuances, they will do nothing. And that’s why the people who are at least paying attention and figuring things out can get light years ahead of somebody who is maybe just operating in fear and choosing to do nothing.

[0:26:58] Dr. Barbara Hales: Yeah, it’s something that is going to have to be done. You know, when I would approach doctors and ask them whether they marketed their practice, and this was, you know, like several years ago, so at least some people are waking up now, they would say, I don’t have the time for that. I don’t have the budget for that. I don’t know how to do that. So I’m just going to do what I do best and take care of my patients. And then I say to them, Well, you know, marketing, technically, is telling people what you do, your services and products, and where you’re located, and it’s as simple as that. So, you know, would you not want to tell people what you do? Would you tell people what you do, but not where you’re located? I mean, when you say it that way, like everybody laughs, because it really is ludicrous. And you know, when they realize that if they want business, you know, they have to tell people which door to walk through,

[0:28:02] Sean Garner: Yeah, if it doesn’t show confidence in your treatment protocols, if you don’t want more people to find you. And I genuinely believe you just said, “Good marketing is doing a couple of things.” One: creating a message and distributing it. It also does a really good job of attracting the right people and repelling the wrong ones, because you are not for everyone. Your practice is not for everyone, but for me, ultimately, down to the core of what it is —and kind of why I believe everybody should do this — is that, if you are an entrepreneur, you are that; it’s a calling, and you are doing it for a purpose. And so there are certain people that only you are called to serve, and how unfortunate it is that you aren’t able to reach the people that you can genuinely help and impact and serve, just because you’ve either been ignorant and not known how to do this stuff, or sought out the help for it, or you just chosen not to take the action because there’s somebody that is at their house right now dealing with a problem that you know how to treat and solve. They can’t find you. If you genuinely want to make the most significant impact you’re called to make, you need to get your message out.

[0:29:11] Dr. Barbara Hales: Okay, so now I am an entrepreneur, and I want to get my message out. What are, but you know, so many stories abound or swirl around marketing, especially for someone who’s never done it before. So it could be overwhelming. So what are some marketing myths that one should be aware of?

[0:29:38] Sean Garner: Yeah, great question. So some pervasive marketing myths are that you’re going to build a website and start getting a ton of business and stuff from it. A website is a place for people to find you. But just like the Field of Dreams, cheesy dad joke, I always say, it’s just because you build it, it doesn’t mean they will come, so like, you can create this website. Right, and it might look awesome, it might have all the right words on it, but if you are not continually, exceptionally as competitive as things are getting online with all the noise that’s out there, if you are not breaking through that noise, people will not find you. It is not just enough to have these things in place. It is about truly leveraging those things. The other thing is that, well, I don’t really have to do any organic or SEO type of marketing just because I’m just going to use paid ads, it’s going to be okay like that might be a tactic that works right now, but if you really want to make sure that you’re maximizing your return on your investment and leveraging everything that you have, why would you like to pay for something that you could get for free by just optimizing your SEO and your website a little far. And I would say another thing is that marketing doesn’t work.

I tried to grow my whole practice through referrals. That’s awesome, and that’s great that you’ve been that, you know, blessed and fortunate with that, but marketing does work. Bad marketing doesn’t work. And if you’ve been growing your business through referrals. I have found only one person in my career who was getting their business from referrals because they had a referral system. Most people use that as almost a cop-out for ‘I’m lazy,’ and they don’t want to say they’re lazy because they’re just not a priority for them. But they’re like, Oh, I get all my business from referrals. Well, what’s your referral system? Oh, well, you know, sometimes patients will tell people, “Okay, so it’s your marketing system for referrals—it’s just hopes and wishes, like you don’t have a proper system.” Hopefully, you gotta have a patient who had a good experience, who tells other people about you, but you don’t have a proper referral system. So I think those are definitely specific to the marketing or medical field that I see when it comes to marketing myths. Those would probably be the top three that I would see.

[0:31:50] Dr. Barbara Hales: I would I would agree with you there. So if our listeners want to implement something right away, what are two tips you could give them they can start now?

[0:32:02] Sean Garner: Yeah, great question. So what? Ultimately, whenever we talk about marketing, we teach a framework called the marketing domination framework, which revolves around the sales funnel process. And so before you have that sales funnel in place, it’s tough to do proper marketing, because you’re going to be spending money doing things, and things and things are just going to be falling through the cracks. So the first thing I would recommend everybody do is open your website and let it load. Don’t scroll; let the page load, then look at the page and see if you can answer these three questions. And it’s even better if somebody who doesn’t know you or the practice can answer these three questions. What do you do? How do you make their life better? And what do they need to do to get started? Most businesses, because I’ve seen 1000s of websites and I’ve looked like that, they assume that people know what they do, because they’ll open up the website like, Well, yeah, I’m, you know, I’m, I’m a dentist, I’m an eye doctor, I’m a functional medicine provider, like in private practice, like, they think that it’s clear because there’s like, a picture of a doctor, of a header, like, no, no, be very clear and say what it is that you are. The second one is to say how you make their life better? Like, okay, that’s awesome. You are a —you know, I keep using this because that’s what we have: a functional medicine provider. How does, why do I care about that? Because I’ll tell you this, nobody wants your products or services.

Nobody wants a doctor, Barbara. They want health. Nobody wants a personal trainer. They want to be fit. Nobody wants an accountant. They want their taxes done right. And so a lot of times, people lead with their service. But that’s not what people really want. They want a specific problem solver. So we want to say that at the very top of the website. And then the other thing, this will instantly start getting you more patients booked if you do this. One thing: add a clear, direct call to action, and place it in the top right-hand corner of your website and in the center of the page. And a clear, direct call to action is not contact us. It is not to learn more. It is things like becoming a patient, booking your first consultation. Call now to schedule your appointment. It is an obvious, direct first step people must take to work with you or become a member of your practice. So, the first thing I would do is make sure the header section clearly answers those three questions and includes a clear call to action. And the second one I would do is go to my Google business profile. If you don’t have one, I would create it —it’s free —and start collecting Google reviews. And one thing we are actually going to give everybody who listens to this is that we talked about automation, where we asked three times in text and email. We have the whole automation and scripting done, which we’re giving to people on our website. If you go to Sean Garner.co it’s S, E, A N, G, A, R, N, E, r.co, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Google. Review scripts. It’s free. You can download that, literally copy that message, and start sending it out to previous patients, friends, families, and colleagues today to start getting more Google reviews. So I would clean up the header of my website with those three questions and start getting Google reviews.

[0:35:15] Dr. Barbara Hales: Well, that was great advice and some great tips, and I’m sure that people will be clamoring for the information that you have on your website. So, what is your website? It will be in the show notes anyway,

[0:35:31] Sean Garner: Yeah. So our website is Sean Garner.co it’s S E, A N, yeah, S E, A N, G, A, R, N, E, R, dot C, O, not.com. Sean Garner.com, some guy wanted to sell me for $15,000, and I don’t think I’m that cool. So it’s garner.co And on there, we’ve got tons of free stuff. We’ve got a marketing domination podcast where we’re teaching Marketing Tips for local businesses just like yours. We’ve got tons of free guides, like Google review scripts that you can use, marketing checklists, and everything. And if any of this stuff even sounded remotely interesting to you today, and you don’t want to have to figure it out, well, that’s what we do. We help medical practices — just like yours — love to hop on a free strategy call to see precisely what you’re doing. We’ll do a full marketing audit. It’s going to be with me, hopping on the call with you, saying precisely what’s working, what your competition is doing, and what you need to do to be number one.

[0:36:20] Dr. Barbara Hales: is that audit for free? Yes, ma’am. You guys are hearing that on the call. Okay, that’s great. And thank you so much for being a delightful guest today. This has been another episode of marketing tips for doctors with your host, Dr Barbara Hales. Till next time.

In this episode, Barbara discusses:

Key Takeaways:

“The meeting highlighted that retaining patients is more cost-effective and impactful than seeking new ones, with most patients leaving due to poor experience rather than medical quality. Personal, proactive communication and using automated systems to follow up and educate are key to increasing patient loyalty, leading to higher returns and organic referrals.”

Connect with Barbara Hales:

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales

YouTube:@barbarahales

LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/barbarahales

TRANSCRIPTION. (221)

Introduction to Patient Retention

[0:00:02] Welcome to another episode of Marketing Tips for Doctors. I’m your host, Dr Barbara Hales. Today, we’re talking about one of the most significant hidden opportunities in your practice: patient retention. Most doctors spend time, energy, and money chasing new patients. But here’s the truth: keeping the patients you already have is where the real growth happens. Retaining patients means more trust, more referrals, and yes, more revenue. So today I’m going to show you how to turn one-time visits into lifelong relationships. We’ll cover what drives loyalty, the systems that make it easy, and how small touches create lasting impressions. Ready? Let’s get started.

The Value of Retention & Real Example

[~0:01:00] It costs five to seven times more to attract a new patient than it does to keep an existing one. Every time a patient walks out and doesn’t return, you’re not just losing that appointment. You’re losing their lifetime value, their referrals, and the credibility that comes with a satisfied patient base. Here’s a story to bring that home: a mid-sized orthopedic practice in Florida realized its follow-up system was broken. They focused on attracting new surgical patients through ads, but their post-op patients weren’t returning for physical therapy. Many went elsewhere after analyzing the data; they found that their reactivation rate had dropped below 40%. Hence, they hired a patient coordinator to make personal follow-up calls, asking how each patient was healing, offering guidance, and scheduling their next visit on the spot. Within six months of their return, the patient rate jumped 32% and revenue stabilized without increasing. Market spend, retention, not acquisition, made the difference.

 Reasons Patients Leave

[~0:02:00] Now let’s talk about why patients leave. It’s rare because of the medical quality. Most patients leave because of experience. Here are the top five reasons. One: lack of communication —no reminders, no check-ins, no follow-up. Number two, feeling like a number, they don’t feel seen or remembered. Number three, confusing billing or scheduling practices. Number four: inconsistent staff interactions —a friendly doctor but a cold front desk —equals a poor memory. And number five, no emotional connection. They don’t feel like part of your practice community. Remember this, patients don’t leave for better medicine. They go for better experiences. Retention starts with culture. Every team member —from receptionist to physician —shapes that patient’s journey. Greet patients by name, make eye contact, smile; those small gestures mean the world. Train your staff to say, “It’s great to see you again,” instead of just “name, please.”

Staff Culture & Personal Touch

[~0:03:00] Here’s another truth to life. For example, a local dental office realized hundreds of inactive patients hadn’t been scheduled in over a year. Instead of sending another generic email, they mailed handwritten postcards signed by the dentist and staff, each reading, “We missed your smile.” Each card included a simple QR code to schedule an appointment online. It wasn’t a sales pitch; it was just a warm invitation. I. In the first month, 87 patients returned. By the end of the quarter, over 200 came back. Why? Because people respond to personal touches, not promotions. A great culture is vital, but systems make retention sustainable.

 Automation & Feedback

[~0:04:00] Think of them as your digital support team. Start with an automated CRM or patient management platform that sends thank-you emails and post-visit reminders, and set up text notifications —not just for appointments, but also for check-ins, like, “How are you healing?” Use your patient portal to simplify communication and build trust, and never underestimate feedback surveys; they catch dissatisfaction early before it turns into a lost patient. Remember, automation doesn’t replace compassion. It reinforces it.

 Education & Engagement

[~0:05:00] Education is one of the strongest retention tools you have when you teach, you lead, send out a monthly newsletter with health tips or updates. Create short videos explaining aftercare or new treatments. Host live Q&A sessions on social media. This keeps patients connected between visits and reinforces that you care beyond the appointment. If they learn from you regularly, they’ll stay with you consistently. Now let’s take retention a step further, because loyal patients become your best. Marketers encourage them to share reviews, refer friends, or attend patient appreciation events, but ensure it’s ethical and HIPAA-compliant. When you consistently deliver great experiences, you don’t have to ask for referrals. They happen naturally. Your most powerful marketing tool isn’t an ad; it’s a happy patient telling a friend about you, or a case study. Here are some great prompts. What’s one change you made that boosted retention in your practice? How do you build loyalty among busy patients? What metrics tell you retention is improving?

 Recap & Call to Action

[~0:06:00] Let’s recap, patient retention isn’t about gimmicks. It’s about gratitude, consistency, and communication. Listen to your patients, follow up, educate, and engage. The more value they feel, the longer they stay, and the more they refer. If you’d like a free checklist or sample retention template, visit medicalstrategist.com/contact. You have only to ask and you shall receive. And don’t forget to subscribe to marketing tips for doctors. Wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts —whether it’s Spotify, Apple, or iTunes —well, I’m Dr. Barbara Hales. Thanks for joining me, and remember, your next big marketing win might just come from the patients you already have. See you next time.