I’ve been captivated by the concept of functional medicine marketing since I was a college student in 2005. I spent years training in top doctors’ offices, absorbing everything I could about marketing techniques and strategies. 

Despite the differences in marketing technology between 2005 and today, the core message that I learned as a young, eager college student has remained the same:

Even the best clinical geniuses will struggle to increase revenue without a compelling and strategic marketing plan. 

So how can you build unstoppable momentum in your virtual practice? Use these functional medicine marketing tips to drive revenue and achieve lasting patient transformations.

What Does Functional Medicine Marketing Accomplish? 

A smart, cohesive functional medicine marketing plan can work miracles for your virtual practice. Consider these benefits:

• Prequalify ideal patients
• Avoid patients who aren’t a good fit for your practice
• Educate patients about your vision and mission
• Drive leads into your funnel
• Position your brand as a go-to authority in the industry
• Differentiate yourself from competitors

I’m so passionate about the power of functional medicine marketing because I’ve seen it work again and again. This is why I’ve devoted my professional career to educating practice owners and helping them develop the marketing strategies that lead them straight to lasting success.

Most Practice Owners Approach Marketing the Wrong Way

Unfortunately, most practice owners don’t realize the all-encompassing power of strategic marketing. Instead, they view marketing as an afterthought. 

It doesn’t help that colleges only teach marketing in theory, not in practice. Worse yet, marketing courses are often taught by professors who lack relevant experience. The marketing class I took in college, for example, was led by a teacher who had attempted and failed to build his own business. How can future medical experts learn practical marketing strategies from people who haven’t done it themselves?

Many practice owners make the mistake of using “push” instead of “pull” marketing methods. “Push” marketing pushes patients toward a certain action: Get this deal now! and Try our diet plan today! Imagine putting your hands on a patient’s back and pushing her in the direction you want her to go. It may work, but it’s not the most effective way to earn new patients. 

“Pull” marketing, on the other hand, is a long-term plan that encourages patients to gravitate toward your practice because your vision speaks to them. Practice owners who embrace pull marketing build strong relationships with their followers, drive traffic, increase leads, and generate more referrals. 

If you truly want to change and transform the people in your community, it’s essential to prioritize your marketing initiatives. In truth, functional medicine marketing is just as important as developing expertise in your craft. Why? Because effective marketing is the only way to reach the patients who want and need your services on a consistent basis.

Functional Medicine Marketing Tips for Your Practice

Marketing is about so much more than picking the right colors and a unique font. It’s about creating real estate equity in your patients’ minds. The most successful virtual practices are emotionally engaging and continue to slowly but steadily build connections with current and potential customers. 

Up to 70% of consumers will not make a purchase on their first, second, or even third engagement with your practice. Some take multiple months, and some as long as a year, to make the decision to purchase. This is exactly why you can’t rely on hit-and-run pull marketing to increase revenue. 

You need a long-term plan that uses purposeful techniques to cultivate lasting customers. The best marketing is all about how you show up every day, operate your business, interact with your customers, and convey confidence in your mission. Use these tips to create your own master marketing plan. 

Show Confidence and Excitement

As I said, marketing isn’t all about fonts and colors. It starts with confidence! So infuse confidence into your business. You should be able to feel excited about finding new patients because your business model works like a well-oiled machine. 

Unfortunately, I’ve seen many virtual and brick-and-mortar practices hobbling along on a broken system, so I know how much damage it can do to a practice owner’s confidence and enthusiasm. That’s why I work with my team at Health Experts Alliance to help functional medicine experts build the best and most efficient version of their business. 

Prove the Results Are Attainable

I keep coming back to that word “confidence” because patients are never attracted to doctors who aren’t sure of their talents. You know you’re an expert in your field, so exude that confidence to help patients feel reassured about their journey. 

You want your patients to trust and believe that they’ll attain the results you advertise. Customers who believe in your mission and vision are happy to pay cash for your services, which allows you to generate revenue while using bold marketing to shout your message from every rooftop. 

Be Confident in Your Signature Process

You’re not done being confident yet. In addition to confidence in your purpose and expertise, you also need confidence in your “secret sauce.” I call this the Signature Process. 

How does your Signature Process set you apart from other doctors in your niche? What do you do differently that draws customers to your practice versus others? Embrace your Signature Process, refine it, and master it so that you never doubt again. 

Build a Self-Optimizing Funnel

Your funnel is a system that generates, educates, nurtures and converts leads into repeat customers. Doctors who work 80-hour weeks and burn out are usually the ones with manual funnels that demand too much attention and upkeep. It’s critical to develop a self-optimized funnel that does the work for you.

When you build an optimized funnel, you lead your patients to purchase without ever sounding “slimy” or “salesy.” It doesn’t require extra time or effort on your end, but it consistently converts customers and generates excitement for your offerings. 

Choose One Key Avenue to Connect and Build Relationships

You can’t maintain a consistent and productive presence on every social media platform, especially if you’re a new business. Choose one key social media avenue and stick to it. This will help you consistently create rewarding relationships with your target demographics. 

Let Technology Do the Work for You

I know it sometimes feels like technology just makes your job harder, but you can make technology work for your business. We share these secrets in HEA’s Virtual Practice Accelerator by providing a tech stack that automates every step of your Signature Process. 

Once you know how to implement technology properly, it’s unbelievably easy — which is why virtual healthcare is taking off right now! 

Leverage Multipliers: Branding and Niching Down

Once you feel comfortable with the functional medicine marketing tips listed above, you can squeeze even more power out of them by leveraging multipliers. 

Multipliers are relatively simple techniques that increase the impact of your actions exponentially. 

For example, branding yourself as an integrity-based, mission-centered brand is a huge multiplier. When people can feel and sense your genuine desire to help others, they’re far more likely to choose you instead of a competitor. Emotional engagement with your prospects is one of the most powerful tools you have at your fingertips. 

Niching down is another proven multiplier. A niche is a specialized corner of your market that focuses on unique products and services.

Many doctors fear niching down because they’re worried about choosing the wrong niche, turning people away, or losing new business. But the truth is that niching down generates more focus, more impact, and more revenue because it allows you to focus on the patients you’re meant to help the most. 

My team at Health Experts Alliance lives and breathes these ideas. We’re committed to being the global leaders in virtual practice education and online brand building. If that’s what you need, connect with us to educate yourself on valuable topics like this one and begin the journey to transform how you do business.