Marketing Tips for New and Existing Medical Billing Companies for COVID-19 and Beyond

The key to effective marketing? Know your target customer, and reach out to them via as many channels as possible. Now is the perfect time for medical billing companies to evaluate their marketing efforts and improve their materials and website, if necessary, says Dave Anderson of Anderson Interactive, a healthcare public relations and marketing agency. “A lot of companies are going through rebrands right now—refreshing their internal materials so they’re ready when the market opens up again, and practices are ready to start investing in these solutions,” he adds.

Anderson provides five tips to help new or existing medical billing companies market their services during COVID-19 and beyond.

1. Attend key industry events.

Many of these events (e.g., Healthcare Business Management Association, American Medical Billing Association, and Medical Group Management Association) will be held virtually, and some may even include a virtual exhibit space where participants can ‘walk’ through a 3D exhibit hall and interact with booths virtually. “With that said, it’s going to be more difficult to come home with the same number of leads you have in the past,” says Anderson. He advises billing companies to consider event sponsorship—but only when the association or organization hosting the conference is willing to promote its sponsors and share email marketing on their behalf. Make the most of these events by reaching out to attendees in advance, says Anderson. Billing companies can often purchase attendee information, and some associations and organizations may even offer it for free. Follow up with attendees after the conference using personalized sales pieces that address setting- or specialty-specific challenges, he adds.
 

2. Develop relationships with the media.

Connect with editors of various trade publications through LinkedIn and Twitter. Then send an email or schedule a video call to talk about areas of expertise and to suggest potential story ideas, says Anderson. If possible, focus on hot topics, such as telehealth coding or patient collections during COVID-19. Billing companies can often gain new customers simply by sharing compliance tips and strategies with a larger audience. Effective content marketing establishes the company’s thought leadership and expertise.
 

3. Tap into the power of partnerships.

“Partner with companies that can extend your reach and voice,” says Anderson. For example, can your company jointly host a webinar or co-author and promote a white paper with a practice management vendor that targets the same customers?
 

4. Ramp up your social media presence.

“If you’re only going promotional, that’s not going to help you build an audience,” says Anderson. Focus on sharing actionable tips and timely news stories, he adds. This includes stories from publications to which you ultimately want to contribute content.
 

5. Consider working with a PR agency.

“An agency has connections and a good understanding of the market,” says Anderson. Agencies also know which editors tend to prefer interviews vs. contributed articles. They also know how to craft a story pitch. “A lot of times, companies are overly promotional and really try to push their agenda and messaging too much,” he adds. “This turns editors off. Figuring out the right balance can be difficult, and it often takes experienced writers who know which strategies work with each publication.” In addition, agencies can do a lot of the legwork in terms of prep and follow-up for conferences, including post-conference personalized sales pieces. 

If you are starting a new billing company or interested in assessing where your current company is and how to make it better after the effects of COVID-19, be sure to attend our upcoming webinar on Thursday, Nov. 19. To register for the ABCs of Starting a New Billing Company, click here.