2026 is going to be a pivotal year for every healthcare business owner. Perhaps more than any other year before. I’ll explain more about this in upcoming newsletters, but please note: 2026 can be the year you see your Best Ever. BUT FOR NOW, let’s get your marketing structured and stronger than ever. In healthcare marketing, you are selling the invisible.

Many offices we work with now generate most of their new patients through relationship marketing, though I doubt if they call it such. They do not pay for advertising and have all the patients they can handle. This is very cost-effective! My definition of relationship marketing: Relationship marketing involves creating trust-based relationships with patients and referral sources, generating loyalty and organic referrals through genuine care and ongoing connection.

Everyone at work fills multiple roles. For example, the front desk may also include a collections role and a promotion role. The doctor may also have the role of CEO, Clinical Director, and business owner. In life, we also wear many hats: father, husband, sometimes handyman, etc. Just clarifying each role -- and its goal -- can help improve the outcomes in your practice.

In a business, it is common for procedures and processes to become abbreviated, overlooked, and dropped out. When this happens, the quality of the outcomes or products deteriorates. When quality decreases, the business begins a seemingly inexplicable downward spiral. I call this Procedure Atrophy and cover it in my book, The Goal Driven Business. (page 164).