The 5 Ps

Plan and review your marketing activities

Working through the questions raised by each of the five Ps will help you to plan and review your marketing activities so that you can build and maintain a positive image of your practice.

Product

• What services does your practice provide?
• Do you offer bulk billed services, private or mixed billing?
• Do you provide home and nursing home visits?
• Does your practice offer patients the convenience of being co-located with other service providers such as pathology and allied health professionals?
• Your doctors’ reputations can become your practice’s ‘brand’. What does your ‘brand’ say about your practice?
• Medical services are essentially intangible, so do you provide anything tangible (eg information sheets) to add value from your patients’ perspective?

People

• What customer service do patients experience? This includes the quality of your practice’s communication, presentation, and professionalism.
• Is your booking system easy to use? Can patients book by phone, internet or app?
• Have you recruited the right person in each role?
• Do you invest in and develop your staff so they build staff competence and confidence, which will improve the customer experience and increase staff retention?
• Do you have a succession plan for GPs, practice managers and nurses?

Premises

• Are your premises convenient for patients (eg are they close to public transport, is there easy access into the building for injured and disabled patients)?
• Are there parking facilities, including enough disabled parking spaces?
• Are your premises clean, well-lit, comfortable, and maintained at a comfortable temperature?
• Do you have all the equipment you need to deliver quality services and build patients’ confidence in the practice?

Price

• What do you charge for your services? And how did you arrive at these fees? Did you consider your area’s socio-economic environment?
• What do customers see as the value of your services?
• Do you offer bulk billed services, private or mixed billing?
• Does the cost of the service reflect the supply and demand for your services?

Promotion

• How do you make existing and potential customers aware of your existence and the services you offer?
• Does the exterior of your premises tell people what your business is and the services that you offer?
• Do your customers know what services you offer? Do you advertise to the public, and display your full range of services in the practice and on your website?
• If you are an accredited practice, do you display your accreditation status?