If You’re Trying to Do Both, Your Patients Are Already Confused
If you’re charging cash for treatments, there’s one critical question you need to ask yourself:
👉 Is what you’re offering a medical necessity, or is it an elective service?
This isn’t just a billing question—it’s a business model question. And if you’re trying to position your practice as both a medical necessity and a high-end service business, your patients don’t know what to expect.
And confused people don’t book.
The Difference Between a Healthcare Practice and a Service-Based Business
Let’s break it down.
If You’re Running a True Healthcare Practice:
✔️ Your treatments address medical conditions such as hormone imbalances, metabolic dysfunction, or chronic disease management.
✔️ Patients need structured care plans, follow-ups, and clinical oversight.
✔️ Pricing is based on medical necessity and long-term treatment outcomes.
How This Affects Your Business:
👉 Your messaging should focus on clinical expertise and patient outcomes, not discounts or luxury experiences.
👉 Compliance, protocols, and clinical training take priority over branding and marketing.
👉 Patients expect structured medical guidance, not sales-driven promotions.
If You’re Running a Service-Based Business:
✔️ Your treatments are elective (aesthetics, longevity, IV therapy, regenerative medicine).
✔️ Patients book based on preference, experience, and perceived VALUE rather than medical necessity.
✔️ Marketing, branding, and patient experience matter as much as the treatment itself.
How This Affects Your Business:
👉 You need a strong brand presence, messaging, and marketing strategy to stand out.
👉 Pricing is value-driven, not dictated by medical necessity.
👉 Patients are choosing YOU over competitors, which means differentiation is key.
🚨 If You’re Trying to Be Both, Here’s the Problem:
❌ Your patients are confused. They don’t know if they’re coming to you for prescribed medical care or an elective experience.
❌ Your messaging is inconsistent. Are you selling outcomes backed by science or lifestyle-driven treatments? Or both? And why?
❌ Your pricing feels arbitrary. If some treatments are positioned as a necessity and others as luxury, patients struggle to understand your value.
❌ You’re making sales harder than they need to be. Patients in a service-based model buy differently than those in a clinical care model—trying to do both without a clear strategy is killing conversions.
What You Need to Do Next
🚀 Get clear on your positioning. Are you a medical provider delivering necessary care, or are you selling high-value services in a consumer-driven market? WHO are you targeting?
🚀 Shift your strategy accordingly. If you’re in a service-based model, you need marketing, sales, and branding, not just clinical expertise.
🚀 Stop sending mixed signals. Patients who trust the process commit. Patients who are confused walk away.
The most successful practices—whether medical or service-based—KNOW their customer. Their marketing speaks directly to them and their needs, making the sales process effortless.
If you’re feeling resistance in your business, take a step back. What do you want to be known for? Who do you serve? What experience are you creating for your patients?
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posted by
Carmen Stansberry
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