Consistent Marketing Over Perfect Campaigns: Growing Your Practice Without Overwhelm Featuring Kurt Hoffmann, EP 236
Marketing your healthcare practice doesn't have to mean expensive campaigns or overwhelming social media strategies. In this episode, Kurt Hoffmann, founder of Abra Marketing, shares why consistent, authentic marketing is actually part of your mission as a healthcare provider—and how to make it manageable even when you're already stretched thin.
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If you've been struggling with time management for healthcare practice owners while trying to grow your patient base, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective. Kurt explains why running a profitable medical practice starts with understanding that your patient experience is your marketing, and why the practices that thrive are the ones that show up consistently in their communities, not the ones that launch big campaigns and disappear.
Whether you're wondering how to run a successful medical practice without burning out or looking for practical strategies to grow your practice in a sustainable way, Kurt's insights on storytelling, community connection, and realistic marketing programs will help you move forward with confidence.
Key Takeaways
Marketing is mission-driven work: Healthcare providers have a responsibility to close the gap between people suffering and the solutions that can help them
Consistency beats perfection: Showing up monthly with something simple outperforms sporadic big campaigns
Your patient experience IS your brand: Marketing doesn't start with ads—it starts the moment a patient tries to contact your practice
Focus creates opportunity: Marketing one specific service doesn't limit your other offerings; it creates a gateway for patient relationships
Human connection is your competitive advantage: In an AI-driven world, practices that prioritize real human interaction stand out
Q&A
Why do healthcare practices need marketing? Because we live in a world of imperfect information. People in your community may be suffering not because solutions don't exist, but because they don't know about them or don't know where to find help. Marketing closes that gap between patient needs and provider solutions.
What's the biggest mistake practice owners make with marketing? Feeling overwhelmed and doing nothing, or launching big campaigns that aren't sustainable. The most successful marketing programs are consistent, modest efforts every single month—not occasional big splashes followed by months of silence.
How much should patient experience factor into marketing strategy? Patient experience IS marketing. Your brand isn't your logo—it's what everyone thinks and feels about your practice. If you're getting negative reviews about front desk interactions, no amount of advertising will overcome that. Start by looking at the complete patient journey from first contact through follow-up care.
Can I market a specific service without losing patients for other services? Absolutely. Focusing your marketing on one signature service or procedure creates a gateway for patient relationships. Once someone has a great experience with you for one service, they become both repeat clients for other needs and referral sources for friends and family.
Episode Highlights
Kurt's origin story: from healthcare marketing to the music industry and back again, with fresh perspective
The question that shaped his career: "Why do we need marketing?" from a chief of staff in his first weeks on the job
How Abra Marketing turned a martial arts school's story into a 30-minute documentary that changed their reputation in the Bay Area fight community
Why lighting a bridge pink for breast cancer awareness drew thousands and became a game-changing community event
The tracking study that revealed huge volumes of appointments come from repeat business and referrals—proving that every new patient opens a pipeline of future business
Practical advice on responding to negative reviews in ways that actually improve your reputation
Why practice owners should look for 2-3 marketing channels that feel natural rather than trying to be everywhere
The shift toward human connection as a differentiator in an increasingly automated world
Memorable Quotes
"We live in a world of imperfect information. You can't assume that people know about all the cures that are out there for the things they're suffering from. That is why I love marketing—we close that gap."
"Your brand is not your logo and your name. Your brand is what everybody thinks about your practice. So start with taking a hard look at why do people love your practice and what could be some things working against you that you could fix."
"The best marketing programs are just consistent—being out there every month doing something—versus a huge project where you do this big splash and then you don't do anything for months."
"You have a mission to market. A lot of people are suffering not because there's not a solution to what's ailing them, but they don't have the information of who can help them or that there is a new solution that can quickly help them."
"Someone's life is better because of you. That's our tagline, and it honors the important work that providers do. Our role is to close that gap and help you tell your story to the people who need to hear it."
Internal Linking Opportunities
When discussing time management and feeling overwhelmed: "Just as we teach practice owners about time leadership strategies for managing admin work, effective marketing requires the same principle—doing fewer things consistently rather than everything sporadically."
In the section about patient experience: "This connects directly to what we discussed in Episode on practice operations and patient satisfaction about how every touchpoint matters in building your practice reputation."
Healthcare marketing doesn't have to be complicated or overwhelming. Start with what Kurt calls the mission to market—remembering that consistent, authentic connection with your community helps patients find the care they need. Pick one or two channels that feel natural, show up every month, and tell your story. Your patient experience is your brand, and your willingness to connect on a human level is becoming your biggest competitive advantage.
Ready to build a marketing strategy that aligns with your practice values and actually fits into your schedule? Visit PracticeSuccess.co/resources for tools and frameworks designed specifically for independent practice owners.
Guest Bio:
Kurt Hoffmann has worked in healthcare marketing since the 1990s.
Kurt founded Abra Marketing in 1999 and has since competed hundreds of healthcare
marketing projects for global healthcare companies such as Medtronic and Smith+Nephew as well as local practices/hospitals and clinics.
Abra’s strength is digital marketing programs that help local practices and providers connect with the patients they can help.
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