A Doable Marketing Plan for Your Healthcare Practice

5 Simple Steps to Set Marketing Goals You’ll Stick With in 2026

As November approaches, healthcare practice owners juggle end-of-year tasks like scheduling and patient follow-ups. Unfortunately, marketing planning often slips down the list. It gets buried between meetings, documentation, and life.

Planning your 2026 marketing doesn't have to be daunting. You don’t need a detailed spreadsheet or a full-time content manager. A clear process can help you focus on what matters, build consistency, and create a plan that fits your needs.

This five-step framework will guide you through the process. It will also help you decide when to get professional support for your marketing.

Step 1: Review What’s Working and What Isn’t

Before planning for next year, assess your current situation. Reflection is crucial for a strong marketing plan.

Ask yourself these three quick questions:

• Where did most of your new patients come from this year?

• Which marketing activities felt sustainable and consistent?

• What has drained your time or budget with little return?

You don’t need a full report to gain insights. Check patient referral data, your Google Business Profile, or front-desk notes. They will show what fuels growth.

When to get marketing help: If you’re unsure what’s working or can’t see trends in your data, consider hiring a marketing strategist. They can help interpret the numbers.

Key takeaway: You can’t simplify your strategy without knowing what is effective.

Step 2: Choose Three Core Goals for 2026

Now that you know what’s effective, set your focus for the coming year. Avoid setting too many marketing goals. If your list includes a new website, ads, and weekly emails, it’s too much. You’ll end up stretched too thin.

Instead, choose three core goals that align with your priorities. For example:

• Visibility: Increase patient reach through SEO, online listings, or speaking.

• Engagement: Build trust by sharing educational, patient-centered content.

• Systems: Create consistency by automating follow-ups or delegating tasks.

These categories focus on what matters most: growing your practice and enhancing your patients' experience.

When to seek marketing help: If you struggle to prioritize, a strategist can provide clarity. They can help you choose the best goals for your growth stage.

Key takeaway: A clear, limited focus leads to better execution and less overwhelm.

Step 3: Align Your Plan with Your Capacity

The best marketing plan is one you can follow. Most healthcare providers have limited marketing time. Be realistic about what fits into your daily routine.

Here’s how to scale your marketing to your current capacity:

• Solo Provider: Focus on one main platform, like Google Business or Instagram. Plan a monthly touchpoint, like a patient newsletter.

• Small Team: Rotate responsibilities or plan content quarterly to avoid overloading one person.

• Multi-Provider Practice: Have a staff member or team with a strategist to create an efficient system.

You can also map your plan by quarter, assigning each one a focus: visibility, engagement, systems, and integration. This keeps marketing manageable.

When to seek marketing help: If your plan looks good on paper but never gets implemented, a strategist can help streamline your approach.

Key takeaway: Marketing should fit your business and work within your daily routines.

Step 4: Track Progress Without Overcomplicating It

You don’t need complex dashboards to know if your marketing works. Track these three simple metrics each month:

• New patient inquiries through calls, contact forms, or messages.

• Referral sources showing where new patients heard about you.

• Website or Google Business traffic.

These numbers will show you what drives patient flow and where to focus next.

When to seek marketing help: If you're unsure what to track or how to connect activities to results, a strategist can assist with easy reporting.

Key takeaway: Consistency in tracking is more important than complexity.

Step 5: Plan Your Support System Now

Support can look different for every practice. Internal support may mean training a staff member for marketing tasks. External support could involve partnering with a strategist or agency.

Professional marketing support is valuable when you’re ready to:

• Grow beyond word-of-mouth referrals.

• Launch a new service or location.

• Regain time for patient care.

• Simplify and systemize scattered tasks.

If you’re at that point, structured guidance can save you time and help you see faster results.

If you’d like help mapping out your 2026 marketing, I have two openings for 1:1 Planning Sessions in January. These sessions help you define priorities and leave with a clear next-step plan.

Key takeaway: Planning is easier with the right people in your corner.

Conclusion

A doable marketing plan focuses on what works and helps you stay consistent.

Start small. Reflect on what’s effective, choose key goals, and keep it simple. When you're ready, bring in support to move forward with confidence.

Marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It needs to work for you, your team, and your patients.