Free template: Build your ideal customer profile to win more (and better) medical billing business

As a business owner in the medical billing industry, you may have asked yourself: “How can I find and win more clients?” 

The answer is clear: understanding and targeting your ideal customer profile (ICP). 

Creating an effective buyer persona allows you to focus your marketing efforts on those most likely interested in your services. By building an ideal customer profile for your medical billing business, you will better understand who these prospects are — and use this information strategically when crafting messaging and content tailored specifically for them.

But how do you know who to focus on? The answer lies in leveraging your data, industry knowledge, and assessment of your current book of business. Here’s how. 

Reviewing customer acquisition channels is essential to winning sales and driving revenue to your medical billing company.

Most medical billing companies use a mix of 3 different channels to acquire new customers:

Outbound prospects are those you specifically pursue. 

“Prospecting is the best way to acquire prospects that fit your ideal customer profile,” as Jamie Howard, channel sales manager at Kareo, a Tebra company, explained in a leveraging pipeline management session at Kareo Live in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Outbound prospecting is often more in line with your strategy and a way to use your efforts to generate the highest return for your business. 

However, it’s also more of a numbers game in the current market, with a lower success rate and more activity needed, since prospects are cold and might not be looking for a new solution. 

To be successful, it’s crucial to do your research, prepare before you reach out, and identify a problem to which you have the solution.

Inbound channel leads have expressed interest, whether from paid marketing or your website. They often have a pain point or something driving their need for change internally, so success involves identifying that problem and how you will solve it.

Having a good understanding of your product and the current market will help. So will driving value into their transition, whether from another solution or from paper. 

Finally, referral or word of mouth is the most common way medical billing companies acquire new customers, leading to prospects who are the easiest to convert and close. 

“It naturally has a high success rate, since prospects are recommended in some way to your company or solution, or they have peers that have had success with your solution or partnership,” Howard said. 

For that reason, it’s crucial for your growth to maintain positive client relationships and improve your client retention in order to boost your chances of receiving referrals.

No matter what acquisition channel you consider, it’s important to prepare, to focus your efforts on qualifying prospects, and to be able to identify their pain points or problems and how your solution can help. 

That’s why an important step is to determine your ideal customer profile. 

It’s important to understand your prospects, but it’s just as important to internally establish your ideal customer profile. So what is an ideal customer profile? 

“An ideal customer profile defines the customer that is the perfect buyer for your services or solution,” Howard said.

While an ideal customer profile may seem similar to a buyer persona, an ideal customer profile is about the target practice, while a buyer persona is about the individual contact at that practice. While both are valuable tools, an ideal customer profile is an important first step.

In order to drive revenue, medical billing companies must optimize the customer acquisition pipeline — which means knowing which prospects to focus on as not only the best for your business, but the best fit for theirs.

“[An ideal customer profile] will help you identify your customer’s attributes and purchasing behaviors so that you can focus and target sales and marketing efforts on prospects that are going to net you the most-desired results,” Howard said. 

This helps you maximize efficiency. It’s especially important when you’re going outbound to target new prospects, but it’s just as important when you’re considering inbound channel leads and even referrals. 

When creating your ideal customer profile, “This should be a thoughtful exercise completed using data, industry knowledge, and assessment of your current book of business,” Howard said. 

Some customer qualities to consider are:

First, consider your existing customers. What types of practices generate the highest return on investment for your business right now? 

Consider specialty and practice size, but don’t stop there.

Getting more specific about your existing customers’ demographics can help you determine where to focus your efforts. Ask yourself what types of practices you’ve seen the most success and those with which you’ve seen the least, and why. 

Next, think about the demographics of your ideal customer: 

After drilling into demographics, it’s time to get more specific by considering your ideal customer’s values and goals.

 Doing so can help you identify who they are and also help you select where to focus your efforts. 

Understanding the value that you offer customers, and the internal bandwidth you have for offering it, is just as important as figuring out who those customers are. 

Consider both the number of clients and their transaction volumes. What is your capacity? What types of practice does your solution benefit the most? 

Knowing what you can offer will help you to paint a clearer picture of your ideal practice customer.

Review the data you’ve gathered. Who is your ideal customer? Though you might be able to answer the question in-depth, you should also be able to describe them in a few short sentences. 

Ready to get more and better billing clients? Download this free worksheet to get started.