We’re all guilty of it.  We see or hear about a great idea and we go after it.  Maybe it’s a ‘can’t miss opportunity’ in a local publication, or a pushy salesperson convincing us that traditional yellow page advertising still works.  No matter what it is, we have all fallen victim to marketing our business outside of our marketing plan.  I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be prepared to take advantage of good opportunities when they present themselves, just that you shouldn’t actively market your practice with a marketing plan.

Having a plan keeps you on track and within budget.  It reminds us of our goals and our expectations for growing our businesses.