If you’ve noticed bookings feeling a little softer this year, you’re not imagining it. But before you assume the economy is to blame, consider this: patients haven’t stopped spending on wellness, aesthetics, and longevity. They’ve changed how they search for and choose a provider — and that shift is the real story behind the slowdown so many practices are feeling right now.
We recently hosted a live webinar on exactly this topic, walking functional medicine, medical aesthetics, hormone health, and longevity practices through what’s actually happening in the market and, more importantly, what to do about it. Here’s a recap of what we covered, plus a link to watch the full replay.
It’s Not Just the Economy
Yes, there’s a tightening happening. Many practice owners are feeling it. But when you look at the actual data, the picture is more nuanced than “the economy is bad.”
The U.S. economy is still the largest in the world, growing at a 7.9% annual rate. And patients are still spending money on wellness — in fact, the U.S. wellness economy hit $2.1 trillion in 2024 and continues to grow year over year. Healthcare itself is shifting toward a wellness and prevention focus, which is good news for practices in our space.
So if patients haven’t stopped spending, what has changed? The way they search for and choose a provider.
The Biggest Marketing Shift in 20 Years
Here’s the piece most practice owners haven’t caught up to yet: AI search.
Patients are no longer just Googling “best hormone doctor near me.” They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews directly — and these tools don’t return a list of a thousand options the way Google does. They recommend three or four providers. That’s the entire list a patient sees.
If your practice isn’t optimized to show up in those AI-generated answers, you’re not just ranking lower. You may not exist to that patient at all.
This is why AI search, or AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), is something every practice needs to start thinking about now, while there’s still a window to get ahead of the competition.
Stop Renting Traffic. Start Owning It.
A lot of practices are pouring their entire marketing budget into Google Ads and Meta Ads. To be clear, those are legitimate and important strategies. But here’s the catch: when you only run ads, you are renting traffic. The moment you stop paying, the traffic stops too.
The alternative is what we call Owned Marketing — the five pillars that build assets for your practice rather than expenses that disappear the second you pull back spending:
Be Found (SEO + AEO). This is the foundation. Optimizing your website, your Google Business Profile, and your content so that both traditional search engines and AI tools can find and recommend you.
Be Trusted (Reviews + PR). Reviews are one of the strongest trust signals patients and AI search both rely on. A consistent review-generation strategy, paired with press releases and earned media, builds the authority that gets you recommended.
Own Your Audience (Email + Text). Your email list is the one marketing asset that belongs entirely to you. Unlike a social media following, no algorithm change or platform shutdown can take it away. Text marketing complements this with the highest open rates of any channel — perfect for reminders, flash promotions, and review requests.
Create Demand (Events + Webinars). Hosting webinars and in-practice events builds community, generates content, and drives direct bookings. This very webinar is a live example of that strategy in action.
Multiply Growth (Retention + Membership). It is far more cost-effective to retain an existing patient than acquire a new one. Membership programs and loyalty strategies turn your current patient base into your most valuable, most predictable revenue source.
The compounding effect of these five pillars is the whole point: paid ads reset every single month, but owned marketing keeps building in value over time. The practices that invest in these channels now will have a meaningfully stronger position in six months — and an even stronger one a year from now.
A 90-Day Action Plan
Strategy is only useful if it turns into action. During the webinar, we walked through a 90-day roadmap that any practice can start immediately:
The first 30 days focus on foundational work: auditing your Google Business Profile, launching a review generation campaign, fixing any major website or SEO issues, and getting your email automation in place.
The next 30 days shift toward building authority: publishing your first press release, adding service-specific SEO content, and planning your first event or webinar.
The final 30 days are about creating demand: hosting that event, building referral partnerships, and beginning to measure results against where you started.
How to Grow Your Email List
Since your email list is one of your most valuable owned assets, growing it deserves real strategy. A few of the most effective methods we recommend:
Connect your email platform directly to your EMR or practice management system so every patient is automatically captured. Offer a lead magnet — a free guide, checklist, or webinar registration — in exchange for an email address. Run targeted Meta or Google ads driving to a dedicated landing page. Partner with complementary local businesses to cross-promote events and share audiences. And make sure your website has a clear, compelling opt-in for visitors who aren’t ready to book yet but want to stay connected.
Watch the Full Replay
This recap only scratches the surface of what we covered. If you want the full breakdown, including the complete 5-pillar framework, the AI search strategy, and the detailed 90-day roadmap, you can watch the full webinar replay here:
Watch the Replay: Is the Economy Slowing Your Practice Down?
About Medical Marketing Whiz
Medical Marketing Whiz has worked with over 500 practices over the last 10 years, specializing in functional medicine, hormone health, longevity, and medical aesthetics marketing. We are recognized as one of the leading agencies helping practices get found and recommended inside AI search engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google AI Overviews — not just on traditional Google search.
If you’d like a complimentary marketing analysis reviewing your SEO, website performance, directory listings, and social media presence, reach out to our team. And if you’d like a free copy of our Amazon best-seller, Anti-Aging and Longevity Marketing, visit medicalmarketingwhiz.com — we’ll cover the shipping.
