Try to see things from the point of view of your target audience. In many cases what you may think is important—really isn’t. Too many health care providers see things only as a doctor. They speak in language that may not make sense to their target audience. Focusing on things that make sense to them, their colleagues, and maybe even to their staff, but that in many instances doesn’t mean a thing to their intended audiences.

Put yourself in the shoes of your intended audience. What are their needs; their problems? What language do they understand? What are their hot buttons? What problems do they want or need solved? A patient survey is one way to better see things from your patient’s perspective. Email me at juan@themarkad.com and I’ll send you a patient survey you can use to see how your patient’s feel. And to see who’s shoes you’re wearing.

In the over 300 marketing audits we’ve conducted of chiropractic offices, it is obvious that patient education is one of the most commonly found aspects of high performing clinics. Then why do so many clinics not have ‘great’ patient education efforts?

Consider that in today’s world, your patient education efforts cannot be ‘singular’. That is, they must be multi-sensory and multi-faceted. Rather than depending on a health care class, or simple word of mouth patient education–consider creating a TOTAL PATIENT EDUCATION Experience for your patients. Here’s how you do it:

1. Clarify your ‘key educational’ points. That is those 5-7 primary concepts that you want all of your patients to fully grasp. 

2. Create a list of educational opportunities or contact points: from the posters and educational material hanging on your walls, to the handouts you and your staff pass out, to your reception room television, to the verbal messages you and your staff share with patients–they are all part of the total educational experience.

3. Remember that people learn with all three senses: auditory, visual, and hands-on, so make sure all three are being utilized. 

4. Don’t forget the power of technology.  For example, we happen to believe that audio CD’s are an underutilized educational tool. They are easy for you to record; inexpensive to duplicate; and patients love them because they can listen to them at their own convenience.

5. Your external marketing as well as your internal marketing communications efforts can also support your total patient education experience. 

6. Be careful to consider the role of the doctor in your total patient education experience. If the whole thing depends only on the doctor, often it falls apart. So create an experience that runs itself. Systematized and automatic. The doctor can be the ‘icing of the cake’. You’ll immediately see the benefits.

7. Last, but not least, don’t forget to shape your new patient education efforts based on your patient’s point of view. Too many old-fashioned efforts are created from a doctor’s point of view–and they are not always well received by patients. Put yourself in their shoes, you’ll find that those messages are often more accepted.

So, step into the modern world. Don’t depend on on singular patient education efforts that don’t work in today’s rapidly changing world. Instead create a TOTAL PATIENT EDUCATION EXPERIENCE.

I realize that times are tough, but let’s make lemonade out of the lemon.

Here’s what I recently told a client, that he admits has changed his attitude and given him a new perspective. He has 500 active patients. In his town, there are two other chiropractors. Each has about the same number of patients. So we can estimate that there are 1,500 chiropractic patients in that town.

I asked my client, in a worse case scenario, how many patients he felt he would lose due to the economy. He said that as many as 10%. I asked if he was better than the other two doctors. Did he care more? Did he provide value added service? Did he provide a greater exchange of value to his patients than the other doctors do? 

He answered ‘yes’ to all three questions, which led us to guesstimate that the other two would then lose more than 10% of their patients. After all, if my client is going to lose 10% and he provides better care and better value than the other two, then it is safe to guess that they will lose more than 10%, right?

That means that currently my client has a 33% market share. And that if he does nothing different, bad economy and all, at the end of the year he will have a little better than 33% market share [since his competition will lose a few more patients than he will] WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING AT ALL.

But I then asked him, ‘what could you do, to let your patients know that you REALLY care, that your TRULY understand their situation?’ Are you willing to work an extra afternoon to show them how much you really care?

What if you offered care to anybody in the community that was unemployed? Do you think your unemployed patients would appreciate it? Heck yes. Even if they are too embarrassed to accept, they would remember. And they would tell others. 

Do you think word would get out? Do you think that maybe some of the other chiropractic patients would hear about it? Absolutely!

My client is now seeing patients on Thursday afternoon and Thursday evenings. He is overwhelmed with patients who really appreciate what he is doing. Yes, some from the other doctors, but many who have never been to a chiropractor. Many who have traditionally depended on their insurance coverage.

Now he understands that this strategic effort, with no hidden strings, simply offered because his community is in need, is paying off for him, now and in the long run.

What do you think his market share will be at the end of this year?

As always make sure you are within your state rules and regulations.

In too many instances I see chiropractors who only see things from their own perspective. They tend to talk about their issues. Speak in their vocabulary. See things from their perspective. When what really matters is ‘what are we doing to meet the needs and solve the problems of our target audiences.’

How well do you understand your community? Your patients? Do you survey your patients at least once a year? 

How well do you listen? Are your hours, your services, your pricing based on your needs or theirs?

Until we have the ability to truly ‘walk in the shoes’ of our target audience, and truly understand their needs and desires–we will not be able to move the profession forward.

Continuing to better define marketing, allow me to explain ‘with a specific purpose’ as part of our definition of marketing.

In my opinion, we are constantly limiting ourselves because we think too tactically. As I work with chiropractors of all ages, from all over the country, I constantly hear:

“Because that¹s the way I¹ve always done it.”

“Because my practice management coach said that¹s how he built his [or her] practice.”

“The guy down the street is doing it.”

“I heard a speaker at a seminar tell me to do it.”

That type of thinking is tactical. It is old-fashioned. And it is not marketing.

The marketing mindset is strategic. That is, it has a purpose.

I jokingly tell my seminar participants that the two most important words in marketing are, ‘it depends’.

Because when people ask me questions like: should I do yellow page advertising? or

How can I grow my practice?

The answer can usually start with ‘it depends.’

It depends on the stage your practice is at.

It depends on your financial situation.

It depends on your competition. On the market. On how good of a chiropractor you are.

But no matter what it depends on‹it has to have a purpose.

Ask yourself, why are you thinking of doing this? What are you expecting to accomplish? Do you have a strategy?

Please don¹t get me wrong. Learning from others and taking ideas from those who have come before us is not wrong.

In fact, strategies without tactics, is no better that tactics without strategies.

The two go hand in hand. Strategies AND tactics.

But if you lead with tactics, you will always be putting out fires. You will find yourself overwhelmed by all the opportunities. You will feel disorganized and scattered.

Think marketing with a purpose. Think strategically.

We¹ve discussed a new way of looking at marketing. “Everything you do.” “With a purpose.” Next week let¹s look at “from you audience’s point of view.”

Until next time—think strategically!

Before we can define marketing, let’s briefly discuss what marketing is not. Marketing is not the ‘latest and greatest sure thing’. It is not ‘shoot from the hip’ decision-making. It is not doing something just because it worked for someone else.

I define marketing as ‘everything you do, with a specific purpose, based on your target audience’s needs.’

By ‘everything you do’, I mean everything: from your clinic name, your location, your pricing, how the phone is answered—EVERYTHING.

With ‘a specific purpose’ I mean that there has to be a reason for doing what you are doing. And the more congruent all of your different pieces work together, the more successful your marketing will be.

‘Based on your target audience’s needs’ means that to successfully use marketing we need to see things from the perspectives of our audiences—rather than our own.

EVERYTHING YOU DO
Not only does good marketing encompass everything you do, good marketing demands that everything you do is synergistic. The more synergy, or congruency, in ‘everything you do’—the more successful your marketing will be.

Consumers recognize ‘inconsistency’ or, even worse, ‘hypocrisy’ faster than you can blink an eye.
•    If your actions don’t match your words, they’ll see through them.
•    If your name and your logo don’t fit hand in hand, they’ll notice.
•    If you want them to ‘trust’ you and find you ‘credible’, you’ll have to look, act, and speak in a manner that they find as such.

Our research has noticed that successful chiropractors weave a certain message through everything they do. Their vision, dreams, and words they use all have a similar thread running through them.

This approach doesn’t have to take an inordinate amount of time or effort. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, if anything, I believe it will cost you less.

In future blogs, we’ll explore ‘with a specific purpose’ and ‘based on your target audience’s need’—as well as going more in-depth in each of these areas.

In the meantime, feel free to e-mail me at j.nodarse@mchsi.com with any thoughts or questions.