Four Big Ideas About Medical Advertising
This new series of articles pulls from our acclaimed webinar series to showcase the content in a new format. We'll be rolling out these short articles through our blog and website networks. Enjoy!
IDEA #1: Your telephone is the most valuable piece of equipment in your office.
Every new patient flows through it and every piece of advertising you do points to your phone. Its the only way you get new business. So when you look at all of your equipment, its not your CERAC or your Fraxel, its your telephone that creates the most revenue. The phone and what it does is the way you measure the success or failure of your advertising.
IDEA #2: If your marketing isnt any good, dont bother advertising.
Whats the difference between marketing and advertising? Marketing is everything you do to get a new patient coming through the door. Marketing is how the telephone is answered. Marketing is the scripts your staff uses. Marketing is your existing patient base. Marketing is how your reception area looks and smells. Marketing is the way you and your staff think and act. Marketing is what people think about your practice. Advertising is just a tiny little subset of that - the stuff you pay for to promote yourself.
Therefore if youre not answering the phones properly, if youre sending people to hold, if your staff isnt selling your services, if your office is full of ancient magazines and smells like burning hair, youre not marketing very well. Make sure your marketing is dialed in BEFORE you advertise because otherwise youre wasting money and not converting the leads youre driving through the telephone.
IDEA #3: People buy on emotion then justify with facts.
The way we feel is the reason we buy, period. Emotions like fear, trust and vanity are extremely powerful motivators. In all advertising were looking to create powerful emotions and connections. Its not about the facts - its about the feelings. Patients seek out facts after theyve made an emotional connection, after they feel trust and comfort with the practice. Your advertising is not about the science of medicine, its about people and how they feel about themselves.
IDEA #4: Your advertising is not about you.
Its about delivering value to the patient. Advertising that focuses on the doctor and the procedures and the accreditation is nowhere near as powerful as advertising that focus on the patient. Ideas like feeling better, looking better - thats the message your advertising should focus on. People are only interested in whats in it for them. Otherwise, they just ignore it.
