Health Professionals: Why Your Marketing is Failing

By Dr.David Enders

There are a number of possible reasons why your marketing efforts are failing to attract new patients to your office. I have found that the majority of marketing fails because of one primary reason: Lack of Follow Up.

Since I am most familiar with the Chiropractic profession I will take that as an example. What ever your profession is; ask yourself this question, Why do people seek my care? What is the lowest common denominator that your patients share?

What is the primary reason people seek the services of a Doctor of Chiropractic? The number one reason is pain. Back pain, neck pain, joint pain – PAIN is the "keyword" for Chiropractic marketing. As much as Chiropractors are leaders in providing "wellness" care, that is not what the public associates them with. When a person has a muscle or joint pain, they usually think of Chiropractic. As beneficial as wellness is, it is not what comes to a persons mind when you mention Chiropractic. The same could also be said of the Dental profession – if we have a pain in a tooth orgums we think of our Dentist.

Lack of Consistency

How Does Pain Relate to Your Marketing Plan?

The biggest mistake doctors make when designing their marketing plans is to have consistent follow up as part of their marketing plans. In today’s world people are exposed to over 30,000 commercial ads per day. A person must see or hear your message multiple times before they take action. This is why a one time shot is a waste of your marketing dollars.

Why Consistency is Important

If you are not marketing on a consistent basis you are just hoping for a "Hail Mary" with your marketing efforts.

I can give you a personal example of this fact. A long time ago when I first went into practice I mailed out hundreds of flyers on the benefits of Chiropractic care to people living near my office. I then waited for people to start calling me for appointments. I waited and waited.

No One Called

It happens that six months later, while attending our state Chiropractic association annual symposium, I was speaking with two other Chiropractors from the town where I practiced. They were both talking about how they had seen a sudden increase in patients six months previous (around the time I had sent out my mailing). Patients were bringing in these flyers (mine) about the benefits of Chiropractic.

My flyers, with my name and phone number on them. But everyone called the other two Chiropractors in town.

Why?

Because both of these Chiropractors had both been consistently placing ads in the town newspaper for months, if not years. When a person had a pain they would automatically think of the other two Chiropractors.

Even if I was lucky enough to have the person receive my flyer on the same day as they were having pain, they were already "conditioned" to think of the other two Chiropractors. The consistent exposure over the months or years were more effective than my one time – big mailing effort.

You don’t need to have a huge, massive marketing campaign. What you need to keep a steady flow of new patients coming to your office is a focused, well-timed, consistent message.

If you do that you will have a marketing plan that works andbrings you a steady stream of new patients.

After 35 years in practice Dr. Enders closed his Chiropractic Clinic to pursue a career in Network Marketing. He soon realized that if your business is not on the Internet, you're not in business. In his search to learn Internet Marketing Dr. Enders discovered Renegade Professional and the principle of attraction marketing.

Comments

[Pat Campbell]

This article gives a health professional or their Office Administrator great tips for getting their marketing done.