A few years ago, Tri-County Ob/Gyn approached Practice Builders with a common problem: they were having trouble getting noticed. They were practically in the backyards of thousands of potential patients, yet day after day prospects drove right by their practice and into the city 15 miles away for Ob/Gyn services. No one seemed to know they existed.
And these practitioners were excellent clinicians. All were board-certified, had satisfied patients and enjoyed good word-of-mouth ….
…but little else to let prospects know they were there.
First, a step-by-step marketing plan was developed. (How important is planning to your marketing? Imagine trying to build a house without a plan. Marketing without one is equally disastrous.)
Postcard
The next step: Practice Builders designed a postcard for Tri-County and mailed it within a five-mile radius around the practice. The headline read: “Visit a Louisville Ob/Gyn without leaving La Grange.” This played to one of the practice’s chief strengths: convenience for nearby residents. Sound unimportant? Practice Builders’ 29 years of experience and research have shown over and over that convenience is a HUGE factor in whether a prospect chooses your practice. The postcard reassured and comforted prospects (expectant mothers) with phrases such as, “When you welcome that wonderful new bundle of joy in the world…” “heartfelt commitment”, and “confidence and peace of mind”, as well as “highly-experienced, well-credentialed team of specialists”.
Next, we arranged for Dr. McDanald to appear three times on local network affiliate TV. In each appearance, he discussed an Ob/Gyn issue of concern to women in his market – endometrial ablation, for example. These helpful and informative appearances built goodwill in the community, made Dr. McDanald much better-known, and reinforced his image as a both caring and expert practitioner.
Third – and perhaps most important – Dr. McDanald began asking his patients for referrals.
Now, you may be thinking, “Me, ask for referrals? I can’t do that. I’d look desperate, needy and greedy. Sleazy, even. No way. Besides, I don’t need to ask for referrals. I’m good at what I do. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
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Remember, Dr. McDanald and his colleagues are expert practitioners too – but the patients were still just driving by. You have to communicate to your prospects that you are an expert, caring practitioner. (That’s what marketing is: communication. ) And as we showed Dr. McDanald, asking your patients for referrals in a completely natural way, without ever sounding pushy or “sales-y,” can easily be done. It’s all in the scripting. Write down, word for word, exactly how you’ll ask patients for referrals. Don’t worry – patients usually ask certain questions
that give you the perfect opening, so you can bring it up in a natural way. There’s no need to force it into the conversation.
The results of this campaign: Tri-County increased its revenue 65% in two years. And equally important, they now get more of their preferred cases – minimally invasive surgery and new treatments for dysfunctional bleeding, for example.
There is no need for your practice to remain anonymous. Use a few simple tactics and follow a plan, and you can expect better results no matter what the economy does.