The very best marketing isn’t selling—it’s education. People are pretty good at ignoring sales attempts for things and services they don’t think they need. They will forget about you immediately. What catches their attention and gets them to return to you is consistent, repetitive education on the topics they already care about: basically, entering the conversation already going on in their heads. That is why Top Practices use books or information premiums to engage their prospective patients.
The Hard Truth: Nobody Cares About You
See, people just aren’t interested in you. They really only care about two things: the problem bothering them at the moment, and whether or not you can help them solve it. This is why education is a better tool for marketing—you are providing information to your potential patients about the problems they’re already seeking answers for.
This is where your book comes in.
For those who may not know, Top Practices offers a service that helps you write a book discussing a variety of foot and ankle problems. You can then give it away for free to your patients or potential patients. In return, you build a list of interested people to market to intensively with regular e-mails, letters, CDs, and postcards, so when they are ready to seek out a doctor for their concerns, they are far more likely to think of you. You’re already at the front of their minds.
How to Use This Effective Tool
The key to having a successful book, and thus a marketing campaign that actually works, is to promote your book well. Regularly use all four of the marketing pillars—web, referral, internal, and external—to let people know it exists. All four of these avenues need to be involved to maximize your reach and increase your odds that it will be found by the people who will then become patients.
It’s true, not everyone who takes your book will translate into patients. But if you do it right, and lots of people request your information, even a small percentage of the many people who take your book could be a dramatic increase in new patients.
If your marketing isn’t working, there is an answer. If you’d like more information about the Top Practices book campaigns, or are interested in how Top Practices could help you stop getting ignored in your marketing, contact us. You can e-mail us at [email protected] or call (717) 725-2679.
