4 unmarketing ways doctors can market their services
Perhaps by offering to sell less often, doctors can sell more
The present pandemonium has underlined the importance of doctors like never before. Everything else shrinks into insignificance at times like this.
And yet in all other times, you as a doctor strong face competition from other doctors. Which means you might need to market your service without violating your professional code of conduct or law of the land.
We are listing down 4 four very unlikely ways you as a doctor can expand your practice.
Each method has at its center the same principle: do not try to sell.
1. Help find solutions
As a doctor, you know this better than the rest of us: your patients don’t come to you for treatments, surgeries or drugs.
Patients visit doctors to seek help.
Whenever suitable and prudent, channel your patients to get help from sources other than you. Therapists, counsellors, mobile apps, websites, well-written articles,…welcome everything.
Would pointing your patients to other resources help your practice?
No, not immediately.
But over time, your patients will see you hold the right priorities. You may lose some but you will win even more.
Help patients know they are in control, like Robert Kiyosaki says in this video.
2. Leverage technology
Nothing new in this. You already know this.
Just three things:
- Respect their privacy. Make sure you’re compliant with the privacy laws of your country or state. Here’s a well-structured overview of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996).
- Make sure you’re reaching them. When you’re writing to patients after a long time, use an email checker to make sure the email address is still valid.
- Spread truth and cheer. There’s tons of pseudo medico-science garbage floating out there on the internet. Help patients stay away from all that. Instead, remain updated and cheerful. Books like Being Mortal can help develop empathy too. (Not an affiliate link :) )
3. Be diligent in follow-ups
Of the four tips listed here, only this one comes close to ‘selling’. Yet the underlying objective here is not to sell.
When you are diligent in follow-ups, you are concerned about the patient’s recovery rate. You want to make sure if they have been following the medicine/therapy prescribed and whether it’s making the intended difference.
Let them know whom to reach in case you aren’t available and help them in setting up arrangements.
Let your patients know you care.
4. Make yourself redundant
There’s a famous story of Russian dolls that advertising giant David Ogilvy mentions in his famous book Ogilvy on Advertising.
The story is about how, only by recruiting people more talented than you, your company can grow into “a company of giants”.
Its larger message is to do away with the scarcity mindset.
You, instead of fearing that you might run out of patients, might want to explore encouraging patients to take better care of themselves. That way, your patients will fall sick less often.
It’s going to work like paying forward.
When your patients see you’re only concerned about their well-being, they will be begin seeing your true value. No marketing involved, see?
And then you become a more successful doctor.
Or something even bigger.
