RE: Re: Marketing

[Guest guest]

Here are some marketing ideas I've scribbled down over time.

Might be of interest to some.

Can't vouch for which are good or bad.

Maybe some on the list could comment.

I will say that our church has been a huge feeder for our office.

I don't attend much, but my wife goes a lot and we see a LOT of the congregation.

I haven't joined, but I would think that being a member of the local Lions Club, Elks Club, Masons, Optimists Club, et al.

You get the idea.

By joining these large groups, you are "one of them", so they may be more likely to use you. Also, if you see a few of these people, they are more likely to tell others in the club since there are monthly meetings, etc.

Locke

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Advertising Marketing Promotion

1. Ads in paper, local magazines

2. Commercials on TV, Radio, Websites

3. Knocking on doors in subdivisions -- We have lots of new subdivisions going up. I've often wondered if people would be put off by a doctor knocking on the door of a new house with a new homeowner and giving out a brochure, card, and introducing self.

4. Commercials before the movies at the movie theater

5. Business Cards put out at...Airport, Chamber of Commerce, other businesses (ie local Yoga place), et al

6. Yellow Pages Ad -- 1 liner vs quarter page ad with graphics

7. Scope of Care brochure -- http://www.aafp.org/fpm/981000fm/marketing.html

8. Give business cards away to people you meet

9. Give medical talks -- nursing home, schools, local Elks club, etc

10. Write a column in the Newspaper

11. Have a booth at the local Town Fair

12. Offer services to local fund raiser silent auction (ie offer Physical Exam that people bid upon at the auction)

13. Sign in the front of your business (this is an issue for us. We are in a 2 story large brown medical office building right next to a highway, but without a sign designating what we are...When we meet in public they ask "Where is your office?" "Oh, that building. I didn't know it was a medical office?"

14. Brochure...to give out in the office or at other times. Explains what you do and who you are.

15. Promote self/clinic at PTA meetings, playdates, give cards out at playgrounds to parents

16. Promote self to specialists in the community (ie meet & greet the local cardiologist and offer to take over Family Medicine care for new patients the Cardiologist sees who need a primary care doc)

17. Website for Practice

18. New patient letter...send a letter to patients that are new to your practice. Letter welcomes them and describes your practice, etc

19. Birthday Card...send a B-day card to each of your patients.

20. Condolences Card...send card to family when patient dies or other event happens

21. Welcome Wagon -- have the local welcome wagon give out your card and brochure to each new homeowner

22. Direct mailings -- spam out a letter/card to everyone in a zip code

23. Others?

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The "happy birthday" letter. The incredible value of small acts of kindness toward our patients was driven home to me several years ago when I found out that the most sought-after physician in our practice was one of the residents (Takaji Kittaka, MD). I knew he was a nice guy and a good doctor, but why the line of patients? It turned out that he went the extra mile for his patients. For example, on his own he started sending birthday cards to each of his patients. He also saved the toys from his kid's "Happy Meals"

and gave them to his pediatric patients. We stole the ideas for our own patients immediately.

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A few other ideas:

1) Go to your local Emergency Department and introduce yourself to the doctors there, telling them you are taking new patients. Hit different shifts, and visit periodically. Take your business cards. They see many unaffiliated patients.

2) Make the rounds of pharmacies and introduce yourself to pharmacists. When they encounter patients that are complaining about their current doctors, they may think of you.

3) Be sure your patients know you are taking new patients. Have a sign on the wall in each exam room " we would be honored if you would refer your family and friends here - (and list the range of services you provide, as a reminder).

Joan E. Wurmbrand MD

Group Practice, Suburban - 2 FPs, 1 IM , 1 PA & 1 NP (in a physician-owned PCP organization of 125 docs)

In practice since 1982

Former VP Medical Affairs, local community hospital

Columbus, Ohio

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No matter how long you have been in practice, assume your patient know nothing of the services you offer. Repeat this, in whatever formatt you choose, over and over. After 15 1/2 years in the same location, I have patients regularly tell me that they did not know we have radiology services, full service lab, or see kids. We use yellow pages (we are in a tourist area), newspaper, and best of all, word of mouth through our staff. I have considered, but not started, a bonus system for employees who refer us new patients.

Phil Yount, MD

FM in rural NC for 15 yrs.

Soapware x1.5 yrs

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The best bang for the advertising buck I’ve gotten (small town, rural practice) has been "point of purchase" placards I made. The technique: Make or have an artist friend make for you, an 8 ½ x 11" poster advertising your practice. Humor seems to help. Have the posters laminated at Staples, or similar – it should resemble a plastic placemat at this point. Make a template out of stiff cardboard that can be folded into a small box to hold business cards. Make the boxes and stick one to each laminated poster with double-stick tape. Go to local businesses, post office, library, etc and, with permission (hopefully), hang them up. Check periodically to refill the cards.

Total cost for the dozen I made was less than $25, plus the cards. More people have entered my practice due to these posters, than any other method I’ve tried.

Second best was making slides of the poster, which are shown in a slide show before/between the feature(s) at our local theater. Shown several times daily. Cost: $150/3 months.

Newspaper advertising, in my experience, has been a nearly total waste of money.

Arp-Sandel, MD

29 Avenue

Chatham, NY 12037

office:

fax:

jarpsandelmd@...

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