Q: How do I market my practice?
Naturopathic Economics A: Marketing for any business is a relationship oriented process. For the naturopath this is more so than any other business I can think of due to the passion of the profession and the close personal relationship naturopaths have with their patients. I won't go into advertising in this blog as that is different from marketing and can be dealt with later. I will be suggesting simple, low or no cost ways to jump start your practice. So let's start at the beginning with marketing for the new practice. I will continue the piece on marketing for the existing practice on the next blog.
The most important thing to remember when beginning your marketing is to be true to yourself . What does this mean? Be honest with yourself, who you aspire to be, how you intend to get there, and understand what it takes to be a success. If you put the following marketing principles to work for you, you will become a successful practicing naturopath.
1. Target Your Patient Base - Be specific about who you want to see in your practice. Is there a modality that you are drawn to as a primary source of patient care, homeopathy, acupuncture, physical medicine, etc.? Is there an illness or disease process you want to focus upon, women's health, men's health, diabetes, etc.? Is there an age range you want to treat 25 year old to 45, or 65? Answering some of these basic questions will set you on your course. One last note on this topic, if you try to target everybody, your not effectively targeting anybody.
2. Set Practice Growth Goals - Oh no, you're saying not goals and objectives. I heard all of that in college, I just want to practice medicine. But, let's think about this for a minute. How do you grow your practice in a controlled sustainable growth model and not be subject to one good month followed by a month of how do I pay the bills. The best way to determine exactly what your new patient growth goals will be each month and work diligently to achieve those goals. Will it be 5 or 10 new patients each month? Be realistic, but remember just 5 new patients each month is equivalent to far more than 60 new patients when you consider the average patient my visit your office 3 to five times in the year.
3. Message Your Benefits - Not What You Do - How many times have you told someone you are a naturopathic doctor and they respond, "Oh what's that?" Even if you focus on homeopathy let's say, and tell someone you're a homeopath, for a lot of people you would have more recognition telling them you're Buddhist. Instead tell contacts and potential patients how you help them, now what you do. For example: I am naturopathic doctor focused on the treatment of women's health, or arthritis, or diabetes. You get the idea. Talk about your benefit to them in terms of a medical topic they know, understand, and may be experiencing or know someone they know who is plagued by a health issue that is your area of concentration.
4. Begin Networking - Today all the buzz is about social media marketing (I will discuss this in detail in a future blog), but the fastest way to grow a practice is the very basic form of social marketing - networking. It has a huge advantage to building your practice since you are meeting your potential patients one on one and have the opportunity to express who you are and how you help people with medical problems in a more personal way. Some basic ways to get started are to: visit your local Chamber of Commerce, go to a mixer or business networking meeting; visit your local Rotary Club . The Phoenix Rotary 100 just started a morning networking breakfast for example. Check in with your local Kiwanis Club, as well as relationships like your church affiliation. Last but not least, consider volunteering your services. This unique opportunity gets you into the community where often other business owners and potential patients are working side by side where you can tell them your story. And let's don't forget that helping others is what your profession is about. Volunteering is a rewarding experience in multiple ways.
5. Get Referrals - Referrals are a fantastic way to generate new patients. Don't be passive about seeking referrals. Proactively seek referrals from existing patients, acquaintances, family and friends. Never forget the personal nature of what you do and always graciously thank anybody who refers a new patient to your practice.
That's it for this post. Next post 5 Ways to Market and Grow Your Practice
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