If they’re on autopilot, here’s how you can fix it.
I had dinner with a friend the other night, and the topic as usual turned to the business of running a clinic. We were discussing how to maintain a successful practice without…for lack of a better word…babysitting.
The BIG question is: How can you keep your business profitable, maintain healthy growth, and not be in the clinic all the time…if ever?
Recently, I was helping a client figure out why his web site was not getting many opt-ins, despite lots of traffic. Being as research and fact oriented as I am (I now know this because I just took the Kolbe Personality Test; I highly recommend it for you and your staff – more on that next month), I started to dig into the research. I had always heard that it takes seven seconds to make a first impression, but I soon found out that only applies to in-person encounters. The stats on websites are much different.
The results were mind-boggling. Seven seconds is an eternity compared to the amount of time it takes to make an impression in the super high-speed world of the Internet. It takes shockingly less time than seven seconds…try 50 milliseconds! That’s 1/20 of a second for us non-math people.
There is no better way to get your message heard in a sea of noise than to use your potential patient’s own internal dialogue in your marketing. What do they think? How do they feel? What do they want?
By having a thorough understanding of the above when it comes to your ideal client, you’ll be able to capture their attention like nobody’s business. If you get this right, they will want to hear more about what you have to offer… If you get it wrong, they’ll be clicking you goodbye.
Spiders. Death. Public Speaking. These are the top three fears of Americans in reverse order.
In January I attended the Mindshare Summit event in Tampa… and I’m happy to say that the 30-minute speech I gave in front of 140 people didn’t kill me. Neither did those ginormous Florida spiders. And I am certainly still here to write this message…so all in all the year is off to a great start!
So about that speech… the topic? Building Your Online Platform. I chose this topic because I believe this is the single most important thing you can do this year to insure your future success. Read on to see why.
I mentioned in my last eZine that I had been doing a deep dive into social media– including the many many ways we can reach our audience through their digital devices. All of these new technologies and inventions are amazing, and they allow us to do so many things that would have been completely impossible a mere 5 years ago. Heck, 8 years ago most of us had flip phones and were sending text messages at the hefty price of $1 each. But lately, I have realized that there is a Dark Side to having all of this technology at our fingertips 24/7.
Here‘s the deal: I live In Los Angeles, about 10 minutes from UCLA, and they offer some amazing digital marketing classes in the Extension program. These classes are awesome, since professionals in the industry teach them. We have heard lectures by employees of Google, YouTube, and Ad Agencies who boast Fortune 100 clients, as well as reps from media buying companies. I feel very lucky to be learning from these people.
The top takeaways from my “Advertising in the Digital Age” class this semester are:
As the weather heats up and the sun begins to set later and later in the sky, beware the Summer Doldrums. There is nothing worse… Graduation, vacation, relatives in from out of town, barbecues and ice cream socials can all cut into the time your patients spend on their health… and before you know it, your appointment book starts looking empty. Your patients have gotten off their routines, and once that happens, I don’t have to tell you…it’s hard to get them back.
A few years back I read a survey about why people stopped seeing their regular health care practitioner (this survey was focused on chiropractic patients); did he/she do something wrong? Did the staff offend them? Not at all. The patients missed a few appointments, and they just got out of the routine of going.
If there is one thing I have done a lot of over the years…it’s hiring staff.I have gotten pretty good at it, but it sure took long enough. Hiring the perfect person for the job just got a whole lot easier, thanks to the help of some new tools to help fit the puzzle pieces of personalities and skill sets together.
These tools are essential to hire the right person and help determine whether the applicant you think is amazing will turn out to be long term relationship material, or just a flash in the pan, leaving you back at square one.
Hiring staff can be a make or break decision for your practice. Your staff is an integral part of your success, both in your brick and mortar office and in your virtual business. Hiring the right staff will pay off for years to come in your sanity levels and business success. In order to get great staff, you need to write a great ad. Here’s how:
Yep, this is now at the top of my list. It was not always. I used to think that I could not afford to take a few days off due to my extreme Midwestern work ethic; however, it is essential for your well-being to build in down time and take a mini-retreat at least every quarter.
This past year, I have seen too many of my clients pay the price for not doing this. Sooner or later, your body will force you into taking down time…if you don’t’ do it yourself. Okay, call me Debbie Downer, I don’t care… but someone has to say it. It could be cancer, gallbladder disease, or even an aneurism. Those of us who have chosen to play a big game also need to give ourselves the time to let our body catch up to the lightning speed at which we are moving. We are only human after all (duh), but sometimes we forget…We tell our patients to take time off, eat right, and exercise.
Hey Captain Obvious…it’s good advice for us, too!
Most doctors agree that the best new patients come from the referrals of existing patients. And just in case you have been busy with treating your patients over the past 3 years or so and have not noticed…the Internet has completely changed the way this works.
More and more people are relying on the Internet and social media sites to research the doctors they are being referred to. This means that if you know how to cultivate your online reputation, it can be the best thing that ever happened to your marketing budget. If you do not pay attention; however, it can have a huge impact on your practice…and I do not mean in a good way.
