I’d like to talk about one specific marketing initiative that guarantees not only new patients and/or referrals, but it also adds more value to your care, your services and your office.
One of my favorite practice-building marketing initiatives is internal lectures. How many times a year do you invite your existing patients, clients, or customers to a lecture in your office or at some other facility? A lecture provides them with the opportunity to bring other people so they can learn more about what you do. If you offer a value-added service, such as an internal lecture, you provide your existing customer base, along with their friends and family, a means to learn more about what you have to offer and how it benefits them. This creates an unbelievable opportunity to stimulate and generate referrals and new business throughout the entire year.
Do you need to do them every single month? Only if you want to grow every single month! Internal lectures should be planned as part of your regular marketing program, whether they are in your office or at another facility.
Once, I had planned a lecture in my office where I could only sit 15 people in my waiting room. However, 75 signed up for the lecture. So, I rented a room in a local Hilton Hotel and the 75 people showed up! As a result, I gained 27 new patients in one night, after a two- hour event. You can do this too!
No matter what type of doctor, professional, or business owner you are, there has to be an opportunity for you to provide your existing patients, clients, or customers with information they can use to better themselves in some way. If you’ve thought of giving these lectures in the past or you’ve had them on your mind, be creative and put something together. It can be something as simple as a PowerPoint presentation. This will provide your customer base with an opportunity to bring new people to you.
Decide on a topic, sit down with your staff in front of a calendar and plan a lecture in advance for every single month. Maybe it’s the second Wednesday of every month from 7:00 -8:00 p.m.
Put it in your book, plan for it, get your fliers, your invitations, your direct mailers and your direct e-mail letters together. Make sure the initiative is put in place and facilitated by your staff, so you don’t have to worry about it. Do this! Plan for it, now! It’s a guaranteed way to get more people in your door! Have a great day!
Action Steps:
1. Invite clients/patients to an internal event (lecture).
2. Tell them to invite their family and friends.
3. Have events often, preferably monthly.
4. Sit with your staff and plan events in advance.
5. Use fliers, invitations, direct mailers, etc. to get the word out!
Yours for Massive Business Growth,