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The word marketing is still taboo for many doctors, and many
physicians confuse marketing with advertising. We need to
remember that the role physicians play is unique, and that
marketing techniques adopted by other industries are not appropriate
for doctors. What you need to concentrate on is “practice
building”– which is a perfectly ethical activity
of promoting your practice that successful doctors have been
using for many years. Traditionally, the only acceptable marketing
allowed was “word of mouth”, but today doctors
can use additional avenues to promote themselves ethically.
The purpose of practise building is to let potential patients
and referral sources know who you are, what you do, and when
and where you do it.
Why should doctors worry about promoting their practice? After
all, if you are good then won’t the patients automatically
come to you ? If you are the only provider of your particular
expertise in the region, then you may not need to worry too
much about marketing. But today, doctors compete for patients
and if you want to see your practice grow and flourish, you
need to market yourself.
Satisfied patients are the best word-of-mouth marketing tool
a physician can have because they tell others about the positive
experiences they have had with you. In fact, the major premise
of this book is that if you can make your practice patient-centric
and focus on keeping your patients happy, you will become
a successful physician. You should make every effort to exceed
your patients’ expectations regarding their health care.
For example, if you phone patients at home after surgery and
check on their conditions, you can create a “wow”
experience for the patient. Patients who receive a personal
phone call from their physician will almost certainly tell
dozens of other people about it, generating word-of-mouth
referrals. This strategy is easy, costs nothing, and is extremely
effective.
Should you attempt to market directly to the public
? If you want your practice to grow, the simple
answer is - Yes ! The real question is not “should
we do it?,” but “how do we market to
patients?” Since doctors in India cannot advertise
, you need to select your marketing tools carefully.
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There are many avenues open to you. For example, volunteering
at the community level can bring positive attention. As an
advisor or board member for a public service agency, your
name can become recognized as a resource for health -related
information. Thus, the local media are more likely to seek
a quote or an interview from an Indian Cancer Society board
member than from a less prominent oncologist in town. The
best way to market is to give something away every day –
and giving away your time, services and expertise for free
can be very effective !
One of the best and least expensive way to market your practice
is to attract media attention. This can allow you to attract
free public relations that would normally cost thousands of
dollars if you had to pay for it and, more importantly, can
attract even hundreds of new patients to your practice. Remember
that the media are always looking for news – which means
that if you want them to cover you, what you do should be
new ! For example, if your clinic has bought the first laser
for tattoo removal in the city; or you have devised and successfully
performed a new operation, you have a story that will be of
interest to the readers of newspapers.
You need to understand what the media wants when trying to
pitch your story to them – remember that thousands of
stories are competing for the limited space in a newspaper.
Try to look at things from the reporter’s point of view
if you want to succeed in getting coverage. You need to be
aware of their job and their needs ( for example, what the
difference between a news story and a feature story is; and
what their deadline is). They are professionals too, and if
you help them to do their job well , they are much more likely
to turn to you when they need information for a health story.
Many doctors now also employ PR (Public Relations ) firms
to ensure that their name appears in the media as often as
possible.
Creating an event can help to create a buzz if you do it properly
. Rather than just sending a press release like everyone else,
if you have a new state-of-the-art piece of medical equipment,
invite the media for a free demonstration. Make it exciting
by inviting local celebrities . Whenever possible, have a
patient who has used or experienced the equipment or technology
– this makes it more newsworthy.
Contribute articles on health to magazines and newspapers.
The public is usually thirsty for well-written information.
If you can arrange to write a health column for the newspaper,
do so ! A regularly contributing author to the local newspaper
can become a household name.
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Offer to give lectures to the public on your areas of expertise
. Forums like Rotary clubs and Lions can be very useful. Print
patient educational brochures on the common medical problems
you see in your practise. Encourage your patients to take
these home – this will help to increase awareness in
the community about the services you offer . You can also
publish a newsletter and distribute this free to your patients.
This will help to keep them aware of what’s new in medicine
– and about the new services you offer. In today’s
wired world, your website can also be a very effective avenue
of marketing your practice.
If you are attached to a hospital , use the hospital as a
marketing partner. Since both doctors and hospitals want to
attract patients, you should develop the kind of relationships
that will allow you to share in the benefits of hospital marketing
activities. Hospital marketing departments recognize that
the best “product” available for them to promote
is their physicians. You should want to be the one they call
when they need an expert to be interviewed on the local news.
Being interviewed as an expert in your field is one of the
lowest cost marketing avenues open to a practice. Learn what
your hospital wants and likes in a physician. Volunteer to
do screenings and public lectures. Keep the hospital marketing
director informed when you do something noteworthy so they
can promote your actions through their public relations efforts.
Hospital marketing and public relations departments struggle
to find material to promote to the press and to include in
their own advertising. By keeping them supplied with this
material which highlights your expertise, you will become
their “go-to” person, and their promotions will
benefit you.
Finally, if you are a consultant, remember that
marketing to your referral base – the doctors
who refer to you - is extremely important . Even
with today’s educated and choosy consumers,
tertiary care is still largely driven by referral.
You must work to retain your referring relationships
and to develop new ones. The most important aspect
after ensuring that referred patients are returned
to their original doctor’s care is promptly
reporting the consultation results to the referring
physician. Referring physicians appreciate hearing
promptly from consultants and many are likely to
discontinue sending patients to you if they do not
hear back about their consults from you . Remember
that referring is often a question of building relationships
and once you receive the referrals, you need to
ensure that the relationship continues. Share your
accomplishments with your referring physicians.
For example, send a copy of an article in a professional
journal with a personal note relating it to a referred
patient, if possible.
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It is helpful to keep in touch with referring physicians in
a positive fashion, for example by sending a congratulations
note on something that the physician did or even something
the physician’s children accomplished. This creates
positive name recognition and will encourage the referring
physician to continue the referral relationship. Remember
to be friends with your referring doctor’s office staff
as well ! It’s a good idea to give them a guided tour
of your clinic, so they are familiar with your practice .
If you know their names , this can help you considerably –
so cultivate them with care.
Marketing is a continuous process, and a true marketing initiative
involves educating patients, public and referring doctors
as to why you are their best choice !
Branding Yourself
When we think of brands, we usually think of consumer goods,
such as Coke , Pepsi and Nike. Manufacturers of fast moving
consumer goods have learnt that letting customers know who
you are is critical to expanding their position in the market
place. While branding strategies have long been used in large
industries, they are being increasingly employed by today's
medical practices. The large internationally renowned US medical
centers, such as Mayo, Johns Hopkins and the Cleveland Clinic
have done an excellent job in selling their “brand”,
which is why rich Indians spend lakhs to fly down to these
centers for their treatment. In India, corporate hospitals
such as Apollo Hospital have started following in their footsteps.
However, you don't have to be a large center to create a brand
identity that sustains your practice over time. You too can
develop a singular identity through branding and create an
edge over the competition.
Branding is the big picture view that a doctor presents. It's
who you are - and how you look to the community, your professional
colleagues, employees, patients and future patients. Branding
is about your image, and developing and delivering a perception
that you create. Traditionally, a doctor’s reputation
has always been his “brand “.As a doctor , your
brand is you, and branding is a marketing strategy that works
well if you follow these basic principles.
Focus on what you excel. The first step to creating a brand
is to identify who you are and what you do best. Analyze the
scope of services and explore your options. What is it that
your practice does best and who do you want to attract? For
example, in our clinic, we would like to focus on infertile
couples who need advanced reproductive techniques such as
IVF and ICSI. Not only are these much more challenging patients,
treating them gives us more satisfaction, as we can use the
cutting edge of medical technology to treat complex problems
– a task few other infertility clinics can handle.
Understand the existing markets. When you have clearly identified
the service and image you want to focus on, it is time to
get a better understanding of the market. If you are a primary
care physician and care for a large number of patients with
addictive disorders, this may be your brand venue, whereas
another primary care practice may focus on obese patients
and nutrition and diet.
Be consistent. Creating a branding strategy and maintaining
brand identify require an enormous long-term commitment. This
is not a one-shot deal. Once you imprint your brand on the
public you must support it consistently. It needs to become
the overriding philosophy of your practice. Remember that
it takes considerable time to penetrate the market and create
brand recognition – and once this is accomplished, it
must be continually reinforced.
Though branding has been used for large health systems
and corporate America, it is a new concept for private
practice physicians. It is a powerful tool that
will soon become commonplace in the future. A number
of enterprising individuals in India have successfully
branded themselves ( names such as Amitabh Bachchan,
Shiamak Davar, Anjali Mukherjee readily come to
mind) and doctors such as Dr R K Anand are now following
suit.
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A strong brand identity that is built and protected over time
can create a long-term, consistent image of quality and value.
Inevitably, you will attract more patients, based on how you
have influenced them with your branding strategies. Those
doctors who take branding action now will be tomorrow's leaders.
What about using advertising to attract more patients ? It’s
well known that the most effective form of advertising is
word of mouth. How we care for our patients and how they perceive
our care is what brings us more patients. The next best form
of advertising is to our colleagues, by communicating our
experience and expertise via scientific presentations and/or
publications. In the past, this much was enough. The Code
of Ethics of the Medical Council of India still does not allow
doctors to advertise , and most senior doctors in India look
upon advertising with suspicion. After all, doctors are professionals
– why should they behave like shopkeepers in order to
attract customers ?
However, times have changed, and we need to change with them.
Gone are the days when patients had a family doctor whom they
could blindly trust, and who would provide medical care for
them from cradle to grave. Today’s reality is that medical
care is often provided on a fragmented , piecemeal basis by
numerous specialists, and the patient needs to learn to get
the best medical care for himself. This is why it is so important
that he has access to information on available doctors, so
that he can select the best one for himself .
Most doctors feel that advertising is unethical , but we need
to look at the reality more carefully. How are young doctors
who have just started practise going to get patients ? How
will patients know of their skills and their expertise ? Many
young professionals, who have spent long years to qualify
and taken loans to start practise, simply cannot afford to
sit back and starve till patients arrive on their doorstep.
This is why new doctors feel they have to resort to unethical
practices like cuts and kick-backs today – many of which
have been institutionalized by their seniors. It is more honest
to allow them to attract patients by allowing them to advertise
– at least this is open and transparent.
Preventing advertising favours senior doctors –
those who have an established reputation, with many
hospital attachments, and lots of patients. They
will do their best to maintain the status quo by
prohibiting advertising – not to protect patients
as they claim, but to prevent new doctors from competing
with them, thus safeguarding their own interests.
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Since senior doctors form the “ medical establishment”
, which sets the rules for all doctors , the Medical Council
of India code on ethics still prohibits advertising by doctors.
However, this code was developed many years ago, and needs
to be updated so that it is responsive to the needs of today’s
patients and doctors. It is worth remembering that doctors
were not allowed to advertise by the powerful American Medical
Association ( AMA) in the US as well, many years ago. The
reason this changed is that some courageous doctors took the
AMA to court, and the Supreme Court ruled in their favour,
declaring that not allowing doctors to advertise was unfair
on them – and also unfair to patients , who need access
to information on doctors, so they can select the best for
themselves . Today, the AMA has promulgated guidelines for
ethical advertising by physicians, and these guidelines permit
physician advertising , provided it is not false, deceptive
or fraudulent. Maybe we could learn from them !
To keep readers abreast of new medical guidelines
worldwide, this is what the Council of the College
of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta says about
physician advertising in its Code of Ethics. “
The Council…believes that clear and accurate
information about physician services benefits all
parties in the health care system. “Advertising
falls within the definition of "freedom of
expression", and any constraints to this freedom
should be minimal and reasonable. “ They clearly
specify what is acceptable , and state that “Advertising
is just one of the professional activities subject
to the Code of Ethics”.
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It is true that advertising has a downside . For one, advertising
may cause doctors to start treating their patients as clients
or customers , rather than as patients – and this is
a shame. For another, some ads will be dishonest, but at least
they will be in black and white, where they can be refuted
and debated – and a doctor making false claims can be
taken to task. This is far better than making tall claims
privately within the four walls of a clinic and taking the
patient for a ride.
What about the risk that patients would be lured to the doctors
with the fanciest ads, rather than the “best doctors”
? To answer this, think about how patients select doctors
in India today . Usually they do so either by reputation or
referral , and neither of these are reliable criteria ! Allowing
reputed and reliable doctors to advertise will help to enlighten
and educate patients – and a good example of such educational
advertisements are the ads placed by the Cleveland Clinic,
USA in the Times of India. However, advertising can be very
expensive – and may not be cost-effective at all. You
need to experiment with different options, and track how effective
they are, so that you know what works best for your practice.
We live in a fast changing global village, and we
can no longer afford to cut ourselves off from the
rest of the world ! Since India has an abundance
of qualified and skilled doctors who can provide
state of the art medical care at a fraction of the
cost which doctors in the West charge, there is
tremendous scope to export our medical services.
If we learn to advertise Indian medical services
worldwide effectively, we will be able attract patients
from all over the world , and medical services can
become a big foreign exchange earner for India.
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