The L-M-N-O-Ps of Compelling Events and Promotion

  Whether sponsoring the whole event or are providing one speaker on the agenda, using physician champions in this role can provide a huge return on investment for your marketing funds.   Most physicians have solid referral patterns established quickly after entering into practice. They cross refer physicians in their practice/building/training program or establish new relationships, primarily with those providers that deliver quality care in the same manner as their office. Physicians may refer outside of these relationships in the case of payor issues or expertise. Compelling events allow your Physician Champions to reinforce existing referral relationship and to establish themselves as leaders in the wound care field.   There are multitudes of reasons to use compelling events to market your practice, only one of which is a solid reason to converse with the potential referral source months and weeks leading up to the event. All forms of contacting should be used - Direct mail, Email (with permission), personal contact, etc. Written communication also provides an opportunity for your Physician Champion to issue a ‘personal’ invitation to the event.

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  Leave behind and distribute collateral materials before, during and after the event. If your presenter is one of many on the agenda, it is critical that those materials are pertinent and branded. Why would anyone produce any material that could direct a patient to the wound center and omit the information needed to secure that referral? Phone numbers, email or websites are the minimal to be printed on the material, though a mailing address is also helpful. Any material you distribute is pointless when it only includes the name of your clinic or practice. Make it easy for your potential patients and referral sources to contact you.   Medical conditions treated – In the words of industry veteran Ken Rideout – “One hundred percent of wound care patients need wound care while only 12—18% of wound care patients need other modalities.” If physicians focus on modalities while educating other providers, chances are providers will remember only the ‘bells and whistles’. Many people will focus on technology not readily available in their office leaving you to discuss a not so important aspect of the practice.   What information is your champion using during the presentation? Do they spend a lot of time and real estate on modalities or devote the time to examples of cases the audience is likely to see in their daily practice?   Educational content should focus on how the service can help those to whom you are presenting. If presenting to an OBGYN practice, the message would focus on dehisced C-section incisions. If presenting to an internal medicine group, the message may focus on venous stasis ulcers, diabetic wounds of the lower extremity or chronic non-healing ulcers. A presentation to Radiation Oncologists would probably focus on radiation cystitis or proctititis. Tailoring the message to the audience could ensure their attentiveness and participation and the ability to maximize results.   Some wound clinicians have created practice niches. Much like dentistry has created niches for cosmetic or alignment practices, how does the wound clinician sub-specialize in anything? Ensure your marketing does or does not define that niche.   News Flash – You must ask for the business! - Reviews of current selling curriculum agree that most sales/marketing efforts fail because the representatives forget the most important question – Ask for the Business. Never leave an encounter with a potential referral source without asking for referral. The Second biggest failure in sales is the follow-up. Statistics show that most sales take about 6-8 visits to finalize. Of course with an established referral network the interactions would presumably be fewer, the old adage “out of sight – out of mind” is definitely true in Wound Care. Most providers don’t have Wound Care only practices and until the referral process is second nature, it is easy for these referrals to be given to the “top of mind” source– translated to – last person who talked to me about this subject.   Follow-ups should also be done to all of the Provider’s support staff. Many practioners do not handle the actual referral themselves; rather their referral nurse or coordinator handles those details. It is critical that those actually arranging the patient referral be informed of how to accomplish this task.   Obsess on the Details – Contrary to Richard Carlson’s book, in the marketing world, you must sweat the details. A miniscule detail could prohibit the ultimate marketing reward – patient referrals. Ask questions such as: Is the room set-up conducive for every attendee? Where are the light controls and who will dim them if needed? Will you provide refreshments? Who is in charge of the registration table? Do you have to use the facilities’ audiovisual equipment or can you provide your own? Who will process the CME/CEU certificates? Does the person answering the RSVP line have all the details of the event? These seem like silly questions, but keep in mind that more than one event has been torpedoed for lack of attention to such details.   Perform the Analysis – Analysis of the event should be a part of the marketing cycle – in order to measure the return on investment. The physician champion can invest the same amount of hours into other activities especially if they feel their time marketing is not productive they may choose to do so. In marketing, perception has always been reality. Document what is happening to review real data – not perceived information – with the champions. The physician champion needs to know where current referrals are being generated and what efforts are more successful. Analyze the data on past and current referral sources so that you can set goals for future efforts.   Most physicians cannot dedicate 25-50% of their time marketing for the WC. Make his/her time count by reaching many referral sources in one place – a compelling event. For your free copy of an event-planning checklist, send an email with “event planning checklist” in the subject line to Darlene@insprispectives.com. M. Darlene Carey is Managing Partner of Inspirspectives, a consulting firm providing companies with growth to the bottom line through employee development. A twenty –five year healthcare veteran, Darlene has served in Administrator, Marketing, Strategic Planning, Recruiting and VP Operations Roles in acute care, behavioral, burn and wound care settings; she has served as an adjunct professor in Marketing at Delta State University.