There's Two Types of Practice Owners...

If you are acquiring new patients online, there are a few reasons why it might be in your best interest if they DON'T book right away as soon as they find you. - I know this sounds really counterintuitive. Did I really say that?

I mean, that's the whole point of online marketing right? To book more appointments.

There are two ways to think about your online marketing efforts. There's the long-game and then there's the short game. If you only play the short game, in the long-run it's going to be game over.

So...If you are generating appointments for new hearing aid patients, here are a few reasons you why it might be better if they DON'T book right away.

YOU DON'T HAVE BUY-IN:

Have you ever had those patients who came in but didn't move forward because they had to "think about it", or they "wanted to do more research"? We all have. They don't understand your process nor do they see you as the authority. There's no way someone is going to have this level of understanding after seeing one Facebook ad asking them to book a "complimentary consultation", or something else to that effect.

This happens when they consistently are fed and nurtured with different types of content on a daily basis. Video, text, and email. It's about creating strategic series of content, and piecing together the vision of what it will be like to work with you in your practice.

SCARCITY MINDSET:

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the patients that say YES the fastest to treatment are also the fastest to return, or have the most unrealistic expectations for what their care will look like with you and your team? Often times people who say YES right off the bat are in such a bad place of stress (some significant emotional event tied to their hearing loss has just happened), that they will do anything in the moment to fix it.

Problem is that they aren't on solid ground, and they haven't really thought through how your process is going to work, and made the commitment to be invested in the process as an active participant. They are looking for the magic pill. And when their expectations don't meet reality, you are looking down the barrel of a return after pouring all your energy into trying to support them fully through their challenges.

ROCKING HIGH CLOSE RATES:

What is yours right now? The big box providers have the luxury of having close rates that are lower, because they have big teams of providers and technicians. In our practice, we have ONE provider. What that means for us is that we need the individuals coming through our doors to become OUR patients. We don't have the luxury of average close rates.

We need to be GREAT.

When you have a strategic nurture system in place, these individuals coming to your practice are so indoctrinated after 30 to 60 days of receiving high value content from you, that they are ready to move forward with YOU, they don't care about your competitors, and they are are going to be saying things like "I can't imagine working with anyone else". In short - these become your best patients.

HIGH-SUCCESS RATE:

If some one is bought in to your process intellectually and emotionally, and are resonating strongly with your brand well before they come for their first appointment, this only increases their likelihood of success with treatment. They tend to already be committed to the process and will do the work needed on their end to actively participate in their own success. Guess what? This leads to better testimonials, and then we just rinse and repeat.

LESS "SALESY" TACTICS:

When you are leading with "Value First", you don't have to go the route of being overly salesy, or doing price discounts, scarcity, etc. These may still be part of your overall plan when strategically placed with integrity, but they don't have to be the only way you get new patients.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR ONE SHOT:

If someone schedules with you for a consultation and decides not to move forward, they generally won't come back in the future if they didn't view it as a fit. Some of you might say "but we have pretty effective TNT campaigns", but in reality, if I had to guess more people are NOT coming back vs the few that you are able to get to come back around.

Meaning, you typically only get ONE chance to impress. And sometimes that happens simply by being too early when you see them. Timing is a critical component of sales and marketing. If you haven't yet established authority and influence, you might be missing out on the potential to drive amazing results for these patients who have now moved on down another path.

So...WHERE does this leave us? What needs to be different?

You need three things happening with your marketing to position yourself for success:

It starts with being RELEVANT: What you are offering and how it is being positioned needs to feel like a great fit for your prospective patient.

You need to be able to create a SUCCESS PATH. You need to be able to show someone where they currently are, and paint a great picture of how working with your practice will lead them to the best possible outcome. And you need to do this at the right time, with the correct frequency, and in the right places both online and offline. If you get this right, price will not be an objection.

You need to create a CONNECTION. Your patients need to be able to feel on an emotional level that you care about their success, and are hearing their needs on an individual level.

If you can do these three things, you'll start to experience an amazing transformation in your hearing practice.

Patients you love working with, getting paid what your services are truly worth (the need for third party becomes obsolete), and creating real connections on a human level.

Being able to serve in your highest potential.

So as you are thinking about your next marketing campaign, or starting to get more serious about your digital strategy, don't think ONLY about how many calls or appointments you are booking on the front end.

Also consider the long-game, and if you have these critical pieces of the puzzle in place to be in the best position to serve.

Because ultimately that is what will lead to better financial success.

With Gratitude,

Philip R. Powis

P.S. - If you would like to get actionable tips on how to integrate these strategies in your practice, message me here on LinkedIn. Would love to chat!