How do most Podiatry Clinics do their marketing. 

They think marketing is just advertising. So they put up a website with little no talk about what it should be and what it should be like. Most of them tend to look at other sites in the locality and copy them.

They might ask the graphic designer who in reality has no clue about the psychology of decision making online. Most graphic designers like to have a pretty website and suggest this to the clinic owner, who puts lots of nice pictures on their website thinking that this is what will attract the patient. 

They might open a Facebook page and believe they're getting lots of likes will be the answer to all of their worries. They do the odd blog, which is written in very technical medical jargon language, because is what we learn when we come out of college. 

They buy whatever advertising they are offered. And they might be doing a bit of SEO, whatever that means. Usually they're not too sure. 

The truth is that most podiatry clinic owners have no clue what they are doing when it comes to marketing that they know works. 

They have no real idea of what their marketing is making for them. If it's making anything at all. They have no plan and have no idea that they should be developing a marketing plan. 

These are the kind of clinic owners who say, marketing hasn't worked for me. I tried Google ads and it doesn't work or worst of all, my marketing consists of word of mouth. 

These clinic owners don't know what to do so dismiss the whole concept. 

Various research suggests that between 3% and 7% of people are ready to buy now when they are looking for a product or service. These are the type of people that are calling your clinic on the phone and asking you for an appointment. 

The mistake that most podiatry clinic owners are making is that they are all chasing these people. 

They're spending all of their marketing budget and effort on this small percentage of the population who are ready to make a decision on who they would have helped them with their foot pain. 

They are totally ignoring the other 93 to 97% of people who have a need or will have a need in the future of your services with regards to foot pain. 

Their marketing is consisting of Book Now or Call Now for an appointment. They fail to realise that most people are simply not ready to book now. These people are too sceptical and worried about making a decision. 

It is inbuilt into humans that making decision comes with risks. So the simplest thing to do to avoid this risk is to make no decision or put off booking an appointment.

The key to overcoming scepticism for patients like these and building a relationship with them so that they know, like and trust you & your clinic.  At some point, they're going to have to make a decision and it might as well be with your clinic they choose when they're ready. 

The secret to getting sceptical potential patients to know, like and trust you and choose your podiatry clinic over your competitors is to combine Information Marketing and Direct Response Marketing. 

Information marketing is marketing whereby you provide information to the potential patient up front at little or no cost to them so that you can begin to start a relationship.

Direct response marketing is marketing, where your marketing results in the potential patient being responded to by the clinic as a result of their response to your marketing. 

This marketing can be partially or fully automated and is something I have done in my clinic and help my coaching clients to set up in their clinics. 

It's my strong belief that it's time the podiatry profession began to reevaluate how we interact with the public who need our help and how we present ourselves to them. If we don't make this change, the Podiatry profession will continue to suffer a dramatic dropout rate. 

Owners of private podiatry clinics  will continue to struggle with high levels of stress and we will continue to see other professions move into our are of expertise and deliver poor care when it comes to foot problems. 

Do you have marketing plan or are you freewheeling it? 

As part of my coaching programme I help my Podiatry Clinic owner clients develop a marketing plan just like mine. One that automated, predictable and measurable meaning we know how much profit each marketing will provide. 

Once completed this can be turned up and down giving them more or less leads as required. 

If you are interested in having a marketing plan like this then fill in the discovery call form.  

Talk soon

Lorcan O Donaile. Podiatry Business Mentor