April 2008

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5 ways to market your laser advantage

Consumers have more healthcare choices than ever before. That makes practice differentiation as important as practice specialization.

Successful practices stand out from their competition by providing new and innovative services. How do you set yourself apart from the pack? One way is to offer high-tech solutions, such as lasers, to your treatment options.

Lasers are a “hot item” and will remain so for the next few years. They can help brand your practice as cutting-edge and state-of-the-art, and improve your fee structures.

Here are five keys to marketing your laser technology.

1. Conduct a free laser day. Introduce laser therapy with a “free laser day.” Offer free laser treatments to existing patients and their friends and family members only. (The exclusivity of the offer makes it special to patients.)

Create special flyers to announce the event and give or mail one to all of your active and inactive patients. Play up the event as you would a grand-opening celebration. In all likelihood, you will get five to 10 new laser-therapy clients out of this promotion.

2. Schedule open-clinic nights. Open-clinic nights are similar to in-house healthcare classes many doctors use to educate potential patients about chiropractic.

If you already offer this type of class (good for you), replace one or two of your classes per month with an open-clinic night devoted to laser therapy. Do not mention chiropractic; once a person becomes a patient you will have ample opportunity to talk about chiropractic.

Instead, give a small presentation, provide refreshments, and offer one free laser-therapy session. Participants generally experience an improvement from just one session — the “wow” factor of laser therapy. No print advertisement is as powerful as the first-hand “wow”’ experience of laser therapy.

3. Send unique marketing messages. Lasers give you a competitive advantage by creating a unique selling proposition (USP).

Every successful company has a USP that makes the company stand out from all others. Another way to think about your USP is to think of it as your unique marketing message (UMM), because that is what the message is really about — marketing your services to get patients through the front door.

A UMM for laser therapy should clearly state who you are, the problems you solve, the solutions you provide, the benefits you offer, the results you produce, and the guarantee you give. It should tell what is unique and special about your particular service.

Positioning is the foundation on which you build your practice. The UMM explains your business

Imagine being the only pain-relief laser center in your area. Now that’s unique.

4. Pick a niche. The first rule of marketing success is not to market your service to everyone. Pick a niche.

According to Webster’s Dictionary a niche is “a position or activity that particularly suits somebody’s talents and personality or that somebody can make his or her own.” This is a major key to marketing success.

When you focus your services, you become more desirable. People want to buy things (services) that solve their unique problems. If you are good at providing services for a specific niche, your name will travel fast.

Niche marketing is easier and less expensive because you have a defined market to prospect. Instead of spending money on mass marketing, you can spend it on getting your message to just the right people who want to hear your message.

Some niche markets include specializing in shoulder injuries, knee pain, sports injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, and pediatrics. Pick one and master it — it’s that simple.

5. Do public speaking. Public speaking is the secret weapon to building a professional business. It allows you to achieve your purpose and help as many people as possible.

Fancy Yellow Page ads cannot compare to developing a close personal connection with potential clients at a lecture or workshop. That connection builds trust, and trust builds your practice.

Your public speaking engagements should have two goals:

• Attract new patients, and

• Sell laser therapy.

As you accomplish these two goals, you work toward building a successful practice. Booking speaking events about laser therapy is not difficult because lasers are a new and exciting technology patients want to learn more about.

Don’t let fear of public speaking scare you out of building your practice and marketing your technology. The quickest way to overcome any fear is by taking action.

Doctors who have issues with marketing, selling, and promotion usually go broke. How can you create a large income in your business if you aren’t willing to let people know you, your product, or your service? These five keys guarantee your laser-marketing success. The only thing you have to do is get into action.

Perry Nickelston, DC, is the clinical director of The Pain Laser Center in Ramsey, N.J., and vice president of practice development for K-Laser USA. He can be reached at 866-595-7749, ext. 102, by
e-mail at drperry@optonline.net, or through the Web site, www.k-laserusa.com.

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