naturopathydigest.com -- Electronic Marketing for Naturopathic Physicians, Part Two

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Electronic Marketing for Naturopathic Physicians, Part Two

The Three Components of Marketing: Step 1 – The Message

By Dicken Weatherby, ND

Editor's note: Part one of this article appeared in the February 2007 issue.

I'm going to base this article on what I've learned from my marketing gurus – in particular, Dan Kennedy. Believe me, what I've learned from him works.

I use this system and get results I didn't think were possible.
According to Dan, the three main components of marketing are the message, the target market and the media. There is no particular order of importance or precedence; each needs to be addressed. Dan taught me to think of it as a three-pronged stool. Basically, the recipe for success is easy: Deliver the right message to the right market in the right media. All you have to do is figure out what fits for you in each of the three categories.
Defining Your Message
You must figure out what you can specifically promise and then deliver on. Most practitioners don't realize this and launch into expensive general marketing campaigns that waste a lot of money and time, and end up being frustratingly ineffective. I did this for a couple of years and didn't realize how much I was working against myself. It was a big "a-ha" moment to find out what I was doing wrong, and a relief to know there was something I could do about it to get the results I wanted.
To define your message, find the thing that sets you apart from other practitioners in your area, or express something about your product that makes it stand out from others in the same category: "specializing in affordable, natural anti-aging solutions for the baby boomer generation," or "natural methods to enhance mood through amino acid therapy" or "Portland's chronic fatigue specialist."
Exercise A
You might want to try the following exercise, as recommended by Dan Kennedy, which will illuminate the need for a strong and clear message. Look in your local Yellow Pages, one of the most competitive advertising arenas around. Find the category of naturopath (or chiropractor or massage therapist). Go through each ad and see if you can discern the specific promises, features and benefits each one clearly states. Keep track of how many of these statements are used by more than one practitioner, who mistakenly think there must be some sense in doing what everyone else is doing.
Notice how often people are delivering the same message, and how that takes away from one ad's ability to stand out from the next. See which ads do stand out and might attract you. Try to figure out why they stand out. Which ones create a tangible solution to something? Look for messages that work; the ones that differentiate practitioners in positive, appealing ways. If you don't see a clear message or promise, try to come up with one that would increase the ad's power.
Developing Your Unique Selling Proposition
Once you've decided you're ready to embark on an effective message, the first thing to do is to define your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Knowing your USP is essential. Figure this out before you do anything else.
What Is a USP?
A USP is an explanation of your position or service, a way to summarize and telegraph the chief benefit of your product, service, clinic, etc. It lets people know what your area of expertise is and what you're passionate about. It is a way to set you apart from what might otherwise be your competitors. It helps potential patients/ clients discern between you and others offering similar services.
To find out whether or not you know your USP, see if you can answer this question: "Why should I choose your clinic/product/service versus every other competitive option available to me?" If you can't answer this, you don't know your USP, and this is almost certainly working against you. If you know your USP but aren't using it powerfully in your marketing, you are missing an essential tool.
To help you come up with a USP, think about what you do:

What is your niche?
What are your areas of special interest?
What do you do that no other practitioners in your area do?
Why are you uniquely qualified to give patients/clients what you offer?
Think of how much you've put into getting the skills you have – the years of study, the extra trainings and seminars, the life experience that might set you apart (e.g., maybe you have overcome cancer yourself and offer that as something that makes you particularly qualified to work with life-threatening illnesses).
Do you speak Spanish, which would qualify you to market yourself to the Latino population in your area?
Have you been mentored by the top person in your area of expertise?

Think broadly. All of this should be considered when developing your USP.
Exercise B
Here is an exercise to help you flesh this out: Get a pile of 3-by-5 cards and on each one, write one point from the following list: a benefit, promise, idea, or possible offer you can make to prospective clients. Try to use everything you can from your arsenal. Once you feel you've got everything down, organize the cards in the order of their probable importance to customers and their contribution to differentiating you from your competition. This can get you to the heart of your message, your USP, which is basically the most important message you have.
In my next article, we'll explore what to do once you have your message. For more information on marketing your practice, read Dan Kennedy's The Ultimate Marketing Plan.

About the Author: Dr. Dicken Weatherby is a naturopathic physician based in Southern Oregon. A graduate of NCNM, Dicken is co-author of the best-selling book Blood Chemistry and CBC Analysis – Clinical Laboratory Testing From a Functional Perspective. He is involved in research, writing and consulting, with a particular emphasis on teaching Web marketing to health practitioners.