On 2/15/99, [log in to unmask] wrote:
<<Bad luck : you too got taken in .......I paid them a fair whack and they
did a nice little video to advertise my practice in the local doctor's surgery
down here in Surrey. What a waste of money! >>
***Many surveys show that word-of-mouth advertising often far exceeds the
selling power of the mass media in many professions. Selling foods, household
bargains and vacation specials are all very different from selling oneself in
the health professions - people come to you with issues of much greater
importance, such as serious illness and injury. If they have heard about how
special or efficient you are, then you will undoubtedly obtain plenty of
business, but the difficult part is getting started.
How does one do that? Well, one has to attend lectures, attend refresher
courses, offer popularised community talks, go to conferences, present papers
at even the smallest conferences, offer free services in some areas, in other
words, do anything in the professional arena that makes people become aware of
your presence and your capabilities. No matter how impressive a TV production
may be, folk are far more likely to call upon you if they come to know you
more personally.
This is even more important in countries (unlike the USA) which do not permit
public advertisement of medical and health care professionals. Devise ways in
which you become far more professionally visible to your medical and
therapeutic colleagues, as well as the public, and business will eventuually
begin to burgeon. Best of all, this approach does not cost a fortune.
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
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