Does marketing add any benefit to how you brand your practice? Warren Buffett, a man who knows how to get the business, has a strong opinion on this topic. And when Warren Buffett gives advice, I do not need a second opinion. I listen. How about you?
Here is what Warren Buffett says about the benefit of branding:
His belief drives every aspect of my marketing practice which focuses on private practice physician specialists who do not have the luxury of time to read long articles. Hence, I will always keep my viewpoints here concise.
Premium brands that don’t effectively convey “something special” don’t succeed.
Warren Buffett is right. His advice applies to physician specialists looking to grow their practices. In fact, his advice has already helped me achieve results for doctors in your specialty.
I’ve spent my 30+ year career in marketing national and regional brands for world-class organizations like General Mills and Marshfield Clinic. I’ve seen Mr. Buffett’s belief about delivering that “something special” proven time after time in marketing initiatives.
You already deliver something special but is your marketing doing the same?
Yes, you are proud of what you do for your patients. In your mind, your brand is already premium, and that’s as it should be. But is your brand and its unique benefit reaching the minds of prospective patients through your marketing?
Let’s say your specialty is cardiology. From a patient perspective, your “something special” is not how well you care for their heart disease and provide relief. Relief is only a means to an end. What patients look to you for is the ultimate benefit: to be well and to be well enough to the activities they love.
My job is to be sure that your private practice is in control of not only your fate but also in control of an effective message to prospective patients.
Your total focus is on your patient. Your marketing should do the same.
Your specialty is your passion. You are in private practice to enjoy every reward of your hard work. All I’m saying is that while you are giving your patients your premium attention, be sure that your brand is conveying an equally premium message — one that makes the patient the star.
Yes, your board certification matters deeply. State-of-the-art facilities also matter — and having performed a procedure hundreds of times is great proof of your expertise. Each fact is what we marketing people call a “reason to believe.” But none of those facts convey the “something special” that’s in the hearts and minds of patients.
Patients seek the absolute ultimate benefit: to be well and to be well enough to the activities they love.
What matters most to patients is what matters most in your marketing.
During my career, I’ve perfected the “secret sauce” for marketing that delivers results. Here’s the secret sauce you need:
To grow your practice through marketing, know what’s in the hearts and minds of patients and be sure to convey their perspective — a desire to be well and to be well enough to do the activities they love.
While you are busy delivering something special to your patients, I can help you deliver that something special in your marketing.
Let Warren Buffett be your marketing inspiration.
I like what Warren Buffett says so much that I’ve adopted a marketing tagline that mirrors it: “Achieve something special.” I hope you’ll use a bit of your limited time to tune into my blogs now and again to discover how I can help you and your practice.
Achieve something special.
Al Chaney is an independent marketing consultant who possesses 30+ years of deep experience in growing national and regional brands in healthcare, consumer packaged goods and not-for-profit sectors. Contact Al to elevate your marketing and brand. You’ve earned it.