When it comes to marketing and marketing dollars, there seems to be no limit to the possibilities or the costs. Professional marketers will tell you that marketing "should" cost you nothing. By this, they mean that if done correctly, 1 marketing dollar should yield 3-5 in return.
Oh that it is was that easy!
After 14 months on my own, I have come to the conclusion that only one type of marketing works for physicians, with the exception of plastic and LASIK surgeons.
Word of mouth.
W.O.M.
Word of mouth is, and has always been, the best form of marketing for any business, but for doctors it is perhaps the only form of effective marketing. Far from a passive endeavor, word of mouth marketing is an active and continuous process. WOM, I have come to realize, is the most active form of marketing and while it may cost the least in terms of money, it costs the most in terms of effort and time.
There actually is a science behind word of mouth marketing and methods exist that allow marketers to enhance and maximize the effectiveness of the program and to track, scientifically, results.
So there you have it. Put your money where the mouth is!
The IU.
