Twenty-somethings Prefer Texting to Calling

“I’m not trying to cause a big sensation, I’m just talkin’ bout my generation.” – The Who

Cell-phone texting has become the preferred channel of basic communication between twenty-somethings and their friends. A recent Npress survey of 300 Americans in their twenties showed that 94% say they sent and received text messages daily in April 2010.

Among those texters today:

• 17% send 100+ text messages a day, or more than 3,000 messages a month.
• 14% send 50+ text messages a day, or more than 1,500 a month. 

Most people in their 20s send 11-20 text messages per day.

Among twenty somethings, texting is used for multitude reasons, including communicating with friends and family (88%), managing work projects (59%), and coordinating meetings and plans (85%).

Calling is still a central function of the cell phone for people in their twenties, but they typically make and receive five- seven calls a day—far fewer than text messages.

Beyond text messaging and voice calling, twenty somethings who have multipurpose phones say they use many of the extra features. Among the most popular are email use (83%) and taking pictures (54%).

Bottom Line: Generation Y is 76 million strong and flooding the workforce. If you want to fill your practice with these young professionals and earn their trust and loyalty, you have to reach them where they are.

Have ideas on how to connect with your Gen Y patients? Share them here!

 

-Sarah

Looking for a great digital marketing strategy? The Practice Marketing Revolution can help! Email sarah@npressnewsletter.com today!

Getting to know your patients

Graphic design for your practice

Are you considering a new logo for 2010? Looking to hire a new design firm for your website, brochures, or new patient packets? I don't know about you, but sometimes I have a lot of trouble speaking the same language as designers.

With design being such a critical part of your practice's image; good, clear, communication between you and your designer is critical.

Here are some tips on how to find (and work well with) a good designer:

* Get referrals. My friends at Level8 Design Studio create beautiful work for all budgets. You can check out their latest projects at www.level8ds.com


* Look at their work. Visit websites or ask to see a portfolio so you can decide if the designer is capable of producing a look that suits you.

* Talk. Go through a project they did and ask them to talk you through the process. You'll get a sense of how long your project might take and what they'll need from you.

* Get an estimate. Rates are going to vary. Some designers work hourly, some work by project. Make sure you confirm what is included and ask about revisions. Some firms limit the amount of revisions you can make so make sure you have a clear understanding.

Let me know what additional questions you have about graphic design and I will get them answered for you in an upcoming post!

Make it a great week,

Sarah

They're not just going to know: Educating your patients about your services

Often times when my clients think about marketing, they focus most on attracting new patients. Obviously, this is an important goal but there is another, often overlooked, marketing opportunity within your practice: Telling your patients everthing that you do and increasing your patients' utilization of your care.

Many doctors I've worked with believe that their patients already know everything there is to know about their practice. Let me tell you, in reality, your service offerings may be something that your patients know least about.


How do you tell your patients about additional services?

Take one minute at each visit to relay a short story message about something you offer. Make it easy to relate to, like a dentist might say, "I had the wife of a patient come in yesterday and she said "please do something with my husband's teeth. They are so brown, I'm sick of looking at him." This opens an opportunity for you to talk with your patient about an offering that they may not have tried in your practice.

My favorite tool for educating patients and igniting treatment requests is a practice newsletter. You can create one as an e-zine or a mailing - both are great. The added benefit of a mailing is that the newsletter can be a referral tool. It can be left on a coffee table (where it can be seen), or given away and shared. If you need help getting started with a newsletter, email me: sarah@focus-evolve-succeed.com or visit www.npressnewsletter.com. I've spent a lot of time researching and testing the best way to use this tool and I am happy to send you a sample.

Testing... Testing...1,2,3

A friend of mine from my kickball team is having trouble with the latest direct mail piece for his chiropractic practice.

The postcard he’s using is nice- it looks really professional. It’s glossy, has nice images of his target clients, all his contact information, a testimonial, and even a call to action. He spent a little over $2,000 to have 4,500 copies made. During his first mailing, he used a 2000 person mailing list… but he’s had no calls from new patients.

“Why isn’t the phone ringing?” he asked me over coffee yesterday. “I copied the style of an ad I saw in a magazine. What should I do differently?”

If marketing were an exact science that anyone could learn with ease, then every business in this country would be flourishing. To use a kickball analogy, in marketing if you do everything right, sometimes you get a home run, but more often then not you bunt to first or get a double which is usually more than good enough. Sometimes, you strike out completely.

That is why, whenever launching a new marketing initiative, it is important to test it out and measure the amount of response or new patients that you get.

For many of us, the word “test” is a little scary. After all, tests are used to see if we are sick or if something is abnormal. Tests are used throughout our school years to gauge our aptitude and knowledge retention. Now, as professionals and practice owners, testing can be equally (if not more) important - especially in the world of marketing. Testing can be a powerful tool to move your marketing program forward. Testing can also help you move from, “I don’t know what works” to “It works for us”.

When testing the elements of your marketing pieces, like the call to action, one time is often not enough to draw conclusions. I usually start with 2 different versions of a piece and compare the response. Sometimes, you may need to test more elements but it will be dependent on your business and the type of initiative you are working on.

It’s important to only test one element at a time so the results do not get muddled. The most common tests are:

Timing – Are you always mailing during a holiday season or when people are away for the summer? Vary the timing of your offer to gauge open rates.

Headlines – The headline is often the most important part in hooking the reader. Make sure you are speaking directly to your target demographic.

Calls to action - Are you including strong or passive calls-to-action? Think about things that influence you to act on something and try to incorporate those ideas.

Images/graphics – Is the image you’ve chosen in sync with the message you’ve created? Does it create an experience or inspire emotion for the reader?

Idea for today: Get out there and start testing! What are you waiting for?Stay tuned for ideas on how to measure your marketing coming soon…

Inspiration - Avoid the Always, Notice the Never

I've know a lot of successful private practice owners who have grappled with burnout from time to time. Between seeing patients, managing staff, and thinking about marketing and business growth - it's easy to see why its hard to stay inspired and passionate.

I've personally gone through burn out in my own business and come out the other side several times. Here is an exercise that has helped me jumpstart my marketing imagination that you can use today in your own practice!

First, make a list of the things that your practice and practioners in your industry ALWAYS DO. For example, at my doctor's office - I ALWAYS have to wait in a room by myself for 10 minutes before I see him. Or, at the dental practice, the chairs are ALWAYS really uncomfortable and I feel weird when my dentist talks to me while I'm laying down.

Next, make a list of things that your office or industry NEVER DOES. An example could be the doctor personally calling new patients before their visit to welcome them to the practice.

Now that you've got your lists - and a whole bunch of ideas for differentiating yourself and improving your patient experience! Undoubtledy, you will find opportunities to reconnect with your patients and jump start some buzz within your practice.

Work with your staff and creative around implementing those NEVERS. Think about the referral potential if each patient who leaves your office, jumps in their car, gets on their cell phone, and calls 5 friends saying: "You'll never guess what happened at my appointment today..."

The lesson for today is: avoid the always, notice the never.