The Four P’s?
What do you think of?
Long ago, my college major was marketing. In my Intro 101 class, I was introduced to the four “P’s”, and to this day I find it the best summary of all that the word “marketing” encompasses.
Product. Place. Price. Promotion.
Wow, probably a lot more there than you might typically think of when you think “marketing”, right? Most people only think of the fourth “P”, promotion, and even then only the most high-profile portions of promotion, like advertising. But if you consider the four P’s, marketing impacts practically every aspect of a business. What exactly do they offer? Are they easy to find? How does the cost compare to competitors and what kinds of payment terms are available? And how are they getting me to be interested in them?
Most business owners struggle with incorporating their marketing plan into every aspect of their business. For many obvious reasons, healthcare professionals have had an even more difficult time. Marketing has been viewed as a separate activity, and often fairly low on the list of priorities. Understandable that after a long day of providing patient care, dealing with staff members and oh yeah, making sure the bills got paid, putting aside some time to focus on marketing seems impossible.
But you are doing marketing all the time! Every patient encounter with your practice contributes to your marketing, for better or worse. It’s not in the least a separate activity from what is already going on, it IS what’s going on.
So if you’re already doing it, why not be in control? We’ll explore each of the four P’s as they relate to healthcare marketing. Each area offers you the opportunity to evaluate your current situation and reinforce the positives. You’re probably doing a lot right already. The trick is to be able to tell what’s helping and what’s hurting so you can do great marketing every day.