Chapter 3
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ADA Cookbook Chapter 3, How To Design & Implement Effective Advertising
Original Author: David Cieliczka, MA, CCC-A
How To Design & Implement Effective
Advertising That Keeps Regulators
Satisfied & Patients Coming In The Door
To advertise or not to advertise that is NOT the question "Do not advertise or discuss features or facts about products! Translate features/facts into potential BENEFITS for the patient." Richard Navoaro, 1989 Feb. Hearing Journal, pages. 16-20. This statement became very meaningful me as I read and followed FDA/FTC advertising regulations. It also "forced" me to be more specific in defining what differentiates me from the competition.
Does your patient really care about a two channel framus injector with bilateral ziffles? Of course not! However, your patients do care about hearing their spouse across the dinner table, about hearing their grandchildren and the myriad of other daily communication demands that can make their day miserable. How are you going to help them? That is their concern.
There are no magic formulas, no magic words, no magic procedures, simply hard thoughtful work to determine what your message is, who it is meant for, where the population is that you’re trying to reach, and how you’re going to reach them. I hope the following outline provides the organizational structure and basic information that will be helpful in organizing your program.
1. Critical Elements:
a.Transition;
Federal and state regulations regarding advertising are in a state of flux. Continue to monitor them and be responsible for what you say and how you say it. DO NOT TAKE THE WORD OF ANYONE regarding these regulations. Get your information from a primary source. Your practice and your competitors are also constantly changing. Be aware of these changes and be prepared to modify your program to account for these changes.
b.Effective;
An effective message will require that you;
1) become well organized in your development of a marketing program, conduct a situation analysis, strength analysis weakness analysis, opportunity analysis, threat analysis, define objectives, define marketing goals, and define strategies.
2) Be as detailed and precise in your planning as possible.
3) Develop your ideal plan and scale back or add as your budget dictates.
4) Prepare all of your materials in advance of the implementation phase, following implementation there will be little time to develop additional materials.
5) Implement your plan on a consistent basis, the best marketing plan poorly implemented wastes time and money.
c. State/Fed Regs.;
State regulations regarding the advertising of hearing aids should be noted in the states
licenser/dispensing legislation. On the Federal level the FDA and FTC have rules governing what can and cannot be said. My general rule of thumb is: "if an ad is featuring a specific product and the claim has not been proven and documented – don’t use it!"
d. Design;
When designing a marketing program I find it very helpful to refer to my practice philosophy and/or practice mission. "AHI-Hear For Life is an independent, full service, audiological facility who has and will continue to be known and recognized as the premier provider of professional, comprehensive diagnostic and rehabilitative hearing care services throughout our primary market area." By pulling key words and phrases out of this statement a message can be developed and presented in the appropriate elements of your marketing program. Elements of the program may include, print media, radio, tv/cable, mailers, newsletters, yellow pages, lectures, signage, community involvement, and special programs.
e. Implementation;
This could be the most difficult and critical of all the elements of your program. When office traffic is slow there is plenty of time to plan, develop and implement your marketing program. However, what happens when your program increases your patient flow reducing the time available for consistency regardless of the amount of "extra" time that you have available. This can be avoided by using office support staff, professional marketing companies, or manufacturers. The greatest marketing programs in the world are useless if not implemented on a consistent basis over the life of your practice.
2. Recommended references:
HEARING AID DISPENSING PRACTICE
McCollom and Mynders
Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc., Danville, III.
DIRECTIONS IN MARKETING AUDIOLOGY – TURNING UP THE VOLUME
ADA Marketing Handbook
ADA Headquarters, Columbia, SC
APPLIED HEARING INSTRUMENT MARKETING
Edited by Wayne J. Staab, Ph.D.
National Institute for Hearing Instruments Studies
20361 Middlebelt Rd. Livonia Mich. 48152
DO - IT - YOURSELF MARKETING FOR THE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Laura Sachs
Prentice – Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ
THE PROFITABLE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Donald L. Henry
Prentice – Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ
