5 Marketing "aha's" for physicians in business

The Entrepreneurial MD's February's newsletter article is titled "The 5 Indisputable Laws of Business Promotion for Entrepreneurial Physicians" and even though I had fun creating the "laws", I must confess that they are actually some bigger aha's that have hit me between the eyeballs whilst exploring how to build my business.

Sometimes even the obvious remains obscured until it hits you at an emotional gut level of "getting it"!

Without too much explanation, as you can read the article for details, the five laws are:

1. People don’t like the feeling of being “sold to”.
   
2. Good marketing is ALL about relationships.
   
3. Buying is an emotional experience.
   
4. Buyers want to believe that they have made an excellent decision.
   
5. The secret to marketing success lies in passion.

Did I forget any important laws?

PS: Remember to register for this month's free Entrepreneurial MD Business Development Series teleclass that I shall be giving on "5 'Dirty Secrets' to Sleaze-free Marketing" -- I shall be putting some of my own marketing skills to work with a special promotion just for my class attendees and listeners!

PPS: Here is a terrific list of Marketing Secrets created by Anita Campbell who asked a wide group of well-known marketers one question: “Please share one of your best kept marketing secrets” (this came to my attention thanks to Pam Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation)

Comments

[Dan]

Nice post, Phillipa. I like how numbers 3 and 4 are like sides of the same coin - for best results, perhaps selling should be just as emotional as buying.

[Dan]

Ooops...I mean #'s 3 and 5! :)

[Shama Hyder]

6) Don't be afraid to try new things. = ) That's one I would add. Many doctors I feel are still not making the most of online marketing.

[Suzanne Carter]

Greetings! I have just come upon your blog, by recommendation of Pamela Slim, and am slowly working my way through "front to back." Even though I am a entrepreneurial PHaux Doctor rather than an entrepreneurial MD,I still derive much enjoyment reading your posts :) ...

The question: I'm wondering what an "AHA" or "getting it" feels like to you and your readers. Reason why I ask is - the word "aha" is used a good deal in different domains (e.g., marketing, Oprah magazine, psychotherapy). I get the sense that, to some, an aha is a "lightbulb above the head" kind of feeling. But that seems awfully cognition-centered.

In my own observations and experience, an "aha" seems more visceral ... and has expressed itself (for me) in a gasp, a sigh, tears, feeling "choked up."

Interested in your thoughts! Many thanks, again, for this blog.
Suzanne

[Philippa Kennealy]

Welcome Suzanne - delighted to have you here, and I am sure there is NOTHING faux about your doctorate!!

It probably takes all kinds of responses to create an "aha". I suspect the more intellectually inclined left-brainers who operate primarily through reasoning and logic may have the experience of the heady light-bulb going on (harder to get in touch with emotional reactions), while those who are more inclined to feel and sense their way through the world may be more likely to have a "physical body" response.

Either way, it usually feels great!

Any further reactions?