Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

“Just don’t underestimate how hard it is to get exposure and how much it costs. A lot of books make it sound like you can do it on the cheap, but you just can’t do that.” - Dr. Torre Near, STATMed, advice for would-be entrepreneurs, Lack of biz plan, marketing know-how hurting clinic. (link to NM Biz Weekly web site)

No offense to the hard-working doctor, (hey, I dropped out of pre-med early on when faced with Organic Chemistry) but I’ve been doing this marketing thang for decades and I read a lot of books…and Dr. Near is confusing marketing with advertising. She spent $50,000 on advertising during her first year in business, with no results. In Albuquerque, that’s a lot of money and a lot of advertising. Nary a mention of other marketing tactics or Internet strategy in the article.

If you’re going to - for example - buy radio spots during “drive-time” - you’d better know that your target customers are: a. in the car then; b. in the mood to listen to your ad. (C’mon - ‘fess up. How many ads do you listen to when you’re driving?) And, if you buy those wee hours television or radio spots - who’s your target market? Unhappy insomniacs? Jittery crack heads? Long-haul truckers?

Here’s hoping the full-page article on Dr. Near’s missteps does what her advertising couldn’t - starts the big buzz. We need her clinic here in Albuquerque! I’ll certainly keep STATMed in mind for the next time a mysterious pain kicks in at - say - 5:01 p.m. on a Friday.

P.S. Here’s a small clue of why that advertising hasn’t been effective. According to the Yellow Page digital directory for emergency services, STATMed’s practice areas areas are “allergy/asthma” while services are “back pain, fractures, headaches, hypertension” Great that the clinic is (relatively) easy to find, but as a potential patient, I’m confused. And, if I’m in pain or bleeding (or my kids are) I’m not going to take the time for clarification. I’ll just click on Doctor on Call which simply says “Business Categories: Physicians & Surgeons-M.D., Urgent Care Centers” in the listing.

I’m pulling for you, Doctor! I wish you the best in getting a grip on this marketing thing and making a go of it.

Book recommendations for Dr. Near and would-be entrepreneurs:
Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Peter F. Drucker) Should be required reading for any would-be entrepreneur.
Managing for Results (Drucker) We shouldn’t confuse activity with results - and good intentions don’t guarantee success.
The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR Before you spend another cent on advertising - read this. It’s been around for a while and some of the referenced companies are long gone, but still relevant points.

If you’d like to leave a comment, please do so. It may take a bit to show up since I hate making people type in little letters (I can’t read most of them myself) - so I moderate all comments. Feel free to disagree - debate is healthy. However, I’ve blacklisted the worst obscenities, including the “f” word, as part of the troll wall.

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, marketing plan, entrepreneur sanity check, STATMed