Healthcare practice marketing sabotage exists, and should be considered when reviewing your practice marketing strategy. Sabotage is the intentional destruction (or obstruction) of an action, process, or accomplishment. Most of us would be furious to discover someone sabotaging the healthcare practice we’ve worked so hard to build…yet sometimes we’re the ones unintentionally sabotaging ourselves. For example, you’ve probably seen a patient sabotage his own efforts to stick to a new exercise regimen, or her own efforts to lose weight. Self-sabotage happens in personal life, as well as in our businesses.
Healthcare Practice Marketing Sabotage: 3 Surprising Tactics:
- Negative Self-Talk. If you were to listen in on the chatter filling your mind, what would you hear? For many people, they’d hear an overwhelming amount of criticism, skepticism, and negativity.
This can destroy your practice marketing before it even gets started! Imagine you want to host a premier wellness event for your community. If your self-talk says “You can’t handle such an event,” or “You’re not organized enough to develop the event” you might not even try. How many times have you talked yourself out of a practice marketing activity due to negative self-talk? (Please remember there’s a difference between negative self-talk and the truth. If you truly are not in a position to try a particular marketing activity, the self-talk may be accurate.) Tip: Keep an ear out for self-talk that raises fear, doubt, or otherwise holds you back. Make an honest assessment as to the validity of the self-talk. When appropriate, quiet the inner voices, be brave, and try something new!
- Procrastination. When running a healthcare practice, numerous things demand your immediate time and attention. Your patients need you, your team needs direction, the web developer needs feedback, the equipment needs maintenance, and so forth. Under such busy circumstances it’s easy to put off projects or activities, especially if they don’t ignite your passion. (And let’s face it, for many healthcare providers “marketing” is a four-letter word!) But when we procrastinate practice marketing activities, we slam on the brakes in our practices.
Tip: Set aside time every year to develop a Connections CalendarTM complete with your marketing strategies and events for the year. (Check out my last blog post for more information on Connections CalendarsTM: ) Make a written plan, and then take steps to work that plan every single day.
- Keeping “tolerations.” I first heard this term used by The Master’s Circle chiropractic practice management company. Essentially, a toleration is anything you put up with in your life. It can be seemingly small, like having a closet full of old clothes you plan to sort through “someday,” or it can be hugely impactful, like breaking promises to yourself.
Tip: Scour your life and dedicate yourself to finding and eliminating tolerations. In terms of your practice marketing, what tolerations have you allowed to creep in? Are you using the same old tired marketing events and activities because you don’t have the energy to create new ones? Perhaps your website needs a complete overhaul, but you get depressed just thinking about it. Are your business cards the same ones you started practice with 20 years ago? Whatever your marketing tolerations are, select one and attack it! Empower yourself! Take a stand and eliminate tolerations. As you whittle away the things you “put up with,” you’ll feel a sense of renewed control and focus that can change your practice.
There you have it! Three surprising ways you might be guilty of healthcare practice marketing sabotage. Sometimes we really can be our own worst enemy. However, if you pay attention to your self-talk, stop procrastination, and eliminate tolerations you can nip self-sabotaging behaviors in the bud. Did this blog resonate with you? What’s been the single most self-sabotaging behavior you’ve noticed? I invite you to share your comments, stories, and tips in the comments section!
For more information on building community connections, I encourage you to read my new book Community Connections! Relationship Marketing for Healthcare Professionals. If you want more valuable information about how to Connect with YOUR Community, you can find FREE healthcare practice marketing content, PowerPoint Presentation Jumpstart Kits, workbooks, blog articles, and my FREE “Practice Marketing Planner” Now!