This week I'm giving away one of my most effective "grassroots" marketing funnels.

I hope you steal it, make it you own, and help lots of people hear!

Attraction Marketing and The "Sample Experience"

Does your practice wait for the phone to ring, or worse, rely on insurance and TPAs to send you patients?

If so, you need a structured process to attract and gain trust with prospective patients at scale.

In the early days of my practice we didn’t have a lot of money to throw at paid marketing to test and see what worked.

We used these four marketing strategies to attract hundreds of our first patients into our practice.

#1 Online Educational Content

Create and give away a free guide (could be written or video) that answers the questions your ideal prospect has.

I made a free guide to buying hearing aids in Dallas/Ft. Worth and did a breakdown of all of the types of clinics in the area with pro’s and con’s and how I would advise a loved one to shop for care.

It was transparent and didn’t promote my practice.

Then I followed up with a series of emails educating about best practice hearing treatment, what to watch out for when shopping for hearing aids, and the cost of care.

These elements served to qualify ideal patients, and disqualify patients looking for a “bargain” solution.

In each email I offered a “Sample Experience” (see #4).

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#2 Strategic Partnerships

Who in your market is a non-competitor that interacts with your ideal patients?

We had a big house call program, so we connected with all of the senior placement specialists, house call physicians, senior living directors, and home health agencies.

We gave them vouchers for a “Sample Experience” to include in their new client/patient packets.

It didn’t cost them anything, made them look good, and drove a ton of new patients our way.

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#3 Public Speaking

People trust professionals who they perceive as an “authority”.

If you aren’t comfortable with speaking, start small.

Speak at a local senior events center, assisted living facilities, and other “low-stakes” environments to build your confidence.

Once you're comfortable, get public speaking opportunities at speaker series that regularly feature experts (physicians, attorneys, authors, etc) in reputable venues.

This is a great opportunity to present your personality and develop trust and a positive reputation.

But don’t just think of these as “branding” opportunities!

Every time I spoke, I gave away educational handouts and included a voucher for the “Sample Experience”, as well as a QR code to download the Guide in #1.

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#4 The “Sample Experience”

This is your opportunity to convert the trust and goodwill you’ve developed into a new patient relationship by getting them into your clinic and interacting one-on-one with you, a staff clinician, or a well-trained technician/AA.

Give away part of the solution or a screening that concludes with a clear call-to-action:

• Video otoscopy ear screening
• 4 frequency pass/fail air conduction screening (I love the cheap and fast handheld screener from Oaktree)
• Hearing aid tune-up (C&C)

At free hearing clinics hosted at senior living facilities (one of our most effective sample experiences), we would walk the patient through this worksheet, which naturally led to a practical next step for those who needed our services.

(Feel free to hit File -> Make a Copy, and customize it to use in your clinic)

Implementing a free trust-building marketing funnel like this one is an effective way to ensure a steady flow of ideal patients into your practice.