If Everyone Knows You, Why Are You Still Marketing?

You're listening to Podiatry Marketing, conversations on building a successful podiatry practice with Tyson Franklin and Jim McDannald.

Welcome back to Podiatry Marketing. I'm your host, Jim McDannald. Joined as always are my trusty co host, Tyson Franklin. Tyson, how's it going today?

I'm fantastic. Jim, always good to be here. Talk a bit more podiatry marketing as we normally do.

Absolutely. What's what's been on your mind these days?

Well, you can tell, I've got tropical shirt I'm wearing today. It's it's one of these things that I I have a lot of tropical loud shirts. People can't they could probably almost hear how loud this shirt could be sometimes.

Yeah. It's it's kinda jumping through both my my AirPods and and my screen. Obviously, can take a look at you and people wanna see you can head over YouTube and watch the video, but that definitely is quite the Hawaiian t shirt

you got. Yeah. That is fine. This is a Tommy Bahama. I'd love to have Tommy Bahama as a sponsor.

That'd be fantastic.

Well, we'll see what we can do about that.

Yeah. That'd be great. So should we just dive into today's topic? Because I I was going through my notes here in front of me, and I've got more notes than I normally have.

Alright. Let's just get after it then.

So let's dive into it. So this is what the topic title is. If everyone knows if everyone already knows you, why are you still marketing? And the reason this popped into my head, the other day somebody said to me, oh, I remember that Coca Cola story? And everybody goes to this.

You may have heard that, and I've heard it multiple times, that Coca Cola stopped advertising in the early nineties because everyone knew who they were. And but Pepsi kept advertising and took all the market share. And that's how Pepsi became well known. And then therefore, Coca Cola had to actually start advertising again. Have you heard this story, Jim?

Yeah. I've I've heard it a little bit, but I'm happy to to listen again if it because it's definitely gonna benefit the the listeners of the show.

Yeah. So is this story true? No. It's a myth. All made up.

Total BS. It never happened. But it's something that and how about surprisingly, it didn't isn't true. And what is this? Coca Cola has been one of the world's biggest advertisers for well over a hundred years, and the myth stems from a common business discussion about why the company continues to spend millions of dollars on marketing if nearly everybody already knows who they are.

So although the story isn't historically accurate, the lesson behind it is really powerful. And that's sort of it's how the myth began was why does Coca Cola keep advertising? Everybody renouncing that. They could probably stop. But they never actually did stop.

They didn't stop, but I think they kind of stopped innovating in a way. You know, like I think things like the Pepsi challenge back in the day, if people are old enough to remember what that was Yeah. And just the the way that Pepsi is you know been really proactive as far as aligning their brand with you know pop stars and popular culture in ways that kind of made them more relevant for a period of time. But I think you know over the last five or ten years or maybe a little bit longer like Coca Cola has tried to you know combat that a little bit more directly and be a little bit more innovative than they than they had been know, fifteen or twenty years ago.

So it wasn't so much that they actually stopped. They I remember Coca Cola when they brought out I don't if you remember this, the new formula. They they decided to make the new Coke. And Right. And it was a disaster.

Total disaster. And then they went back to their old formula. But the big message in all this is people don't buy from businesses they know. They buy from the businesses they remember. So just because someone knows you're there, doesn't mean they're always going to remember you're there.

This is like the the biggest mistake in marketing. And and a lot of podiatrists, you know, I I talk to a lot of them. And some of them will always say, oh, but everyone in town already knows me. Or we've we don't need to do any marketing because our business has been here for ten, fifteen, twenty five years. Yet we don't need to advertise because most of our patients, and you would have heard this, they come from doctors' referrals and word-of-mouth.

And and I understand that thinking, but here's the problem. Knowing you exist is completely different from thinking about you when someone actually mentions they have a foot problem. So when you're advertising, you are actually staying top of mind. And that's what people forget sometimes. They might think they're really well established, don't need to do anything else.

But if you don't, then they're gonna slowly just forget about you. It's just it's human nature.

No. Absolutely. I think we've talked about this previously, but we know who we are. We know what we do. But it's important for us to get our messages out there and to let people know the types of patients we wanna treat, what we're experts in because, know, like we talked about, when it comes to advertising, repetition and just keeping the messaging out there is something you have to be proactive about and consistent with.

Otherwise, you do get forgotten.

Yeah. And and I'd say right now, there's probably businesses in your own town that you drive past hundreds, if not thousands of times every year. And think about the think about your your driving habits, the business that you do go past, and then ask yourself, what's what's the name of their business? I was telling you, actually, even when I was putting these notes together, I'm thinking about, you know, say, if I was going to a certain shopping center, I I've probably done that thousands of times. And I know there's businesses along the way, but I can't remember who they are, except for the ones that I know do advertise because because they're advertising, I see their businesses and the two just click.

So if somebody said to me, oh, do you know this particular service? I could tell them exactly where it is. If you said, you know, what are the business names you go past all the time? What services do they offer? Or you might sort of know the name, but do you know what they actually do?

And what are their contact details? Have they got a website? So most people can't answer that because there's no awareness because they're not doing any marketing. Marketing refreshes memory on a regular basis, and that is why Coca Cola still advertises heavily. I'm sure if you put the TV on today and watch it long enough, there will be a Coca Cola ad or and I've seen this a lot more in movies lately and TV shows.

Have you noticed we've just finished watching Yellowstone and now we're watching Dutton Ranch. And they'll be having a particular beer or something, and when they have that beer, you'll see the brand, you'll see the label will will be there. And I go, oh, well, this episode is obviously sponsored by Blue Moon, or it could be Heineken, Budweiser. It's it's surprising how many of these companies, if they're not advertising the traditional way they're doing it, they actually pay to be in these movies.

Well, even like Apple TV. Right? So I watch Apple TV shows like Severance and

Yeah.

You know, other shows of the like. And what type of devices do they use in those those TV shows and those like movies on Apple TV? Obviously, devices. So it definitely there's a lot of product placement there to stay top of mind.

Oh, there's heaps. Quentin Tarantino though, he invents his own products because no one would pay to be on there when he was starting. He developed his own products. So he knows a lot of his movies, you'll see the cigarettes that they're smoking. It's always a certain brand, and it's a brand that he made up.

Just just so he wasn't promoting somebody else. But Coca Cola, they still advertise heavenly. They still sponsor events all the time. There's a lot of events that they sponsor, and they just they just appear everywhere. Even Red Bull, for example.

That's a very common one. Red Bull gives you wings. Doesn't matter how many Red Bulls I have, I haven't yet to feel lifted after I have a Red Bull.

One of these days. One of these days.

Yeah. So it's Coca Cola not because nobody knows Coke, but because they want to own that space or they wanna they definitely if they know if they don't keep promoting their product, then they're gonna leave a big space there for Pepsi. See my marketing workshops, I've always talked about you've you've got to own that space. And whoever owns that space and just keeps advertising on a regular basis will continue to own that space. And if you think it's a yeah.

Like, you mentioned Apple before. Has anyone seen a McDonald's ad lately? And if you said to if you said to anybody, do you know who McDonald's are? Not McDonald's. That was wasn't that an Eddie Eddie Murphy movie?

McDonald's? Or McDougalls? McDowell's. McDowell's. McDowell's.

McDowell's.

Coming Coming to America.

Yeah.

The Golden Arcs.

Yeah. That was a funny movie. But anyway, if you said to anyone, have you ever heard of McDonald's? Everybody would say yes. Well, why do they keep advertising?

Because they know if they don't, Burger King will or another company will start taking over the and I know right now, if I was sitting there and I thinking, oh, don't mind a burger, and I knew McDonald's was down the road, and all of a sudden, an In N Out commercial came on, which we don't have in Australia. So if anyone has a contact in In N Out, need to open one in Australia. In Cairns, great tourist place for an In N Out place. But if all of a sudden I saw an In N Out ad and I'm going, oh, actually, I know they're only a couple miles past there, but their burger look fantastic when you go and have one of them. This is what marketing is all about.

Absolutely. It's about capturing that mindshare. Right? It's about being top of mind, but, you know, you you you put it very well. It's that if you don't capture that mind share and maintain the mind share, someone else is gonna creep in and take that spot.

So that's why people keep advertising. They keep trying to be visible to their ideal clients or customers or patients.

Yeah. And when I had my podiatry clinic here in Cairns, we would have months where we were so busy. We were booked out. We'd have a 140, a 160 new biomechanical patients coming in that month. Orthotics going around all over the place, other types of treatment.

We were absolutely flat out. Yet I still took a percentage of what we turned over, and I put it into marketing, and I did it every month consistently. Whether we were busy or whether we were quite I was still constantly doing it for that reason because the reason we were busy is because I didn't stop marketing. I just kept doing it.

Absolutely. It's the consistency which makes the whole machine just go and have that consistent growth.

So you should think of marketing as being defensive because a lot of people will think of marketing as being you know, it's all about growth, which it is, but it's also about being defensive. Because imagine if you're clinic, you've been established twenty years and you're so comfortable. Everything is going to say, well, we don't need to advertise anymore. And because you're so comfortable, you stop doing your newsletters. That's just extra work.

Why should we bother? Don't worry about posting on Facebook, Google Ads, or doing Google updates. Why should we do that? Don't worry about doing any more educational videos. And when you're asked to speak, someone will go, no.

Don't really need to do that because we're we're absolutely flat out. Then a new clinic will actually open up in your area. And the new clinic comes in, they're hungry, and if they're smart, they're they're posting things about the business on a on a daily basis. They're educating the the community and their patients. They're appear they're appearing in the local media because they may be approached about doing an article and they go, yeah, we've got the time.

We'll we'll actually do it. They're eagerly chasing Google reviews. They don't just think about every now and then. They go, we need to get Google reviews, so they do it. They send newsletters out to the patients.

They make videos. They they follow all the advice on the Podiatry Marketing Podcast. They actually listen to us and they go, you know what? That's a good idea that Jim and Tyson just said then. I'm going to actually do that.

Or they may even engage a brilliant business coach such as myself. Well, they reach out to you, Jim, and go, help me with my website. Help me with these Google Ads. That's what smart clinics do, and that's why some of the ones that have been established for a long period of time will sometimes just see their business erode over a period of time because they stopped doing what actually made them successful in the first place.

Absolutely. I'll have conversations with, you know, clinics and and practice owners that have kind of just let things ride for twenty years. Right? And they they realize at sometimes it's too late, sometimes it's not too late that, you know, I've just kind of took my eye off the ball. But there's just small steps you can do along the path to kinda get that back.

Right? And, you know, it doesn't have to be it's not gonna be an overnight success, but if you commit to doing consistent work over long periods of time, you know, months or years, then you can get back to where you wanna be, but you have to be consistent with otherwise, it's just not gonna happen for you.

Yeah. And some people say, oh, you know, I did that and it didn't work. And I go, well, that's funny because I've done that with 10 other clinics and it worked like unbelievably well. How long did you do it for? Oh, we did it for two weeks.

Two weeks not long enough. You've got to commit. And the thing is, if the new business coming into town, if they start occupying everybody's mind, they will then own that space. Someone says, I've a sore foot. Oh, I just read something online or I've seen some form of marketing they've been doing.

Or a friend I was talking to said that they'd been there, and then all of a sudden, I I start becoming very aware. So what you need to remember is patients actually have short memories. Think about your own behavior. If you need a plumber, if you need an electrician, if you need a solicitor, if you need an accountant, you remember the person you've seen recently, but not just face to face. So just because you may have met a plumber years ago, you may be shaking their hands.

So hi, mister plumber, how are doing? But if there's another plumber who's constantly marketing themselves and you need a plumber, that is what's going but but that's who's gonna actually capture your attention.

No. That's well put. I think it's one of those things you gotta be top of mind. Have that mind share because, know, if if you're not if you're forgotten about, maybe they oh, what was that guy's name? Oh, but if they have someone else they know that's more front and center than they're gonna win the business.

Well, you picture a plumber and if all of sudden they're posting something on Facebook and and doing ads and you're noticing that maybe you had user services once and had a newsletter even if it was only every quarter. Just something where they sort of reached out to you and or or they were doing YouTube videos on how to fix things that every now and then you you sort of it just came across your feed. If they were sponsoring a community event or or they were a sponsor of anything or a sporting team, That's how these people actually stay visible. So visibility creates familiarity. Familiarity builds trust, and then trust trust actually creates the appointments.

And I know myself right at this stage, right today, right now, my wine fridge has stopped working. And so I'm googling everything on what all the problems could be. Can I fix a wine fridge? No. I am now gonna have to reach out to someone that knows how to do that.

Well, that's the thing. That's it's it's it's important to keep that consistently. Right? Because they don't know when you're gonna when your wine fridge is gonna go, you know, on on the fritz, and you're gonna have to go find find somebody. So that that person that fixes wine fridges has to be out there making themselves visible.

Yeah. And I know people listening to this might be going, oh, Tyson, you have a wine fridge. In my wine fridge, it's mostly full of barbecue rubs. Because when I when I smoke stuff, when you open up a barbecue rub container and you use it, if it just sits in normal conditions, especially here in cans with humidity, it just gets all dry and hard. Whereas if I put it in the wine fridge, it stays beautiful.

I've got about 25 different rubs in there. There is wine in there as well, but I'm more concerned about my rubs.

Thanks for the clarification.

Anyway, there's a big cost for going quiet. One of the biggest mistakes podiatrists make, they only market when they get quiet. And we we have spoken about this before. Diary gets empty, they panic, they start advertising again, they start spending money, and then they fill the diaries up, and then the marketing stops. And this is what we call helicopter marketing.

We spoke about this on not that long ago, actually, episode 201. Everything's up, down, up, and down, which is why they call it helicopter marketing. So marketing should be like should be like brushing your teeth. It should be done consistently even when everything seems fine. So you don't look in the mirror and go, oh, look at that.

No cavities. No need to brush today. Oh, that would be disgusting, wouldn't it?

Yeah. Not good.

Imagine a dentist saying to you, ah, only brush if you start to notice something going bad, like your gums bleeding. You know, or people notice your breath when you walk into a room. So do your marketing like brushing your teeth. Just be very, very consistent with it. And two weeks ago, in episode two thirty seven, I discussed dig the well before you need the water.

Don't wait until you're thirsty to dig the well. That's what that was all about. So don't wait until all your referrals dry up, until patient numbers just drop dramatically, or wait until a competitor opens up and directly cross the road from you, or your Google rankings just start to go down. Build relationships while business is already good. That's the best time to do it, and I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago that when business is going great and you're trying to build relationships, there's no pressure, and therefore, you're more relaxed and the other people pick up.

So if you're talking to patients, whether it's referrers, local GP, sporting clubs, it could be pharmacies or community groups. When you're talking to those people, when you're in a more relaxed mode, you're going to come across far more natural.

Yeah. Absolutely. Like, when you're when you're when you're we don't see like, smell of desperation or reek of desperation, you're gonna be much more appealing to, you know, potential patients and clients. It's the it's when you're like really struggling where, you know, the the people can kinda get a sense of that.

Having a t shirt, wouldn't it? Do I smell of desperation? Reek. Yeah. Reek.

Oh, reek reek sounds so much worse than smell. But anyway, let's go I'm gonna go some practical things every clinic should keep doing even when you're busy. I don't care how flat out you are. Actually, the busy you are, this is what you should be doing. Sending out newsletters if you're not already doing it.

The amount of podiatrists when I've spoken at a conference, and I go, put your hand up if you do a newsletter, would be less than 10% of the room without fail. And it's one of the easiest things you can do. Other things, get Google reviews, post useful content, update your website. You're really busy, just make sure you're allocating time that your website is being updated. If you don't wanna do it yourself, talk to Jim.

Jim will do it for you. You do that, don't you,

Jim? Probably.

Yeah. There you go. Thanking referrers and educating your existing patients, making short videos, speaking at community events. If there's a chance to speak, if you're busy, just take the opportunity because you don't know, it may not be there next time. And the idea is just staying visible.

Marketing isn't always about attracting new patients. Sometimes it's simply just reminding your existing patients that you are there. And when they know that, once again, you're top of mind. You're owning that space that will basically come in and see you. Or they'll tell their friends.

Yeah. That pause generating that positive word-of-mouth can be extremely valuable.

So here's my final thought. Whether the Coca Cola story is true or not, the lesson absolutely is businesses disappear from people's minds much faster than they disappear from the marketplace. So the goal isn't to become known, it's to basically become unforgettable. That's what you wanna be. You want to be unforgettable.

You want as soon as anyone even thinks about podiatry in your area, you want them just to see your big smiling face. And then they'll pick up the phone. They'll jump online. They will actually contact your business.

It made me think of the Nat Cole song Unforgettable. There's a duet between a posthumous duet between a father and a daughter. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Nat.

Yeah. You Yeah. Definitely yep. You definitely wanna be unforgettable.

Yeah. In every way. I was gonna say, Jim, did you wanna try doing that together? We both dive into.

This is this is not a You're

have that really you're have that really unforgettable. He's got that really deep voice. Exactly.

I don't have that.

So just to finish up, if you've enjoyed this episode, I want you to share it with other podiatrists. You believe they can if they believe that they can stop marketing when they're busy, let them listen to this episode. You may know a podiatrist that has said to I don't need to market anymore because I'm already too busy. Get them to listen to this episode. And if you're ready to build a marketing system that keeps your clinic visible, attracts the right patients because that's what it's all about, and works consistently instead of just when things get quiet.

Yeah. I'd love to help you. Go to my website, tysonfranklin.com, and you can learn more about my coaching and marketing programs there. And if you need assistance with your website, Google Ads, etcetera, etcetera, reach out to Big Jim. So, Jim, what are your details?

How can they get ahold of you?

Yeah. They can just go to podiatrygrowth.com and happy to give, you know, like we have that podiatry.marketing. We have that practice visibility scorecard that people can fill out and let us know and kinda show them where they're visible in their local areas. But, yeah, I think just reaching out either to podiatrygrowth.com or podiatry.marketing are two great places to start there.

Wouldn't this episode be fantastic? We actually finish with that Nat King Cole song.

Not sure we have the rights or have the money for the rights, but it would be a great idea.

It would be good, but I don't think we can. So anyway, wanna finish on a a quote and it says marketing isn't something you do because people don't know you. It's something you do so they never forget you.

That's impactful. I like that.

That ties with the unforgettable. Okay, Big Jim. That's all I wanted to say on this. I I told you had a few notes that I wanted to get through. So there was there was a fair bit there to cover.

And if you listen to this and you're doing, yeah, there was a lot that you covered. Just get back. You can listen to these episodes as many times as you want. Take note. That's what I do.

I listen to podcast episodes and I have my brain book next to me and I sometimes stop start it and I take a lot of notes.

Take notes, listen to it again, listen in half speed, you know, so you can catch all that value that Tyson just provided you. There's there's different ways to do it for sure.

Yeah. Sometimes they talk fast, you might need to tone it down just so you can actually capture what I said. Okay, big Jim. That's it for me this week. I look forward to talking to you again seven days time.

Sounds great, Tyson. Okay. Bye. Bye now.

Thanks for listening to Podiatry Marketing with Tyson Franklin and Jim McDonnell. Subscribe and learn more at podiatry Marketing. That's the website address, podiatry.marketing.