A trip to Brussels, a raging UTI, and 3 ways to get your message to patients NO MATTER WHAT

In 2012, my then-boyfriend and I took a trip to Europe.

We planned a few days in Brussels, a few in Amsterdam, and the bulk of our time in Northern Italy.

But three days before we left, I felt the familiar tinge of a UTI.

Now, for most women, this wouldn’t be an issue; they’d call their doctor, get a prescription, and knock that sucker out before flying across the country and then flying across the Atlantic and going on (what should have been) a dreamy romantic European getaway full of wine and well…you know.

 

But instead, I took cranberry and d-mannose and whatever else I scrounged out of the supplement aisle at our local co-op, forever fastidious to my bordering-on fascist commitment to natural health.

What I should have done is call the doctor.

When we left California, the UTI was tolerable.

When we landed in Washington, D.C., I knew I was in deep shit.

 

By the time we got to Brussels, I was exhausted and desperate, having stayed up all night drinking piping hot water with the fresh lemon I had desperately acquired from an airport bartender at Dulles.

 

I was pissing fire. In a foreign city. But I had an idea.

I don’t know what inspired my jolt of brilliance, but I suddenly thought: herbs.

I searched online for “herbal apothecary,” and thanks to the gods of Google, found one of the oldest, most gorgeous herbal shops in all of Belgium, Desmecht Herboristerie.

I didn’t speak Dutch or French, and the herbalist there didn’t speak English. Google Translate was still a few years off.

But this was dire.

 

I dropped any sense of embarrassment and pantomimed exactly what I was experiencing—in the middle of this lovely, antiquated herb shop, I squatted down and charaded taking an incredibly painful pee while making “Pssss…Ahhhh!! Pssss…Ahhhh!” sounds.

 

She got the picture.

I watched with growing relief as she gathered the herbs and ground them into a fine powder; I left with a small bag of UTI salvation.

Having trouble getting your message out to patients?

First, focus on your mission

Now, do I recommend learning effective communication, the bedrock of marketing, under such terrible circumstances?

I do not.

But nothing helps us get clear and to the point quite like the burning nature of a mission that needs to be completed. Case in point, my ridiculous (but successful!) attempt at communication with the herbalist in Brussels.

And here’s the deal: You should be relentless and unrelenting in the pursuit of your mission, the passion-fueled reason your business exists (yeah, you’re here to make ends meet, but how are you going to change the world??).

 

Your mission should set a fire under your butt that gets you out of bed every morning and keeps you going, even when it’s tax time, CRM troubleshooting time, or spreadsheet updating time.

 

The hidden secret of highly successful wellness businesses?

Owners who simply can’t give up on the mission and vision they want to share.

You have to keep showing up, over and over and over, to get your message out there.

Second, understand your patients

Like, get to KNOW them. Inside and out.

Your marketing message is speaking to someone, so who is it?

Is she a 27-year-old young professional who keeps missing her periods, and it’s putting a serious damper on her natural family planning method of birth control?

Or a 50-something mom whose kids are leaving home, and she’s sick to death of her suit jackets fitting too tight?

Both of these women are likely experiencing hormonal imbalances, but one cares about not having a baby, and the other cares about water retention and weight loss.

 

To be clear: What YOU want to say matters very little when it comes to your marketing. Instead, you have to create marketing that speaks to what your patients need to hear. 

 

Yes, we do that integrally; we’re not going to make promises we can’t keep.

But to get your message out to your patients, you have to speak their language and let them know you understand their problems. Hormonal balance means very little to a sweaty, frustrated lady getting ready for work and splitting a seam of her favorite suit.

She wants solutions that mean something to her.

Click here if you need help getting to know your patients.

Third, make your message practical (and entertaining!)

You might have a PhD, ND, MD combo and an alphabet of letters after your name.

But if you can’t offer your patients practical solutions, it’s unlikely that they’ll work with you.

People are looking for answers to their questions, and yes, sometimes they’re long-term, complex health questions that require your expertise.

 

But your marketing, the front-facing portion of your practice, should solve the basic problems of your niche versus blogs and articles so complex they need a dictionary to get through them.

 

You might be thinking…Victoria, how can I solve the problems of someone I haven’t even met?

Go back to step two, above: Get familiar with your ideal patient and their biggest problems and questions.

Focus all your marketing on letting them know you understand what they’re experiencing, combined with a hearty dose of how to ease their frustration.

The mom with a too-tight suit jacket due to hormonal imbalance?

Talk to her about the importance of adequate sleep, electrolyte balance, and sticking to one drink versus two or three glasses of wine to reduce water retention.

DON’T talk at her about the delicate balance of estrogen, progesterone, and vasopressin that can easily become imbalanced during the menopausal transition.

See the difference?

And while it might seem like a big order, can you keep her entertained at the same time?

Humans love a good story…like learning about effective marketing messages via a nightmare UTI in the middle of an international trip.

Need help getting your marketing message out there?

We’re expert storytellers and SEO-obsessed marketers, and we’d love to help get your message out to your patients.

Click here to start a free 7-day trial of our monthly marketing membership, a robust, community-based membership of badass clinicians who support each other with lots of excellent marketing strategies (and plenty of love).