Now that you have all the data, it’s time to put it all together and craft a clear statement about how you’re unique, and why your patients should choose you.
Your USP should be written in about 90 words or less. It is the basis for all of your marketing.
It is the message that you are trying to convey to the masses, which is why it is the first step in this process.
A good USP helps you get more prospective patients; causes you to convert more prospective patients; causes your patients to do more business with you, and refer more of their family and friends to you.
To re-iterate, an effective USP, properly communicated to your patients and prospective patients, will cause an:
- Increase in prospects
- Increase in conversions of prospects to patients
- Increase in the amount of business your current patients do with you.
These are the only 3 ways any practice grows.
Some U.S.P. Examples
Dominos Pizza: “Fresh hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less… or it’s free.”
Federal Express: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there over night.”
From my chiropractic practice: “Providing relief without any popping, twisting, turning or cracking.”
Notice how with Dominos they don’t say they have the best pizza, or even good pizza, and
they don’t just say they will have your pizza to you ASAP.
Notice how FedEx doesn’t say they’ll get it to you faster than anyone else.
Notice how the chiropractic example doesn’t guarantee results, or say anything about being gentle, or good for the whole family.
The common denominator in all of these examples is specificity.
Be specific with your USP.
Rosser Reeves, who coined the phrase Unique Selling Proposition, said that an effective USP must do the following:
- The proposition must say to the prospective customer (patient): “Buy the product (service), and you will get this specific result.”
- The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not offer. It must
be unique. - The proposition must be so strong that it moves the masses.
Two things I might add is that an effective USP must also attract those who are a perfect fit for your practice, and repel those who are not a good fit for what you do.
For instance, (and this is very important if you’re an upper cervical doctor) there are those who are chiropractic patients simply because they love the crack and pop and release they feel when they receive a traditional adjustment. The USP above would repel that brand of patient. This is a good thing because it eliminates the possibility of that person being dissatisfied with an upper cervical adjustment.
Eliminating dissatisfaction from your patient base ensures that they’ll return to do more business with you, and will stimulate more referrals of their family and friends.