The 4P Framework for a Physician Brand Patients Can Find

Transcript YouTube English auto-captions. Hey guys, welcome to another edition of Bootstrap MD, the podcast for physician and healthcare entrepreneurs. My name is Dr. Mike Wuing. I'm a two decade plus physician entrepreneur. I run my own practices. I have online businesses. I consult with other physicians to helping them take control of their physician life and career. And today we're going to deep dive into something that I think can literally transform your practice, your business overnight. And that is branding. Now, before you think branding is just some marketing gobbly good, I want you to stick with me because I want to share with you is the difference between struggling to fill your schedule at discount rates and having a waiting list of ideal patients who happily pay premium prices for your expertise. So, I know two dermatologists, both board certified, both tremendous credentials, both have been practicing for about a decade, both offer the exact same Botox treatments. But here's where it gets a bit interesting. One doctor charges $9.99 for Botox. He advertises on Groupon, maybe does some of the local deal sites. His waiting room looks like it hasn't been updated since 1995. Outdated magazines, uncomfortable chairs for restaurant lighting. Patients wait 45 minutes past their appointment time. and they finally get to see the dermatologist. He rushes through consultations in about 8 minutes because he needs to see as many patients as possible to make the numbers work. That's Dr. A. Dr. B, on the other hand, has a $3,000 package with primarily the same treatment. Her patients drive 2 hours or more to see her. They refer their friends without being asked. She sp solidly out for 6 months. And here's the kicker. She works few hours than Dr. A and makes significantly more money. So what's the difference? Is Dr. B a better physician? Does she have some secret technique, better equipment, more training? No, the difference is branding. Dr. B didn't just happen into her success. She positions herself. She calls herself the rejuvenation specialist for executive women. She builds a constant presence across LinkedIn, Instagram, and through a weekly newsletter that provides real value. She showcases compelling proof through before and after galleries and has been featured in forums and local business journals. Now, she's delivering what I call a premium experience from the marble reception area to zero waiting times to the personalized follow-up care text she sends personally. Now, I just kind of made up those examples, but those are to protect the innocent here are real examples of some of the clients that I've worked with over the last few years. And today's episode, I'm going to show you the exact framework that we use. We call it our 4P framework for physician branding that's going to help you build a brand that patients trust and pay premium prices for. This sounds interesting. Let's get ready to get started. Why branding matters. Let's talk about it. Here's a truth most physicians don't want to admit. Branding equals perception. And in healthcare, perception is everything. without intentionally branding. You're just another commodity competing on price and convenience. With it, you become a category of one. Think about it this way. When patients are choosing a physician, especially for elective procedures or specialized care, they're not just buying your medical expertise. What they're buying is certainty. They're buying confidence. They're buying the belief that you're the right person to trust them with their health, their appearance, and their quality of life. And that's the key insight I want to share with you because in medicine, trust equals currency. The more trust you build, the more you can charge and the better patients you will attract. Now, I want to be clear about something. Branding isn't just about marketing. It's not about flashy logos or clever slogans. True physician branding is the foundation that allow you to attract better patients, reduce burnout by working with people you actually want to help, and yet set premium pricing that reflects the true value of your expertise. When you don't have a clear brand, you might end up like Dr. A from our opening story. They're competing with urgent care centers and online services on price alone. You'll become trapped in what we call the race to the bottom. You don't want to do that where you're seeing more patients for less money, burning yourself out, and still struggling financially. There is a low price leader out there. It's called Walmart. Most of us are not set up to become a Walmart. What you need to do is build a strong brand like Dr. B. That's where the magic happens. Patients start choosing you because you're not the cheapest, but because you position yourself as the best solution for their specific problem. They become invested in your success because you become invested in their transformation. So, let's take a dive into how you build this kind of brand using my 4P framework. So, what's the four P framework? Four things. Starts with P. Positioning, presence, proof, and premium. And each P builds on the previous one and they create what I call premium positioning where patients see you as the obvious choice despite higher prices. So let's go through each one step by step. We'll give you some examples and some action steps that you can implement immediately. So the first P P1 positioning and this is absolutely critical to get right because everything else builds on this foundation. Positioning is about identifying exactly who you serve and the specific transformation you provide. Because here's the truth, guys. If you serve everyone, guess what? You're serving no one profitably. So, I see physicians all the time say things like, "I provide quality health care for all patients. I treat all ages, all conditions." That's not position. That's actually leading into commodity thinking. And commodity providers get commodity pricing. So, let me give you a simple formula that will change how you think about your practice. So I help a specific audience that blank achieve a specific result without blank a specific pain point. So let me break this down. The specific audience isn't just demographics like women over 40. It's psychoraphics, their values, their lifestyle, their concerns, their goals. For example, busy executives who travel frequently or weekend warriors who refuse to give up their active lifestyle or new mothers who want to feel confident in their own skin again. So, the specific result isn't better health, it's a transformation. You've heard me use that word again and again that they can visualize. They want to return to competitive tennis without pain. They want to look 10 years younger. They want to have the energy to keep up with their kids. And the specific pain point is what they want to avoid the most without endless doctor visits. without looking artificial, without disrupting their demanding schedule. So, let me give you an example. Work with a family physician. They were struggling with flat revenue and burnout. And their original positioning was comprehensive family medicine for all ages. I had to give some tough love here. It sounded generic. So, then I said, "Let's position yourself as the hormone health expert. We work with women over 35 who want to get their energy back." She's the same MD, the same office, same bic services, but we've changed the positioning on here. So, as a result, she's had increasing in revenue and she's now become the person for that specific problem. That's an ideal place that you want to be in, guys. Cuz women start driving or even flying in because they see her as positioned as a specialist. And guess what? As someone who's been in primary care, specialists are the ones who's going to command the higher rates. So exercise you could do is I help blank achieve blank without blank. So if you can't fill in those blanks clearly and specifically your position needs work and until you do that everything else will be less effective because when you start position yourself that's going to make you more specialized and the specialist command the higher rates. And when someone has a specific problem and your position as the solution for that problem, price becomes secondary because what they want are results. The second P is presence. So your brand must be seen where patients are. You must be consistent everywhere it appears. So that's the consistency rule guys. Your brand should be so consistent that if I removed your name from all of your materials, people will still know it's you. So I think of online presence and offline presence. So what does it mean online present? Obviously, your website, it's got to be active, consistent, great content. You should have an active Google My Business profile. You should have social media platforms where your patients spend time on Instagram, Facebook. Where are they at? That's where you need to focus on. And any content you create, this could be podcast, YouTube videos, a newsletter. But it's not just about being everywhere. It's about being consistently excellent wherever you choose to show up. And if you feel overwhelmed, I would rather you dominate like one platform than to be mediocre on five. So, one doctor that we work with was committed to posting one 60-cond exercise as an orthopedic surgeon on Instagram every Tuesday for a year. It says 60 seconds, one minute, just one post a week. But he became consistent on it. So, people were saying, "I saw your Tuesday tip on knee pain before he even introduced himself." That consistency builds recognition and it builds trust. more importantly, it positioned himself as the go-to expert for his specialty, which was in sports injuries. And guess what? They allowed him to charge premium rates and attract the exact patients he wanted to work with, active people who valued and appreciated his expertise. So, that's online. Offline, this should be a no-brainer for you guys. You need to start thinking about where your audience is at. Are they at community events? You need to be involved with strategic partnerships with complimentary businesses. Those who don't directly compete with you but can assist you so they have the similar type of patients. Build relationships with local media as the go-to expert in your field. And again, and this is where you want to be consistent. You want to see use the same professional headsh shot across all platforms. But I see where they make a mistake. They'll do a formal headsh shot on their own website, maybe more casual, maybe an outdated picture with a family and they've already divorced and move on. And that's going to can be confusing to patients. You want to use the same key language. If you position yourself as the shoulder specialist on your website, don't call yourself a general orthopedic surgeon on LinkedIn. It's the visual elements, what type of colors you have, the fonts, the styles across all different materials. That's what we call brand recognition. You've heard of that. This is where patients see your content and they immediately know it's from you. So an action step that you guys can take from that is to take screenshots of your website, your Google business profile, LinkedIn, social media accounts. Are there any inconsistencies in photos, in messaging, in their visual presentation? Pick the three biggest inconsistencies and fix them this week. By just doing this simple exercise, it's going to prove how professional and trustworthy you appear to potential patients. Third one is proof. Third P is proof. This is where you build trust through evidence. And in medicine, trust is everything. So proof equals credibility plus results plus story. So let's break down the type of proof that matters to most patients. Patient transformations, before and after photos. I know it sounds cliche, but they work. That's why they do. When there's appropriate success stories, testimonials that highlight specific results, not just generic praise. Secondly, professional recognition. Media features, speaking engagements, awards, publications, not just cheesy things, best of that you pay to play on there. Things that position yourself as an authority in your field. And this one's really often overlooked with proof is your personal story. Why did you become a doctor? Why did you specialize in what you do? What drives your passion for helping patients? This crew mates an emotional connection that pure credentials can't match. A simple framework is challenge, journey, mission. What is the challenge? So for mine is I talk about how my wife became my first patient. She was struggling with a lot of issues when she was parmenopausal, fatigue, mood swings, migraine headaches on here. And the journey was how I developed my expertise. I came from a conventional medical background and male clinic and they actually have to seek what changed our clinic was into biioidentical hormone therapy and that was outside the mainstream. I had to jump out of my comfort zone on theirs. But my thing was I wanted to get my wife to feel better, to feel the best version of herself on here. And that's the mission. And she became my first patient. And since then, we've seen thousands of patients after she became patient number one, after her health and our relationship improved, after she got the hormone therapy. And that's where my mission is today. And that's what gets me excited about treating patients. And that's what I share with my patients today or a new patient that comes in. And so you have to be consistent at it. Opportunity. was like after every successful patient outcome we asked them is like can you share your experience it could be a testimonial could be on a video make it easy for them it could be a form record as video testimonials and people are usually happy when you frame it as helping others rather than just promoting yourself here I'll give you another homework assignment I want you if you're a practice owner reach out to three recent successful patients this week and ask for testimonials focus on patients who had specific measurable results that align with your position listening and then also write your three sentence like why I became a doctor story or why did I open my own practice using that challenge journey mission framework and this is something you can share in conversations on your website on podcast episodes and in interviews and then finally the final P is premium premium is where branding translates into higher rates and better patients and here's the mindset shift you need to make just charging for your time you're charging for your expertise your experience and the transformation information you provide. Premium pricing isn't about being expensive just for the sake of being expensive. It's about positioning yourself as a premium solution and then delivering a premium experience that justifies your rates. So, let me give you an experience element that matters the most. Communication. You offer same day responses, patient inquiries, direct access to you when needed, proactive updates about your care, the environment. You know, if you have a brick and mortar, it's a thoughtful design space or reflects quality and attention to detail. minimum weight times, follow-up, personal check-ins, comprehensive care coordination, going above and beyond your expectations, then convenience. Do you provide flexible scheduling? You offer concier style services. You want to make their experience as smooth as possible. If I was a patient, what would I want from my doctor? And here's a psychology behind pricing. When you undercharge, patient unconsciously think is if the doctor doesn't value their own expertise, why should I? Premium pricing actually signals premium value. I see doctors all the time and I'm guilty of this myself. I apologize for my fees or feel guilty charging what we're worth. And that energy transfers to patients and makes them question your value. So then you need to confidently communicate your value. So when a patient says and you have to script these out when patient say, you know, this seems expensive. I said this expense, it's an investment. And the best investment you can make is to yourself. So when you're investing in hormone therapy, you're not just getting the procedure. You're getting my 20 plus years of being a physician, decade long experience of studying and understanding hormones and going into conferences and educating myself on the best of the best. You're getting comprehensive follow of care and the confidence comes with my specific approach. And then when they compare you to lower price alternatives and you're right, there are less expensive options. The difference is what and can you answer that? My patients choose to work to me because I get them results and I give them a great experience and that's why we've been in business for long. The investment ensures that you're going to get the best results and the best version of yourself. It's really important that you focus on this premium positioning. And one homework assignment that you can do is evaluate your current pricing right now. Are you charging what your expertise is worth? Are you discounting yourself to compete with lesser qualified providers? Second is identify three ways to improve your patient experience immediately. This could be as simple as reducing your weight times, improving your communication, or upgrading your patient materials. And then finally, practice your value creation scripts so you can deliver them confidently without having to apologize for your rates. You want your patients to deserve the best. I know you do. So why not charge giving them the best service? And with that service comes a premium on here. So, I know that's a lot of information and I want to share with you some common mistakes I make. Now, mistake number one when they apply this 4P framework here is the everyone trap. When you try to appeal to everyone, this creates what I call a blurry brand. All ages, all conditions. It sounds comprehensive, but then you're competing against urgent care directors on price and convenient, and you're going to lose. So, you need to reposition yourself. If you work with special needs kids, say it. I offer comprehensive care health care for families with special needs children. Same medical degree, same services, but now he was the doctor for that specific situation. Mistake number two is having inconsistent messaging that really confuses patients. So that one with a cardiologist who has a LinkedIn profile said he provides cutting edge cardiac procedures but his website shows traditional conservative care and his social media shows lifestyle content with no medical focus on there. Again you have to be consistent and it's going to require discipline. You know you should have what we call a brand guide with all your key messages and stick to them everywhere you get. Every piece of communication should reinforce your core positioning. And mistake number three, this is the one that I get the biggest headaches on, is that race to the bottom. They see their competitor charging X number per procedure or per treatment and then they feel that they need to go even lower. And it's going to cause a nightmare scenario, not only for yourself, for your staff, but just being able to keep yourself in business. You know, I prefer quality over quantity. Your goal is not to get 40 plus patients a day, getting completely burned out, working evenings, working weekends, and still making less more than before. raise your prices, you can improve your positioning, focusing on providing value rather than price. If you do that, I guarantee you're going to see half as many patients and probably make twice as much money and enjoying practicing medicine again. So, in a nutshell, that was my framework, the 4 P framework for that. Just to summarize again, the P1 is positioning, number two is presence, number three is proof, and number four is premium. So get that. I guarantee you your practice is going to be the one that's going to be the authority. You're going to be the one that is going to separate those physicians who are operating on commodity from those specialists who are able to trace charge premium prices. Your patients deserve clear and value communication and you deserve to prove to practice that serves both their needs and your financial goals. So I hope you enjoy this. If it is, feel free to share this episode with some of your colleagues. And remember guys, you're going to have your ups and downs as a physician entrepreneur. Do something a little each day to get you closer to your goals and keep moving forward.