Give and You Shall Receive

January 7, 2009 – 11:34 am

Last summer, I discussed how being active in your community is an easy, inexpensive way to get your practice name out to current and prospective patients. This includes supporting charities, attending city council meetings or buying ad space in the school’s yearbook. Today, I’m focusing on one of these in particular: supporting charities.

Teaming up with a local charity is a way to not only give back to your community but also allows you to create a strong network as a means to market your practice – also known as charity marketing.

When I was first told about charity marketing, it made me uncomfortable. That possibly the intention for giving was wrong. However, after much thought and research, I realized it’s a two-way street. As you begin to link your name to a charity, three things are happening:

1. You are creating awareness for a charity you believe in.2. Your practice name is being talked about.3. And finally, you are playing an integral role of increasing contributions to the charity.That said, when choosing which charity to support, don’t pick a charity to just pick one. You need to do your research. First, you want to find a charity that is aligned with your practice. It needs to be something you not only believe in but also a charity your patients can relate to. Finally, all charities are going to have different types of demands, whether it’s contributions or time spent volunteering. You want to ensure your practice will be able to handle these expectations.After you decide which charity your practice will support, you need to decide how to link your name to the charity. There are a lot of ways in which you can do this:

• Create marketing materials about the charity that feature your practice name, and hand them out to patients.
• Team up with other local practices to sponsor a fundraiser.
• Release press releases to local newspapers.
• Encourage your employees to volunteer at events.
• And, finally, ask the charity to recognize your support.

 Does your practice support any charities?

-Mary