Podiatry and Transparency, Why It’s Important.

Transparency is a very popular topic nowadays. And for good reason. Society has been molded to “trust but verify” the days of a “gentleman’s handshake” and taking someone’s word for it has faded quickly.

In this modern world, we obviously have technology and tools that allow us to share information so much easier than at any other point in history.

Of course, there are both pros and cons to that fact:

• On one hand, we’re able to check facts, do proactive research, and acquire objective metrics and data in virtually a blink of the eye.
• On the other, many people are concerned about their privacy being invaded. If that’s not enough, there is so much conflicting information that everyone needs to put in so much more effort just to know if what they’re being told or are reading is accurate and factual. (A truly daunting task!)

If you think about it, both sides of the coin are related to the matter at hand: transparency and why it is so important.

With the access technology enables, you and your patients have the potential to be armed with greater knowledge and insight than ever before. All that information being so readily available naturally leads to more transparency.

At the same time, it also means you need to be diligent with the information you are providing.

As you’ll see, this is quite relevant to both running and marketing a successful podiatry practice.

To give you the best possible picture, we’re going to discuss this subject in two different ways:

1. The transparency you give
2. The transparency you receive

In doing so, you’ll understand how both parts play major roles in allowing you to achieve your goals and build a successful, thriving podiatry practice.

Let’s start with a quick look at the transparency you provide to your patients.

Why does being transparent matter so much?

As a practice owner, it’s in your best interest to keep existing patients and keep bringing in new ones, right?

Fortunately, a healthy dose of transparency can work on both fronts!

To start, being transparent is essentially a matter of being clear and honest with your patients – this is instrumental in establishing trust.

Trust matters more than you might think:

Consumers (including patients) will almost always decide to do business—like coming in for an appointment with a local podiatrist—with brands they trust.

After all, are you more likely to take your car to a mechanic you know for a fact does exceptional work and is committed to quality, or take a risk with an unknown auto shop that has no online reviews (or perhaps even a website)?

Easy choice, no?

Well, the same holds true for a podiatry practice.

If you are transparent with patients, it builds trust (which becomes an invaluable part of your brand).

Along with building that trust, it adds to the value your patients receive from their experience with your office.

And how can transparency do that for them?

Because being open and cutting out unpleasant surprises shows that you care about your patients’ time.

This is important. Everyone’s life is busy, and time is our most precious resource.

Patients who feel cared for in this way are more likely to refer your practice to friends and family and leave positive online reviews.

That also holds true when you use a transparent approach to reduce patient fears.

Being kept in the dark—especially with medical issues—is a scary proposition for most people. Humans want to know what can be expected, and transparency goes a long way toward doing exactly that.

One more way that being transparent matters for your practice is this:

When you do this right, you come across as authentic.

Probably no big surprise here, but people place greater importance on actions over words. (How many times have you heard the saying “Actions speak louder than words?”) While transparency in your words is vital, congruency between those words and what you do is even more so.

The great thing about that is when you have an authentic brand, you stand out from the crowd.

In today’s “loud” environment, you need to rise above the noise. Your digital marketing plays a major role in that – but an authentic, transparent brand is going to take it a step further to make you your community’s #1 choice for podiatric care.

Before we flip the script and see why the transparency you receive matters more than you might think, here’s a quick caveat:

You should avoid forcing transparency or putting out an image of your brand you aren’t living up to.

Remember, humans have an internal sense of when something is “off.”

If they think your attempts at transparency aren’t legitimate, it will have a negative impact on the results you’re trying to achieve. Period.

(The good news is that’s an easy fix – just be open and honest about who you really are and what you’re doing!)

So how about the transparency you—as a practice owner—receive?

You can probably think of several ways you and your podiatry practice appreciate receiving transparency in return. If nothing else, patients being open and honest with you is imperative for your ability to treat their conditions.

But we want to focus this in on an area many podiatrists—and perhaps you’re one of them—feel is shrouded in mystery.

Digital marketing.

We know it’s easy to think of marketing (digital or traditional) as being a lot like voodoo.

This popular misconception can likely be attributed to the simple fact that marketing is a complicated practice; one consisting of many processes, techniques, and methodologies that might not seem remotely related to the key objective.

For those who aren’t in the marketing field, it can seem equivalent to sticking pins in Voodoo dolls.

(Fun fact: Contrary to what most people believe, the intent of Voodoo dolls is to bless—not curse—someone.)

For the fact alone, we absolutely understand why digital marketing can be so frustrating:

Digital marketing is an essential investment if you want to grow your podiatry practice.

It’s only natural you would want to understand what is happening with your marketing efforts and what kinds of results are being seen.

Really, this is extremely similar to what your patients want and expect, you know?

In the same way that transparency matters to your patients, our team knows it matters to you.

That said, there’s a major reason behind transparency that you might not have considered:

Getting transparency from your marketing agency can increase how much return you receive from your investment – something any business (podiatry practice or otherwise) wants.

Alright, so how do you get a stronger ROI from transparency?

Well, here are four important ways:

1.  Greater value. You receive greater value when you can measure for yourself the progress and performance of the services your marketing agency provides. That’s not the case with agencies who hide these numbers and aren’t transparent with you. When you can see the numbers, you then have the opportunity to ask questions on all metrics—both positive and negative—and work closely with the team to collaborate and discuss adjustments as necessary. In fact, doing this as a proactive approach can often lead to better results from marketing efforts.

2.  More trust. In his exceptional book The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, Stephen M. R. Covey shows how trusting others makes things faster and easier. When an agency is trustworthy and transparent with you, it means more can be accomplished in less time – thereby boosting your ROI.

3.  Peace of mind. A transparent digital marketing agency saves you time you’d otherwise spend having to reach out and get numbers pulled for you (whenever you have questions or simply want to see what’s happening). Even better is when you get proper training in how to do this on your own. That’s why our account managers spend time with clients, providing education on the metrics being highlighted and answering questions about what you are seeing. And when the data is reviewed, it comes directly from Google (so you know it’s objective and trustworthy).

4.  Improved experience. Again, if your patients have exceptional experiences with your office—and transparency plays a key role in that—they don’t waste time reflecting on a bad visit or trying to process confusing information. Instead, they can go forward focusing on things that matter to them. When you work with an open, honest agency, that’s what you experience for yourself.

Guaranteed transparency and VMD Services

No matter if you’re a client who’s known this for years or you are currently evaluating digital marketing agencies to find a good fit, here’s the simple fact of the matter:

Being as transparent as possible has always been one of our main goals here at VMD Services.

And now we’re taking it a step further by offering the guaranteed transparency you just can’t find from the other guys out there.

So how are we doing this?

With our new Success Studio client portal!

Okay, what’s that?

Here’s the “CliffsNotes” version:

The Success Studio is a tool that provides guaranteed transparency.

With it, you can access objective, unbiased data at the tips of your fingers – any time, day or night.

There’s so much more to this revolutionary new digital marketing tool, however. (To learn more about it, check out this blog post!)

Oh yeah, as you can see in that post, we offer this tool exclusively to all clients at no additional charge. How cool is that?

Grow your practice with transparent digital marketing!

At the end of the day:

The transparency you provide should matter to you because it matters to your patients. This is a key element to building and maintaining your patient base. It’s also an important part of your brand and the trust you establish with patients.

Similarly, the transparency you receive from your digital marketing agency matters – both to you and to us here at VMD Services.

If you want to work with a transparent agency that is firmly committed to helping you achieve your practice goals, then we are the right choice for you.

We’ve helped many clients grow their practices and see more of their ideal patients throughout the years. If this is something you’re interested in, please feel free to reach out and we’d be happy to chat with you! Call us at (833) 823-3335 or take advantage of our online form to connect with us right now.