Creativity is Just Connecting Dots

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss how a clinic can appear closed even when it’s open, sparked by Tyson’s Arizona trip where a busy cafe looked shut due to tinted windows, unclear signage, and no visible hours. They explain that “a confused mind says no” and that the patient experience begins before someone reaches reception, so practices should look welcoming and easy to enter. Key takeaways include viewing your clinic from a new patient’s perspective, making entrances and parking obvious, posting clear opening hours and an “open” sign, and ensuring consistency across your website, Google Business Profile, voicemail, and booking links—especially around holidays. They recommend a daily “open for business” checklist, checking visibility at different times of day, and asking reception what new patients find confusing.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss how podiatrists can build stronger referral relationships through outreach that feels personal, not generic. They explain that many potential referrers (urgent care, pediatricians, dermatologists, PTs, endocrinology, orthopedics) often don’t know what podiatrists treat or how quickly they can see patients, so practices must clearly communicate a focused set of services they want more of. The episode outlines using AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to quickly build and maintain targeted referral lists from online sources, craft specific letters that address each referrer’s needs, and refine existing materials while carefully verifying accuracy. They emphasize consistent multi-touch outreach (letters, postcards, coffee/lunch-and-learns) and tracking results by asking patients who referred them, digging beyond “Google,” and closing the loop with prompt consult notes.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin share 21 video ideas that aren’t directly about foot problems but still help market a podiatry clinic by building trust and familiarity. Tyson suggests filming behind-the-scenes content such as orthotic cover gluing and materials, orthotic adjustments, equipment servicing, wax foot bath setup, instrument sterilization and autoclave processes, tools and blade types, treatment room prep and cleaning products, and practical patient guidance like car parking directions, online booking tutorials, and navigating the clinic website. They also recommend introducing team members on video, giving a full clinic tour (including technology like milling machines), and creating seasonal or event-based videos like decorating for Christmas or the Olympics, emphasizing using the right platforms and timing.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss Jim wearing a purple Stella’s Playground shirt to support an accessible playground project in Milwaukee inspired by a friend’s daughter, Stella, who has been recovering after brain cancer surgeries and rehab. They then shift to how Google Gemini has begun booking doctor appointments via Zocdoc in the U.S., moving patient behavior from searching for providers to directly securing available times, often based on insurance and real-time schedule access. Jim explains why clinics may lose patients if their calendars aren’t visible to these AI/booking networks, the tradeoffs of schedule control and patient screening, and privacy considerations like HIPAA compliance and BAAs. They discuss costs and ownership issues with intermediaries such as Zocdoc and recommend turning on EMR online scheduling, starting with limited visit types or days, and ensuring practice information is accurate across profiles.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss the idea that creativity is simply connecting existing “dots,” not inventing something from nothing, and challenge podiatrists to combine podiatry with another industry concept to generate new business ideas. Tyson shares examples of successful dot-connecting from other industries, including Capital One Café (bank + café), a coffee shop that becomes a wine bar in the afternoon, drive-through ATMs, blended cuisines, and bourbon infused with banana, emphasizing that innovation is often evolutionary. They encourage looking outside podiatry to learn from hotels, airlines, restaurants, Apple, gyms, dentists, and retail, and highlight how AI can be connected to clinic systems for notes, FAQs, follow-ups, and training. They recommend brainstorming without judgment, testing ideas, dropping what doesn’t work, and using their resources, including Tyson’s “creativity day” and Jim’s practice visibility scan.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss how clinics can prepare for the Q4 “deductible season,” when patients who deferred care earlier in the year may say yes once deductibles are met or benefits are about to reset. Jim outlines a five-part playbook: explain the deductible math patients often overlook, pull a list of deferred patients already in your EMR, send one clear recall email (with deadlines and capacity expectations), change ad messaging without necessarily increasing budget, and drive traffic to a dedicated landing page (not the homepage) that explains end-of-year benefits and answers common questions. They also stress preparing staff for increased inquiries and avoiding last-minute December demand that can create negative sentiment or reviews.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss using clinical receipts as an underused marketing tool in a podiatry clinic. Tyson explains that receipts already have unused space, so clinics can add one short, clear, memorable message to educate patients about services they may not know you offer (e.g., children’s foot care, running assessments, shockwave therapy), avoiding confusing “catalog-style” lists. He recommends rotating the message like a mini campaign—typically running proven messages for 6–8 weeks and testing new ones for at least two weeks—adjusting quickly if there’s no traction, and only promoting services you want to grow. They also suggest using color printing to grab attention, promoting specials on retail products, reinforcing the clinic website look, and applying the same idea to invoices, appointment cards, emails, treatment plans, and packaging, emphasizing consistency once you start.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss why untrackable marketing still matters for podiatry practices, explaining that Google Ads often get credit through last-click attribution even when earlier touches (referrals, signage, sponsorships, videos, word-of-mouth) created the preference. They define brand as the five or six things people associate with a clinic, not just logos and colors, and stress the value of niching (being known for one thing) and maintaining visual and verbal consistency across the website, Google Business Profile, signage, uniforms, stationery, and phone scripts. They warn that frequent rebrands reset recognition and that consistency builds trust. To gauge brand impact without a dashboard, they suggest watching direct name searches, hearing “I’ve heard of you,” lower cost per patient over time, and asking new patients why they chose the clinic over others.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss how podiatry clinics can use promotional products as a strategic marketing tool, not generic swag. They emphasize starting with a clear goal (brand awareness, loyalty, referrals, niche services, or conversation starters), choosing useful, good-quality items that people keep, and avoiding cheap products that get thrown away or create negative associations. They suggest selecting items that travel outside the home (bottles, towels, caps, socks, bags) to increase visibility, using clever wording and designs to spark conversations, reinforcing patient education with tips printed on items, tailoring products to patient niches (runners, kids, older patients, orthotic and pain patients), and remembering professional referrers with high-quality gifts. They also recommend leveraging community events and measuring value beyond cost per item by choosing products people would hate to lose.✉️ Contact: [email protected]

📊 Free for Practice Owners: Get custom insights showing exactly how patients find you online (or why they're not) → https://podiatry.marketing/reportIn this episode of Podiatry Marketing, Jim McDannald, DPM, and Tyson Franklin discuss why attending in-person podiatry conferences matters beyond earning CME, arguing that the real value comes from hallway and dinner conversations, benchmarking your practice against peers, and building relationships that lead to better clinical and business decisions. Jim shares insights from the APMA National Conference, emphasizing that the visible cost of attending often outweighs the “invisible” long-term cost of skipping, including missing what colleagues are charging, solving problems others have already solved, and falling behind on new standards like shockwave. They cover how conferences reduce owner isolation, how hiring associates often starts years before a job ad through networking, and why you should go with a plan, connect with strangers, and follow up within seven days to make the trip pay off.✉️ Contact: [email protected]