Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Dear Amonteleone,

So, your target audience consists of physicians, senior living communities, and hospitals.

Good. Clinical, but good.

And?

Let me put it this way. Were I a physician in a senior living community, what might my needs be? What might the needs of my patients be?

Were I in this position and were I in the market to buy some kind of Intensive Outpatient Counseling Center for Seniors, what might I be in need of? What might my problems, concerns, dreams desires, and wants be?

Likewise my patients?

I've got news for you. Your customers are NOT physicians, senior living communities, or hospitals. Your customers are people. People with needs, fears, wants, dreams, and desires. Your customers are people who are worried about their health benefits, fearful that they'll run out of money, afraid of losing control of their faculties or of losing the people they love.

All of which means one vital thing: what you are NOT going to do is sell to senior living communities or hospitals.

They are NOT people, they are empty boxes.

It's important here that you understand this. Give your message LIFE, give it TEETH, give it LUNGS and a VOICE.

Give your message a HEART. Give it PERSONALITY. Give it meaning and bloody-well make sure that your meaning MATTERS to the people that are going to be reading it.

I'm originally from the UK. Almost five years ago, my Dad died.

One November evening as my Mum was making a pot of tea he had a massive heart attack at his home in England. Despite the best efforts of my Mum's CPR, and the care of two EMS men, a paramedic, and at least 30 minutes of resuscitation, my Dad
never really recovered.

He died peacefully in his sleep, 56 hours later, just as my plane was taking off from Philadelphia.

I arrived nine hours too late. He was 73.

How would you have comforted my family in this situation? How would you have helped my Mum through the following four and a half years? How would your service have benefited her and other people like her?

Don't sell. Don't market. Don't target.

In fact, just stop, just for a moment and think. Really, really THINK.

Think about your parents, think about your best friend's grandmother, or the elderly lady at the newsstand, or the blind man at the bus stop. Look. In fact, take to to really really SEE people, their needs, their wants, and their fears. Fears of death, of old age, of not being able to care for themselves or for someone else they really, truly love.

I want to you go to the movies. Go and see the animated movie "UP". Don't think "it's just a kid's movie", it's not. It's a lot of things but a kids movie it is certainly not.

To connect, to really make a difference, you must make an effort to reach out to people and to look at the things that drive people, you've got to see the things that matter to people, to feel the things that matter and you've got to give people a reason to BELIEVE that you can make a difference to their lives.

You want to offer your referral sources something new each month? Offer them humanity, dignity, kindness, hope, faith, care, a hand to hold, a smile, a hug and reassurance that no matter what they might think or feel, that they are not alone.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA