Rick's Business of Audiology Blog

Employment Test Question

Fill a bathtub next to a sink.

Offer the applicant a siphon, a bucket, a paper cup, or a tablespoon, and ask them to empty the tub.

If they cannot decide quickly then you don't want to hire them for a job where they need to make decisions.

If they pick the siphon then they might be good for a government job where making things more complicated than they need to be is Ok.

If they pick the bucket then they might be good for a job where physical strength is desirable, but precision isn't.

If they pick the paper cup then they might be good for a job where thinking ahead isn't important, because the paper won't last.

If they pick the tablespoon spoon then they might be good for a job where activity paid by the hour is important, but accomplishing anything is not.

The one you want to hire will just pull the plug.

Should Audiologists "Friend" their Patients?

This is an easy question to answer if you realize it depends:

If you are an independent professional and your patients will have you as a Facebook friend absolutely!

It is an implied endorsement of your practice. It enables them to connect with you and you them. Audiology is a personal service business; with a big emphasis on personal. So if they are your patients then why would you not want to friend them? This is the cheapest marketing available to you.

You may even want to have a personal and a professional Facebook account as your professional page might be different from a Facebook page you use with your high school friends. You could have one account as Richard Poage, Au.D. for your professional contacts, and another account as Rick Poage for your friends. This is not as weird as it might at first sound. You would present yourself differently at an office open house than at a class reunion at the lake. Your patients don't need, or probably want, to see you in your swimsuit with a beverage. Your classmates probably don't really care about your office promotion. You may even have someone on your staff update and monitor your professional page for you, just like they answer you phone and monitor the appearance of your reception area.

If you are not an independent professional and your patients belong to your employer, then no.

If you are working in a situation where the patients are not yours, but the hospitals, or the VA's, or some other group where you have no real connection with them as individuals but only as people your employer puts on tour schedule, then no you would not want to friend them. You have no real control over who you see or what kind of people they are. You have no control over why they come to you or what they may think of your employer.

In this situation you may want to even limit your personal page so most is only visible to particular people.

Rick Poage

907-229-3480

Marketing Leverage Points

A leverage point is a place where the relationship between your customer and your business changes.

Customers must move past these leverage points as they progress on your customer journey.

For example: They don't know you exist to they know you exist. A big difference in your ability to serve them.

Good advertising moves customers across your leverage points in a cost effective manner.

A Good Marketing Piece

A good marketing piece changes the relationship of the target audience with your business or product in a desirable manner.

They didn't know you exist; to they know you exist.

They didn't know you provided a product they needed; to they know you provide a product they need.

They didn't know they needed your product; to they know they need your product.

They have never called you; to they have called you. Etc.

Pretty Ad Often Isn’t a Good Ad

The best looking advertisements often aren't the best advertisements.

Unless of course your purpose is to create a work of art.

I have seen so many printed marketing pieces that are described to me as nice looking, or good looking, or pretty. Today a client told me they liked the piece because it looked good, and then wondered why it didn't bring in many people. I asked them what message it conveyed. This was followed by a long uncomfortable pause. They didn't know.

Thinking Independently

Genie: "I come from the lamp and I am here to grant you three wishes."

Genie: "What is your first wish?"

Person: "I wish for more wishes."

Genie: "I cannot grant more wishes, only three."

Genie: "What is your second wish?"

Person: "I wish for three more lamps with Genies just like you."

Genie: "Wish Granted. You have hit the jackpot!"