Connecting The Dots of Healthcare

Before retuning home from San Diego, my family and I stopped by to see two friends we made years ago on a dive trip in the Cayman Islands. At the time only my wife and I were certified divers. Now the whole gang, with the exception of my youngest daughter, are all certified. So when we took a fast boat to Catalina Island off the California coast near Los Angeles, we went diving.

My son, Michael, excels at discovering sea life other divers may miss. He found two moray eels in a crevice, octopus, two camouflaged bottom fish (no one else could see), and enough lobsters to have a feast, (if it had not been a protected area!) His expertise is partially because of his experience as a “tank diver” at the Riverbanks Zoo Aquarium in Columbia, SC, (he’s logged hundreds of hours as an aquatic specialist in the tank), but mainly because of a lesson we all learned on a dive in Cozumel, Mexico.

Our dive master, Pedro, was simply amazing at discovering wildlife. We asked him, “How did you know where those animals were?” He said, “I know where they like to live. So if I see a place they should be living in, that’s where I’ll probably find them.” Don’t waste your time looking all over for a particular marine animal:

• figure out where they live
• learn to recognize the environment they like
• identify the right niche before you start looking
• dramatically improve in your ability to find what you’re looking for

If you don’t see a preferred environment for a specific species, don’t waste your time looking for them!

When he said this, I immediately applied it to my business. When we look for clients, too often we broadcast advertising and spend extraordinary amounts of time, money, and effort marketing to whoever might receive a message. But by understanding the power of focusing on a specific market segment that our message will mean something to, and convert to business, we save time, money, and effort when we know “where they live.”

It’s a simple but profound strategy. Know who needs your product or service. Find out where they live. Look for business by recognizing where potential clients/patients live and focus your marketing efforts in those areas. If you’re selling in an environment where your customers don’t live… you’re wasting your time, money and effort.

Who knows, you may also find two morays in a crevice too!