At Radiant Radiant Pain Relief Centres, we cannot rely on insurance reimbursements to sustain our business. The only way we can survive—and thrive—is by delivering real, consistent value to people seeking relief from their chronic pain. To do that, we need to think in terms of marketing.
Everyone who has taken a Marketing 101 course is taught the four (sometimes five) Ps of marketing: product, price, place, promotion… and people. Though not traditionally part of the four Ps of marketing, “people” is sometimes considered a fifth P. Given the high-touch, personal experience involved in relieving someone’s pain, we consider people to be an important component and consideration.
The First P: Product
At Radiant we’ve taken a technology, which has been ignored and misunderstood by mainstream medicine, known in the medical literature and by the FDA as Scrambler Therapy, and built a nove delivery model around it. The product is a safe, effective way to treat chronic pain, which is based on the most recent pain science. That science is that chronic pain is more of a problem of the brain, less so the tissue. Scrambler Therapy and new technologies that we’re developing, allow us to retrain the brain through artificial nerve impulses via electrodes placed on the skin. Through this therapy we can retrain the brain back to a more normalized perception of pain to achieve significant pain relief that lasts.
This therapeutic approach, like anything involving neuroplasticity and brain retraining is really a process, not a product as in a transactional good sold, and not even a procedure, like a surgical operation. Like anything the brain is learning, repetition and exposure are necessary to enact change, particularly lasting change.
Administering this therapy effectively typically requires daily one-hour sessions for two to three weeks. For most patients, this type of consistency will result in significant, often total, relief that becomes lasting for an extended period of time. Periodic booster treatments are given to maintain results perpetually.
Therefore our product is actually a procedure, but it extends far beyond the actually treatment itself and includes a highly refined care model. This care model is designed to create consistency in the clinical outcome and to ensure consistency in the client experience. Both are necessary to build a scalable business and a strong brand.
The Second P: Price
Developing a pricing model for our therapy has taken us on an unexpected journey. Initially, we offered clients the opportunity to purchase individual sessions, or block-book ten sessions at a 20 percent discount. This led to unexpected issues.
For some people, total relief was attained in fewer than ten sessions, and they wanted a refund on unused sessions. Others were disappointed when their pain, while significantly reduced, hadn’t completely disappeared within ten sessions. Still others felt far better after ten sessions, but delayed booking booster sessions, sometimes resulting in regression.
As a result, we changed our thinking around price to better reflect that this is a process, and evolved pricing to be more like a gym membership, which gives clients access throughout the year. This membership model accomplishes at least two valuable things:
It makes treatment more affordable by spreading the cost out over time.
It encourages the appropriate level and necessary use of the process, which results in better outcomes and happier clients.
Because of this model and the ongoing nature of the therapy, with periodic boosters needed throughout the year, we develop relationships with our patients that are not typically found in other care environments. We see our clients more frequently than most other clinical environments do, and typically they’re on a path of remarkable restoration. This is amazing to be a part of. Bonding and celebration are very common, and we get to know our clients in a profound and enjoyable way, in large part because this payment model facilitates this type of access.
It’s not transactional. It’s relational. It is almost familial. Our pricing structure plays a key role in that relationship.
The Third P: Place
Radiant Pain Relief Centers differ from every other treatment modality available, and the entire environment is set up to reflect that. Our treatment rooms are set up for only one purpose: to create the best possible experience for our clients. Our treatment rooms are comfortable, even spa-like. The exam table found in most medical clinics is replaced with a very comfortable recliner chair. Pillows, blankets, water, tea, music, and soothing colors and lights are all part of the experience, and these things are not typically found in any clinical setting, from hospitals to private practices. In our minds, the client experience is critical to the outcome and the value of the investment they are making in our therapy.
Our centers have four treatment devices, which can operate simultaneously. This creates maximum efficiency, allowing us to serve the greatest number of people in the most efficient way. We have a dedicated space for all new client presentations, which is quiet and inviting, and of course, the necessary administrative and work space for our team. The key is to ensure that we can offer our therapy at an affordable price, create a phenomenal client experience, and still be profitable as a company. This is space and resource allocation not available in most clinical environments, yet one that is necessary to create a profitable operation and optimal client experience, and it has been intentionally modeled into our business to support both economics and care outcomes.
The Fourth P: Promotion
At Radiant, we’re pioneering a completely new therapy, experience, and methodology. Disrupting the status quo is difficult. Building consumer awareness, and social proof takes time. And doing so on science that is not well understood by many in traditional healthcare makes this even more of a challenge. Effective promotion is necessary to create awareness and interest and to build adoption.
Look how advertising has impacted healthcare today, with pharmaceutical companies advertising to consumers and informing them to the point that they go and “request” certain medications from their physicians.
We have had many clients ask us, “Why hadn’t I heard of this before?” or “Why doesn’t my doctor know about this?” Clearly, getting the message to those who hurt and whom we can help is highly important, to reach more people and to help the business. And our model, of owning centers, creates both the brand integrity and the economic return potential to justify the cost of direct to consumer advertising, particularly with the use of social media and earned media (PR, news coverage). Two important realities that would not exists if we simply selling devices and weren’t building our clinical delivery model.
In the early days of Radiant, we lacked the budget to do much advertising, and what we did, we did rather unsophisticatedly. Yet, it worked. People came. As we grow and gain the capacity and budget to advertise more, we’ll push forward in a significant fashion. With 100 million people in the United States suffering with chronic pain (more than those with cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease combined), there is a tremendous need to reach them.
Our client stories are amazing and moving. We have and intend to continue to only use actual clients in our advertising, on our website, and in all of our materials. No stock photos, just real, happy clients whose lives, which were previously diminished because of pain, have been restored back to level of normalcy and function. We are changing the way chronic pain is understood and treated. To do this, we must lead with education.
Our therapy is about changing lives, and our promotional efforts are designed to reflect that.
The Fifth P: People
While not traditionally considered one of the Ps of marketing, “people” is sometimes added as a consideration. In a high-touch, interpersonal, highly individual process like our therapy, people are a critical aspect. The technology we use is incredible. But without capable hands to operate it and, more importantly, caring hearts to connect with our clients, it is a static instrument.
We look at our business as a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous responsibility. Disrupting such a significant industry and building a different approach to such a significant problem requires passion, hard work, execution, intelligence, bravery, compassion, patience, and more. We require a lot of our employees, but we work hard to empower them with knowledge and skill development, not just technically or scientifically, but personally. We invest in putting all of our team in courses and training, such as Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Academy, to help them develop the mindset, confidence, and habits that will help them perform at their best. We have intentionally integrated personal development into our training process and into our culture. We believe that high-performing companies start with high-performing people and then translates out to clients.
Putting All the Ps Together
Our business model at Radiant is unique. We offer a single therapy, which delivers a degree of chronic pain relief that most people don’t believe is possible until they find us. At the same time, we’re disrupting the status quo and building something outside the traditional healthcare industry. This means that we have both an opportunity think about these Five Ps of marketing and construct a new model that delivers both a great outcome and a sustainable business, capable of disruption and scale.
With a great product, a pricing model that makes Radiant accessible to most people, an atmosphere that encourages members to feel relaxed and taken care of, and promotional efforts that spread the word about the service we deliver, we’re poised to grow. By engaging the fifth P and hiring, developing and retaining exceptional people, we’re confident that we have the model to change the way chronic pain is understood and treated, and to build the safest, most consistently effective and appealing solution to the epidemic of chronic pain.