I was talking with a friend last week about marketing acupuncture, herbs, and Oriental medicine. You know that blank look people get when they’re bored and not paying attention? Well she had it! Believe it or not, some people find it boring when I talk about persuading people to try acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

She started paying attention again when I told her acupuncture doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense scientifically. Science just isn’t doing a good job of discovering or explaining how acupuncture works. We’re making progress, yes. But it’s VERY difficult to design valid controlled experiments. Both Oriental medicine and the human body are just too complex.

Scientific proof isn’t all that important, anyway. The only real proof is in results.

Really, that’s all that matters. Ignaz Semmelweis discovered sterilization in 1847. At the time, pregnant mothers would avoid hospitals as places of death. It was safer for them to have their baby at home. Semmelweis didn’t even have a theory about how it worked. He lost his position as a practicing doctor and had a hard time finding employment. He ended up committed to an insane asylum because of his commitment to his findings - he was accusing his detractors of being murderers.

All of this because of a lack of scientific proof he was right. The theory and proof came later.

So how does this affect your marketing?

There’s an old saying. People aren’t really buying a drill. They’re buying holes.

We know acupuncture and Oriental medicine work, and the proof is in the results you give patients. That’s really the only reason they visit you. No one is really interested in being a human pincushion or drinking teas made of herbs that definitely aren’t tasty. No one wants their Qi balanced. They don’t care about yin, yang, dampness or deficiency.

They want to “buy the holes.” They just want to feel better.

A couple days ago, I wrote about asking “So What?” You may be tempted to explain “so what?” by explaining acupuncture theory. I can guarantee you, most people will get that bored look like my friend had. Instead, talk in terms of results. Past results you’ve had, or perhaps studies that show results - there are more every year, even if science can’t explain much.

There’s nothing wrong with explaining acupuncture, but experience shows it’s best to do that AFTER the patient realizes they’re going to get what they want. Otherwise it may be too much for them to believe.

So keep in mind what you’re really selling. It’s not acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Instead, it’s solutions to health problems. AOM is just a way to achieve that.