Chiropractic Marketing | Chiropractic Advertising | Chiropractic Ads

While everyone has heard that they should implement systems in their practice, actually doing it is another story. I know it was for me. But I also realized the immense power systems had, mostly because it would put things on autopilot for me.

Here’s just a few systems you can have to make your practice more profitable, more successful, and much less stressful.

• New Patient Marketing
• Employee Hiring And Training
• New Patient Conversion
• Reactivations
• Referrals
• Internal Marketing
• Office Flow
• Patient Financials

Also realize many of these bigger systems should be broken into small systems. For example, new patient marketing should include different channels like chiropractic internet marketing, newspaper marketing, direct mail, etc.

Who has the time to create all these systems anyway?

Finding and putting in the time to write out (or even make videos) of these systems is quite time consuming. This is why you should buy systems that are already done-for-you, so all you have to do is implement them in your practice with very little hassle. Here are a few systems (all of which I have used or created myself) put into place with very little effort…

*   Insurance Compliance System
*   Chiropractic Internet Marketing System
*   Patient Home Care Rehab System
*   Insurance Appeal Process
*   Office Software System
*   Email Newsletter And Autoresponder System

Not all the systems you would need are available (yet!) for chiropractors to purchase and quickly implement in their practices.

So you will have to bear down and create a few systems on your own.The easiest way I have found to do this is to write an outline of the main points you want to cover. Then explain each section in as few words as possible, creating an instruction manual you can have employees (yourself) refer back to on a regular basis.

In 2009 I’m going to be bringing you some very good systems you can apply to your practice. Especially done-for-you systems that help with the biggest problem in chiropractic: your marketing!

In my last post we covered the first 4 of seven internal marketing strategies you can put into your practice. In today’s post I cover the next 3, plus an extra bonus strategy. While all 7 of these chiropractic marketing strategies should eventually be implemented for maximum results, you can use any one of them and still have great results.

5. Use blogs and email to stay in touch with patients. With today’s internet technology, you can stay in touch with your patient base very easily. E-newsletters and event promotions can be sent within minutes if you have a good email system. Blogs are also a great way to stay in contact and educate your patients about why they should stay under care. While print newsletters go out once a month, blog articles and emails can be sent 3-6 times per month. You can tie blogs to an email service and update all of your patient list whenever you post a new article on your blog. Chiropractic internet marketing is only getting easier and less expensive, so get started with this one as soon as you can.

6. Make Recalls. Every 6-8 weeks, go through your patient database and make a list of those you haven’t seen in awhile. Give your front desk person an easy recall script to follow. When she’s calling someone who’s been inactive for some time, have her say that “Dr. _____ want me to give you a call and see how you were doing?” If they say they aren’t doing well, then your staff schedules them for an appointment. Many times they will say “You know, I was just about to call you and schedule an appointment.” If they have slipped off of their current care plan, your staff just needs to get them scheduled without any questions asked. Expect about a 5-10% schedule rate from these calls. I always got better results when I gave my front desk $1 Starbucks credit for each person that shows.

7. Have a VIP list. 80% of your referrals come from 20% of your patients. What are you doing for them to make them feel special and give them more opportunities to refer? Go through your patient list and pick those patients that have referred the most patients into your office. Make sure you are sending them a gift each month “for being a great patient.” Let them know you are thankful for their referrals and give them 1-2 gift certificates to refer friends and family. I always sent small gifts with a letter each month, and a big basket of goodies in the $80-$100 range for Christmas. Don’t be cheap and think it’s not worth it to send out gifts (or that you can’t afford it). When you do the list, you’ll see how valuable those 20% really are.

8. Market other events, products and services. (I know, I said 7 but I couldn’t resist giving this 8th one.) Do you sell supplements, pillows, orthotics, etc in your practice? You should be sending letters out for special events regarding these products. For example, we did a weight loss seminar to promote our supplements once. A letter went out to all the female patients in my practice. About 10% called in to reserve a seat (seating was limited to 20). I had two speakers come in (one lady had lost 140 lbs) and talk about the products. Of the 20, 15 showed and 4 ended up spending around $800 each on supplements over the next 2 months.

In the last post, I listed the first 4 keys in this series. Here are remaining three keys in the series.

5. Be flexible.

Many times in practice, they way you hope and think things are going to go is not always how it happens. When I first came out of chiropractic school, I had a certain way I was going to practice. No one was going to influence me (especially my patients) to practice a different way, because after all this way was ‘the best’. Two years later, I had to make a decision…continue to be stubborn and go bankrupt or be flexible and change me practice. Thankfully I chose the latter, but man was it hard to do at the time. I felt like I was going against all I believed in. Well, it turns out my wife, kids and God didn’t have a problem with me being flexible. Don’t make this mistake…be flexible in your practice. (Obviously I’m not talking about compromising your values and ethics here, but the way you run your business.)

6. Be Unique

If you want to be successful in chiropractic, be unique. Most of us practice in areas where patients have a choice of who to go see for chiropractic care. Why should they choose you and your office? The answer to this question is what makes you unique. Don’t have an answer? A few ways to be unique are: be more professional, be more likable, offer different types of treatments (spinal decompression, nutrition, etc), have a unique look about your office, focus on kids or pregnancy or carpal tunnel.

7. Work Less

If you master the previous 6, this one is easy to do. But even if you haven’t gotten them down, you should still work less. It’s proven that you can get more done in less time if you are focused and well rested.This is a result of the 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle): 80% of your results comes from 20% of your time and effort.

What, you don’t think it’s possible to work less? Try it and you’ll find that many of the things that you thought were important suddenly aren’t so important. Also remember Parkinson’s law- “work expands to fill the time available.” Remember those big tests in chiropractic school, did you wait until the last minute and pull an all nighter? Well studies have shown you remember more and get more covered if you “cram”. So cut back on some hours. Working all the time is only a plan for burnout.

Can you take a day off? Can you take a longer lunch, come in earlier, or finish earlier at the end of the day?

There are certain key elements that if applied to your practice can have a huge impact on your success. Whenever I speak with a coaching client or teach in my chiropractic marketing course, at some point we will cover the following 7 Keys to Success in detail.

1. Market to the right people.

While it’s certainly true everyone can benefit from chiropractic care, it’s also true that not everyone wants to. So it doesn’t make sense to market to every human being on the planet and you’ll simply go broke or burnout trying to do it (this is a lesson I learned the hard way, but that’s another story.) Decide who your ideal patient is, and spend your marketing time and money on them. Consider factors like where they live, where work, what type of conditions they have, PI vs insurance vs cash, etc.

2. Use the right marketing media.

Certain types of ads just don’t do well in certain types of media. Types of media include…newspaper, TV, radio, direct mail, internet, etc. Most chiropractors would agree that billboards are a waste of money. Some chiropractors are running image type ads in newspapers and never seeing a new patient from them. The key here is to make the advertising work for you. If it’s not making you money, that’s a clue you need a new ad or a new type of media. Use less expensive types of advertising first, like internet, direct mail, and newspaper because they are more forgiving on the pocketbook if you make a mistake.

3. Find the right staff.

This is probably one of the most difficult aspects of running a practice. Finding staff who doesn’t run off patients, text all day or surf the net, dresses trashy, shows up late, etc is sometimes hard. Sometimes you can do your best at refining them through the hiring process, but 6 months later you find out they just aren’t going to work out. But don’t give up, and don’t settle for sloppy work. By using specific guidelines during the hiring and training process, you can reduce you hiring “mistakes” and get some great team members. I highly recommend the book “No B.S. Ruthless Management of People and Profits“. Don’t let the name scare you off, this is really a ‘shoot-ya-straight’ type of book.

4. Have a plan.

The saying “No plan is a plan to fail” is true. If you get wrapped up in seeing patients, doing paperwork, and teaching staff you aren’t “working on” your practice, you’re “working in” your practice. Setting up a plan that you can reference is the only way to move forward consistently. And the “I’d like to see x number of patients per week” is not a plan at all. If you find it hard to work on your practice, you should hire a coach to help you do it. This is the absolute best way to develop a plan and implement changes in your practice. A coach will have past experiences and a different viewpoint to look at your practice. One word of caution…be careful what type of coach you hire. Some coaches are just “hype” peddlers and can lead your practice in the wrong direction.