Category Archives: Goal Driven

How Responsible is Your Chiropractic Healthcare Office?

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take responsibility for what you care for

Responsibility Scale – Ownership or Spectator?

A few years ago, I was teaching an exercise program to a group of underprivileged kids ranging from 8 to 13 years old.

The program was part of a larger volunteer program run out of an old, dilapidated church. The kids came from a very rough environment. Keeping them focused in class was challenging, and getting them to participate was even harder.

I would start the class by going over a virtue. This might include kindness, cleanliness, honesty, or discipline. When I asked the group questions, no one would usually answer.

Except for this one time.

I asked the children what the word “responsibility” meant. In the back row – I had them all standing in rows – one scruffy-looking boy, about 10, immediately raised his hand and said: “Ownership.”

“Ownership.” I was stunned. Not only did someone answer, and quickly, but what a perfect definition!

RESPONSIBILITY IS OWNERSHIP

Responsibility is taking ownership. It is saying “I caused that.” “That is mine.” It could also be saying, “I didn’t cause that.”

It is not deferring to excuses or outside forces. Sure, there are many things outside your zone of control for which you cannot take responsibility. But your job and the group you work with are within your limits. If the office is not doing well, don’t blame it on your childhood, Spring Break, or Taylor Swift.

As an employer, you should encourage your team to take responsibility. Their job, or department, is their sandbox, too. Encourage them to offer suggestions for the entire practice as well – and listen to them.

And on the other hand, all employees are stakeholders. They aren’t working for a large and well-funded corporation or government agency. How they perform each day determines how the entire office will perform.

And something else: a friend of mine says: “Everyone is on commission, but most just don’t know it.”

CHIROPRACTIC HEALTHCARE PRACTICE OWNERSHIP

We discussed the concept of responsibility and ownership in our Chiropractic Healthcare Practice MBA program by reviewing Jacko Willink’s book, Extreme Ownership.

Some managers played it for their team meetings. I recommend you do it as well. (The link is below.)

No doubt, we all take responsibility and ownership for our work. We are professionals. Sometimes, however, our determination can slip. When you notice yourself complaining about things, know that you are slipping! Complaining IS a form of responsibility, but just a very low form.

A scale of responsibility might look something like this:

SCALE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Extreme Ownership
Ownership
Spectator
Complainer
Blamer
Apathetic

Here is a quote from Jocko Willink, and I recommend watching a clip from his TED talk with your team.

“Implementing Extreme Ownership requires checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership, and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team.”

― Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Stay Goal Driven,

Ed

TED Talk. Jacko Willink. Extreme Ownership. ( 13 Minutes)

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals,

there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

goal driven business book for CEO and Office Managers by Edward W Petty.

The Goal Driven Business, By Edward Petty

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Goal Driven Time Management Skills

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chiropractic or small business time management skills calendar

You may delay, but time will not.
Benjamin Franklin

Time is your most precious resource.

How you use it makes all the difference in your progress toward your practice goals.

I still remember my father remarking on my 5th-grade report card. On the back of the card was a space for comments from the teacher. The comment was something about: “Edward would do better if he did less daydreaming.”

This “comment” has haunted me all my life. I daydream. I admit it. Sometimes, this is good – I learn something new. But the challenge is not wasting the time I need to complete projects.

Goal Driven time management procedures allow us to get more done during our day’s working hours. And even though we all are familiar with the principles and techniques of time management, it helps to review them occasionally.

Here are a few techniques I have learned from others that help me. Maybe they can help you too.

GOAL DRIVEN TIME MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES IN YOUR
CHIROPRACTIC HEALTHCARE PRACTICE

Breaks. Don’t feel guilty. We all need to take breaks — a short one every couple hours or so, longer ones every day, longer ones even still every week, and so on. Breaks are a physiological and mental requirement discussed in an insightful book called The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr. Just schedule your breaks.

Scheduling blocks. As a chiropractor and health care provider, you naturally block off time periods to see patients. You can use the same concept for team meetings, individual conferences, and “paperwork.”

Goal Driven. Each time block should have a goal. The work you must do and the procedures you use should all focus on the desired outcomes.

No interruptions. As harsh as this may sound, unless there are emergencies, don’t allow yourself to be distracted during the block of time dedicated to doing your work. Schedule a brief period during the day to return to the unplanned issues.

Cluster booking. Schedule blocks of time for similar activities close together. The general idea is to keep you doing what you are doing until you are done. For example, seeing 3 patients and then waiting for 10 minutes before seeing 3 more slows you down and takes you out of the Flow. The idea of Flow is not new but recently refreshed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book, FLOW. Flow is a mental experience when you are so lost in your work that nothing else matters – you are in the Zone. It is when you are “Lost in Service.”

Cluster booking can also be applied to other services: specific therapies or rehab, a Thursday morning for seniors, or a Mom’s Saturday morning with kids. Once you are in the Flow, you become more productive.

Prioritize: Take care of the Important and Urgent tasks as you must, of course. But do not neglect the Important but Not Urgent projects. This comes from Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, and Eisenhower before him. Covey notes that the more time spent on Important but Not Urgent projects, the less time needed for urgent matters.

Sort out the tasks – The 4 D’s. As you review your inbox or new tasks that come up, sort them along these guidelines:

  • Do them now.
  • Delegate them.
  • Delay them.
  • Dump them.

Many of these points, and others, are covered in my book, The Goal Driven Business. We also worked these over in our Practice MBA program.

Yes, I still daydream. I recommend it. But now, I just schedule it!

Seize your future,

Ed

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals, there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

goal driven business building methodology

The Goal Driven Business,  By Edward Petty

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Don’t Let Old Acquaintances Be Forgotten in Your Chiropractic Practice

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Strengthen Your Network in December

“Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”*

Three weeks till Christmas!

Yikes! Let’s make the most out of this month before we get into the fast lane of the New Year.

Take this month to connect and reconnect: patients, referral sources, team members and stakeholders, family friends – those dear to us. Share some good tidings and joy. Here are some ideas:

1. Keep the show on the road. While ensuring that everyone has time off, try to keep the lights on, the tables warm, and the greetings friendly all month. Anytime you close for a period of time, you can lose momentum. If you are closed for a few days, PACK the days you are open with visits! Remember:

Health Never Takes a Holiday!!

2. Thank You’s to referral sources. Plan to get out and thank all your external referral sources. Show your appreciation: cards, cookies, and guest passes for intro services! Keep your network active. Remember:

“Your chiropractic healthcare practice is a network of relationships created and sustained through communication and service.”**

 

3. Thank You’s to your patients. Show extra appreciation to your patients. It takes some courage and effort to venture out to see you for care. They are taking responsibility for their health, even though they may not follow all your recommendations. Have an appreciation party, send out greeting cards, give away poinsettias to families, or offer eggnog and treats from a local independent store with the store’s promotional sign.

4. Your Team. Look at your Profit and Loss for the year. If you have any extra dough, privately reward individual team members with a bonus. If the cupboard is empty, let your team know, but give them something. And THANK THEM!

5. Your Family. Don’t forget your family! Heavens! They deserve something for putting up with you this year! (lol)

6. The Spirit! Lastly, be filled with the Spirit of the season. You can watch It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. Again!

The New Year will come at us fast… so take this time to absorb all the merriment, comfort, and joy you can so you’ll start fresh and filled with renewed energy in January.

So consider the actions above and Don’t Be Forgotten!

Should old acquaintance be forgot – and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot – and old lang syne?

With friendship,

Ed and all of us at PM&A

*from the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life
** from the book, The Goal Driven Business

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals,
there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

goal driven business building methodology

The Goal Driven Business By Edward Petty

goal driven business buy now button

Chiropractic Healthcare Patient Scheduling During the Holidays

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Health Doesn’t Take a Holiday

[scheduling tools below]

Is this December going to be better than the one last year?

If so, you want to make sure that the momentum of your patient’s care does not slow down. You want to keep them on their healthcare programs these last few weeks of 2023 and into 2024.

It is a festive time of year for family, friends, and Auld Lang Syne.

But through it all, health does not take a holiday.

Your patients still brush their teeth, take showers, and sleep. They should also stick to their treatment program, their exercise program and stay on track to better health. You and your team can help them do this.

TWO GIFTS FOR YOUR CHIROPRACTIC HEALTHCARE PRACTICE

As a subscriber, I have two gifts for you that can assist you in helping your patients stick to their schedules. (Links to access them are below.)

  • A tent poster that says: Health Never Takes a Holiday. Download it and print copies for the front desk or other areas to remind patients that…Health Never Takes a Holiday.

  • A scheduling calendar for December. Linda designed a scheduling calendar for our clients.

She says:
“The goal is to keep your patients as close to their treatment plan as possible during the hustle and bustle of the holidays! I have used monthly calendars in the past and, believe me, they help with patients keeping their schedules.

“The link will take you to a sheet with 4 monthly calendars per sheet for December – a calendar for each patient to keep track of their schedules.

  1. Download and save the file to your computer.
  2. Customize your name on each section of the calendar.
  3. Print out the sheet and cut it into fours. Have a stack available at the front desk.
  4. Schedule the patient in your system.
  5. Write in the times of their appointment on the day that you are scheduling them and give it to the patient.”

We all can use support and help to keep to our goals. As long as you are friendly and have the patient’s health in mind, they’ll appreciate your scheduling efforts.

In fact, it shows you care!

Enjoy the Season – encourage your patients to do the same. Just lock in everyone’s schedule and help them keep it.

Seize better health throughout the Season!

Ed

Downloads:

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals,
there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

goal driven business building methodology

The Goal Driven Business By Edward Petty

goal driven business buy now button

 

Five Patient Wants In Healthcare and Chiropractic

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Based upon surveys, patients want the following from their doctors and health providers (References below):

  1. Quality of care: Patients prioritize high-quality care from their doctors and health providers. This includes accurate diagnoses, effective treatments, and positive outcomes.
  2. Communication: Patients value clear and effective communication with their doctors and health providers. They want their concerns to be heard, and they want to be well-informed about their treatment options.
  3. Empathy and compassion: Patients appreciate doctors and health providers who show empathy and compassion towards their needs and emotions. They want to feel understood and supported throughout their healthcare journey.
  4. Timeliness: Patients desire timely access to healthcare services, including appointments, test results, and treatment plans. They value minimal wait times and efficient care delivery.
  5. Patient-centered approach: Patients want their doctors and health providers to involve them in decision-making processes and consider their preferences and values. They appreciate personalized care that respects their individual needs.

What would happen to your chiropractic or healthcare practice if you and your team committed to a 12-month Patient Service Program to improve how your office meets these five Wants? You could give each category 20 points and have everyone give each one a grade from 1 to 20. The consensus might end up with a grade of 80 points, or 70, or 92 when all 5 are added together.

Then, over the next 12 months, everyone could work together each month on each category by refining the procedures and improving service skills. You could schedule in-office team training and individual training through seminars, webinars, and even books.

Guess what would happen to the patient referrals, patient retention, and goodwill as things improved? What would happen to staff morale as their competence increased each month and they saw that patients became happier by working on improving service?

SYMPTOMATIC VERSUS STRENGTH BUILDING MANAGEMENT IN CHIROPRACTIC AND HEALTHCARE

Symptomatic management focuses, as it sometimes must, on the urgent necessitates that immediately increase income. But chasing symptoms, putting out one fire after another, is a trap we can all fall into. You stay busy. There are challenges that you overcome. So, it may seem that you are moving forward. But the months and then years go by, and you look around and are still doing what you were doing years ago. Nothing has changed.

Excellent management addresses urgent concerns but also carves out time to strengthen the skills and procedures of the service team. It builds for the future. And it does so by training, coaching, analyzing and steadily improving each of the 5 service categories, the 5 Wants. Over the long run, this gives patients what they want, and everyone wins.

Help your patients get what they want.

Carpe Futurum (Seize the Future!)

References: Patients’ preferences. PubMed , HCAHPS: Patients’ Perspectives of Care Survey

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals,

there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

 
goal driven business building methodology

The Goal Driven Business By Edward Petty

goal driven business buy now button

Guerrilla Marketing for Chiropractic and Health Offices

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MARKETING is everything you do to promote your business, from the moment you conceive of it to the point at which customers buy your product or service and begin to patronize your business on a regular basis. The key words to remember are everything and regular basis. (Jay Levinson)

I remember when I bought the book Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Levinson.

I was familiar with the term Guerrilla Warfare, which was often used to describe the tactics used against the U.S. in the Vietnam War. The idea is that small groups of warriors (Guerra – war, illa – little) can oppose and successfully beat large groups of warriors.

When applied to marketing, especially chiropractic and health practices, the concept is that smaller and entrepreneurial businesses can use inexpensive tactics effectively to compete successfully in markets dominated by large corporations with big marketing budgets.

I embrace and enjoy the concept when used in healthcare marketing.

For example, showing up at a county fair and signing up 80 new patients that a hospital might have won over! For the WIN! (We’ve done that and more, by the way!!)

With a small budget, using Guerrilla Marketing, hundreds of inexpensive marketing approaches can work.

But Levinson makes a vital point in his book that I think is overlooked. And this results in poor marketing.

“Consistency equates with familiarity. Familiarity equates with confidence. And confidence equates with sales.

“Provided that your products or services are of sufficient quality, confidence in yourself and your offering will attract buyers more than any other attribute. More than quality. More than selection. More than price. More than service. Confidence will be your ally.

“And consistent marketing will breed confidence.”

Here is a secret to consistency: assign someone the responsibility of marketing coordinator. As a project manager, their goal is to ensure all the marketing procedures continue. That they are consistent.

This was a fundamental element to the Marketing Manager System I wrote in 2000.

I will be covering this, by the way, on our new Management, Marketing, and Leadership course starting next week. (We have a full class for now. Our next program begins in February 2024. Let us know if you want to be on the waiting list.)

But the details are also in my book, The Goal Driven Business.

Management is not as exciting as a new marketing method, or as thrilling as an energetic motivational seminar. But managing your marketing to continue consistently produces sustained results long after the “Killer Ad” wears out or the emotional high from last weekend’s seminar dims.

Here are 8 of the 10 marketing “truths” from Guerrilla marketing. Link to the full ten below.

“TRUTHS YOU MUST NEVER FORGET”

From the book Guerrilla Marketing

1. The market is constantly changing. When you stop advertising, you miss evolving opportunities and stop being part of the process. You are not on the bus. You are not in the game.

2. People forget fast. Remember, they’re bombarded with tons of messages (an estimated 2700) daily.

3. Your competition isn’t quitting. People will spend money to make purchases, and if you don’t make them aware that you are selling something, they’ll spend their money elsewhere.

4. Marketing strengthens your identity. When you quit marketing, you shortchange your reputation, reliability, and the confidence people have in you. The bond of communication is too precious to break capriciously.

5. Marketing is essential to survival and growth. With very few exceptions, people won’t know you’re there if you don’t get the word out.

6. Marketing enables you to hold on to your old customers. Many enterprises survive on repeat and referral business. Old customers are the key to both. When old customers don’t hear from you or about you, they tend to forget you.

7. Marketing maintains morale. Your own morale is improved when you see your marketing at work, and especially when you see that it does, indeed, work. Your employees’ morale is similarly uplifted.

8. Marketing gives you an advantage over competitors who have ceased marketing.

Seize your goals by continuing marketing. Never stop.

Ed

Download the Ten Truths: Ten Truths Levinson Guerrilla Marketing

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals,

there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

goal driven business building methodology

The Goal Driven Business By Edward Petty

goal driven business buy now button

Planning Your Chiropractic Marketing for the 4th Quarter in 2023

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Planning GoalDriven.com chiropractic marketing

Happy September!

Well, here we are … the start of September and four more months left to the year.

Now what?

Plan Your Chiropractic Marketing – Marketing Your Chiropractic Plan

So just a suggestion: before we all get too caught up in this new month and the weeks get away from us with all the daily duties, I suggest you set some time aside, and you and your gang plan what you can do to end the year on your best note. Set some goals that are realistic with some fun rewards.

Key is marketing, of course. There are oodles of different approaches and procedures and actives that you can do that work.

Pick a few that have worked in the past. If they are recurring, put them on a list and ensure they are done routinely.

If they are special, done now and then, get them scheduled and post them on a calendar so that everyone can see them.

Your number 1 marketing activity will always be your vibe – and your Table Talk with your patients and with your team.

Inform While You Perform Chiropractic Services

I hardily recommend newsletters as these help to keep the conversation and Table Talk going. You don’t own social media platforms, but you do your email.

Social media has worked now and then for short-term advertising. But if you have been in practice for a few years, you should have quite a base of patients from whom you can nurture and keep them coming in for care. They know you and trust you and should come back. They will if you keep informing them of all the extraordinary successes (and fun!) your other active patients are having. They also have family, friends, and work associates they can refer.

Motivation drives it all, so tap into the wisdom of your tribe. They know what works, and even if they don’t, let them run with an idea, and if they are enthused about it, it might work.

Lastly, plan to win, but don’t get too serious. You and your team are helping people – and how can that not be rewarding? Don’t let the minor fractures in communications that occur on a busy day get in the way of the joy of working with teammates to get others better.

Here is a list of special promotions that have worked for fall.

Seize the next 4 months with love and gusto!

Ed

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals,

there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

goal driven business building methodology
 

The Goal Driven Business By Edward Petty

goal driven business buy now button
 
 

What Is Effective Chiropractic Practice Management?

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You would think that management, by now, as a subject, would be scientific. That corporations would employ skilled managers with their MBAs from prestigious universities that effectively applied administrative technology to nurture their companies.

Nah, it’s not like that.

A research study was conducted by Nicholas Bloom* and others aimed at determining how effectively management procedures were being used in U.S. companies. They found that only 15% of U.S. companies scored above a 4 on a 5-point scale. More than 30% scored a three or lower. Companies outside of the U.S. scored much worse.

Management is primarily personality driven – a little like politics and show business. And sometimes, the mafia. Some companies do well because there is a dynamic genius at the helm. Others do well because they were there at the right time. Others appear to do well because of the money they borrow, steal, or collude with government regulators.

I know some very successful chiropractors who are good managers. But they were good mostly because of their temperament and not because of their conscious use of management techniques.

Unfortunately, most management focuses on supervision. It is a form of spectator-ism and policing. Like watching robots on an assembly line and reprimanding errors and deviations.

Good management focuses on improvement. First, keep things working, then how can we all improve it? It is servant based.

In my book, Goal Driven Business, I cover this as part of the Goal Driven System.

For practical purposes, management has two different functions:

1. Keep doing what works.

2. Continually look at how the procedures and systems could be improved.

If it worked yesterday, you should do it today and also tomorrow.

Then, improve it – little by little.

If you want to make a big change, when the entrepreneurial spirit hits you, do a trial run first. Don’t disrupt the systems that are working.

A good number of practice problems occur for one reason:

You stopped doing what worked!

This applies to the front desk, patient accounts, new patient onboarding, team management, and marketing procedures.

If it worked once, it would probably work again. Just improve it if it is outdated – and if that doesn’t work, revert to what worked.

I know – your workdays can get boring and sometimes you want to go and chase the shiny things. Fine. But keep doing what works until something proves itself to be better.

I will be teaching a management course later this year. If you are interested, let us know and we’ll get you on the waiting list. It will be for you and your manager. Each class will be small to allow for more personalized instruction.

Good management underlies all your activities – managing your patients, your practice, and even your life. And especially your future!

Seize the future with good management!

* Harvard Business Review, November 2012 Nicholas Bloom

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals, there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

The Goal Driven Business By Edward Petty

Networking for Chiropractors and Health Providers

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 (This is part 2 following the last blog on the best known marketing secret.)

Networking is a marketing method that generates referrals from your direct efforts, from your patients, and from outside referral sources you have established. This is not only the most cost-effective form of marketing for new patients but helps to retain the ones you have.

YOUR PRACTICE IS A NETWORK

If you think about it, your practice itself is a network. A practice is a network of relationships created and sustained through communication and service. This is my definition, though yours could be similar.

Networking is simply creating a connection with another person in which you both share an interest in common and enjoy talking with each other.

Networking is getting to know people — who know people.

But I would also add – getting to know people you are interested in. Effective networking can’t be faked.

THE 4 COMPONENTS OF NETWORKING

I have seen 4 major components of effective networking:

  1. Genuine interest in people. The best health networkers are interested in their active patients, inactive patients, and people in their community.

  2. Genuine interest in the services they provide. The best networkers are excited about their services and what they can do for people.

  3. Give in abundance. Effective networkers are givers. They provide excellent clinical service as well as free assistance, such as health tips, special events, referrals to other providers or services, a book, or a smile. And they educate others about the health subjects their services address.

  4. Organization. A structured program needs to be in place to ensure net-working continues.

Venues for Networking

Table Talk. This is your private time with your patient. Be curious about them and how they are doing. Then, tell them about what is interesting to you about their health, about health subjects, and your services. Often, patients may see you for back pain but may not know that you also treat headaches and other issues.

Continue the Table Talk. Follow-up with your custom newsletters. I stress this routinely. You have hundreds, if not thousands, of people you have seen whose trust you have earned. You have started a relationship with them — why neglect it? This is why, for those offices on our new Mastery program (more about this soon!), we insist on sending out personal, customized emails for you monthly.

Social media is fine, but it is different. Posting a success story or an upcoming event is fast and easy. This helps with social proof and brand awareness. I have also seen it useful in short spurts for advertising, driving readers to a lead page, or making a phone call. But organically, few people will see your unboosted post. “If you have 2,000 Facebook fans usually only 2-5 people will see each post you publish” says Stuart Marler from Retriever Digital. (Mail Munch)*

Internal Events. In-house events from workshops on health to organic farming, barbecues, appreciation days, and yoga classes — the ideas are endless. And even if only 3 people show up, well promoted, you create the image that your office is an alive and vibrant health center.

External Events. There are the usual events: the Lions Club pancake breakfast, the local parade, the 5K Walk-Run, the art fair, the County Fair, and all the summer events that local communities host. These are great opportunities to meet new people.

Some doctors network with their church, or their local school affiliation as a high school coach, or with women’s groups like La Leche. Some doctors become involved with an ethnic group, and network with them. Se Habla Espanol? Often the connections are made via the patient.

You can also start creating your group. Visit the autobody shops and create a PI referral network. Or become the go-to source for local ballet, dance, and drama participants. Or, become THE motel chiropractor in town.

ORGANIZING YOUR NETWORKING

Organization. The biggest barrier to networking is a lack of internal structured organization supporting your marketing. I covered this years ago in the Marketing Manager System. Similar to the systems for your front desk and billing departments, you should have routine procedures, stats, and someone in charge of your marketing projects. And they need guaranteed time each week to work on the marketing.

Team. Each member of your team should be a trained and motivated networker – both in and out of the office.

The goal of networking. The goal of networking is the same as the mission of your practice: to help as many people as possible become healthier.

Stay interested and curious — give abundantly and educate.

Let’s do it!

Ed

Need some tips on how to improve your networking? Let’s talk.

* https://www.mailmunch.com/blog/email-marketing-vs-social-media

—————————————————-

If your practice building efforts aren’t taking you to your goals, there are reasons — many of which are hidden from you.

Find out what they are and how to sail to your next level by getting and implementing my new book, The Goal Driven Business.

The Goal Driven Business By Edward Petty

 
 
 

The Truth In Chiropractic and Health Care Marketing

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The Best Known Marketing Secret
 
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
 
Artificial Intelligence is all the rage. For good reason. It’s set to change the world as the Internet did, maybe more so, and in ways we can barely fathom.
 
Geoffrey Hinton recently quit his job at Google to speak freely about the risks of AI. He and two other so-called “Godfathers of AI” won the 2018 Turing Award for their foundational work leading to the current artificial intelligence boom. He now says a part of him regrets his life’s work.*
 
His immediate concern is that the Internet will be flooded with false photos, videos, and text, and the average person will “not be able to know what is true anymore.”
 
What is True?
 
You can fool people some of the time, but success in chiropractic marketing and practice is ultimately based on trust.
 
You may already send your patients scripted texts, prefabricated emails, and even automated educational or sales videos. You may have a testimonial service that posts positive testimonials for you.
 
Yes, the world is becoming more automated, artificially “intelligent,” and virtual.
 
But at some point, your patient, or potential patient, will start to wonder… “is this communication from Dr. Smith, chatGPT, or a robot in China?”
 
You are the Truth
 
What is the truth in marketing?
 
In this age of increasing artificiality: you are the truth!
 
Images and voices of people can be faked. You can record your voice, type in a sentence, select an image of a person, and that person will vocalize what you typed, in your voice. The future is going to be amazing in its ability for fakery.
 
But overcoming this is simple.
 
Show up and meet people. In person. In real life. (IRL) Person to person, create relationships and from these, generate referrals.
 
People want community. They want relationships. They want a real person.
 
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
(From TV sitcom Cheers.)
 
Marketing in Truth
 
Marketing in real life is networking. Networking is getting to know people who know people.
 
The most immediate and obvious resource for networking is connecting with those people who know you, trust you, and probably even like you (lol). Your active patients, inactive patients, friends, and community members in business or in organizations, all add up to hundreds, if not thousands of people.
 
I recently saw a dedicated chiropractor I know promote a local BNI workshop. BNI stands for Business Network International. It was founded by Ivan Misner, who wrote the excellent book, The Best Known Marketing Secret. It is all about Word-of-Mouth advertising – networking.
 
Perhaps because of technology, or the COVID lock down, or possibly more nefarious reasons, friendly public in-person get-togethers have been declining.*
 
I think now, more than ever, networking is and will be a very effective form of marketing.
 
You can spend money on Facebook ads or advertise on other platforms. Now and then, go for it! But strictly speaking ROI, a structured and continuous networking plan can’t be beat. (Contact me if you want a few tips setting up your networking plan.) It may take time to develop, but once in place, it can almost run on its own, sending people to you who need your services.
 
In his book, Misner refers to a friend of his who says that we all are cave dwellers. We live in our cave houses, get into our cave cars, and go to our cave offices. I would add that we also live in our virtual media caves, whether social or Netflix!
 
His point is that there is a whole world out there if we just get out of our caves and meet people.
 
I have seen many different and effective forms of network marketing that work. I’ll go over a number of examples in the next newsletter to keep this letter short.
 
But consider this: AI will never replace you. And it will never replace the individual across from you.
 
And THAT…is the truth.
 
Stay Goal Driven,
 
Ed
 
 
References:
*77 percent of planners find it harder to attract attendees, while 73 percent report lower attendance. (Skift Meetings, 2022)
 
*https://archive.is/2023.05.01-091113/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/technology/ai-google-chatbot-engineer-quits-hinton.html

Tribal Knowledge Can Improve Your Practice

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teams, management, chiropractic, knowledge

Mining the Underground Innate Knowledge of Your Team

You may not have run into this term before… maybe you have. It was new to me before I began putting together the notes for The Goal Driven Business.

In any case, it is a concept worth knowing and one you can use to improve your business. I’ll give you an example and then define it.

It was spring years ago, and I was meeting with a motivated practice owner who was already doing well. We were discussing marketing plans for the next several months, and some of our programs ended in June. We needed something that would work for July. So I said, “Why don’t we ask the staff for some ideas?”

We were scheduled for a team meeting anyway, which I attended. After the usual topics were covered, the doctor asked the staff for some ideas for marketing in July. Now, the doctor was relatively new to the community, and the team was long-time residents. Various ideas were thrown around, and one seemed to percolate and draw enthusiasm from the staff. A popular promotion that they had experienced as local consumers in their town was “Christmas in July.” Since their community was familiar with this promotion, they were sure it would work well if it were tied to a patient referral program.

Both the doctor and I thought it was a dumb idea. However, the staff was already in high gear planning the promotion by the end of the staff meeting. I suggested to the doctor that he let them run with it. He did, and as it turned out, it was a big hit. They had one of their best new patient and office visit months ever… in July.

At another office, some years later, I was helping the doctor work out her mission statement for the practice. She and her associate were hitting speed bumps trying to come up with a simple definition. I recommended putting it to the staff to see what they might come up with. At the next team meeting, the doctor discussed the idea of a global statement for the WHY of the office and its higher goals and asked them if they could work it out as an office mission by next week.

And that is what they did. The following week, the manager and staff presented the mission statement to the doctors. The doctor emailed it to me.

I didn’t really like it as it was long and too mushy, at least for me. But the doctor approved it and posted it in the reception area. The staff loved it. It fit their compassionate attitudes towards the patients and captured their existing relationship with them. They memorized it, and it was recited after every staff meeting. Their stats haven’t come down since. They are a happy and Goal Driven group!

In our consulting, we routinely encouraged the wisdom of veteran staff to be integrated into the management and marketing of the office. We didn’t have a definition for this knowledge, but it was effective nonetheless.

Here is the definition of Tribal Knowledge according to Leonard Bertain in his book, The Tribal Knowledge Paradox:

Tribal knowledge is the collective wisdom of the organization. It is the sum of the knowledge. It is the knowledge used to deliver, to support or to develop value for customers. But it is also knowledge that is wrong, imprecise and useless. It is knowledge of the informal power structure and process, or how things really work and how they ought to. … But more importantly, it is the untapped knowledge that remains unused or abused.

There is much more to this, of course. A valuable management and leadership skill is how to elicit tribal knowledge, decipher it, filter the practical from the impractical, and put it to use.

I try to keep these newsletters as short as possible. If you want to set up a time to discuss this subject more, just make an appointment (link below). No charge for subscribers to this newsletter.

Not everything can be put on job checklists. Job checklists are very useful, but there is a wealth of knowledge just under the surface with your team, even your spouse, that can be accessed and put to good use.

By creating a culture where it is safe to contribute learned experiences in team meetings, coaching sessions, and other opportunities, improvements in your practice can be made faster.

Seeking and honoring the tribal knowledge gained from the experience of your team respects them, whether the information is useful or not. This is the essence of creating a synergistic office – where team members help each other — to help more people become healthier.

Carpe Future (Seize the future)

Ed

Want to discuss how to uncover the Tribal Knowledge in your practice, schedule a short call with Ed here.

The Problem with Your Chiropractic and Health Care Marketing May Not Be What You Think

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There could be a hidden barrier that jams your growth and holds you back.

MOST OFFICES WANT TO IMPROVE THEIR NEW PATIENT ACQUISITION. That is, attract more new patients.

At least, that is what many chiropractors and other doctors will say.

Oddly enough, that is not always exactly the truth.

Michel Killen, in his book Sell Futures, Not Features, says:

“Do you want more sales? The question should really be “do you really, really, REALLY want more sales?” This might sound insane and even obvious. Of course you want more sales, who doesn’t want more sales? However having taught and coached sales for a lot of people for a long time, this is often an underlying problem that has a tendency to sabotage our sales driving efforts. …I believe that people are creatures of goal pursuit, meaning they take actions which suit their goals. This means that if a business is struggling with sales, it’s usually because deep down a part of them doesn’t want more sales. This is extremely upsetting and even distressing to a lot of people, because of course they want more sales, everyone wants more sales!””

Well, I couldn’t agree more.

CONSCIOUSLY, you probably want more new patients as you know you can see more visits and, of course, you could use the increased revenue.

SUBCONSCIOUSLY, however, there is another story entirely. The devil’s advocate pipes up and says, “with more new patients, you will come home late, miss dinners with your family, your staff will make more errors, and your notes will start to backlog. You won’t have time to exercise, and your Worker’s Comp insurance will increase.”

But because you are a strong-willed entrepreneur and a bit of a rebel, you charge ahead and spend time and money on marketing. But after a while, you notice that your numbers don’t significantly increase.

Why?

There is a bottleneck somewhere in your office, a log jam, a Capacity Constraint.

The Theory of Constraints, originally discussed by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt in his book, The Goal, has become a management science that implements a business improvement system. Simplified, it is a process that goes after the biggest constraint in any production process. Once that is fixed, management hunts for the next largest bottleneck, which continues as a never-ending process of improvement.

We adapted this, by the way, for practice management, in our Goal Driven System. The primary goal of the Theory of Constraints is profit. However, to achieve this, we need to look organizationally for the primary roadblock.

These constraints can be difficult to recognize sometimes. Partly because they are hidden and partly because of “damn-the-torpedoes” bias on the clinic director’s part.

For example, the front desk coordinator has been with the doctor for a few years and does a good job. The doctor returns from a new seminar, or someone new in the insurance department is hired, and things change. The doctor notices a moment when the front desk assistant is not busy and assigns them extra work. This happens a few times, and soon, the front desk has become a clerical department, filing insurance, ordering supplies, verifying insurance, and doesn’t have time to ensure all the patients are scheduled. When the phone rings, they kinda grimace and hope it’s not another new patient because they have more paperwork to do. Three months later, the doctor notices that the visits are down and spends more money on marketing.

But what is the real problem? The front desk is plugged up! Sure, some extra duties can be delegated to the front desk, but carefully, and ideally done at separate times when patients are not scheduled.

I have been able to increase patient volume and new patients by helping doctors locate the stuck points, the blockages in the office and open the flows. It could be a clinical assistant that is needed, a scribe, or replacing a staff member that really wants to work somewhere else. Maybe the staff needs better training, or intake forms massively simplified, or just a friendlier and less serious clinical director.

Constraints are like being stuck in a traffic jam. They wear your team down. And they affect your motivation and desire for growth.

Physical constraints result in mental constraints.

The real problem in marketing is not always with the marketing. It is often with the management. Being the entrepreneurial doctor you are, you know enough to make marketing work. You can make it work better once you fix the management of your practice and find the constraints and remove them.

Then, watch your volume pick up and your marketing really work.

Seize your future,

Ed

Want help removing all your constraints? Make an appointment for a quick all and I am sure I can help you uncover a probable bottleneck or two and give a you a couple simple solutions that could help.

Spring Marketing Calendar

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spring marketing plan.

The Need for Marketing Never Goes Away

Daylight Savings Time starts in two weeks here in the U.S. And across the northern part of our Planet, Spring begins in 4 weeks (March 20th). Guess that would be autumn for you all in the southern hemisphere.

What a great time to plan your spring and summer marketing.

The Need for Marketing Never Goes Away

No matter how full your practice is, the need for marketing never goes away.

Marketing is business and business is marketing.

Putting something valuable in the marketplace that other people want and will pay for – that is marketing. And that is your business.

The type of marketing you do varies depending on the condition and circumstances of your business. If you are just beginning a practice, you must spend a large percentage of your time and budget on marketing, especially direct response marketing. If you have built up your business, the focus of your marketing can be more on retaining your patients, creating alliances, and world-class customer service and outcomes.

Marketing covers a broad spectrum of activities, but all are, or should be, designed to generate new patients and keep the ones you have.

Trends for the future indicate that, in the end, the best and surest marketing will be customer services and outcomes. The communication channels are so packed and manufactured that your messages will get lost unless you have millions to spend. And now we have AI marketing – ads that robots put together.

Therefore, the best marketing will always be personal – relationship based. You and your people — authentic and interested in your patients and the individuals in your community – delivering extraordinary service and outcomes.

Marketing Plan

Practically speaking, it helps to plan your marketing.

Plan your work and then work your plan, right? So, I have attached a sample marketing plan (link below at the end of the blog article) to help you outline what to do. It is a sample and gives structure to managing your marketing. We’ve used one like this for years, and it works. Make your own and customize it to fit your needs.

And stay tuned for a new service we will offer to help you with your marketing.

But for now, Happy Spring, and Plan your Future

Ed

Sample Marketing Calendar

The Generosity of Service

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How to be happier and more prosperous

One of the unique characteristics of Petty, Michel & Associates is that we visit offices and provide on-site coaching based on what we see.

I remember one doctor whom we worked with for several years. When I visited his office, as soon as he saw me, and the minute he was free, he’d say, “Ed, come on over here, let me check you.”

He didn’t ask permission.

He saw many patients in the morning and the afternoon and always took time over lunch for a workout.

He was focused on adjusting anyone in his sight. Patient after a patient. And because he was so focused, he communicated with certainty and authority and earned the trust of his patients.

If you can strip away from your mind all the administrative tasks, worries, and challenges and just focus on seeing patients, you’ll be happier and see more people.
All the “other stuff” slows down doctors, the administrative tasks that seem to multiply exponentially. Your mind can be either dominated by business concerns — or by the joy of giving and serving.

You have the skill and ability to help others, which must be honored and given full reign to be expressed to its total capacity. It shouldn’t be withheld or hoarded.

A well-trained team and a practice manager are vital. They allow you, and the other providers, to practice your art while they care for everything else.

I have talked to many doctors who visit third-world countries and flat-out adjust 100-200 people in a day. No admin interruptions, just individual after individual, courageously providing service and practicing their craft without concern about reimbursement. They have told me that they would get into a “Zone,” or into a flow… and experience an intense kind of present-time consciousness that they don’t experience in their offices.

Dr. Sid Williams, who founded Life Chiropractic University in Georgia, promoted the idea of “Lasting Purpose,” which was defined as “to give, to love, to serve in abundance without expecting anything in return.”

Being generous doesn’t mean giving your services away. Generousness is a mindset of abundance. It is not withholding your gift and craft but practicing your art freely and abundantly.

To do so, train your staff to take care of everything else and delegate the admin tasks to them. We can help with this. But it first starts by committing to a value of service generosity. In our company, Petty, Michel, & Associates, one of our core values is delivering services in “Abbondanza,” Italian for abundance.

In physics, every action has a reaction. This is also expressed in ancient texts: the more you give, the more you receive. You’re persuaded each day to get lost in admin concerns. Don’t. Get “lost in service.” Admin details need to be tended to, but only during non-patient time, and most should be delegated to your team.

Be a Giver and be generous. Educate, care for, and help more people. Take on this attitude, and you’ll have more fun and be more prosperous.

Ed

*Sid Williams quote: https://lifewest.edu/dr-sid-williams-honored-in-life-wests-sid-square/

The Future

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It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future.
(Viktor Frankl)

Traditionally, the first of any New Year is an excellent time to take stock of the prior year and make plans for the year to come.

Goals

In business, there are two (three, but for now, we will look at two) types of goals for your business:

  • Production Goals
  • Organization Goals

Setting production goals for where you want to be 12 months from now is the easy part of goal setting. The hard part is working out the organizational support you will need to achieve your production and collections goals. It could be more than you think!

But keep this in mind:

chiropractic and your services are never the primary barriers to practice success.

It is always management. It is the administrative issues connected with organization, including marketing, that gum up the work, gets in the way, slows your business down and holds you back.

Motivation

Part of management is managing your motivation. Yep… motivation needs to be managed. Keeping your spirits high and your drive strong is necessary for an organization to flow.

And this takes us back to your goals.

Visualizing achieving your goals will stimulate your motivation – and your drive. If you can’t see any way to your goals, well, that can be depressing. But if you can… if you can envision accomplishing your future goals, you will be motivated.

Viktor Frankl

I reference Viktor Frankl in my book, The Goal Driven Business.
Speaking of his experience in a concentration camp, “As we said before, any attempt to restore a man’s inner strength in the camp had first to succeed in showing him some future goal…”

He also said, “Even when it is not fully attained, we become better by striving for a higher goal.”

For your goal setting for the New Year, I recommend you start with your higher goals, the 3rd type of goal, which are beyond production and organization. For example, what brings you bliss? What gives you meaning?

  • Time with family and friends?
  • More vacations to more interesting places?
  • Going for the WIN of your best production and collections year ever?
  • Building a church?
  • Getting a diplomate in nutrition?
  • Improving patient outcomes?
  • Speaking out about health issues more?

Begin with these goals – the higher, wilder, richer ones. Then, look at your production goals, then your organizational goals.

I encourage you to dream just a bit and look at next year as your playground. What higher, richer, and wilder adventures would you like to accomplish?

Have some fun considering these types of goals and all the ways you would like to achieve them. This will add zest and a special spirit to your production and organizational goals.

Help with Your Future

We want to help you with your future. Your work is important, and helping you achieve your goals has been a driving force and a higher goal within our company for over 30 years.

For 2023, we have a few openings for our Private Client status on our Goal Driven Program.

If you are interested in working with us, please reply to this email, and we will schedule a time to talk.

All of us at Petty Michel & Associates want to help you achieve your goals in 2023

Seize the Future! (Carpe Future)

Happy New Year

Ed

Reference. More information on this is covered in sections in The Goal Driven Business, starting at page 19 and page 116.

In Praise of Geekiness

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Are you a chiropractic geek?

Are you a health geek?

Here is Merriam Webster: Geek: “…a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field…” “an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field… [The word geek has] seen increasing use with positive connotations, showing membership in a specialized group (film geek, beer geek) rather than social awkwardness.”

I like the word geek because it indicates someone who specializes in a field and is so engaged that they are not especially concerned with keeping up with what is accepted conventionally. In other words, they are a bit of a rebel.

Steve Jobs, for example, was a geek. A core value of Apple was a “power to the people” idea, that anyone could have a personal computer, not just the big corporations.

Wouldn’t Clarence Gonstead have been a geek? It would be difficult to find many chiropractors who were, or are, as engaged in chiropractic as he was or worked as hard.

I remember years ago when talking with a chiropractor over lunch and all he could talk about was the X,Y,Z axis, something about Euclidean geometry, and bilateral symmetrical function. I was trying to keep up! But there he was, in practice for over twenty years, talking excitedly about the last few patients he had seen. He was a chiropractic geek, for sure.

He also had a million-dollar practice with a very strong practice manager.

Great athletes are geeks in their field, studying and training harder than most. Same with musicians or chefs.

But it is easy to get distracted from your game. Collections, bills, staffing, procedures, marketing, insurance, taxes, and everything that goes along with running a business can cut into your productivity and dilute your concentration on your services.

Don’t let it.

Only the offices that give the highest quality services and deliver the best outcomes will survive, let alone thrive. Organize your administration such that it does not dampen your eagerness to engage with each patient, and continue to study and enhance every detail of your clinical skill.

And as a plug, this is why I wrote the Goal Driven Business – to help doctors be doctors, unfettered by administration, and free to express their skills and interests in their profession.

Organize your office so that you can focus on the science, art, and philosophy of your profession. Do so that you can look at chiropractic and its results newly each day, as if you just discovered its powerful potential to help people become healthier. Go deep on every level and rediscover your profession again, for the first time.

Be a geek.

Goal Driven to seize the future,

Ed

Goals, Motivation, and Discipline

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“People often say motivation doesn’t last.
Neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.”
(Attributed to Zig Ziglar)

I want to thank you for continuing to subscribe to this newsletter.

It has morphed into a kind of Tuesday’s Tips for Goal Drivers.

It includes weekly practice development tips, reminders, nudges, and even sometimes…insights. We include what we have seen that works, or doesn’t, in all types of chiropractic and other offices.

This newsletter has gained momentum over the last year from the publication of my book, The Goal Driven Business. It is written for that part of us that strives to achieve our goals.

The value of goals just can not be overstated. But “goals” cover a wide range of concepts and so can become confusing or even worse, boring.

But by frequently reconnecting with WHY you do WHAT you do, what you do becomes easier and more effective. And even more fun.

Why you do what you do is your motive — or your motivation.

Motivation to achieve your goals is senior to organizational procedures — but still needs organization to support its drive. When organization fails, as it often does, motivation is weakened. And organization is directly dependent on having the discipline of doing what needs to be done.

I don’t see the subject of discipline brought up too often in practice management conferences or discussions. It’s embarrassing, perhaps. Whether it is coming in late to see patients, not doing a thorough case review, or neglecting your support team, the little oversights can take a toll on our motivation.

Attending new seminars can give you a temporary buzz and momentarily motivate you. But unless you and your team have the discipline to stick to your values and procedures, the drive to your goals will lose its energy.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about how successful businesses create a culture of discipline. He says, “It all starts with disciplined people…Next we have disciplined thought. You need the discipline to confront the brutal facts of reality, while retaining resolute faith that you can and will create a path to greatness.” “Finally, we have disciplined action.”

In a less academic way of saying the same thing, Mike Rowe said, “Work ethic is important because, unlike intelligence, athleticism, charisma, or any other natural attribute, it’s a choice.”

The way to stay motivated is to stay true to your mission, values, and procedures and to frequently take time to face the “brutal facts” of your performance and your WHY.

Like bathing, the process never ends… and keeps you clean!

Seize your future,

Ed

Take a Stand: Define and Promote Your Brand

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Using your brand to generate more patients, increase retention, and recruit top talent!

Promoting your brand has not been an important or even viable method of marketing for most chiropractors.

But that is no longer true.

Brand marketing needs to be part of your marketing mix. I will tell you why, but first, let’s define our terms:

Brand marketing is different from direct response marketing. Brand marketing focuses on generating awareness of your office, while direct response aims to generate new customers.

A smaller business with limited resources must focus on direct marketing rather than brand marketing. This is especially important when you begin.

Once your practice is maturing, your patients know you. You are the brand. You probably don’t plan on growing the business any further so there doesn’t seem to be any real need to promote your brand in the community.

But now there is.

More competition for patients

Franchise health companies are stepping up their activities. For example, the Joint Chiropractic, which filed with the SEC for around $35 million 10 years ago, and is a public traded company, acquired an additional 7.5 million in funding just two years ago. Their website says they have more than 600 locations, and I have seen their marketing activities in Wisconsin.

Physical therapy franchises are spreading, such as FYZICAL. According to its website, it has grown to more than 448 locations in 7 years as of 2021. In addition, acupuncture franchises, massage franchises, and dental franchises are on the rise.

Competition for Qualified Employees

You can also see increased competition if you have been recruiting doctors, providers, or support personnel lately. Job seekers can acquire a startling amount of information about you and what it is like for employees to work with you. They are interested in your culture, benefits, and values – which are all part of your brand.

What Makes You Different and Better

It could be said that your brand is: what makes you stand apart — and better – from all the comparable alternatives.

It is your Unique Selling Proposition.

A well-defined and promoted brand will help you:

  • Generate pride and loyalty in your patient base
  • Encourage more patient referrals
  • Improve team morale
  • Generate referrals from external referral sources
  • Improve marketing recruitment efforts for top employee talent

How to Define Your Brand

Once again, it all goes back to goals. (Doesn’t everything?)

What is the mission of your office? What are its values? What are its valuable outcomes?

This Is a Distillation Of Your Story: why you are a doctor, why you are in business, and what brings you joy daily?

Answer this for yourself, and then ask your staff:

What makes us special?

Survey a few of your patients: what makes us special from other providers? Why did you choose us?

Your brand showcases all this into an identity that people can know, like, and trust.

It can be somewhat symbolized with a logo and tag line, like the Nike “shoosh,” and the tag line: “Just Do It.” It can be represented in your newsletters, your office decor and cleanliness, the appearance of you and your team, and in all aspects of your promotions on social media.

But primarily, it must be demonstrated each day by you and your team living up to your values, your commitment to your mission, and providing world-class service and outcomes.

The world is moving faster, and we all have to work to stay ahead. And if we do it right, not only will it be rewarding but also fun.

Carpe Posterum (Seize the Future)

Ed

Need help with your branding strategy? Schedule a call and let’s have look at the best strategic options
SCHEDULE NOW

 

Those Numbers: Do You Manage by Emotions or by Goals?

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scoreboard for statistics

It’s Monday morning. The staff is getting the office ready for the new day. And while doing so, they are wondering… “How is the boss’s mood going to be today?”

They are taking their cues on how the day will transpire based upon, at least in part, your emotional state.

Your team, as well, will often be tempted to manage their roles in the office emotionally, based on the circumstances in their personal lives.

There is nothing wrong with positive emotion. Emotion is a feeling “a mental reaction subjectively experienced” (Merriam-Webster). Some are more positive than others, such as joy, delight, cheerfulness, and others are more negative, such as anger, grief, and fear.

But emotion is reactive. Setting your sights and working for goals is proactive.

Your Scoreboard

Your practice numbers show you if you are headed towards your goals or away from them.

They can predict what needs to be done to improve your business and achieve your goals. They also keep everyone on your team informed on the status of the practice and included in its management.

There is a right and wrong way to use your numbers to help you achieve your goals.

There is, in fact, an entire methodology on how to use statistics to improve business performance.

Large companies use analytics to manage and improve their production in formal processes such as Kaizen, Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management.

In the Goal Driven System, we use a simplified version called GAP, the Goals Achievement Process, which works just fine.

At the beginning of each month:

  1. Review. Review your key numbers monthly at staff meetings. (This can also be done weekly to check on your progress.)
  2. Notice and support. Notice where the numbers went up. Then, plan a couple of action steps to support the areas that went up.
  3. Notice and fix. Notice where the numbers went down. Then, plan a few action steps to fix the areas that were down.

Remember that numbers by themselves are nothing. They are symptoms or representations of the quality and quantity of your outcomes. Don’t get so caught up with the “stats” that you lose sight of what the numbers represent. Expecting the numbers to improve without confronting and enhancing the factors causing the numbers is at best ineffective and, at worst, can be abusive.

But numbers can assist you and each team member to stay focused on the goals: your office mission, its values, and its outcomes.

In a Goal Driven office, your team takes its cues from the office scoreboard.
There is an art and a method to capture, display, read your statistics and apply what they tell you. This is not adequately taught to most doctors in business – or to employees. Yet managing by numbers is a fast and very effective method to keep your business improving.

We are creating a short training course to remedy this called Goal Driven Analytics for the Chiropractic Practice. Subscribers to this newsletter (you!) will be the first to hear about it.

In the meantime, stay true to your goals, and use your scoreboard to help you do so.

Seize the Future

Ed

Which is Better for You: Direct Marketing or Indirect Marketing?

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Last week I sent an email with a link to Ode to Joy.

Ode to Joy is from Beethoven’s 4th movement of his 9th symphony, considered one of the top three symphonies ever created.

It was a short 5-minute rendition. It is beautiful and evocative – listen to it again. (Link below.) Plus, its performance was a masterpiece.

But it was actually an ad.

It was a brilliant advertisement for a Spanish Bank. It was promoting Sabadell Bank’s 130th year anniversary in 2012. According to one website, it has had 90 million views since 2012, while another posted in 2015 has received over 18 million views.

That is a lot of exposure. But does it generate new business?

This type of advertising is called brand marketing, or what I call indirect marketing. It is the opposite of direct marketing. Direct marketing, also called direct response marketing, tries to generate an immediate response. Knowing the differences will help you manage your marketing and make it more effective for your particular situation.

Direct Marketing

The goal of direct response marketing is to generate qualified prospects that respond to an offer. When you receive a card in the mail that promotes a free dinner about retirement funds, the company that sent you that mailer hopes you reply and attend the dinner and accompanying talk. At the dinner, a speaker gives a presentation with the hope of scheduling you for a private consultation later that week. When you see an ad on Facebook for a free manual, the advertisers intend that you respond and order their manual. The distinguishing characteristic of direct marketing is numbers – you can quantify the results of your marketing efforts.

Indirect Marketing

The goal for indirect, or brand marketing, is for the name of your business to be well known and well thought of. When you volunteer at the local food bank, co-sponsor a kid’s little league team, or simply provide excellent customer service, these are all examples of indirect marketing. The results of indirect marketing are difficult to identify immediately.

Until you are in Stage 4 in the growth of your business (about 75% or more full capacity), most of your marketing efforts should be direct marketing. Indirect marketing supports direct marketing, but even if your entire town knew about your business and thought highly of it, there is no guarantee that anyone would come to see you as a customer.

Handing out your business card to someone would be an example of indirect, personal brand building. However, handing out your business card with a handwritten note on the back that said something like “N/C screening in May for Joe M. Dr. EP” might be an example of a direct response marketing.

Marketing Mix – Direct, Indirect, and Internal, External

Another factor to consider in managing your marketing is how much should be directed externally – to non-patients and customers and how much should be directed internally to your existing and former patients and customers.

It has been my experience that too few practices are industrious enough with marketing to and communicating with their existing and former patients.

Below is a chart that gives approximate percentages of how to balance your direct and indirect marketing for your practice. I have divided the development of a business arbitrarily into 5 Stages. Figure each Stage to be about 20% your full capacity.

Telling your story and the successes of your services should never end, regardless of how successful you are. Change your marketing strategies depending at what Stage of development your business is in — but keep marketing.

Carpe Posterum (Seize the Future),

Ed
GoalDriven.com

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