Category Archives: Marketing

Marketing: The Benefits of Positioning, Football, Food, and Chiropractic

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“Chiropractic just makes you feel so much better… as long as I see the chiropractor, I feel like I’m one step ahead of the game.” Tom Brady (7× Super Bowl Champion, 5× Super Bowl MVP, 3× League MVP, 15× Pro Bowler, Considered GOAT.)“Chiropractic just makes you feel so much better… as long as I see the chiropractor, I feel like I’m one step ahead of the game.”
Tom Brady (7× Super Bowl Champion, 5× Super Bowl MVP, 3× League MVP, 15× Pro Bowler, Considered GOAT.)

For those of you who are Patriots fans, Sunday was a tough loss.

But Seahawks fans (the 12s), you’ve got to be feeling pretty good. That was a clinic in defensive strategy.

I enjoyed the game, but here’s what caught my attention – nearly half the country watched the Super Bowl. That’s significant — not because of football, but because of what people pay attention to.

And that brings me to the subject of positioning.

Positioning is a marketing concept that means borrowing meaning from things people already trust, admire, or desire—and letting that meaning transfer to your service.

This weekend gave us two very relevant examples.

2 THINGS PEOPLE CARE ABOUT
(That Relate Directly to Chiropractic)

1. Sports

People of all ages love sports. Sports require physical health, mental focus—and I’d even say spiritual discipline. You must be healthy to perform, and health is your department.

There’s also a reason every professional football team has a chiropractor. If you haven’t looked into it, check out the Professional Football Chiropractic Society:

https://www.profootballchiros.com/

 

2. Healthy Food: RealFood.gov

During halftime, a public-health PSA aired promoting real food and warning about ultra-processed diets. In the spot, Mike Tyson spoke candidly about his own struggles with obesity and the tragic loss of his sister, who died young from a heart attack linked to obesity.

His line was blunt (and memorable):

“We’re the most powerful country in the world, and we have the most obese, fudgy people.”

The ad was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, currently headed by RFK Jr., who has attended chiropractic conventions and spoken at chiropractic colleges.

These are not fringe ideas. These are mainstream conversations.

WHAT THE RESEARCH TELLS US

This shift isn’t anecdotal. The data supports it:

U.S. adults using at least one complementary health approach nearly doubled, from 19.2% in 2002 to 36.7% in 2022.*

Among adults aged 50–80, 66% report using at least one integrative health strategy.*

People love sports. Real food is being promoted nationally.

And more Americans are using natural health care.

So the question becomes: How Do You Join the Party?

There are lots of ways. Here are a few proven ones.

1. Be the change.
As Gandhi is said to have put it—be the change you want to see. Exercise. Eat well. Get adjusted.

2. Make it a core value.
Support your team in practical ways to help them move better, eat better, and stay healthy.

3. Communicate it relentlessly.
Table talk. Newsletters. Social media. Don’t assume people “get it.” Repetition builds positioning.

4. Create health allies.
Build relationships with owners of athletic businesses—golf courses, gyms, yoga studios, CrossFit boxes—and with coaches at schools or special programs. Cross-refer appropriately. Relationships matter.

5. Provide workshops.
Education beats advertising.

Include consultations and screenings. Partner with a pro or business owner when possible. Share a couple of success stories—with photos.

For example, we’ve done this successfully with golf workshops, co-hosted with chiropractors and a golf pro. Titles included:

  • Golf and Back Pain – Reducing Back Pain in Golf
  • Generating Increased Power in the Golf Swing
  • Improving Distance and Accuracy

We had strong turnout, immediate new patients, and more followed.

Golf season is right around the corner—and I’ve been told golf is a sport (lol).

Here are other natural workshop opportunities:

  • Gyms
  • Runners / Endurance sports
  • Cycling / CrossFit
  • Recreational & youth sports
  • Organic food stores

Sports. Real food. Good health. Your chiropractic services.

For the win!

Keep Drivin’,

Ed

P.S. If you’d like help applying this in your practice, you know where to find me. 🖐️

References:

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-analysis-reveals-significant-rise-use-complementary-health-approaches-especially-pain-management

https://ihpi.umich.edu/national-poll-healthy-aging/national-findings/use-and-interest-integrative-medicine-strategies

https://www.beinsports.com/en-us/american-football/articles/how-many-people-will-watch-super-bowl-lx-2026-02-06

Tom Brady – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Kickstarting Your Patient’s Health and Their Referrals In Chiropractic and Healthcare Practices

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chiropractic healthy start coupon

A healthy start for 2026 in your chiropractic practice

Now is a perfect time to connect with all your active and inactive patients.

If you haven’t yet, compliment them for working on improving their health last year. Express your gratitude for trusting you with their health.

Then, as their Health and Wellness Coach, encourage them to set some health goals for the first quarter of the year.

You can be a little forward about it…you want them to win! Patients appreciate chiropractors and other doctors who genuinely care about their results.

You can also encourage them to invite their family and friends in to see you if they’re dealing with back pain, headaches, or other conditions you can help with.

Below is a sample coupon you can personalize then use or modify to suit your situation.

Wishing you, too, a healthy start to your New Year — in business and in life!

Ed

== ==

2026 “HEALTHY START” COUPON

We want to help you start your year off as healthy as possible. Use this coupon:

  1. If you are active on your chiropractic program, bring this coupon in to enter a drawing for a [healthy gift, which could be a gift certificate to a local health food store, restaurant, yoga studio, sky-diving, etc.]

  2. If you haven’t been in for a while, bring this in for a free update exam and x-ray if needed.

  3. If you know someone who might benefit from chiropractic care, give them this coupon for a consultation, exam, x-ray if needed, and report of findings for $25 as your guest.

Fun and Effective Promotions for November and December

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food drive grocery cart for chiropractic and healthcare facilities

Spark Some Magic in Your Chiropractic Practice This Season!

Special Promotions for November and December 2025! These are loud and lively events that engage the entire team!

Why do them?

  • Increase new patients with great offers.
  • Energize less active patients and get them back.
  • Build greater team spirit for a shared purpose.
  • A reason to promote your office and let patients and your community know how active you are!
  • Increase your presence as the Health Hero’s in your community.

Even without an offer, just the fun of giving back will boost your visits and instill greater loyalty.

Read the full Goal Driver Newsletter at Goal Driven.com and checkout the fun, festive promotions that will spark magic in your office this holiday season!

2026 Marketing Habits for Your Chiropractic and Healthcare New Year

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social media marketing for consistent marketing in the Chiropractic Practice for 2026

2026: The Year to Make Your Healthcare Practice Thrive

2026 will be a make-or-break year for healthcare business owners—potentially your best ever. More details in future newsletters, but for now: build unbreakable marketing habits starting today.

Trust: The Core of Healthcare Marketing

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle (via Will Durant)

You’re selling the invisible—outcomes patients can’t see upfront. That’s why trust is everything. Build it through:

  • Consistency
  • Empathy
  • Proven Results

Your brand = how you consistently show genuine care and deliver excellence.

The #1 Killer of Momentum?  Stopping What Works

I’ve seen it repeatedly:
Q: “What were you doing when patient numbers were high?”
A:

  • “We sent newsletters.” → Not anymore.
  • “We called new patients post-visit.” → Nope.
  • “We did thorough financial consultations.” → Are you kidding? No!”

Stopping proven tactics = death by roller coaster.
You lose trust, momentum, and the systems that made it effortless.

Your Fix: The Recurring Marketing Checklist

Discipline is hard—but checklists make it stick. Systems atrophy without them.

Monthly Discipline Hack:

  1. List your top 10 internal + external marketing actions (70–80% of your total efforts).
  2. Assign ownership to your manager.
  3. Review at every staff meeting.
  4. Grade % completed—full accountability.

Layer In: Special Promotions

With recurring actions locked in, plan 2–3 months ahead for:

  • Facebook ads with a partner
  • Food drive with a local pantry (especially needed now)
  • Health talk at a yoga studio

Deliverable:Monthly Marketing Planner
→ % of recurring actions completed
→ # of special promotions scheduled

Let’s Make 2026 Your **Best Ever**

Download Free Tools:[LINK]
— Ed

The 4-Hour Fix for the Chiropractic Healthcare Practice Roller-Coaster

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the ups and downs of the Practice Roller Coaster stay Goal Driven to stay up

One Simple Role to Streamline Chiropractic Marketing and Growth**

Chiropractic practices often face inconsistent growth due to a Practice Roller Coaster, where marketing drives patient numbers up, but attention shifts to patient care, staff management, and other tasks, causing marketing to stall. This leads to fluctuating growth. To address this, assigning a trusted staff member as a part-time Marketing Coordinator (4 hours/week) can ensure consistent marketing efforts. Their role is not to handle all marketing but to keep systems like recalls, referrals, and metrics tracking active.

The Marketing Manager System, developed by Edward Petty in the early 2000s, emphasizes four key issues: marketing fails when it’s not done, no one is in charge, insufficient time is allocated, and the coordinator needs support and accountability. To succeed, the clinic director should schedule weekly marketing time, hold monthly planning meetings, track metrics with charts, and ensure accountability through written plans and reports. This approach eliminates marketing bottlenecks, sustains momentum, and reduces stress, helping practices grow steadily.

Note: A Monthly Marketing Manager Program to support coordinators with training and systems is planned for launch soon.

Building a Practice Through Relationships

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a happy bus driver like a chiropractor with happy people on their bus

Advertising has always been important. When we grew our Wisconsin network to 25 offices, we invested heavily in newspapers, shared mailers, radio, and even TV. Today, the focus has shifted to social media, SEO, and now Artificial Intelligence — positioning your practice for AI discovery will soon be essential (more on that later!).

But advertising is expensive. What truly sustained our growth was relationship marketing — connecting authentically with patients, referral sources, and our own team.

What Is Relationship Marketing?

Relationship marketing involves creating trust-based relationships with patients and referral sources, generating loyalty and organic referrals through genuine care and ongoing connection.

Examples:

  • Host a community event like a holiday food drive — invite patients and their families to participate and offer consultations in exchange for donations.
  • Encourage patients to refer loved ones with a personal touch (“Let’s check your spouse before their next soccer game!”).
  • Build partnerships with local professionals — massage therapists, trainers, or nutritionists — and support each other through referrals or shared promotions.

Your Most Important Relationships

Don’t overlook your team. When doctors and staff work together with shared purpose and positive energy, patients notice. It’s almost magnetic — phones start ringing and old patients return.

As Stephen Covey reminds us in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, success comes from empathy, communication, and a win-win mindset that creates synergy — or, as some might say, Universal Intelligence at work.

GETTING AND KEEPING PEOPLE ON YOUR BUS

As a doctor and clinic director, you are like a bus driver. You aim to make sure you are on time and complete your shift according to schedule.

One day, you turn around to look at the back of your bus and wonder why there are so many empty seats. “Where is everyone?”

Well, maybe you missed some stops and the people never got on! Or, you didn’t take time to say “hi” when they boarded, so they all left at the next stop. Or, you were so busy driving, you didn’t ask about your assistant’s new workout routine.

Take time to connect with people.

More than anything, you are in the people business.

Enjoy the ride!

Ed

Why Clear Roles Build a Stronger Chiropractic & Healthcare Practice

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team players wearing staff hats front desk billing promotion marketing

Better teamwork, smoother operations, and improved patient care all start with clarity.

Years ago, I visited a chiropractic office where the doctor was frustrated: patients weren’t keeping appointments, and he blamed his front desk staff, “Sue.” The problem wasn’t effort—Sue was polite and friendly—but she had no clear job description, no checklist, and no real understanding of her responsibilities.

Once we clarified her role, outlined simple procedures, and scheduled regular reviews, the practice quickly improved. Patients kept their appointments, and both the doctor and Sue felt more confident and motivated.

This is a common issue: when roles are vague, results suffer. But when roles are clear, teams thrive.

—

The Three Elements of Every Role

According to the Goal Driven System, each role should include:

  1. Purpose – Why the role exists.
  2. Outcome – The measurable result it should achieve.
  3. Procedures – The specific actions to reach the outcome.

Example – Front Desk Role:

  • Purpose: Help patients achieve health goals by ensuring they stay on schedule.
  • Outcome: Patients consistently keeping appointments.
  • Procedures:
    • Greet every patient with a smile.
    • Answer the phone warmly.
    • Confirm each patient leaves with their next appointment scheduled.

—

 Action Steps for Your Practice

  1. Have every team member list their roles.
  2. Define the purpose, outcome, and 5–10 key procedures for each.
  3. Add measurable indicators (e.g., % kept appointments, total visits).
  4. Review and rehearse roles regularly, just like a winning sports team practices.

Clear roles create accountability, boost morale, and drive better patient care. Keep it simple, keep it consistent, and keep it fun.

Stay Goal Driven,

Ed

Want More New Patients in Your Chiropractic or Healthcare Practice? Start Here.

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chiropractic team going over stats to improve care and service

Most doctors think the first step to getting more new patients is marketing. But that’s not always true.

Years ago, a large chiropractic office asked for help because their new patient numbers were slipping. After analyzing their situation, it was clear their promotions were weak—but the real problem went deeper.

The senior doctor, in practice for 20+ years, had become bored. Patient visits felt routine. Long-time staff were stuck in old habits. Meanwhile, the two younger doctors had enthusiasm but lacked confidence and experience.

We started by focusing on quality of care, not ads. The senior doctor began coaching the new doctors on cases and patient communication. Staff refreshed their service procedures and rehearsed ways to create a stronger patient experience.

The result? Without launching a single new promotion, new patients and visits went up. Only after that did we create a marketing calendar—because now they had something truly worth promoting.

The Lesson

Before you spend time and money on external promotions, make sure your practice delivers the kind of care that inspires patients to return and refer. Quality care and continuous improvement are the foundation of real growth.

As Stephen Covey said, “Sharpen the Saw”—renewal and improvement keep the drive alive.

Stay Goal Driven

Ed

Read the full article here: Goal Driven Blog

Don’t Get Left Behind

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3 children playing football. Their goal is to play, win and have fun

Football Season, Chiropractic, and Winning Strategies

Football season is here—and it’s a perfect time to highlight chiropractic. Every professional football team has a chiropractor, proving that even million-dollar athletes rely on it to perform at their best.

Top athletes agree

  • Aaron Rodgers credits chiropractic (and his chiropractor father) for helping him stay at peak performance.
  • Tom Brady says adjustments make him feel taller and better aligned.
  • Joe Montana calls chiropractic a key part of his game.

If chiropractic works for them, imagine what it can do for local athletes and weekend warriors.

How to Market Your Services with a Sports Theme

Position your office as the place for athletes of all ages to boost performance, recover faster, and prevent injuries.

Ideas to promote chiropractic through sports:

  • Workshops:
    • The Injury-Proof Playbook: 8 Moves That Keep Athletes in the Game
    • Weekend Warrior Survival Guide: 8 Strategies for Active Families
  • Business Talks: Offer lunch-and-learns, screenings, or mini-chair massages.
  • Athlete Recovery Days: Host Monday Morning Quarterback Recovery sessions for post-game soreness.
  • Community Partnerships: Team up with schools, youth leagues, and local teams for education, sideline care, or screenings.

Promotion Tips:
Use your newsletter, office fliers, social media, and table talk. Assign a part-time Marketing Coordinator (3–5 hrs/week) and hold monthly planning meetings so every staff member contributes.

Build Your Own Winning Team

Think of your practice like a football team:

  • Have a game plan.
  • Play 4 quarters each month.
  • Work as a team.
  • Keep score (track progress).
  • And most importantly—keep it fun.

Chiropractic helps athletes win on the field. With the right marketing and team mindset, it can also help your practice win in the community.

Should Old Acquaintances Be Forgotten in Your Chiropractic and Healthcare Practice?

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Tips for Your Patient Newsletter

Your healthcare practice is built on relationships, sustained through service and communication. Without ongoing patient engagement—active or inactive—your practice may struggle. A newsletter is a powerful, affordable way to maintain these connections, extending your office’s warmth, excellent care, and positive outcomes to patients’ homes.

A well-crafted newsletter keeps the doctor-patient dialogue alive, portraying your office as a friendly, health-focused space. It drives retention, encourages referrals, and serves as a low-cost marketing tool. While often overlooked or outsourced to generic pamphlet companies, a newsletter’s impact lies in its authenticity and simplicity.

Crafting a great newsletter requires some skill, but the key is to just do it! Here are practical tips to make it effective:

  • Keep it concise: Aim for under 600 words. Include a brief doctor’s note, a health tip, a simple recipe, and a promotion.
  • Make it personal: Write as if chatting with a patient during a visit. Share a story, case success, or health advice like recommending a lumbar cushion. Have a staff member transcribe your thoughts, then edit for clarity.
  • Stay informal: Think of it as a casual check-in, like catching up with a friend or neighbor. Share what’s happening at the office in a warm, relatable tone.
  • Show genuine interest: Highlight your passion for chiropractic care through patient success stories or testimonials. Include family and friends in your outreach to broaden the connection.
  • Be authentic: Avoid generic or overly polished content. Patients value real, heartfelt communication over artificial or spammy material.
  • Frequency: Send monthly, though more often is fine if manageable.
  • Assign a coordinator: Delegate newsletter management to a staff member to ensure consistency.

Newsletter Checklist:

  1. Doctor’s Letter: A friendly note with a photo, written to one patient, tying into a case, event, or health tip.
  2. Office News: Share updates like new equipment, staff achievements, or recent seminars.
  3. Upcoming Events: Promote events like Patient Appreciation Day or a community 5K to show your office is vibrant.
  4. Patient Testimonial: Include a written or video success story.
  5. Recipe: Share a healthy, relatable recipe with a personal touch, like a family favorite.
  6. Health Tip (Optional): Offer a simple, relevant health suggestion.
  7. Use an Email Service: Avoid sending from personal email clients for professionalism.

Keep communicating with your patients to foster a thriving practice. Stay goal-driven!

Ed

Using offline and online tactics to grow your chiropractic practice

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mothers day greeting with floral bouquet

Grow Your Chiropractic Practice with Online and Offline Strategies

Many chiropractic offices see success with online advertising, especially on social media. While effective, it often requires digital expertise, so many chiropractors hire agencies—some with better results than others. If you’ve worked with a good agency, sharing your recommendation could help others.

Online promotion isn’t new to chiropractic. B.J. Palmer, one of the profession’s pioneers, was a relentless advertiser who played a major role in chiropractic’s growth during the early 20th century. His legacy reminds us that consistent promotion is key.

However, in today’s tech-saturated world, offline engagement is more valuable than ever. Creating relationships with patients is critical. The relationship business in a chiropractic office revolves around building trust, fostering patient loyalty, and creating a community that supports long-term engagement and referrals. Chiropractic care is inherently personal, as it involves hands-on treatment and addressing patients’ pain, mobility, and wellness goals. The success of a chiropractic practice often hinges on strong relationships with patients, staff, and the broader community.

Your practice is essentially a network of relationships, sustained through communication and service. So:

  • Nurture current and past patient relationships
  • Use those to expand to new connections

Some effective offline tactics include:

  • Sending personal email newsletters with stories, health tips, and a touch of personality
  • Hosting in-office events (e.g., Mother’s Day giveaways or posture screenings for National Correct Posture Month)
  • Organizing a patient appreciation picnic or monthly spinal health talks
  • Visiting local businesses to give brief wellness presentations
  • Setting up a booth at local fairs for visibility and patient reactivation

Combining digital and personal outreach creates a powerful, sustainable marketing strategy. As Woody Allen once said, “80 percent of success is showing up.”

“80 percent of success is showing up” (Woody Allen)

Stay Goal Driven,

Ed

References:

*(B.J. Palmer, Achievers Magazine, 1989)
*Brad Glowaki
*(Woody Allen (Quote Investigator)

Where Is Your Chiropractic Marketing Department?

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two business women discussing marketing

Excellent Service in Your Chiropractic Practice is Marketing

Here is a little exercise that can boost your new patients and improve the quality of your patient care. And create a little more excitement in the practice in the bargain.

First, let’s review a couple of wise words about marketing:

1. Jay Levinson, from his book Guerrilla Marketing.

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.

2. Peter Drucker, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (p68)

Marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered a separate function (i.e.,a separate skill or work) within the business, on a par with others such as manufacturing or personnel. Marketing requires separate work, and a distinct group of activities. But it is, first, a central dimension of the entire business. … Concern and responsibility for marketing must, therefore, permeate all areas of the enterprise.

What Levinson says is that marketing is EVERYTHING you do consistently.

Drucker says that while there are specific marketing activities, marketing is too fundamental to have its own department. It is a “central dimension of the entire business.”

Yes, there are specific marketing activities to help your chiropractic and healthcare practice, some of which you delegate to advertisers, such as Internet marketers. Larger offices hire field representatives. I have hired and trained practice marketers who effectively generated new patients from external activities.

However, most of your practice marketing comes from the actions you and each team member take in the office. This is true in ANY business, but especially in chiropractic or smaller independent healthcare offices.

A common misconception is that some vague or distant marketing department or advertising company takes care of marketing and is not a “central dimension” to each person’s job.

Every position in your office has a marketing component. It comes with the role of a team member. Doctor, front desk, billing and patient accounts, therapy, rehab, and anyone who is on the team, is a marketer.

So, where is the marketing department? It’s your entire office! Here are a few marketing activities each team member can do:

  • Be genuinely interested in each patient.
  • Honestly care for how each patient is doing.
  • Do your very best with each patient with Present Time Consciousness.
  • When and if appropriate, invite your patient to bring in a family member or friend for a scheduled consultation or event.
  • Congratulate patients for any success.

Then, there is a list of specific marketing activities you can do: newsy newsletters, internal and external events to the office. You can find many of these suggestions on our blogs.

HEALTHCARE TEAM MEMBER MARKETING EXERCISE

In your team meeting, have each team member present at least two types of marketing actions they can do from their position every day.

Help them with this. If you have time, have your team practice their marketing procedure with each other.

As an added emphasis, consider that now that we are in the world of AI, real-life human interest and live communication is more valuable than ever. Believe it or not, one of your key marketing “niches” is just your plain ol’ non-hyped interest in the other person. Never fake that. In our ever-increasing sterile and digital world that is becoming more robotic, less human, and less spiritual each day, genuine human communication is more valuable than ever.

Don’t ask for where the marketing department is,

For it resides within thee!

Always selling health,

Ed

P.S. By the way, I left out telling jokes as a marketing action! One office up “nort” here in Wisconsin, I swear, generates new patients with the doctor’s Ole and Lena jokes! This may not be appropriate for your office though! (lol)

OLE AND LENA (A favorite!)

Ole and Lena got married.
After a beautiful ceremony and a fun but modest reception, they got in Ole’s car and headed out on their honeymoon.
When they reached Saint Paul, Ole put his hand on Lena’s knee.
Lena said, “Ole, we’re married now. You can go farder den dat.”
So Ole drove to Duluth.

========================

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 book, The Goal Driven Business.

the goal driven business by edward petty

The Goal Driven Business
By Edward Petty

order now button

Summer Chiropractic and Healthcare Marketing. Get Outside!

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Edward Petty Sheldon Wasserman 4th July parade www.goaldriven.com

Eighty percent of success is showing up

Summer is a great time to promote your chiropractic and healthcare services. Winter hibernation is over, as is the enforced isolation from COVID, and people are out and about.

Communities are coming alive with farmer’s markets, bicycle riding clubs, coffee shop meetups, parades, art shows, and fairs of all kinds. You got yer Lions Club pancake breakfasts, church barbeques, donation drives, and 5-Ks.

Online social networking is fine, but it is extra powerful if backed up or done in conjunction with people and events locally in your community. In Real Life!

You can just show up and meet people. Let them meet you like an elected official when they run for office. (It is an election year!) You can also get a picture taken of the event and then use this in your internal promotions. That’s me in the photo above a few years back when I jumped into our local 4th of July parade and had my picture taken with our state representative, Sheldon Wasserman, M.D. (He told me his mom sees a chiropractor, and I didn’t care about what political party he was part of.)

You can get a list of upcoming community events from the Chamber of Commerce and schedule a screening, talk, or information booth, or volunteer your help in a charity drive. You can also just show up. Be neighborly.

There is often a run or walk as part of a donation program during the summer months where you and your staff can participate. We have seen offices proudly wear their office t-shirts and recruit many patients to do the same. Encourage and support your team members to participate on their own.

I’d assign a staff member or two to find events and opportunities to join. Make it a team activity.

You can power up all your activities by partnering with other local businesses.

And take your cards. As the old timers told me, the old school technique of practice building was “WOC – Whip out Card!” It’s physics: you put out energy and communication, and it will return to you.

When you are networking, you get to know people. Be interested in them and their interests. Then you can hand out your cards. You can also hand out coupons for a screening or workshop at your office.

As Woody Allen is to have said:

Eighty percent of success is showing up.

You can’t lose. It’s Summer. Get Outside. Enjoy the freedom!

And seize the day!

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 book, The Goal Driven Business.

goal driven business www.goaldriven.com

The Goal Driven Business
By Edward Petty

goal driven business buy now button

An Inexpensive Method to Improve Chiropractic and Healthcare Patient Engagement

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gray haired woman reading letter from chiropractor

How to Keep Table Talk Going

The new staff member said she could help with marketing by posting photos on Instagram and Facebook. The doctor said great!

I noticed a photo of a patient or the doctor with a short comment for a few weeks.

I usually had to search for the image. It often had a few likes or hearts. Maybe 5 at most. Then it stopped. The staff member had taken on other duties.

I had been asking the doctor to send regular email newsletters to his patients. He didn’t seem that interested, but we said we would help him put them together which would cost less than $100 per month.

He got us the content, and we put the newsletter together and sent it out. On the 1st day, over 500 people opened and looked at his newsletter. These weren’t strangers. These were patients who knew him, liked him, and trusted him. Most of them just hadn’t been in to see him for a while.

Linda, our manager and service coordinator, just conducted a quick survey with some of our clients. She found that the offices that consistently send out personal email newsletters have all had a positive impact on their practices. They have improved patient referrals, reactivations, and patient engagement.

Some of the responses included: “Increases volume.” “Patients refer.” “They love the recipes.” “[Patients] come into the office and comment that they saw a particular condition talked about in the newsletter that the office was not aware the doctor could help them with.” “Great response when promoting [a new service].”

Social media platforms are entertaining. They have to be because they are in the advertising business.

But unless you pay them for ads, your posts are shown at the whim of the platform. You have no control. Your readers are entertainment seekers and, even if they see your post, are often distracted by other posts and ads.

I have seen ad agencies use social media effectively to generate leads that become new patients. It can be pricey but worth it if done correctly. Done now and then, expert advertising on social media for a special offer for a limited time can work.

But if you do not regularly send personal newsletters to your patient base, you are wasting some of the goodwill you have generated over the years.

A CHIROPRACTIC AND HEALTHCARE PRACTICE IS A NETWORK OF RELATIONSHIPS

A practice is grown and sustained through communication and service to your network. The quality and quantity of your network, and how engaged it is with you, is your practice goodwill.

We are now in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Communications are manufactured. In other words, more and more communication is just plain fake.

But you are not fake, and neither is the easy dialogue you have with your patients. More than ever, people want authentic communication and relationships. Social media posts and ads just can’t compete with your short personal newsletters.

Here’s some tips on how to get your personal newsletter done fast:

SETUP

  1. Email Coordinator. Assign a team member to help you with the newsletter. Give them 1 hour per week to do so.
  2. Email service. Use an email service like Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, or others. They will assist with the setup. Have the assistant complete the setup and update it monthly.

CONTENT

  1. Table talk. Think of a patient that you often see in your office. Imagine talking to them about a subject that you are currently thinking about. It could be headaches, low back pain, nutrition, posture, or really anything you’re feeling passionate about.

    Now, write about 2-3 paragraphs as if you were writing a letter to them about your thoughts. (Link below.)

  2. Recipe. People love these. Always introduce a recipe and personalize it. “This was my grandmother’s favorite rabbit stew.”
  3. Success story. Introduce it: “Mildred did great.”
  4. Promotion. Every few months include a special promotion.

You can certainly add other elements. But the most essential component is your original message. It is YOUR VOICE that keeps the conversation going.

Effective newsletters will improve patient retention and patient referrals and reactivate inactive patients.

Nurture and sustain the relationships in your practice.

And seize your future!

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Sample message from the doctor for the newsletter

“You know, when I was driving to work this morning I saw this fellow bent over with a walker walking down the sidewalk. I bet if I had seen him 10 to 20 years ago, he wouldn’t be in that condition.

It’s the whole idea of a hinge. If it isn’t used much, it will rust and get stuck. Your vertebrae are like hinges. You gotta keep them moving otherwise they will get stuck.

Exercise helps. So does stretching.

But now and then your hinges (vertebrae) can get stuck, and that’s when you wanna come on and see us.

Keep moving and stay unstuck, and have a great June.

Dr. Bob Marley”

Related articles for chiropractors and independent healthcare practices:

https://www.goaldriven.com/post/sample-patient-group-activities

https://www.goaldriven.com/post/part-2-of-the-best-known-marketing-secret

 

Call Your Mom

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mom with little boy and girl eating breakfast

Women, in general, see healthcare providers including chiropractors, more than men do. (The ratio is about 60% women and 40% men.)*

This week, hand each person in your office a flower and ask them to give it to their mom, or a mom. And if they are a mother, give them two. You could make a deal with your local florist and in return, post a sign on the flower vase stating where the flowers came from. Always try to create alliances with local businesses!

And, call your mom. I know, not all of us can. So, thank the moms you do know.

They take care of us and our future.

Here’s to moms!

Ed

*https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/complementary-alternative-or-integrative-health-whats-in-a-name

Another post on moms! https://www.goaldriven.com/post/call-your-mom

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

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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

Chiropractic Has Always Been Organic

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Chiropractic has always been organic. Earth Day, goaldriven

You can improve your marketing by aligning your services with positive causes in society.

A fitting example occurs this time of year.

Earth Day is on April 22 (Saturday). It promotes a healthy planet and stands for protecting the earth’s natural resources for future generations.

Earth Day had several early separate beginnings but was finally pushed home by a senator from the great state of Wisconsin, also its former governor, Gaylord Nelson. The first Earth Day was in 1970 and “brought 20 million Americans out into the spring sunshine for peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform.”

But Senator Nelson was also a proponent of natural health and fought for chiropractic.

In a statement to Congress in 1963, Nelson said, “Chiropractic has become increasingly accepted as a safe and effective form of health care…I believe it is time that Medicare beneficiaries be given the opportunity to receive the benefits of this form of health care.” Nelson’s efforts helped pave the way for chiropractic care to be included in Medicare in 1972.

If you distill it all down, it is all about health: a healthy planet and a healthy body, naturally.

People want this – your patients and your community. They want a healthy planet and a healthy body.

This may not be apparent because of advertising and corporate news. There is a relentless pitch to your patients and community to eat cheap bad food, that a toxic environment is no big deal (“move along, nothing to see here”), and that drug stores are health stores.

But despite the billions spent on promotion and lobbying for bad food, bad medicine, and covering up the poisoning of our planet, the innate (and tribal) wisdom of us all prevails. The sales of organic foods and health supplements are booming. The natural healthcare industry, including chiropractors, acupuncturists, and integrative health providers, continues to grow. And there is increasing concern about how pollution causes deaths and illnesses, not to mention climate change.

I bring this up for two (2) reasons:

Reason #1: Marketing: Chiropractic and Earth Day

By aligning your office with Earth Day, eco-conscious consumers who value natural and sustainable products and services will see your services as a desirable alternative to medical practices. You are the obvious choice as health doctors.

Years ago, we put together some posters and pins related to Natural Health Week, coinciding with Whole Earth Week and Earth Day. Some offices still use versions of them! (Link below.) You can do something similar this Friday, next week, or all month. For example:

  • Hand out seeds to grow vegetables in the backyard. Include a coupon for a family member or friend.

  • Support a local health food coop and bring in healthy muffins for your patients.

  • Create a community clean-up drive.

  • Partner with environmental and health organizations. You can share events, newsletters, and create allied relationships.

But there is another reason I bring this up.

Reason #2: This reason is BIG. It will have to wait till tomorrow,
Wednesday, April 19.

But please stay tuned!

See you Wednesday!

Ed

Link to Posters and References at our blog.