Category Archives: Marketing

10 Strategies for Improving Patient Retention

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In our recent webinar on patient retention, we reviewed basic procedures that can be used to decrease patient drop outs.

More significantly, we looked at a new or model for practice retention that many businesses are now using successfully.

If your visit average is less than 60, then you can benefit from the material we covered.

The old approach to patient retention is focused around patient control procedures designed to “plug up” the “leaky bucket.”  These still work and we covered some of the more effective procedures.

But this approach tends to address the symptoms more than the causes.  A more effective approach is focuses on teamwork.

Patients, like customers, want two things: results and a “good feeling.” The “good feeling” is a product of how much each doctor and staff member genuinely cares about that patient at the time he or she is interacting with that patient.  Patients will even tend to stay with a doctor and a practice if their results are not satisfying IF the service is extraordinary.

An effective method of improving patient retention includes role playing the “moments of truth” each team member has with patients. These include phone and walk-in greetings from the front desk, patient encounters with the doctor, therapist, and with the billing department for financial consultations.

Here are ten strategies you can put into place to keep your chiropractic patients coming back.

10 Strategies To Improve Patient Retention

__1. Love The Services You Provide.   If you don’t love what you do, how can you expect your patients to?   People buy based upon confidence – and if don’t have faith, confidence and love for your services, your patients won’t either and they won’t come back. (They won’t refer either.)

__2. Love Your Patients.  People can tell if you are being real, or just reading a script. You see it when you go to the chain stores and the checkout clerk says “hello”, or “have a nice day.”   They say the words, but it isn’t genuine.  They just don’t care. Practice and improve these “moments of truth.”

__3. Their Goals. Be goal oriented with your patients. Get them to set and commit to a goal for improving their health. Keep them recommitting.

__4. Coaching Patients.  Once you have their commitment, you now can use your patient control techniques. The webinar included a short presentation on an effective patient recall system used many years by Linda Skiles, former Chiropractic Assistant of the year in WI. The forms discussed in the webinar are located on our PM&A members site.

__5. Education to Make Your Patients Self-Motivated. Would you as a chiropractor, or experienced chiropractic team member, stop getting adjusted? Of course not.  And why not?  Because you know it how important adjustments are to maintaining your health. You have been educated.

__6. Help With Finances. Third party pay is confusing. Financial concerns can be embarrassing for your patients. Providing friendly and easy access to personal help in working out paying for their services can assist keeping your patients coming back.

__7. Stand for Something.  Your mission has to extend beyond relieving pain, just like Apple goes beyond computers or Starbucks beyond coffee. If you honestly embrace a greater purpose, your patients will see why you do what you do, not just how you do it. They will want to support that purpose as well by getting adjusted regularly

__8. Family.  People like to belong to communities. We like to have friends. Some offices call their patients “Practice Members”, while others have “wellness clubs”,  and advisory committees.  However you do it, your patients should feel like they are part of your inside circle.

__9. Measure, review, improve. Constantly work on improving your service.  That which you don’t improve upon eventually atrophies.

__10. Take care of each other.  We spent a lot of time on this one, but need to spend more. One of our webinars later this year will zero in on how this action helps create a winning team.

As it turns out, the way you treat each other is the way you will treat your patients.

The webinar is located on our PM&A members site now. PM&A Members: Marketing Training/ Patient Retention

[Download version of this file for your staff meetings and reference: 10 Strategies for Patient Retention. ]

Where Are All Your Patients?

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Where Are All  Your Chiropractic Patients?

What would your daily volume of visits be like if ½ of all the NPs you have ever seen still came in to see you once every month? Or even every other month.

Let’s take a look: say you have been in business for 10 years. Each month during these years you averaged just 10 new patients per month. (Pretty low, I know.) That would total 10 x 12 months = 120 new patients per year and in ten years that would be 1,200 new patients.  If half of them saw you every two months, that would be 600 patient visits every two months, or 300 visits per month.

How would that be? Pretty nice, right? And do you think they would refer more family and friends if they saw you more regularly?

Aside from whether you recommend wellness care or not, it would make sense to retain your patients on some kind of schedule simply as a sound marketing strategy. From an economical point of view, both in terms of time and expense, it is much more cost effective to take care of existing patients than to promote for and process new patients.

Some Chiropractic offices we work with have a visit average, or a retention rate of 20. (This is calculated by dividing office visits by actual new patients.) And for some, the Patient Visit average is 50 – or more. This means that the patients come in an average of 50 times.  Very few of their patients drop out of care.

How can your office achieve a visit average of 50 or more?

We will go over at least 8 practice procedures to help your office increase its patient retention on our next webinar this Thursday, August 23 at 12:30.  (Office managers, marketing coordinators, and doctors should attend.) Go here to register: Register Now

Here is the first tip: Patients come to you for only two reasons – results and good feelings.

You have to deliver the results equal to or better than their expectations. (Frankly, compared to the medical and pharmaceutical alternatives, you have an unfair advantage!) But even if you miss here and there, what is amazing is that they will stick with you if you – and your office team – make them feel good!  I will go over examples of this in the webinar.

As an example in the world of management consulting, I was asked once to help one seminar company, years ago, provide private consultations to their clients. The seminar speaker was busy and asked me to help. He was very popular and charismatic. I agreed and saw about four of his clients.  I gave each what I considered to be relevant and practical advice for their unique situations. But what struck me was that the majority of the doctors I saw had declining numbers: their practices were getting worse by objective measurement. However, they all loved the seminar speaker and his program!  I didn’t understand it at first until I realized that he made them feel good.

So, get results on your patients. But, at every patient encounter with every team member in your office, make sure the patient walks away feeling better than they did before the encounter.

I will explain more about this in the webinar but it is something you can work on now with your staff. When the patient calls, are the front desk staff truly interested, or are they too busy with their computers? On their 6th visit, is the doctor genuinely interested in the patient as a special person, or just as another “case” to see before lunch.

Review these “moments of truth” with your team. You can practice and roll play and even tape record different types of patient encounters.  You will be amazed at how, sometimes, you sound hurried, disinterested, or less than friendly.

We all get so busy that we can lose the moment – and just that one moment with that patient can make all the difference.  It has been called “Present Time Consciousness.”  But it is really just paying attention.

That moment you have with that patient is unique and you will never have it again.

Make the best of it.

July Webinars- Positive Job Reviews and Practical Chiropractic Patient Education

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This month, we have 2 webinars designed to help you grow your practice and provide better service to your patients. These are in addition to our world class expert consulting and coaching, our free articles on our web site and those especially for our clients in our PM/A Members Library.

These are short discussions with plenty of slides and examples, along with follow up summaries.

Register now. Keep training!

  •  Office Management –  How to Do An Employee Job Review For Your Chiropractic Office So That Everyone Wins.
    Are these job reviews really necessary? Do employees get raises automatically every year? Employee reviews are often neglected, or are dreaded by both employee and doctor. This webinar covers the basic steps to make them effective and positive for all concerned.Thursday, July 12, 12:30pm   Registration
  • Marketing Management – Educating Your Chiropractic Patients – 6 Programs that Work.
    Does patient education work? How much of it just a sales pitch by companies to get you to buy their brochures and videos?  Even if it does work, what are some practical steps you can use in our office? We will discuss 6 simple programs that are working to help increase patient referrals and retention.
    Thursday, July 19th, 12:30pm  Registration

****To view the calendar and/or register  for our other webinars as an active PM/A client or guest, please go here: LINK 

An Introduction on How to Make Your Own Chiropractic Infomercials

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All marketing is communication. But it is a special type of communication.

A report of findings is at least partly marketing. The manner in which your phone is answered is marketing.  In fact, everything you do that promotes your services is marketing.

Remember that the purpose of marketing is to create — or support —  exchange.  

That is why we market our services – to increase or support the level of exchange going on between patients and your business.  Marketing sends OUT communication so that people can come IN for services so that you can give OUT the services.   It’s really physics, but that is another tangent.

On another level, our higher purpose for marketing has to be a sincere desire to help more people.

But the point is – it is an OUTFLOW of communications that helps bring an INFLOW of patients so that you can provide and OUTFLOW of services.

Much of this is done in how you educate of your patients and your community.

The education should be factual and honest, of course. It should contribute to the increased health of those you are educating. But, it should also help create more, or support existing, exchange.

And education is usually the least expensive forms of marketing.  A care class for new patients – how much does that cost?

 

Community Education: What Worked And What Didn’t

 

This same approach can be used externally to people not yet patients.  One time tested approach that worked was to use a number of different channels to educate the community on a hot topic.  We call this the Community Education Program.

At one time, for example, carpel tunnel was the “new” worrisome condition.  We would put a column in the local paper about this condition, listing 3 to 4 home remedies, and the last remedy was to come in and see us.

In the column we also would cross promote our very short radio program: “Listen to “Health Tips with Dr. Joe” every Thursday on WXYZ at 12:20, just after the Farm Report.”  We also promoted our special workshop on “Home Remedies for Carpal Tunnel.”

We would plan these several months in advance and have them all organized. It was a marketing system, which we always recommend.

We also promoted these in the office as well for friends of patients. We sometimes would send faxes to office managers of local businesses. There are many different channels that were and are available.

Sometimes the workshop would be empty and sometimes it would be full.  I remember one night people kept coming in seemingly out of nowhere. It was standing room only.  Regardless of the attendance, to the community we were a smart, active and helpful office. We became authorities and someone who could be trusted.

We tracked this over a couple of years and found that not only did we get New Patients directly each month on the topic, but new patients from other sources also increased.

This approach had both direct and indirect marketing appeal. Some companies at the time were offering bland newspaper columns for the doctor that while informative, did not sell anything.

So, your education has to have both: good useful info as well as a sales approach.  I never saw these columns work as they were not integrated into a campaign and had no sales sequence embedded in them.

 

The New Fast Infomercial For Chiropractors

 

Remember the infomercial?  They are still used. Exercise programs, for example, often use this format to sell, or nutrition products sold around a fake discussion group or with a “scientist.” A more honest approach is used by Dr. Mercola in his newsletters and videos that provide good info and often promote his products as well.

The idea is still the same: offer useful tips but also sell your services or products. Every magazine does this. In fact, every media does this.

With our Community Education Program we now making our own infomercials. Using a hand held camera and YouTube, we can show you how to record your Health Tip and post it on the Internet.  In a later article I will outline more specifics on how to do this but a fast summary of the benefits and procedure are as follows:

Benefits:

Your own video Health Tip gives you fast high rankings on Google and likely on other Internet search engines. It establishes you as an authority, as someone who is helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly.  Patients can refer their friends to watch you and people looking for health solutions can find you. You appear trustworthy.  This is a very inexpensive process that you and your staff can do.

And the main benefit: you’ll get more new patients!

Procedure:

  1. Select a condition or health topic that you are interested in and that people in your community are also interested in.  For example, pinched nerves, weight loss, flu and colds, childhood vaccinations, ADHD, TMJ, etc.
  2. Look it up and get some current statistics on the subject.
  3. Come up with 2-4 helpful home procedures that can help with the condition, or some action steps to take.
  4. The last tip is to come in and see you for a no charge consult, screening, conference, etc
  5. Work out the script.
  6. Post an outline of the script on a white board.
  7. Practice.
  8. Get someone to record you while the outline on the whiteboard is next or behind the camera. (Other tactics are to down load a prompter to your smart phone, have someone use cue cards, or just go impromptu.)
  9. Upload to YouTube.
  10. Use key words and geographic terms  and link to appropriate sites.

That’s it.

Takes a couple of hours in all every month.  Pretty soon, you are known as THE place to go for natural health care solutions.

Oh, and one other thing… these are fun to do!

So get to it and have some fun and more patients.

Chiropractic Spinal Screenings as an Educational Process

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How to Generate New Patients from Chiropractic Health Screenings

For health and marketing purposes, a screening is a step by step process of first discovering if a person might have a problem or condition that may need further looking in to.  If there any indication of a possible spinal related problem or condition, the screening is there to also help the person become more aware of their health condition  so that they want to do something about it.

It can be done at any type of a venue, from a health fair to a casual meeting.

It is a sequence of actions that that ultimately ends in the “screenee” making an appointment to come in for no risk introductory service, such as further testing or a workshop.

The example below, taken from our PM&A webinar on screenings from 2012, shows the steps taken during a screening. It is important that each step is taken sufficiently in order for an appointment to be made.

Screening Steps

The actual screening itself is a process of enlightening a person so that they see that they might have a spinal related condition, if indicated, and if so, realize how it might affect them. Also, if left untreated, what the long term affects might be.

They are now ready to be encouraged that they really should do something to address the problem, no matter what!  Offering them an introductory service as a no risk beginning solution now helps them “solve” their ethical dilemma of just what should they do about their condition. This could be a service at your office, or with another provider at another location. Your professional integrity should always be maintained.

There are three general types of “screenees”: roughly 80% or so are not ready to get help with any health conditions, 15% or so are almost ready, and about 5% are ready to do something. Your target is to work with the 5% that are ready. You may be able to influence some of the 15% that are almost ready, depending on your skill in screening. And with your professional and friendly presence, in the long term, you can also influence some of the 80% that are not and may never be ready to see you, but do have families and friends that they are now more likely to support seeing you because of their good experience with you at the screening.

Below are 6 simple steps that can be remembered and used. It is also a good idea to practice these to improve your skill and to train new Screening Technicians.

For more information, please watch or listen to the Fundamentals of Effective Screening Procedures on our PMA Members site from April 19, 2012.

The Art of the “Screen”

  1. Find Out More – about the condition.
  2. Find Out the Affects – of the condition.
  3. Look at the Future – of the condition.
  4. Do something  — about the condition.
  5. Offer a something to do – about the condition
  6. Appointment for something to do – for the condition.

More
Affects
Future

Do
Offer
Appointment

*Screenings are always the responsibility of the doctor and conducted in accordance with local statutes and professional standards.

He Fired the Office Manager

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A few months ago a chiropractic office manager called me. She said that her doctor had fired her.

Her primary role had been that of Billing and Collections Coordinator, but she was also the office manager part time.  I had worked with the office for a few months and knew the doctor and Dorothy (not necessarily her real name.) I had gone over the role of the Office Manager with her and the doctor. They both felt that they understood the situation and would let me know if they ever needed any help. I was pretty certain they didn’t know what their roles were, or how to execute them, but their minds were made up.

Months went by and then late one Monday morning I got a call from Dorothy. She told me she had been fired. I asked her why? (Knowing her and the doctor, I had a pretty good idea.)  She told me that the number of new patients had been dropping for some months and that the doctor was not happy about this.

She said that she couldn’t believe it. “He fired me for that? I am not even in charge of new patients?” She was upset and went on about how new patients weren’t her responsibility.

What do you think?  Was she right? Or, was the doctor right?

Let’s look at this: the doctor is ultimately in charge of marketing. As the Chief Executive Officer for the business, marketing is a key component of his or her job. But since he is also so busy as a doctor, he needs to delegate most of the marketing activities. But to whom?

  1. First, to all of the staff. It is each team member’s responsibility to “sell health.”
  2. Then, a staff member could help coordinate all the marketing activities as a Marketing Coordinator or Marketing Manager.
  3. You might also delegate different marketing activities to different staff: someone for external events and screenings, someone for the internet, etc.

But behind it all, is the Office Manager’s role to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Actually, no one should have been fired. Instead, they all should have been trained on marketing and especially on MARKETING MANAGEMENT.

This is one of the reasons for our monthly webinars.  We just completed a very informative webinar on the key duties of the office manager (now posted on our members site) which can help clarify the role of the office manager.

The purpose of business is to create a customer, patient, and practice member. I didn’t say that. Peter Drucker did. You should know about Peter Drucker as he is the granddaddy of all management consultants.

“Because it is the purpose to create a customer, any business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. These are the entrepreneurial functions. Marketing is the distinguishing, the unique function of the business.”  Peter Drucker

Doctor, you are busy.  Your #1 focus should be on quality patient care. But as the CEO of your business, you HAVE to drive the marketing. To do this effectively,  you can and should delegate the marketing activities to others. The office manager is responsible for making sure all office activities are being done effectively, and this of course, includes marketing.

Whatever your office mission states, it has to include the concept of marketing.  It is your job, and everyone’s job, to tell the chiropractic story – and to communicate the value of your services in such a way and often enough that thousands of people come in to get better.

Don’t get fired. Get fired up!

Improving Team Performance and Developing Community Services for a Chiropractic Office

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This month we cover a couple of import topics, both of which can bring you more income if managed correctly: Chiropractic Staff Performance and Community Relations Marketing.

TEAM PERFORMANCE

How well does your staff perform their duties?

Studies show that there are 3 primary methods to improve performance:

  • Deliberate Practice
  • Expert Coaching
  • Family and social support.

Natural talent is a factor, but is never enough by itself and is often overrated.

So, how well does each member of your team perform?  Are they experts? Are they ready to teach their own seminars?

And how about your how team? How well do all of you work as a team? Will they go to the Super Bowl or World Series this year?

Your office responds to training like any athletic team or musical group. If the scoreboard shows that the numbers aren’t where they should be, then individual performance or team performance is a likely reason why.

What is the fast and economical solution? Training. Coaching.  This is something you and your office manager, and each team member can learn.

Team training is not done by just one person; it is done by the team. One member helps the other member, and back and forth until both improve.

Our webinar this week covers just this topic.

 10 Tips on How to Be An Effective Team Trainer

Tools and Tips for Fast Team Training That Pay Off

Thursday, March 8th, 12:30 CT

Don’t miss it. Excellent for Clinic Owners (CEO’s) and Office Managers.

 ===============

 COMMUNITY SERVICES: External Marketing

We all live in caves.

We live in a cave house. Then we get into our cave car and drive to our cave office and stay in our cave rooms.

Meanwhile, there is a whole world out there with thousands of people that need your care, but don’t know it.  And the main thing you have to do is to just … SHOW UP and do something.

What’s so hard about that?

You all have done screenings and you all have done some kind of external events: workshops, school presentations, visiting medical offices. The hard part is not the presentation. The most difficult (and it is not difficult) is getting these events scheduled.

Ideally, you should have your community services calendar scheduled with a few external events of one kind or another every month.

This is the subject of our next marketing webinar.

 Scheduling Effective External Events and Generating External Referrals

Learn how to schedule effective events in this short webinar.

Thursday, March 15th, 12:30 Central Time.

 

How to Register

For guests, you may register for all  of these webinars, plus full access to our extensive practice building library for one low introductory fee of $250/mo for all classes.

Guest Registration Form

For all active PMA clients register immediately for these classes at: Active Client Registration.  (Register for each webinar separately. You will automatically receive your special log-in access number where you can participate via computer, or by telephone only.)

If you’d like more information visit our website HERE, or contact Linda via email at Linda@pmaworks.com, or call her at: 888-762-8808

You can also download a calendar for upcoming webinars: LINK

Freedom Package Webinars for 2012

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INTRODUCTION

For 2012, we will be offering an ongoing program of training and support for chiropractic marketing managers, office managers, and chiropractic doctors as CEO’s.

We are calling this the Practice Freedom Package. Its purpose is to help free the office from financial concerns, day to day managements worries, and give it the freedom to follow its greater purposes.

Over the years we have observed that the key barriers to achieving practice success are organizational.  The barriers do not lie with chiropractic. It is not a matter of chiropractic failing the office, but the office failing chiropractic.

These failings occur as a practice grows beyond its ability to effectively manage itself.  The capacity restraint ultimately stems from the doctor who is too busy doctoring to run her growing business.

This package of webinars and services is designed to help the doctor and the office overcome these organizational limits.   More information about how and why this program works can be found on by following the link below.

FREEDOM PACKAGE WEBINARS: COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

♦♦♦♦♦ Chiropractic Practice Marketing Webinar♦♦♦♦♦

When. The 3rd Thursday of each month at 12:30 Central Time.

Description. You will learn principles and accompanying action steps which will help you generate new patients from other patients, from external sources, as well as reactivate former patients and better retain the ones you have.

Each webinar will cover at least 4 practical marketing procedures that are effective in generating more patients.

Who should attend. Designed particularly for chiropractic marketing coordinators and managers, doctors and office managers.

♦♦♦♦♦ Chiropractic Practice Management  Webinar♦♦♦♦♦

When. The 2nd Thursday of each month, 12:30 Central Time.

Description. You will learn fundamental principles of management with specific applications to managing a chiropractic practice and business.

Each webinar will cover at least 3 practical action steps to improve individual and group performance, efficiency, and productivity. Also, tips on working with your doctor and how to provide more support for her or him as a doctor and as the CEO.

Who should attend. Designed for office managers, practice managers, and doctor owners

♦♦♦♦♦  Executive Management Webinar♦♦♦♦♦
The Doctor as a CEO

When. Starting in February, the 4th Thursday of every other month, 12:30 Central Time.

Description. Using actual case studies for examples, we will see what worked and what didn’t for doctors and their teams.  We will uncover the basic principles of effective leadership and management in case and see how to translate this to your business.

This is training on how to be a prosperous CEO.

Who should attend. This is only for doctors who own their own business.

♦♦♦♦♦ Discussion Group/Share Session♦♦♦♦♦

After the presentation is over, we will open up the group for those who want to stay to ask questions and also to offer their experiences and advice to share with others.

This is often the most popular part of the program as other professionals really want to hear your stories and ideas. So, hang around and share and get to know your fellow teammates from other areas of the country. (Must be ready to contribute and share a successful procedure.)

♦♦♦♦♦ Follow Up Materials♦♦♦♦♦

After the presentation is over, you will receive an email with a link to a private vault of marketing materials referred to in the most recent webinar.  There will also be a short summary of our discussion. Additionally, attendees will have access to our private Practice Marketing and Management Library of information and customizable tools for practice building which you can use in your practice.

♦♦Calendar of Classes [Link]

♦♦More information about how and why the Chiropractic Practice Freedom Package (Lots more info here, though not complete.) . Link

Your Chiropractic Root System and Patient Retention, Referrals, and ROI

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Updated: April 2016

When people go to the grocery store for produce they are mostly just interested in their plump cucumbers, zucchinis, or other vegetables.  They don’t much care about the garden that actually produced these nutritious wonders of nature.

But a lot of work goes into a well managed garden. If you don’t take good care of your garden, you won’t have its fruits and vegetables.  It’s that simple. And a good part of a garden takes place underground in a network of roots.  Roots provide water and minerals to the plant, and keep it in place when the wind blows.  The top part of the plant, its stem, can get mowed under by a lawn mower (I have done this) and the plant comes back to life – because of its strong root structure.

Your office is kind of like a garden.

It produces healthier people. You take care of your team, polish up your systems, do some training, and you will continue to have a productive “health garden” that produces healthier people.

And the roots? 

In this analogy, the root system is the loyalty and good will of your patients. Here’s how:

Many offices struggle to get new patients.  Even offices that have been in business for years and years.

Why?  No roots.

If some doctors spent the same time and attention – and money, on giving extra care and service to their existing patients as they did on trying to hustle up new patients, they would have more patient visits than they would know what to do with.

Why?  First, because the service and care was SO extraordinary, patients would refer their family and acquaintances because they would want them to receive similar treatment as they had.

But more obviously, existing patients would never drop out of care. (Some would, of course.) They would continue to come back for wellness visits. How busy would your office be now if all the new patients you ever started still came in for services? You couldn’t handle…there would just be too many patients!

Over the years, there have been many studies to support the fact that it is more expensive to chase after new patients than it is to keep the ones you have.

 “A common rule of thumb is that the marketing costs of landing a new customer runs three to five times the costs of retaining an old one.” (Total Customer Service, Davidow)

Some articles talk about it costing 10 times the amount to get a new customer as to keep the ones you have.

I am all for getting new patients, but do you also keep your existing patients? And do they refer family and friends and work associates? And why do your patients leave? An interesting survey pointed out that most companies believed it was because of price, or that the needs of the customer changed. However, from the point of view of the customer, they left because of poor service. (The Loyalty Connection: Secrets To Customer Retention And Increased Profits By Bob Thompson, CEO, CustomerThink Corporation Founder, CRMGuru.com, March 2005)

 

There are a number of procedures to improve your services to patients – to help generate stronger and more productive “roots”, or healthy patient relationships. Let’s focus on the most fundamental: Communication.  To put it more accurately, let’s call it “conversation.”

BEGINNING THE CONVERSATION

A conversation is a dialogue, a giving and receiving of communication back and forth. It is an interactive exchange of thoughts. It shows that you respect the other person and that you are interested in them and what they have to say.

Many patient conversations are one-way, from the staff and doctor to the patient. They are also rote, robotic, and too scripted to be genuine.  Do an audio recording of how the front desk answers the phone or how you do a consultation and you might be able to see room for improvement.

The conversation usually starts with the first phone call. Does the prospective patient feel that the front desk is listening – really? Is she interested, or just reading her script and trying to get to her next task and hang up the phone?  Does she introduce herself and show interest and even gratitude for the call?

It is these little things that make such a big difference.  Think about how you like to be treated when you contact a business…

In the consultation, do you really listen and seek to understand the patient, even though it is like the 5 millionth time you heard about someone’s low back pain?

In your report, do you have a conversation with the patient, or do you just rehearse your script to the patient while they are nodding in appeasement?

You see so many patients… and have so many tasks… that real conversations are too often sidelined.  You don’t have much time, usually. But in the time that you do have, you have to be present. You have to be THERE, with all of your attention on the patient, and not on your next task.  That moment with that one patient will never happen again. It is its own time that just you and that person share.  The Japanese have a saying for this: “Ichego Iche.”  One time, one moment. This is a plaque that is often found in tea rooms in Japan.

You have started to create a relationship.  Now, you have to continue to nurture it. This is done by continuing the conversation – and of course, great clinical and administrative service and care.

With each patient encounter, you have to be interested, attempting to understand and then get understood. Improve this and you are well on your way to better patient retention and referrals.

CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION

But when your patients are not with you, you have to find ways to continue the conversation.

How?

Your Newsletter.
You can easily set up an email newsletter with an a provider such as Constant Contact or Mailchimp. Send these out monthly or even twice per month. The most important aspect of these letters is to keep them real, personal, as if you were writing to a friend.  It could simply be a few paragraphs from the doctor relating a recent case success, or a home health tip. You can also include patient testimonials and a review of a recipe.

But we are inundated each day with hundreds of emails so keep in mind that old fashion snail mail still works, and in fact, works better.  It does cost, of course, but the return on investment makes it worth it.  A hard copy newsletter will have “shelf life,” and can be read and reread.  Most emails are overlooked -there are just too many of them.  Send out a hard copy newsletter every 4-6 months.  It can even just be a one page foldover, self-mailer.

Other Mail.
Cards are very considerate. Just think about the few you receive. You may still have them! A system can be set up to send out birthday cards, welcome cards, humorous reactivation cards, bereavement cards, and congratulation on starting your “wellness program” cards, as well as other cards each month.  These all help keep the conversation going.

Social Media.
Facebook is your primary social media with your patients. This can be similar to your newsletter.  Like email, it has become glutted with ads and “content” information.   Ask your patients to “LIKE” your page so that they can stay in touch with the office and receive new information about health and upcoming office events.  Some offices even hold special contests only for their Facebook “friends.”  Then, post regularly fun and education information. For example:

 “Our patient, Burt, just got accepted back into his hockey league thanks to chiropractic. Here is a photo of Burt and Dr. Smith and his new puppy eating apple pie made by Rose, a long time patient who can’t stop bringing us apple pies!” (Of course always get patient approval to post their picture.)

 

Upload patient testimonials, in writing or even videos. If they are interesting, other patients can comment, or even share.  And if anyone does comment, make sure that you comment back.

Delegate these types of communication to your team, but you have to be the one to ensure that the conversation continues.

If you have good roots, there is nothing to fear.  Insurance reimbursement can decrease even more, the economy can decline, staff changes can occur, but if you have taken good care of your patients, they will take good care of you.  Conversations with your patients will help nurture a strong “root system” that will keep your office productive, no matter the storms that may come.

SUMMARY – TAKE AWAY:

 When the patient is on the phone or in the office:

  • Be present and attentive.  (Present Time Consciousness “PTC” as Jimmy Parker would say.) Be genuinely interested.
  • Seek to understand the patient.
  • Get your point understood and have a conversation.

When the patient is out of the office – continue the conversation:

  • Snail mail real newsletters and cards mailed.
  • Emailed newsletters.
  • Get Facebook “fans” and post local/personal news.

School Supply Drive for Chiropractic Offices

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Jump on the bus…it’s back to school time!

 

To some this means the excitement of shopping for new school supplies. To others who are less fortunate, it means embarrassment of arriving on the first day of school without the necessary materials to get a good education.  Some teacher’s spend an average of $1000 per year of their own money providing necessary school supplies to those students in need.

Your chiropractic team could help change that by holding a special chiropractic promotion – the  School Supply Drive.  As the kids head back to school, why not head to the “top of your class” and “jump on the bus” by hosting a School Supply Drive.  It will give you visibility in the community, potential new patients and an overall good feeling of satisfaction for helping the kids in your neighborhood!

Click the link above for a sample poster.

(For active clients of Petty, Michel & Associates, go to your PMAmembers site for a customizable poster, patient handout, press release, and summary outline of how to hold a school supply drive.)  [Link]

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Chiropractic School Supply Drive: Implementation Summary

A school supply drive is designed to help local kids, and their parents and teachers, round up supplies to help them with their school work.

Many teachers end up purchasing school supplies for those less fortunate with their own money.  So, the need is there.  This can be a rewarding promotion that can help your community and help you generate some publicity, good will, and a few new patients.

Here are some sample action steps you can use to help you organize and put together an effective school supply drive.

1) PLANNING

a) Decide the dates you will be running the drive. Summer works, August, Sept. Hold it for 1 week. You can actually run a number of them during the year if the perceived need is there.

b) Decide what you will offer. For example:

i) New Patients:  a consultation, exam, (if indicated) initial x-ray, and report of findings for $25 and at least 5 school supplies

ii) Existing Patients: May a receive raffle ticket for a valuable gift, such as 5 car washes, $20 gas card, or a Subway Gift Card for at least 5 school supplies

c) Decide what the patient’s responsibility will be.

i) New Patients:

(1) Donation of 5 school supply items plus $24

ii) Existing Patients:

(1) Donation of 5 school supply items
(2) Referral of family and friends

d) Choose a local school (or more) that patients would be motivated to help.

i) Contact the school, preferably the Principal, to obtain:

(1) Information for a press release in regards to the needs of the school and students.
(2) Supply lists

e) Set up area for collection

2) MARKETING (examples)

a) Write a press release and submit to local papers
b) Post your event on your Facebook page
c) Post your event on your Google page
d) Make a flier to post in your office
e) Make a statement stuffer with details of the event
f) Tell all of your patients personally, and regularly remind them to bring in their donation and
g) Encourage existing patients to refer their family and friends.
h) Include in your newsletters
i) Submit a press release with photos after the event and also place news story in fan page and in newsletters.

A Few May Promotions for Your Chiropractic Practice

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Mother’s Day is coming up soon (Sunday, May 8th).

This brings up the whole topic of women’s health care.

There are many types of health related events concerning women that you can participate in during this month (or any month, really) that are not only good causes, but can act to spotlight your services.

These include:

  • talks outside of the office
  • workshops in house
  • movie screenings
  • special awareness, or “Appreciation Weeks” for free health screenings
  • sponsor radio programs, interviews
  • letters to the editor
  • gifts (flowers the Friday before Mother’s Day)
  • and tape video “health tips” and post to YouTube.
  • donation drives

The list can go on and on. Some offices have had talks about pregnancy and pre and post natal care, sometimes with a midwife or nurse. One office does very well simply sending out a mailer each year to all local homeowners sponsoring a Women’s Health Care Week, offering free exam, x-ray, and massages.

Special promotions can work but they work much better if they are connected to a legitimate cause. There even is a name for this, and you guessed it, it is called “Cause Marketing.” For it to be effective, however, it has to be sincerely supported by the entire practice team. Doing a special event to support women just to get new patients will appear phony to others and can have negative effects.

One movie that has been shown is the Business of Being Born, a movie about harmful health practices connected to births in America. From its web site:

Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

Another example of a movie suitable for screening will be: One More Girl. This is a movie documentary how the pharmaceutical company, Merck, knowling continuted to advertise their drug Gardasil (a drug promoted to help HPV infections) to girls after Merck knew it was dangerous.

From the movie’s web site:

Merck’s marketing techniques earned Gardasil a “pharmaceutical brand of the year” award from Pharmaceutical Executive for its ‘savvy disease education,’ and creating ‘a market out of thin air.”

Even though most HPV infections clear on their own, invasive cervical cancer deaths affect 2.7 women per 100,000, and the American Cancer Society lists cervical cancer as the 12th ranking cancer in the United States, parents lined up to get their daughters protected and doctors were ready with needles in hand.

Consumers are not aware of the trail of deception behind over 21,133 adverse reactions and 94 deaths in previously healthy, athletic, competitive and scholastic adolescent girls.

(Thanks to Dr. Ebner for referring us to this movie!)

The movie producers are seeking donations to produce this film. Perhaps your office could help raise funds!

Another idea would be to have a special week just for mothers and daughters: free health screenings, tea, a spa day with manicure and massage for mothers and daughters, etc.

Our member’s site has a few posters and other ideas available to you as active clients.

Here is a poem by Tina Fey for her daughter. (mild profanity)

Best Wishes for a Merry Month of May!

Ed

“The Mother’s Prayer for its Daughter” – Tina Fey

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A Mother’s Day Poem.

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered,

May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half

And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the nearby subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock N’ Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance.

Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes

And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.

Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long,

For Childhood is short — a Tiger Flower blooming

Magenta for one day —

And Adulthood is long and Dry-Humping in Cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever,

That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers

And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister,

Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends,

For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord,

That I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 a.m., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck.

“My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental note to call me. And she will forget.

But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

Tina Fey (from She Knows Parenting )

Health Never Takes A Holiday!

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Holidays

Holidays are a time when chiropractic patients can find many reasons not to keep to their schedules. To help you and them stick to their health program, you can pre-schedule them for the entire month of December.

We have made a couple of posters centered around:

Health Never Takes a Holiday

You can find links to these below.

When talking to your patients about their schedules, be understanding and empathetic. Hear their story. Then, be bold about your interest and concern that they maintain their care schedule through the holidays – and get them scheduled until next year.

And it is OK to use bribes.. Spicy warm apple cider gives off a very cozy smell and tastes great.. and is healthy, and free screenings/exams for patient’s holiday guests.

Links to posters:

Poster for Nov/Dec
Poster for any holiday

Internet Marketing for Chiropractic Offices

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What a great teleseminar we just completed about Internet Marketing.

I wanted to provide a short summary and a few follow ups for those who joined us as well as for those who weren’t able to.

Face To Face Networking – now more valued than ever. As we live increasingly in a virtual world of “friends” and emails and ordering products and services from our computers, meeting and connecting in person with real live people is rarer and therefore more valued. Get out of the box and meet people!

Virtual Networking – We discussed Facebook and creating a fan page. Here is a link provided by Dr. Jamie Phillips on how to do this. (link) There are many ways to add content, or information, to your Facebook page including automatic feeds.  Dr. Phillips gives one example, using Google Alerts,  listed below.  But automated content or ads about upcoming events do not take the place of “newsy” and interesting articles about you and your office. A fast note about a patient success, something new about the office, a favorite recipe of one of your patients,  a notice from Sister Hilda (a patient) who is inviting one and all to the fish fry at Saint Paul’s this Friday – these are topics your patients are interested in.  Keep it local.

The Internet Is About Search. It replaces the phone book, the dictionary, and the encyclopedia. There are many people who are in pain and sick of drugs and corporate medicine and surgery. They are looking for you. Dr. Phillips went over how to best get these people to find you with local search.

Web Site. We also discussed some simple ideas for your web site and what to do if you already have one.

Other Topics Included: The importance of Social Proof, Reputation Management, use of the new bar code on you printed materials and signs, and the coming necessity of mobile web sites were other subjects we spent some time on.

Chiropractic Internet Marketing Assistant. You need one of these!   Delegate a team member to put 2 hours in per week, or more, dedicated to working on your internet presence.

We did record this teleseminar and it will be available at no charge for our active clients on our Members site in about a week. Non members who listened to the talk will receive a CD within the next several weeks.  The CD can be purchased for $65 – all proceeds will be donated to Oklahaven Children’s Chiropractic Center.

Internet Marketing CD Order Form

Links.
The links below are to PDF documents. For customizable WORD docs, active clients can find these on our Members Site (www.pmamembers.com) under Advertising.

Videos

More info on Jamie Phillips internet marketing. Link

Fall Marketing Ideas

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Fall is in the air….. and it’s time to get that fall marketing calendar filled with activities.  To get the ball rolling, we have put together a few topics and suggestions to make your events fun and effective.

For our PMA members, we have more information about each topic, including ready made posters, handouts, and descriptions. For more information, please go to our PM&A Members site here , log in, and go the section called New Stuff on the top navigation bar.  You will find the article called Fall Marketing Ideas.

September:

  • National Backpack Awareness Day – Sept 19
  • Woman’s Health Week – Last week of September
  • Neuropathy (or Headache,etc. ) Awareness Week  (Pick a week to promote a free screeing exam for a specific condition.)
  • Crazee Dayz (For example, Thirsty Thursdays — offer a different type of drink each Thursday. Have patients make suggestions: organ apple juice in Sept, Egg nog in December, etc.)

October:

  • National Spinal Health Month (now called National Chiropractic Month).  Make a banner and use this as a motivation to have patients bring in their family for a free spinal fitness screening.
  • National Chiropractic Month. Use this as a reason to sponsor: Chiropractic Opportunity Week:  The doctor is having a “COW”
  • Hair Dresser/Beauty Salons/Spas – provide massages, screenings, and lectures.
  • Local Health Fairs at businesses.
  • Kid’s Halloween Party

November:

  • Thanksgiving Turkey Drawing Poster
  • Donation Drives
  • Deer Widows Week
  • Girl’s Night Out

December:

  • Holiday Coupons – Gift Certificates
  • Poinsettia Give Away
  • Saturday with Santa
  • Appreciation to External Referral Sources

Facebook Marketing Tips

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Facebook  is one of the fastest growing social networking medias on the internet.  It’s free and it’s fun.

If you dont’ have a Facebook page for your clinic it’s time to get one.  If you do have one, that is great!  Find us and friend us at  Petty, Michel & Associates Facebook Page.

Whether your a veteran or a novice to facebooking you can now use the helpful tips, compiled by Dana, to help spread the word about chiropractic and bring more people to your office.

Read Dana’s Tips at: Facebook Marketing Tips

Internet Marketing That Works

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A web site is nice, but can it really generate new patients for you?

The answer is yes! And over the years, depending on the doctor’s internet marketing efforts, we have seen more new patients calling the office because of something they read on the Internet.

You probably have a web site. It could be a templated one you subscribe to or your own customized site.

But having a site is the easy part – it’s what you do with it that counts.  It is not like a phone book ad that you redesign every 12 months and then get conned into buying a larger ad by the phone book rep.

We have been studying internet marketing for many years now. It is a science and an art unto itself, with new approaches and technologies evolving monthly.  But there is also an awful lot of hype. Every company has a different pitch about how their web site is better. There are new gurus being born every week. Then, at a family barbeque, your 14 year old geeky nephew says he can throw up a web site for you over his lunch as part of a school project.  So, what do you do?

Because of all these things, your web site may just sit there.  Maybe it catches something now and then like a fishing lure, but more likely, it is mostly ignored and has floated to the river’s edge doing nothing.

We have a solution to this.

We will be sending more info about this soon. But the short version is that someone in your office should be able to work on your Internet marketing every week. Like any marketing, it only works if it is done.

We will be introducing the Chiropractic Internet Marketing Assistant Checklist and Support Program soon. Believe me – the Basic Level will be so easy even a Caveman, or Cavewoman, can do it.  (No offense intended!)

The internet is becoming more of a marketing medium for your office – and can be effectively used for generating new patients and keeping the ones you have.

The bottom line? 1-3 new patients for a few hours spent each month working on Internet marketing. Not a bad return.

Make sure you listen to our guest on this Tuesdays’ live teleclass this Tuesday, June 29th, at 12:30 Central time.

Dr. Jamie Phillips, having just given a presentation to the California Chiropractic Association, will be talking about practical steps you and your staff can immediately implement to get more new patients from the Internet.

We have known Dr. Jamie for many years and are impressed with her knowledge, savvy, service, and results. She loves marketing and chiropractic, and is effectively applying these passions to the internet.
More info on Dr. Jamie. LINK
As usual, there is no charge to our clients. The access number and phone number will be posted on your Members site and we will also send you a special reminder email.  If you are not an active client, you can register here: LINK.

Looking forward to many more new patients .. and returning active patients.

5 New Marketing Projects

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We have been working on some new marketing projects and are now ready to tell you about them.

They are hot, effective, and don’t cost an arm and a leg. You can do them and if you do, you will see more new patients.

They are not totally a secret, so I am going to tell you what they are. But first, I want you to know why we are doing so.

We’ve often been asked why we do what we do: Why do we consult and coach chiropractors. Why not dentists or MDs, or why consult at all? Why this line of work? Particularly since we are not chiropractors.

Well, first of all, we have consulted dentists, MDs, podiatrists, even attorneys and are not averse to doing so. We have done well with them, in fact.

Not being chiropractors gives us a distinct advantage. We are not biased to a particular technique, or so in love with our own procedures and with what worked with our patients that we can’t help another doctor work out what is uniquely best for her or him.

But the thing is, we really share the philosophy and mission of chiropractic – and the Attitude as well.

Chiropractors help people get well without the use of drugs. They promote a healthy lifestyle. Now, it should be no news to you reading this that this has always gone against Big Money.  The Big Money is in disease care.

We truly feel that chiropractors are the Health Rangers and Health Champions in a world dominated by gold digging corporations that manipulate public opinion to eat badly – and buy more and more drugs.

Chiropractic, by its very nature, opposes this and has for over a 100 years.

But reviling disease care peddlers can only provide you with a short term self righteous ego boost.  The real solution is not to loudly ridicule drug companies and the MD monopolies, or their bed partner, the health insurer. (But it may make you feel better, so go ahead! In fact, give ’em hell.)

The real solution is to tell your story.

Communicate loudly and continuously the benefits of chiropractic as the FIRST solution people should seek for their HEALTH.

We have seen and know the benefits of chiropractic and the chiropractic lifestyle and have seen the alternatives: sick, brainwashed people fed drugs and receiving “procedures” at great expense to our economy.

So that’s why we do this. It is a personal thing.

Now, to help you tell your story this summer, we have a number of super cool – and effective – programs which we will be presenting over the next few weeks.

1.    Internet Marketing. Having a web site is no longer enough. It is what you DO with it that counts. We have put together action steps that a chiropractic assistant can follow to help get you more new patients from the Internet.  (Special teleclass program with Dr. Jamie Phillips on Tuesday, June 29th. More info soon.)

2.    Community Services. Since the 1980’s, screenings have always been around. We have organized our successful experiences with screenings, and other external events, to show you how to greatly increase your new patients from these events.  This is a fun program.

3.    Energizing Your Marketing and Your Practice. Without giving away the whole program, we have new slant on an old approach to practice marketing that has proven to generate more new patients just with your current programs. The best part: it doesn’t cost a dime!

4.    Innate Marketing Secrets: How To Generate More New Patients Invisibly. This is based on study we have been doing for a while now. It is almost spooky in how it works.  But it does.  Stay tuned.

5.    Practice Management. We will show you a powerful management tool – that the whole staff can use – that increases production and improves performance.  And it is nothing new. You have it already, but for the most part, most offices just don’t use it.

It’s summer time and we want to help you get more people healthier.

Watch for more information on these programs soon.

Last Seminar/Next Seminar

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We just finished our 10 classes in 1 day seminar in Minneapolis – our “10 in 1.”  From what I heard and saw, everyone had a great time. I know we did. And for my money, I think we had some of the best professionals in the country giving presentations – as well as attending!

Dave Michel at 3Goals Seminar in Minneapolis
Dave Michel at 3Goals Seminar in Minneapolis

In addition to great presentations by Phyllis Frase on chiropractic philosophy and procedures for staff, Dave Michel on insurance, and myself on marketing and practice building, we had two guest doctors.

Dr Tom Potisk at 3-goals Seminar in Minneapolis
Dr Tom Potisk at 3-goals Seminar in Minneapolis

One was Dr. Tom Potisk who went over how he maintained a joyful practice for 25 years in a multi-doctor setting with 2 associate doctors.

Dr. Shane Walker at 3-goals Seminar in Minneapolis
Dr. Shane Walker at 3-goals Seminar in Minneapolis

Then, as a special guest, we were pleased to have Dr. Shane Walker who is the president of the Federation of Straight Chiropractors. He lit the room up with passion, statistics, and purpose and reminded everyone about the power of chiropractic, as well as it’s importance in society today.

So, just a reminder:

Our Milwaukee seminar is coming up soon.

Dave, Phyllis, and myself all have new material covering C.A. training, insurance and reimbursement procedures, and marketing and practice building.  Our presentations are all based upon the work we do each week in offices across the country – and what we see working, and not working.

For our Milwaukee seminar, we are especially pleased to have two exceptional doctors giving presentations on Thursday, May 20th.  Both are highly qualified and successful doctors that set great examples for excellence in their practice, business, and life.

We will be sending info out on them soon, but you can find out more here.

Hope to see you all in Milwaukee.