14 Fast Tips That Work

1. Planner. A marketing planner or calendar is to marketing what your appointment book is to the front desk. Until a marketing project is scheduled, it is just a wish. Give all marketing projects a date, even the ones planned six months from now.
2. Marketing Coordinator. Assign a staff member the role of “Marketing Coordinator” for the office. It is a part-time role that makes sure that all marketing plans are coordinated and get done. You already have someone to coordinate your front desk and your billing and collections, why not your marketing too? Should take less than two hours per week.
3. Delegate. All marketing projects should be delegated to the marketing coordinator and/or other staff and doctors. Avoid projects that become orphaned: make sure they are assigned.
4. Past Successful Activities. If it worked once, it will probably work again. Have a staff meeting and review your best months. Make a list of what you were doing when you had your “best-evers.”  Schedule them again, or establish them as recurring procedures.
5. Staff Education. Do a quick reality check: Survey your staff individually for the definition of “V.S.C.” or just “subluxation.”  Ask them to explain the consequences of a subluxation. You may be surprised to find that they knew less than you assumed.  At least twice per month, during staff meetings, teach your staff not only the basics of chiropractic, but its history as well. Too many doctors take for granted that their staff understands the powerful dynamics at stake with a subluxation.  A better-educated staff is more motivated, more capable, and more active in patient education.
6. Office Mission. Work out a simple statement of the mission of your office, and ensure that it is oriented both around quality care and quantity of care.  Once every other month, quiz your staff on this mission, and review it yourself.  Alter it, as needed, every six months so that it reflects the purpose of the office.
7. Morning Rally and “Pre-view”. Doctor and staff can start each day by getting to the office at least ten minutes before the first patient and “preview” the day: plan out promotional, patient educational, and service actions for that day, and end on a motivational theme.
8. Change the Office. Every 3-6 months, make minor rearrangements in the office.  It is easy for those patient educational posters to become invisible in a few months after you have looked at them for 700 times. Rearrange the paintings and posters, paint a wall, or put in a new carpet. Keep your office fresh and new.
9. Patient Successes. Too often, doctors and staff take the miracles of chiropractic for granted.  For a quick shot of motivation, collect patient successes and at least once per month review at least five of them together.
10. Compliments. Doctors are trained to find what is wrong, and fix it. Too often, what is right goes un-acknowledged.  Since you want more and more “right” things to occur, acknowledge them now and then with the patients and with the staff, especially for excellent job performances.
11. “What’s New in Chiropractic”. To help prompt doctors to “Inform While they Perform,” and to encourage patients to ask questions, post news articles about chiropractic or issues relating to health and chiropractic on a bulletin board in the reception room, adjusting rooms, or other locations where patients will take notice.
12. Waiting Room. Get rid of your “waiting” room.  Always call it your “reception room” and make sure that patients are well “received”.
13. Unclog Your Front Desk. Many front desks have a tendency to gradually become “clogged” with extra paperwork. Slowly, processing paper or entering data into a computer can become more important than working with patients. Get rid of extra work on the front desk, and allow the front desk staff to spend more time working with patients and generating referrals.
14. Front Desk Purpose. Here is a secret: a primary purpose of the front desk is to get and keep the appointment book full. Go over this with your staff, and trim away extraneous work that is not related to this job, get your front desk staff focused on this