Tag Archives: Chiropractic Marketing

Chiropractic Practice Management, Marketing, and Leadership Recorded Training Webinars

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This is a list of our practice development recorded webinars.

Each is a recording of a slide show driven lecture, each filled with an abundance of practice information derived from in the field work – and plenty of slides!

Currently, you have to be active on a PM&A program. By this summer, these will be available on and individual basis for a small fee.

 Chiropractic CEO Webinars

 Creating your Dream Team Summary and VideoA virtual “live” interview with the doctor and staff of a true chiropractic dream team. Find out what they do to achieve high numbers, profit, and fun.

 The Fast Flow Practice CEO  -55 minutes webinar video and summary.
One of the biggest challenges in running and growing your business is the time it takes you away from seeing patients and from your family.  We have solved this with what we call the Fast Flow Practice CEO System.   A new system derived from old principles.
Management by the Numbers: 44 minutes – Summary and Video
Management is a subject that has techniques to help you go from where you are to where you want to be.  Management By the Numbers (MBN)  can be faster and more accurate than other forms of management, and help build staff morale and make it more self directed.

Capacity Constraints : 33 minutes – Summary and Video
Do you work hard but you just don’t get as far as you should? The reason may be that you are running into unseen bottlenecks that are choking off your production and suffocating your growth. This is the subject of Capacity Constraints.

How to Be an Effective Practice CEO  Video
If you are struggling with the ups and downs of a stressful practice, or have finally “settled” into a comfort zone producing much lower than you know you are capable of, this program is for you.

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Chiropractic Office Manager Webinars

 Chiropractic Manager Webinar – Roles and Goals  Summary, Video and Study Guide
What Are The Key Roles In Your Office? A hidden barrier in many offices has to do with confusing roles and job duties. Clear these up and see how much smoother patients and paper flow, and happier the team becomes.  Small office or big health business, clarify these 8 roles and the numbers will go up.
 

Chiropractic Manager Webinar – Job and Performance Reviews    Video
Employee reviews are often neglected, or are dreaded by employee and doctor. This webinar covers the basic steps to make them effective and positive for both doctor and employee.  Approx 37 minutes.

Chiropractic Manager Webinar – Motivating Your Staff – Video  Ms. Phyllis Frase shares 5 secrets to keeping yourself and your staff motivated.

 Chiropractic Manager Webinar – Team Meetings   Summary, Video and Study Guide. This is an overview of 8 essential actions to help you improve your meetings and make them faster, more fun, and more effective. Plus, different types of short meetings that your team can grow.

 Chiropractic Manager Webinar –  The Office Manager Job Description  Summary, Video and Study Guide. This class covers 17 essential duties of the office manager. Both the doctor and the office manager should watch and discuss these duties.
 

Chiropractic Manager Webinar-  How to Best to Train Your Staff  Summary, Video and Study Guide This webinar covers eight tips  to improve the performance of your team.  Training plays a big part in team building.
 

Chiropractic Manager Webinar– How to Hire the Right Team Member   Summary, Video and Study Guide.
This webinar  covers eight priniciples for hiring the right team member from knowing when to hire, who to hire and how to hire.
 

Office Manager Webinar – It’s All About the Patient, the Doctor and the MISSION [Summary, Video and Study Guide]
There are procedures to help the patients and procedures that help the doctor help the patient and then there is Everything Else.  Tips on how to deal with Everything Else. (30 minutes)

Office Manager Webinar- Part II – Tips and Tricks to make the office more efficient[Summary, Video]
Part II reveals tips and tricks of what an office manager can actually do in the office on a day to day basis to make things run smoother and  significantly improve the volume and quality of services. (55 minutes)

 Office Manager Webinar- Part I – Fundamentals of Practice Management [Summary, Video]
Part I covers the fundamentals of Practice Management (55 minutes)

 

Chiropractic Marketing Webinars

Innate Marketing  (55 minutes) – Webinar plus Summary.
There are stories that float around every now and then about how some offices can simply “think”  “New Patients” and they come in.
Are these stories an urban legend? A myth, or a fact? Can staff or doctors “concept” new patients in the door. Is this true? If so, how can you do this?  10 steps to help you generate more patient visits through “concepting.”

Chiropractic Special Promotions  (55 minutes) – Webinar plus Summary.
This webinar covers different promotions by month. You will learn 2-4 different practical promotions for each month of the year. More importantly, you will learn how to organize them so that they are time effective and productive.

Patient Retention – Summary and Video
If you understand the underlying basics of patient retention your appointment book should always be full.  Covered in this webinar is: Patient retention should be based on Principles – not gimmicks. Where are we you taking your patients? Why they quit?  The cost of not getting them there.

 Chiropractic Patient Education – Summary and Video (45 min)
We go over 7 basic strategies that cover the entire horizon of patient education and explain why it is so necessary to educate your patients if you want them to be healthier.

 Infomercials. – Summary and Video .
Whatever happened to Infomercials? They’re still around and they still work. And you can do them very inexpensively. You just need to know how. This webinar will give you practical examples and include forms for you to use in producing your own amateur and informational marketing that can help you create more new patients and keep the ones you have.

 Internet Marketing and Social Media. – Summary and Video . This webinar covers some fundamentals regarding social media, Facebook, and general Internet marketing. (35 minutes) (not yet posted)

 The Art of Spinal Screenings. – Summary and Video . Spinal Screenings – The Queen of External Marketing.  Everyone has done at least a few  spinal screenings. You have probably had some success with them. But how much better could you do if you knew the fundamentals of this time tested external marketing activity?  This is a three part series on spinal screenings. This session we will review the most fundamental principles of screenings. Get these, and all else will follow.(45 minutes)

 Scheduling Screenings and other External Events – Summary and Video .  How to Schedule External Events And Create External Referral Sources.  Types of events, Outcomes, Purpose. How to plan the events and get them scheduled.(30 minutes)

Marketing Tips: Earth Day, Spring Promotions, and other Tips – Summary and Video This webinar covers: Powerful internal marketing script, Report of findings referral procedure,  upcoming spring promotions, with special attention to utilizing Earth Day as an opportunity to promote your services.

Short Overview of Chiropractic Marketing Management with Some Marketing Tips – Summary and Video   This is a short version of marketing management and some tips for the upcoming months. What are the three levels of marketing?  What part does communication have in your marketing?  How to engage your patients in your marketing efforts.  Upcoming special promotions. (30 minutes)

Marketing Management, Part I and Part II – This is the longer version of how to manage your marketing, and why.

Chiropractic Marketing Management – Session I – Summary and Video The Why, What and How of Marketing. Getting your Marketing off the Ground. (55 minutes)

Chiropractic Marketing Management – Session II – Summary and Video  Specific Marketing Manager Duties – Your Job Description.  General Overview of the Most Effective Marketing Procedures in Each of the 11 Marketing Categories (55 minutes)

 

Marketing the movie DOCTORED for your practice and community

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There has never been a movie like this for chiropractors. Now with this professionally produced documentary on DVD, you have an extraordinary tool to help you educate your staff, patients and community.

It really  is historic.

You can learn more about it on the trailer and of course, by watching the movie. I am not going to give it a review here other than to give it two thumbs up.

I recommend that you use it to educate your office team, patients and your community. Here are some tips on doing so:

  1. It is intended to be shown as a movie and not as a reception room video clip.
  2. Set aside two and a half hours with your team during some down time.  Watch it uninterrupted. No phones, patients, etc.
  3. Afterwards, eat.  Have the food brought it.
  4. Now, discuss the movie. What did everyone think?
  5. Then discuss how best to use it – for patients and non patients. Put together some tentative plans.
  6. Set up two or three special private screenings for 8-10 patients.
  7. Watch the movie with them, feed them and then ask them what they thought and then how they recommend we use this movie.
  8. This now becomes a focus group. You will find that you get good ideas from them that might also appeal to other patients. Plus, they will now be very motivated to bring in more of their family and friends.
  9. Rent a space outside of your office and show the movie for non patients. This requires LOTS of promotion and preparation. Dr. Anthony Ebel has a description with examples of what he is doing this year. See links below.
  10. Over November and December, use the movie internally to generate excitement with your patients. With Holiday and Christmas and New Year retail promotions, we recommend to keep the promotion directed internally.   Then, in Jan and Feb., promote your special screenings to the community.

In the end, I think DOCTORED shows how courageous and committed all of you are who work in and with the great profession of chiropractic.

New ideas and methods that work are often opposed at first before they are generally accepted by the public.   This movie will help get your services more accepted and in fact, desired.

RESOURCE LINKS:

Order the movie and trailer

Movie Trailer trailer of movie, originally entitled: “Medical, Inc.”

Dr. Ebel promotional program

Dr. Ebel’s flier and tickets Front  Back of flier

Interview with one of the executive producers of the movie, Dr. Paul Riegleman from WI (5 minutes) Link

Doctored image you can download for your posters

Dr. Mercola  and comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doctored Flier-2_0001

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doctored Flier-1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why You Shouldn’t Have Promotions

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As a chiropractor, there are many reasons why you shouldn’t have practice promotions.

Hundreds.  You can come up with 10 right now. Your staff could think of more. So could your family!

Most of them would have something to do with not enough time to do them, or too much of a hassle, or it might cost too much. Then, there is also:  not sure if they would work, or what do we do and how do we do it?  Maybe you are really too frightened, embarrassed, or burned out to promote.

Now, you could say:  “Hey, I already have more patients than I can see.”

Yes, maybe you could.  But then you would have to ask yourself: “is everyone in my town getting proper chiropractic and natural health care?” “Is anyone in my neighborhood receiving unnecessary drugs, surgery?”

On the other hand there are only a few reasons you would want to have practice promotions. These would include:

  • Help more people
  • Fill up your office
  • Make more money
  • Make your services and those of chiropractic more popular

In terms of traffic lights, promotions are GREEN.

 In your office, what light is flashing? Yellow, red, or green?

Green means GO! Promotion = pro + motion. The word comes from “forward motion.”

Ultimately, there are three basic reasons for not promoting:

3. Not knowing what or how
2. Lacking the motivation
1. Lacking the organization

In our upcoming webinar, we cover the what and the how and the why to get your promotions going, fill up your office, increase your revenue, and make your services more popular.

Hope to see you there.

Best regards,

Ed

 

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. ]

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!

A Short History of How Everything Else Has Cost You Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars and (nearly) Killed Your Dreams as a Chiropractor

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When you started your chiropractic practice, you took on 2 roles: “Doctor” and “Everything Else.” As your practice grew, you became busier in your role of doctor. That is what you wanted. That was good.

But as your practice grew, your role of “Everything Else” also got busier. This was a distraction from your role of doctor, so you delegated front desk, billing and therapy duties. You still kept the role of “Everything Else.”

As your practice continued to grow with more staff – your role of “Everything Else” expanded geometrically.  This concerned you.

You didn’t think about it much because you enjoyed being a chiropractor and loved your patients, but when you were very busy, you made more money. You could take a vacation with your family, put money aside for your kid’s education, and pay off debts.  Sometimes, you could see yourself producing even more, helping more people, and being even more prosperous.

These dreams didn’t last long. Your role of “Everything Else” became more demanding.  There were more “everything else’s” crying for attention.  There was too much to do and soon you saw your patient volume dropping. Patients were dropping out of care and new patients became scarce. You had lost control.

Other doctors who were experiencing lowered income blamed insurance companies. Or the economy. Or the modern culture.  All you knew was that it wasn’t fun anymore and there was just too much work to do. Work that wasn’t chiropractic.

The fact is, you were never too sure of this role of “Everything Else” and never really liked it all that much. You didn’t have any training in it like you did as a doctor.  And when all of the “everything else’s” starting coming at you, you felt like things were getting beyond your command.

You experienced some staff turnover and now with patient volume down, you didn’t need as many staff. Gradually there was less to do in your role of “Everything Else.”

This cycle may have occurred to you a few times: numbers up, then more stress, then back down. A roller coaster.

  MONTHLY OFFICE VISITS And here is where you may be now.

If you were to add up the amount of revenue you could have made had you stayed at your highest level, or been able to go even higher were it not for your role of “Everything Else”, you might be surprised how much this “Everything Else” role cost you. Hundreds of thousands of dollars.

= = = = = =  =

If this is your story so far, don’t go away. The last chapter hasn’t been written. In fact, your next one might be completely different. Here is an introduction to it:

You read about the chiropractic Executive Freedom Package and started it.

You discover that the “Everything Else” role is really the role of the business executive. It is the role of the CEO.

You realize that all major businesses have an executive and that there are certain skills and tools as a CEO to be learned. These skills have to do with leadership, management, and marketing.

So you learn these skills and get coached on them.  In time, you get better and better at applying them.

You find a staff member and give her the role of chiropractic office manager. You get her continuously trained and give her lots of your less important CEO duties. As she gets better, you give her more.

You get someone to help you coordinate all the marketing. You give him continuous training.

You have staff meetings and get the team on board with managing the office.

All the “everything else’s” are organized into systematized procedures and delegated to your team.

Numbers go up. Your team continues to improve. They are happy about this as they are sharing in the management of the office and its success. Now that all the “everything elses” are packaged up into nice neat systems, you have time to focus more on patient care, future planning,  personal studies, and other pursuits.

You are now a better leader, better manager, and a better marketer, and your business continues to grow. Your team is happier, more people are getting served, and you make more money.

If someone had only told you about the role “Everything Else” and what it really was all about years ago you would have avoided losing so much money and wasted time.

On the other hand, now that you know what the secret is, you are on your way out of the rut you have been in and on your way to greater freedom.

You can learn more about the “Everything Else” role and how to create the business structure that puts you in command with our new chiropractic business Freedom Package here.

 

Your Chiropractic Brand

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A brand is the representation of you in the marketplace. Well defined, it can cut through the thousands of health messages people hear each day so that your message is heard distinct from all others.

We have said this over and over, but you have the opportunity to make and improve your own brand.  And the way you principally do this is through an active and continuous conversation that you have with each of your patients, vendors, staff, and local businesses.

You start your conversation usually on your patient’s first visit. Then you continue it on the second and on successive visits thereafter. Also through newsletters.  Also while doing a community event, letters, or even while shopping: “Hi Bob. How did your wife do at the 5K run?”

The conversation has to be two way.  You have to listen as well as communicate.  Facebook fits right into this, but you have to post more than what you copy and paste  from the American Chiropractic Association or from Mercola. Pictures of babies, puppies, recipes from a patient with photos, and anything you feel genuinely passionate about.  Anything endearing: “Aw, look at the cute baby.” Even a bulletin board with local stories of your patients let’s others know that you are paying attention.

Your brand is based upon how you converse with your select community, your own tribe.

Here is a great quote from Seth Godin’s book, Small is the New Big.

“Markets engage in conversations, but marketing often doesn’t. The reality is that most brands are actually monologues, not dialogues.  A conversation might create a better, more robust, more useful brand but, alas, most organizations can’t handle that truth. So they do their best to do it the old way.

Big brands are dying. Little brands are doing great.”

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.

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 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

Chiropractic Promotions for the New Year

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Seems like every office we talk to or visit these days is busy – crazy busy – with patients and computers and Christmas.

But the New Year is approaching – fast. 2012 only has 12 months and the first one starts in just about two weeks. And then, before you know it, it’s February and you are wondering what you should be doing for marketing and getting the word out about your services.

 

So as not to be left behind, you should begin the New Year with a strong marketing strategy.

 

Below are some fast tips to help get you started:

 

But first… PROJECT X-3. We are finishing adding the final components into our new 2012 program, temporarily called the Project X-3. This is just the working title and we will be announcing the new program soon with all the details. It is designed to help lift you and your practice onto and into a whole new level of prosperity and fulfillment in the New Year.

 

**Schedule Patients Now. Health Never Takes a Holiday. Poster. If you are active with PM&A, you can also find a customizable version on our Members site, along with other promotions under “monthly promotions.”

 

**External Referral Sources and Event Locations. Make a list of every location where you participated in a promotional type of event. Include any business or professional that sent you a referral or helped you in some way. Then, make sure you send each a card or a gift, or just stop by and wish them well and that you look forward to continued relationship with them in the New Year.

 

**Marketing Meeting. Schedule a thorough marketing meeting soon, maybe right after Christmas. Spend a couple of hours making a list of what has worked and what you want to do and then schedule these things over the next several months. One example we recommend is:

 

**Be an Authority and Educate. People want health care information.  This is proven by the fact that 80% of Internet users search for health information on line, according to PEW Research.  8 out of every 10 people at some time are looking for health information when they go to the Internet. That is significant.

…2 ways to do this is to schedule workshops and health “awareness weeks” for the New Year. People want to know the latest. This gives you an opportunity to teach. Yes, you do have to do your homework and it takes time. But it is time well spent because as you study and prepare, you will find that you will become motivated about your subject. Besides, at least 1/3 of your presentation can be your spinal care class, so this saves you time. These types of community education programs or services not only help you generate direct new patients, but give you an excuse to promote your office and services. Sample Poster Clients can find many more customizable posters and fliers on the Members site under: Marketing Materials/ Community Education.

You can find more ideas about upcoming promotions to start your New Year here. Link

 

Best wishes for a high volume 2012!

 

Ed

Chiropractic Patient Service

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Remember Me?

I’m the fellow, who goes into a restaurant,
sits down patiently and waits while the
waitresses do everything but take my order.

I’m the fellow who goes into a department
Store and stands quietly while the sales
Clerks finish their little chit-chat.

I’m the man who drives into a petrol
Station and never blows his horn, but waits
Patiently while the attendant finishes
Reading his comic book.

Yes, you might say I’m a good guy.

But do you know who else I am?

I’m the fellow who never comes back, and
It amuses me to see you spending
Thousands of dollars every year to get me
Back when I was there in the first place…
And all you had to do was show me a little courtesy.

~Author unknown

Printable Version

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]

========

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.

Making a Chiropractic Patient Community

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Is it just YOUR office?

Or does it also belong to your patients?

One office we have the privilege of working with has been smashing its past records – month after month. We plot their growth on charts and nearly every month have to adjust them to keep the lines on the chart. And it has been in business for over 20 years.

Why? Well, there are a number of reasons, really.

But a key factor is that it has created a patient community. That is, it has created a systematized business where all the patients still feel that they are part of the clinic’s “family.”

They have created an environment where patients feel they belong, that the clinic is also THEIR clinic.

The principle behind this, and why it works to generate more patient volume, is that everyone wants to have friends and belong to like-minded groups. Facebook, for example, and the rise of social networking is simply a new twist to a basic impulse we all have for belonging and fellowship.

So from a practical marketing point of view, the more you include your patients as part of your chiropractic “family”, the more apt they will be to stay, pay, and refer.

For example, we have done our share of patient focus groups. Focus groups are informal discussions with 7 or so patients where we ask them about their likes, dislikes and general opinions of clinic activities. We’ve been able to learn things from the patients that we might not otherwise have known.

But what we also learned and hadn’t anticipated was that those attending suddenly started to be more active in the office. They kept their appointments and they started to refer more of their family and friends.

OK, so back to our client’s office: Each year, they give away t-shirts with the clinic name. The only requirement is that the patient has to wear the shirt at the local county fair.

This year, they sponsored a “T-Shirt Contest.” The contest was to help the office come up with a slogan for the back of the T-shirt.  The winning slogan would receive a 6 day pass to the fair.

The suggestions are…hilarious.  Some are good, some are fun, and some are just plain silly.  But.. the point is, many patients are eager to contribute.  (Some of the suggestions are below.)

 

It is no wonder, by the way, that this office which has been in business for over 20 years in small town, has been breaking its all time records for production month after month. (SHOUT OUT: Congratulations to Team Bartz Chiropractic!)

The lesson to be learned here is that it pays to empower your patients and make them feel like it is their office too.  Here are some ideas:

FRIENDLY CHATTING. Yea, I know doctors and staff aren’t supposed to spend much time socializing with the patients. I have heard that some consultants tell doctors to forbid staff to talk to patients other than talking “TIC” (chiropractic), doing a two handed hand-shake,  and mentioning the patient’s name 14 times at each visit.  Well, that is just silly.

A practice is a relationship and like any relationship, it simply has to be genuine. Be genuinely interested in your patients, like any friend.  All else can then follow.

NEWSLETTERS. A real newsletter just continues this chatting – between friends.  It can be both email and hard copy, and should include a column from the doctor. This continues your conversation with the patients.

Include survey results and patient successes and news about staff, doctor, etc. Keep it a “non professional” bulletin about your chiropractic patient community. Nothing glossy from some big company New York City. Keep it just short of being gossipy – but with pictures.

SUGGESTIONS FROM YOUR PATIENTS ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTS. The t-shirt slogans are a perfect example, but you can also survey patients about what color to paint the wall or color for the new carpet.

TESTIMONIALS FROM PATIENTS. These are another way patients can contribute to your purpose of helping more people to find better health, naturally.  It can be their purpose too.

FOCUS GROUPS. Get 7 or so of your patients, old and new, together for a luncheon and ask them survey questions about the office, promotions, advertisements, your services, etc. Best done by someone other than the doctor.  Mention the results in your newsletter.

# # #

Some examples:

T-SHIRT CONTEST ENTRIES FOR A CHIROPRACTIC OFFICE SLOGAN FOR THE  COUNTY FAIR

To be healthy and feeling fine, keep your spine in line at Bartz Chiropractic

Get your back in tact Jack….John…..Sue…. Larry at Bartz Chiropractic

You don’t even want to KNOW how bent outta shape I USED to be!

Back your Future with Chiropractic Care  (flaming tire tracks picture)

Make Your Day!  Help is on the way at Bartz Chiropractic

Get ACTIVATED at Bartz Chiropractic so you can spend the week at the Fair

Get a BOATLOAD of relief at Bartz Chiropractic (life jacket picture)

Got Pain? Be FAIR to yourself, see Dr Bartz!

I only have one spine, so I keep it in line at Bartz Chiropractic

IT NO LONGER SMARTS, WHEN YOU SEE DR. BARTZ!!

(Front)  Are you living with a pain in the neck??  (back) Dr Bartz CAN HELP!  Bartz Chiropractic Elkhorn, WI

It’s FAIR to say Dr Bartz Keeps me Healthy EVERY Day!

NO PAIN…………MUCH GAIN!!!!

Changing lives….One Adjustment at a Time!

Happy Bones = Healthy Life!

Don’t Slack…..Fix your BACK

Bartz Chiropractic, your adjustment Junction!

Less yacking, more Cracking!!

A HEALTHY SPINE WILL MAKE YOU SHINE!

BE WELL-ADJUSTED, BE HAPPY, BARTZ CHIROPRACTIC

MOOO’VON OVER TO BETTER HEALTH AT BARTZ CHIROPRACTIC (COW PICTURE OVER THE moooo)

A lifelong journey of health starts with CHIROPRACTIC

Put your life BACK IN LINE with Bartz Chiropractic Care

Walk STRAIGHT to the FAIR

Dr Bartz will CRACK you up!!

Dr Bartz is a “god” Chiropractor

Back aligned, feeling fine!!

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 6th Fear

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Chiropractors:  I think it might be time for a pep talk…

Have you been keeping up with the news lately? It’s hard not to.

Egypt, Tunisia, and now Libya recently had swift moving revolutions that resulted in regime change – all in the last few months. And other Middle East countries are also rumbling with protests.

Meanwhile, back in the States, our federal government doesn’t seem to have enough money and our representatives are threatening with a government “shutdown.” And next door here, in the Middle West, Wisconsin, there are thousands of people protesting around our state capital.

That’s a LOT of commotion!

So, how’re your patients doing with all of this? Are they worried? Is their pay getting cut? Are they loosing their jobs? Do they have jobs?

And how about you? Are you staying up watching the news, reading about it, discussing it? Are you worried? How is your income?

We need to be accurately informed about current events, of course.  Unfortunately, we sometimes become so distracted that we can loose sight of what we are doing and let our businesses suffer.

A few years ago when the stock market plummeted, I received phone calls from doctors who were worried. One, who had been doing very well, was thinking about selling her office entirely. Another doctor who also had been doing well, let his practice numbers nose dive as he become mesmerized by the “news”, and was worried about racial riots and internment camps.

There is no doubt that economic conditions have been changing. But it has been our experience that if you constantly work on improving your services and in developing your business, and yourself, you will do just fine. (Good coaching helps too!)

BEST EVER
Last year, many of the offices we had the privilege work with had their best year ever. Most of them, in fact, had been in business for 15 to 25 years. I can think of 3 just off hand that have hit the “waiting list” category. They have reached near capacity with so many patients that they have to schedule new patients 1 week out. Horrible, I know, but very cool too.

DOING RIGHT
Success in this environment can be had. You can have it. You may have to change your past mode of operation, but you too can achieve it. It can be obtained by doing the right things, and doing those things right through a process of constant improvement. We call this the Practice Development Process.

BEING RIGHT
But to get what you want, you have to not only improve what you do, but improve who you are. You have to improve your outlook, your skills, and your personal habits. Success has much to do with how we view the world and what we put our attention on. As one old time doctor mentioned to me years ago, “success is an inside job.” By “inside”, he was referring to one’s thoughts and attitudes. He could talk: he and his doctors were seeing over 2,000 visits per week for years.

WORDS OF SUCCESS DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES
We have been going through what has been called the Great Recession.  Many patients are worried about their jobs and their money.

Napoleon Hill wrote “Think and Grow Rich” in 1937 during the Great Depression as a result of studying and working with successful leaders, including President Roosevelt.  It continues to be a best seller, perhaps the most popular motivational book of all time. In it he says:

“It is true that all thought has a tendency to clothe itself in its physical equivalent. … “The people of America began to think of poverty following the Wall Street crash of 1929. Slowly but surely that mass thought was crystallized into its physical equivalent which was known as a depression.”

THE 6TH FEAR
The thought that creates this depression, according to Hill, is fear. Hill talked about 6 types of fears, the worst of which is the fear of poverty. The other 5 were criticism, ill health, loss of love of someone, old age, and death.

“The Fear of Poverty is without doubt the most destructive of the 6 basic Fears.“

Hill states that one of the symptoms of fear of poverty is procrastination.

DO IT NOW
So, this is a pep talk to encourage you that there has never been a better time to grow your practice and expand your business.

Your patients need your leadership to help them with their own fears so that they can become more productive. By improving their health and educating them on the chiropractic lifestyle, their chances of succeeding in their lives increases. You and your team help them, their families and the community. You make a difference.

So, do it now. Increase your promotion. Stream line your procedures. Work on team training and improve your service. Plan your expansion for this year.  Schedule a technique class. Read more. Work out more.  Get enlivened with your purpose as a chiropractor.

New office? New doctor? Why not? People need chiropractic care now more than ever. And chiropractic has never been more popular. Even the quarterback for the winning football team of the Super Bowl gets regular chiropractic adjustments. (Naturally, since his dad is a D.C.)

Work with a practice building coach and get in the game – to win!

As Napoleon Hill says:

“Do it now! can affect every phase of your life. It can help you do the things you should do but don’t feel like doing. It can keep you from procrastinating when an unpleasant duty faces you. But it can also help you do those things that you want to do. It helps you seize those precious moments that, if lost, may never be retrieved.”

Fight the fear and the procrastination by just doing it. And soon, you too will be achieving your best ever again.

#  #  #

P.S. Napoleon Hill was a chiropractic patient.  One report has it that B.J. Palmer was his chiropractor. Both men thrived during tough economic times. Here is an interesting story about Hill and chiropractic. LINK

Old movie of Nap Hill. 7 minutes. LINK

Leadership in Chiropractic – the Golden Circle

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How do you motivate others to start and continue chiropractic care?

Simon Sinek recently wrote a book about leadership and marketing, and if I didn’t know better, he took it straight from the principles of chiropractic.

Below is a link to a lecture he gave where he describes a fundamental ingredient to effective leadership and marketing. Essentially, he is describing what you in the chiropractic world already know but in a different light.

The talk is 18 minutes, but well worth it.

I am interested to hear how you see it as an effective application of chiropractic principles and how you might to apply it.

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