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GENERAL MARKETING STRATEGY — December 2020

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marketing for prefessionals Time to prepare for the New Year’s marketing.

But before we leave 2020, here are a few tips to help you round out this crazy year and lay the groundwork for a fresh, New 2021.

For December, work “internally” with your existing network, including your active and inactive patients and your external referral sources. But prepare for external marketing for the New Year now.

INTERNAL

The Team – Your First Line of Marketing
Every member of your office is a marketer – everyone sells health. 2020 has been one heck of a year. Why not acknowledge your staff as Health Hero’s with a pin, a certificate, or plaque, perhaps with a bonus if there are any funds available? You all deserve many “thank you’s.”

Holiday Cards and Letters to your Patients
Send cards and letters to both active and inactive patients. Recognize their good efforts to improve their health during this peculiar year and tell them that you look forward to helping them and their family stay healthy in 2021.

Health Never Takes a Holiday
Post a sign in your office in December that “Health Never Takes a Holiday” and schedule patients through December to January. We have a customizable poster on our Member’s site, and sample posters here.

Keep the Conversation Going.
Send out regular emails to patients. Email is more effective than social media, according to many studies, but social media has its place too. Assign email and social media posting to someone. A simple four-paragraph informal health tip from the doctor shows that you care and help improve your patient’s health. It is better that your patients hear from you than from the local chain store pharmacist.

Poinsettia Giveaway
Some offices have done well by giving away free poinsettias, or another holiday plant, one per family. Include a gift certificate with the plant for family members or friends. (See Member’s site for gift card samples.) Make a special arrangement with your local florist for a discount.

Patient Education
Now, more than ever, provide health tips for your patients to combat the heavy advertising of COVID-related reports. Stress is amplified by a lack of knowledge. Good education can help lessen the fear and help keep your patients stay healthier and happier. Plus, educated patients remain with you longer and refer more. There are many approaches that work, including: table talk, newsletters, whiteboards with “Patient Education Prompters,” and short five-minute weekly video health tips. The more you teach, the more you reach.

Donation Drives
Holiday time always brings an increased demand for helping those less fortunate. Within your office set up a collection area for any of the following programs and promote it in your newsletter. There are also other times of the year where donations are welcomed and needed. These can be scheduled throughout the year. Here are some sample donations:

  • Coats for Kids
  • Food for Families
  • Toys for Tots
  • Blood Drive
  • School Supplies
  • Animal Shelter $25 in exchange for first day services.

Also, you can support drives at local churches or gyms. EG “Free first-day services for every donation a member of YMCA makes to the homeless fund.”

Giving Tree/Angel Tree
The Giving Tree/Angel Tree Project is a great way to bring community awareness to your office. It is a simple project that can assist your patients to help others where they might not otherwise have the opportunity to do so.

EXTERNAL

Show Appreciation to External Referral Sources
Send a Holiday Card to any business or individual outside of your office who referred a patient to you or helped you with your marketing. Make sure you include a card of thanks and perhaps a fruit basket or other small gift. Let them know that you are looking forward to another year working together for better health.

Internet
Review your website with your Internet company. Set up a consultation with someone to review how well it is drawing new visitors. Make plans for improving traffic and conversion for the first three months of 2021.

Sample Plan for Special Events
January. Video series about improving the immune system: 10 Proven Shortcuts to Improving Your Immune System: 15-minute video every Friday. Include guest providers. PROMOTE these.
February. Valentines. Have a Heart gift certificate. Donation Drives.
March. Saint Patrick’s Day – Leprechaun Appreciation Day – A special kid’s day.
April. Earth Day. Community Clean-up Drive. Include external alliances to help.

100’s More Marketing Ideas
For 100’s more marketing ideas that have worked, if you are active with PM&A, go to our Member’s site, www.pmamembers.com. If not, we still have many effective marketing procedures right here on this blog.

Meet with Your Consultant
All offices are different. Some need fast action direct marketing — others benefit most from long term development of their external network. Meet with your consultant to make plans for the first part of 2021.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

In over thirty years of marketing practices, I have found the following two factors to be the most important:

Someone to Coordinate
It is essential that you delegate someone to coordinate your marketing as a project manager. Too often, marketing does not get done because, well, no one person is responsible. This is a major cause of the Practice Roller Coaster. While your entire office and everyone in it, staff and doctors, have marketing roles, one person aside from the doctor needs to ensure each project and procedure is implemented.

Goals and Attitude
Commitment to your goals and the right attitude undercuts everything. How strong is your desire to fulfill the mission of your office? Does the WHY? of your business enliven you each day, and are you happy about it? (Yahoo! Can’t wait to get to the office to see my next patient!!)

Of all the projects and procedures mentioned and the hundreds not mentioned, your drive to your goals and your attitude about achieving them is the most fundamental component to marketing success. Work and improve on this each day.

Ed Petty

Bonus Article: Health Tips from Mercola.com

Has the Coronavirus Affected Your Practice?

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How has the Coronavirus plague been affecting you and your practice…so far?

Most offices I talk to across the country seem to be doing just fine, thank you!

I ran across  an interesting thread on a social media site for chiropractors and as a limited sample survey of how other offices are being affected, most report that they are also doing well.

I want to add a few thoughts from a marketing vantage point that might help. I am sure you are following the clinical aspects of this virus, but I have links below to articles from Bruce Lipton, Ben Lerner, and Joe Mercola that are very informative.

More importantly, a great link from our old buddy, George Carlin just to put things into perspective. So, you might want to save this email just for the links. (Gotta watch Carlin!… WARNING… as usual cursing included!)

So, marketing…

The idea of the Coronavirus is that it could kill you, or at least make you very sick.  Consider these three promotional actions:

Safe Space. Promote your office as a Safe Zone. In your clinic, use plenty of disinfectant around the office. Let the patients see you wipe down tables, doorknobs, pens, clipboards, and have plenty of Purell (or something similar) around for hand wipes. This is to demonstrate that your office is taking all precautions to be a safe, sterile healing facility.

Get Healthier and Stronger. Secondly, promote the healing aspect of your services – how they can improve and bolster the immune system. The virus will have the most impact on the physically weak. Encourage patients to come in and get stronger in your safe space.  (Ben Lerner has a good article about this – link below.)

Communicate and Educate. Use your “table talk” time, and through newsletters and other media, to communicate with your patients. Give them health tips regarding the virus. But also relay positive activities that are going on in your office – an upcoming talk, a community clean-up drive, a patient success or a new team member. This goes for your team as well – educate your staff. People tend to hunker down during a crisis, somewhat out of fear. Standup, standout and maintain your positive presence and leadership – keep communicating.

The viruses may be real and get transmitted from person to person. But ideas can do the same. So spread the word — communicate your office as a worry-free environment where people can become stronger and healthier – safely.

-Ed

From a social media thread:
Chiropractors!! Is the whole coronavirus situation impacting your practice?! Or is it just me?
[March 9, 2020]

I’ve noticed that a lot less people are coming in for care, I’ve especially seen a decrease in overall NPs, is the trend global? related to coronavirus outbreak?? (people being in “survival mode” , or being more careful about their finances)? I’d love to know what you guys have noticed surrounding this issue? Cheers, Kir 2 days ago

ostninja
I’ve noticed a drop this week. I think it’s critical to wipe all surfaces with something that works and have hand sanitizer available. For reality and to create a safe space where they dont have to think about getting it from the table or face rest.
Everybody is concerned. I think it is people limiting their activities, worried about money, worried about the face rest. Let them see you wiping down face rest every time you finish. I’m wondering about sending communication detailing how we are protecting them and ourselves but I’m also wondering how useful overall that would be.

Kiirjava
Interesting… Thanks for sharing 🙂 that communication idea is actually brilliant!
It’s been a slow week so I’ll use this as an excuse lol · 2 days ago

lloydchiro
I’m just as busy as ever, and I’m in San Francisco. I imagine our town will get hit soon.

AshlamAllstar 2 days ago
CCCA here. Only a few one-off scenarios so far. One patient called to pause her treatment plan due to fear of being exposed and one came in with latex gloves, her own lysol wipes and a face mask. Otherwise, practice as usual, if not, a few more questions asking of the doctors’ opinion of the matter.
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DrGodzilla22
My practice had grown during since the news cycles started. Well educated patient are referring their friends and families.
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DrJayWill · 1 day ago
I’ve had the busiest week I’ve had in a while

From the Wave, the Mountains, to Your Chiropractic Office

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Dr. Bruce Lipton discussing how the environment determines behavior more than genes.

Just returned from a long winding motorcycle trip in the Sierra’s and Coastal ranges of CA. We will be posting some photos of these on the Chiromotorcycleriders.com web page and Facebook pages soon.

Also attended the Wave in San Francisco put on by Life West. The best seminar program I have seen in a long time. Philosophy is needed, but the science presented by Bruce Lipton, PhD., and others, was amazing. I can’t recommend Dr. Lipton’s books enough.

For those of you who know Dr. Lipton, he is a biologist and taught cellular biology to medical students at the UW Medical School in Madison, WI.  In doing pioneering work in cellular biology a few years ago, he realized some basic flaws in the allopathic model of health. He gave up teaching MD’s and now teaches chiropractic students at chiropractic colleges.  He says that the profession of chiropractic, and the works of its founder, D.D. Palmer, was way ahead of its time and are fundamentally correct based upon his and other’s research.

Dan Murphy, D.C; Joe Mercola, D.O.; Gary Null, PhD.; and Malik Slosberg. D.C. were some of the other speakers I caught on Friday. Oh, and of course, Dr. Sigafoose. I couldn’t stay for Saturday.

Chiropractic is fairly unique in that it does have a “philosophy.”  This gives it a soul and a purpose where other professions, unfortunately, have none.

But the nuts and bolts of studies and research that was presented demonstrated that there is abundant evidence supporting the effectiveness and progressiveness of chiropractic.

Scientific evidence is reaffirming and enlightening. At the same time, the “evidence” you need has always been there in the successes of your patient.

A while ago an office wanted me to help them with their marketing. I was happy to meet with them and they said that they had been receiving help from an “evidenced based” consultant. They said they were trying to establish relationships with MDs. I replied that was great – but I also mentioned that they did not need another license to practice chiropractic. If they were seeking permission from MDs and trying to justify their profession with “evidence” when they already had all the proof they needed with their patients, it was no wonder their practice was slowing down.

I might have been a little too direct as I have never heard from them again.

Will be posting some video clips from the Wave soon and will let you know when they are up.

Best regards,

Ed

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This Month’s Webinars – August

 

Office Manager Webinar Roles And Goals: What Are The Key Roles In Your Office? – Thursday, August 16th – 12:30 to 1:30pm CDT
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 7 roles and the numbers will go up.

We will also provide you with a fast test for you to grade your office on how each of these roles is performing.

Register Now: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/322088520

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Marketing Manager Webinar: Patient Retention: 8 Practical Procedures – Thursday, August 23rd – 12:30 to 1:30pm CDT
Do your patients see you as often as they should? Do they follow through and complete their programs? If not, this webinar will cover eight basic procedures that any office can use to ensure their patients get the care they need.

By now, you probably have heard more than a few different approaches to patient retention.  It certainly isn’t rocket science. However many procedures taught at seminars are just a bit gimmicky, and in the end, don’t work. Find out, or be reminded, of what does work.

Register Now: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/311709721