Tag Archives: referral

Momentary Affluence — or Is the Tide Turning for True Health?

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Over the last few months, we have noticed that offices have continued to grow – some even breaking their previous records!

Why is this?

I have heard from doctors and office managers that patients may be hesitant to visit medical offices and prefer seeing chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other health-oriented offices instead. Are they just afraid of the COVID at medical centers, or are they truly seeking to improve their health and immune systems?

What have you heard?

I am going to guess that your practice is filling back up as well.  What should you do to augment your growth, sustain it, and even increase it?

RETENTION AND REFERRALS

You want to think about retention and then generating more referrals – from patients and from community members. Consider the following:

  1. First, don’t take this growth for granted. Each patient is unique and special and important. Provide world-class service and deliver world-class outcomes. In the end, this will ALWAYS be your #1 marketing tool.
  2. Educate. I can’t stress this enough. Please… Inform While You Perform. Factual information is one of the reasons patients see you. You are independent. Your strings are not pulled by Merck, Pfizer, or WHO. You can refer patients to information on your services, on Vitamin D, Zinc, and yes, Quercetin. They can trust you for the unedited and unspun truth about health.
  3. Communicate. Newsletters, workshops via Zoom, or in the office, outdoor events (staying in compliance with local ordinances – as you see fit!) – keep the conversation going. Maintain and improve the relationship with your patients.
  4. Capacity. Do you need another provider? Another team member? Don’t overextend yourself, but also, don’t stand in the way of your growth.
  5. Partner with other providers and businesses. Medical doctors are discovering that health solutions they have for COVID are being suppressed. The braver ones are speaking up. Doctors of all kinds, now more than ever, can share the same goal and help each other overcome similar challenges. Businesses as well, want practical solutions for their employees.
  6. Make a List. Make a list of patient retention and referral generation procedures that have worked for you and review them often. In upcoming newsletters, we will brush off some lists from our old Marketing Manager Systemsm that has hundreds of marketing procedures. You know many of them, but it always helps to be reminded!

You can also take your marketing a step further…

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SELL, IT IS WHAT YOU STAND FOR

As a more aggressive approach, you may want to be more vocal in promoting better health in all its aspects, from what we eat, breathe, to the kind of health care we seek.  In this regard you could take on the role of Health Rebel, or even Health Outlaw!

Your unique selling principle (USP) should include your noble purposes that sets you apart from comparable alternatives.  Consumers are looking for businesses that take responsibility for social and environmental issues. And, according to several studies*, this is especially true for the younger generation – Generation X – those born in the 1990s. Speaking out for better health in your community and against toxic pollutants, for example, is not only a noble purpose but – if genuine, has practical marketing benefits.

There really are two sides in our health culture – one for optimal natural health of the planet and of our bodies, and the other as advertised by corporations.

Your community is bombarded with thousands of advertising messages each day, many of them promoting drugs and COVID hysteria fears.  Advertising is a form of population control, which is an advanced science, and which may be used increasingly to motivate your community to consume more vaccines, including for COVID.  Yale University, as reported by Mercola, is testing advertising messages to shame, embarrass, anger, and otherwise motivate people to take the vaccines.

And the campaign has already started. According to USA today, it is patriotic to get vaccinated.

And it is not just the push for vaccines. Corporate medicine has been discrediting natural health remedies, including chiropractic, nutritional supplements, and certain medical practices such as chelation for years.  And outside of health care, we can see advertisements for the cancer-causing Roundup (with glyphosate), “foods” with toxic ingredients (e.g. aspartame), and the suppression of information about mercury, hexavalent chromium (as in the movie Erin Brockovich), and other toxins currently in our drinking water.

This is really your time. This is a contest for health independence from corporate tyrants that have set up laws to escape liability for their actions.  But those of you in the chiropractic profession are used to the fray. Now, you are not alone. Other doctors are also experiencing suppression and personal and professional retaliation and are joining the fight.

The sales of organic food and supplements continue to increase. And based upon your practice returning to pre-COVID levels, the tide just may be shifting towards true health.

But only with all of our help.

Helping you to help more people,

 

Ed Petty, and all of us at Petty, Michel, and Associates

Family Referral Procedure

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A systematized procedure for generating more chiropractic patient referrals.

How many more patient referrals could you generate if you simply asked for them?

Sure, your patients refer others to you now, but how many more could you generate if you asked for them?

One of the best times to ask for referrals is at the beginning of care, just when they are starting to see some benefit. At this time, patients are excited about discovering your office and are more willing to tell others about your services.

This usually occurs between visit 3-8.  After about 3 weeks, the ”newness” of the experience can wear off and the patient can settle into a routine.

One procedure that we have seen effective is talking to the patient about a “Family Check-up Plan.”  We recommend that you present each patient with a “Family and Friends Guest Pass”, or “Get Acquainted Gift Certificate” for his or her family, and friends, good for a free spinal check-up as a routine procedure, usually on the 3rd visit.

Below you will find an example of a script for your chiropractic assistant, procedure notes, and an example of a gift certificate. You can edit the gift certificate and insert your office name and other information so that it is customized for your office.

SCRIPT AND PROCEDURE

Front Desk Chiropractic Assistant: After the 3rd visit, as the patient checks out, the Front Desk C.A. asks the patient:

“Did Dr. ABC mention our Family and Friends “Health Check-up Program?”

Patient: Responds.

C.A.: Explains or re-explains the program:

“Well, Dr. ABC wants to make sure that the family members of our all patients are properly checked for spinal related problems. We call it our Family Check-up Policy.

So many times he sees patients who come to us, in pain, who have spinal problems that could have been more easily corrected had we seen them sooner before they were in pain.

Now, there is no charge for this. Dr. ABC just wants to make sure your whole family is checked and healthy.

Any questions?

Patient Responds.

C.A. O.K. Here is a Gift Certificate you can give to a family member. It is good for (whatever you want to offer.) an 8-point spine and neck check-up and a consultation.
And, (smiling), as a bonus, we are offering a 15 minute massage from our massage therapist as well.

Patient Responds. That sounds pretty good.

C.A. Well, it gets better. This coupon is also good for any family member. You can even use it for a friend of yours too.

In addition, this makes you eligible for our Massage Therapy “Care To Share” Credit Program.  Every person you bring in allows you to receive a credit 15 minutes free massage on your account. This is our way of thanking you for sharing the benefits of chiropractic.

Patient Responds. Wow. That’s great!

C.A. Let me go over the card with you. (C.A. goes over how to fill out the card). Now, how many do you want?

Patient. Well let’s see, my son, my sister, and her husband. That’s three.

C.A. Great. Here they are. Let me initial them and get them numbered. Now they are good for 60 days. So try to encourage them to call and make an appointment before then.

[Makes a note on a log, usually kept at the Front Desk. Ask the patient about who the gift certificates are for.  Try to become familiar with the family and friends of the patient. Make a note of whom they are. In the following days, you can ask about these people again, showing interest and helping to remind the patient to bring their family and friends in for a health check-up.]

Patient. I will do it. Thanks!

NOTES:
Print the gift certificate on card stock and cut with a paper cutter. Your local copy shop can do this for you or you can in your office. The better you make the coupon, the more valuable it will be to the patient.

Only hand the gift certificate out to the patient personally. Never let them lie around or on the desk. Treat them as $100 bills.

If you miss the patient on the 3rd visit, ask them on the subsequent visit. Usually the 3rd to the 6th visit is the best time. The patient should start to benefit, and still be excited about the services he or she is receiving.

(For customizable samples in Word format, active PM&A and Marketing Manager System clients and members can go to the MMS Members web site.)

SAMPLE FAMILY & FRIEND HEALTH CHECK UP GIFT CERTIFICATE FILLED OUT.

Much more of this information can be found in the Marketing Manager System computer program.
Also, look for more free tips and tools to grow your practice. Link. Link.