Real Marketing from the Experts

Real Marketing from the Experts

Michelle Geller	Dr. C. J. Mertz
MGV Marketing, Inc	Team WLP
William D. Esteb	Dr. Mark Sanna
Patient Media	Breakthrough Coaching
Dr.Daniel T. Drubin	Dr. Timothy J. Gay
ProPractice Partners	Ultimate Practice
Dr. Mark Studin	Dr. Eric Plasker
CMCS Management	The Family Practice

 

 

We’ve gathered eight top experts in the Chiropractic field, just for you, to provide you with fundamental methods of marketing that can be integrated right now, on a shoe string, and keep your practice thriving years into the future.

 

 

The most cost effective way to attract new patients is through relationship building. Relationship building costs virtually nothing and is simple! My analogy is, if the doctor wanted to become the mayor of his/her town, what would be the best way to become known? The answer is to meet as many people as possible.

One of the easiest ways to attain this goal is for the chiropractor to go out into the community and offer to do educational workshops in schools, corporations and organizations on health, wellness and safety topics, as part of his/her community awareness program. That doctor will become the most well-known very quickly. Especially in this economy, employees in the workplace should be educated to stay healthy and be as productive as possible.

This is a proven way to attract new patients into any practice! There is no cost. All that is involved is putting aside consistent time each week to make the calls. Michelle can be reached at 1-561-392-5206, by visiting her website at www.mgvmarketing.com or by emailing her at  [email protected].

The biggest marketing problem for chiropractors these days is the inclination to cut back and turn inward when things tighten up, often considering patient education as a needless luxury. Simply put, getting new patients is about effectively telling the chiropractic story to as many people as possible. Patient Media helps chiropractors communicate chiropractic clearly, concisely and persuasively with state-of-the-art, visually-based patient education resources, informative videos, report documents and reactivation tools. What makes Patient Media unique is that we help chiropractors see their practices and their internal and external marketing procedures from a patient’s point of view. We offer free blog posts at www.patientmedia.com, Monday Morning Motivation, magazine articles, books and audio recordings to help chiropractors understand today’s patients, focus their communications and stay on message.

For more information, call 1-800-486-2337, visit www.patientmedia.com, or email [email protected].

 

The number one challenge that practitioners in the market place appear to be experiencing is in the area of patient retention. At ProPractice Partners, we work with our clients on the quality of their communication. We know that the quality of patient compliance can be directly related to the quality of communication. The more the doctor is prepared to “give direction, and hold the patient accountable,” the more the patient connects with the doctor.

Here are 4 strategies that, when applied properly, will increase patient compliance:

1. Work diligently at the end of the new patients’ first visits, to have them return for the results of their tests with a spouse or significant other. Remember, any time that you speak with only one member of the family, 50% of the time you have the decision maker with you and the other 50% of the time the decision maker is at home. Patient compliance is always improved when the patient’s partner is 100% behind the doctor’s recommendations.

2. When you provide patient recommendations, consider the following…the patient only hears the lowest number of visits that your recommend as you present your program of care. Make certain that you and the patient are clear about what it is going to take to maximize results during their experience at your office.

3. Patient education increases patient compliance! Our clients provide their patients with an entire series of patient education programs. These programs are designed to educate and motivate the patients as the doctor builds value about the benefits of chiropractic care as a lifestyle choice. The more time and energy the doctor invests into patient education, the more the patients will follow through with their care and the more referrals that will be generated.

4. Make sure that the patient always has something to look forward to. If the patient is properly prepared, whether it is for their next re-examination, an exercise program, or nutritional support, the patient will be more compliant.

If you incorporate these 4 essential patient protocols into your office, your compliance will increase as will the patient’s response to care.

For more information, call 1-520-575-0207 or visit www.ProPracticePartners.com.

 

Get out of your office and introduce or re-introduce yourself to the community by visiting one shopkeeper at a time. It is a numbers game and the goal is to double the people who know you, not the number of people you know…. It is that simple. Don’t forget to write them thank-you letters after you return to your office, adding your business card so they are reminded of whom you are and where you practice.

As for what CMCS Management does, we help guide doctors through a process of becoming the best-of-the-best through information provided or recommended and also work with you on how to approach a patient from a triage perspective. We then share with you how to look as great on paper as the consummate professional you really are. In the medical-legal world, the written word carries weight and all else is non-admissible rhetoric. Once that is accomplished, we give you a system to get the lawyers to come running after you because, the second you ask for a referral, the game is over and you have lost. The lawyer has to understand that you are the solution to their cases in an honest and ethical environment and that is the easiest part, once you have created an infrastructure of clinical excellence.

Dr. Studin can be reached at 1-631-786-4253 or visit www.TeachChiros.com.

 

The biggest problem most chiropractors face is the inability to produce “overlapping” in their marketing efforts. New patients come from one of four actions: Energy on the inside, energy on the outside, money on the inside or money on the outside of your practice. Increasing new patients is always the result of proper overlapping of all four marketing actions organized in six to eight week programs. This process is known in WLP as periodization.

The solution has five phases. Phase One is to always create a personal environment in your belief which builds upon your love, passion and energy to serve. Phase Two is to develop a budget (up to 10% of your monthly gross collections), so that you can determine those marketing actions that best serve the next level of growth for your practice. Phase Three is to organize a six to eight week period of overlapping marketing that includes daily, weekly and monthly actions. For Example: hand out five referral packets per day, schedule six awesome weekly titled workshops, place a monthly ad in the newspaper and schedule three screenings over six weeks. The fourth phase is hiring or training a Chiropractic Assistant with passion and skill to partner with you and turn your marketing campaign into practice success. The final phase is to carefully track your results so that you can improve as you prepare your next marketing periodization.

Chiropractic works, we just need to get the message out loud and clear; let’s make it happen!

Dr. Mertz can be reached at 1-512-347-1895 for further explanation of marketing periodization.

 

Roll the Video! Online communications are changing. Chiropractors are now sharing information about their practices using podcasts, online video and, now, live video streaming. With the web evolving to include these richer media channels, the savvy marketer must learn how to listen, understand and use the same media. Broadband penetration is 70% in the US, making streaming video a “must” marketing tool for your practice. One hundred twenty-three million Americans watch at least one video a month, and three-quarters tell a friend about one. Video provides you with an enormous opportunity to engage, educate and entertain (yes, entertain) your patients: the “Three E’s” of successful marketing. Chiropractors are producing specialized videos to help their patients get the most from their chiropractic experience. These video messages include everything from virtual tours of the practice, welcome messages from the doctor, new patient orientation sessions and even customized home exercise programs, all streamed over your practice’s website.

For more information, visit www.mybreakthrough.com or phone 1-800-7-ADVICE (1-800-723-8423).

 

The single biggest barrier that is ongoing in practice is to stay motivated and not get discouraged in the marketplace.

There is a lot of competition in health care and, with all of the marketing trends changing, many doctors will start a program and become disheartened if there are no immediate results.

Speaking engagements, screenings, and networking, from an overhead stand point, are the most economical ways to get new patients. Many doctors have an inability to go outside of their offices and communicate the chiropractic message in a sharing—not selling—way.

Along with thinking and doing, taking an action step is what is needed in any marketing endeavor. It is extremely important to keep the right attitude to accomplish the most in your practice. Selling the public on your definition of chiropractic is done only by creating reasons for patients to participate in their health care. Buying motives are more important then selling motives. The public has a what’s-in-it-for-me-attitude towards everything. Give information away—not services—and remember that negativity is a misalignment from achieving your goal.

Dr. Gay can be reached at 1-866-797-8366, or [email protected].

 

Implement a Healthy Generations Campaign in your practice and begin attracting the families of the people that are already coming in. This includes the traditional family members such as the moms, dads, children and grandparents as well as the inner circle families of your patients, which includes their friends, co-workers and community relationships. Put up a Generations Board with pictures of any traditional or inner circle families who are under your care. When you do this, instead of getting one new patient at a time, you will begin to get 5, 10 and 15 new patients at a time. I know this may sound too simple, but that is the brilliance of it. Focus your report of findings, daily visit procedures and marketing efforts to produce these types of results and you will experience substantial growth with minimal to no expenses, even in this crazy economy.

Dr. Plasker can be reached at 1-866-532-3327 or visit www.thefamilypractice.net.