Investing in the Health of Your Practice

by William D. Esteb


“Do you know a good chiropractor?” she asked.
“I thought you had a chiropractor,” I replied.
“I do, but I’m afraid to go back,” she responded.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No, it’s just been a while and I don’t feel comfortable facing him,” she confessed.
“You’d rather take your chances with an entirely new chiropractor?”
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” she frowned.

How often does this scenario play out among those who belong to the files filling your trophy case of inactive patients?

Your most effective, most affordable marketing strategies start here, with the patients who are already in your practice, or those who were.

What’s a Patient Worth?

Join Columbia House and you can get any five DVDs for just 49 cents each. It seems like a crazy way to run a business, until you understand the Lifetime Value of a customer. Columbia House can afford to practically give away those five movies (and pay handsomely for the advertising that entices you) because of the profit they will derive over the length of your membership.

What is the Lifetime Value of a patient in your practice? And, while you’re computing that, how much profit do you make on each patient visit?

When you know these figures, you’ll realize that either you need to lower your overhead, or that you can afford to unleash the ideas that follow and open the floodgates to more new patients!

Where New Patients Come From

New patients are either friends or strangers. Friends come in two “flavors,” those you have served before (reactivations), and those who have been prequalified by someone you know (referrals). Strangers are more difficult and expensive to reach (advertising) and fall outside the scope of the internal marketing strategies explored here.

Armed with the knowledge of where your new patients come from, your Lifetime Value computation, and your cost to deliver an adjustment, you’re ready to create a marketing plan appropriate for your practice.

Sitting on a Gold Mine

Overlooked by many is a group of potential patients you may want to cultivate. These people are already familiar with chiropractic, know that chiropractic is effective, and know where your office is. They are your inactive patients. Many practitioners, bent on finding new spines to conquer, neglect this receptive, easy-to-reach market.

Because most people, after their first exposure to chiropractic rarely embrace it as a way of life, they are likely to discontinue care once they feel better. So, without the retraining of supportive muscles and ligaments, they are predisposed to a relapse. Are they likely to return to your office to resume their care, or like my friend who was afraid to face her old chiropractor, look for a new one?

Here Comes the Math!

If the Lifetime Value of a patient is, say, $800, and it costs you $32 to deliver an adjustment, and you collect an average of $35 per adjustment, you receive a profit of $3 per adjustment. And, if you see 135 patients per week (540 visits per month), with a $3 profit on each, you’ll have a monthly profit of $1620. This profit allows you to reinvest in your practice — in everything from new equipment to new patient development. Plan on setting aside 10% of your profit each month for marketing. (If you’re relatively new in practice, devote every penny you can to marketing.)

What could you do with $162 each month to market your practice to those chiropractic friends of yours not actively under care? Lots!

As Simple as A-B-C

If you’re like many chiropractors who have been in practice for some time, you have some inactive patients that, well, you hope you never see again. Certainly, you don’t want to waste your precious $162 each month on them!

So first, code your database. Most practice software programs give you a sortable field you can use to code each patient. Here’s a simple coding:

“A” patients. These are those great inactive patients you’d most like to have back under active care. Your plan is to eventually have your entire practice filled with folks like these!

“B” patients. These are your “borderline” patients. Maybe they came in because of a car accident or a work-related injury, but they just didn’t understand the potential of chiropractic care.

“C” patients. These are those rare patients you hope never to “see” again. They didn’t pay their bills, follow your recommendations, or they displayed personality traits that made them less than ideal to serve.

Developing Your Game Plan

With a realistic budget and your prospects coded, you’re ready to create a plan to spend your profit marketing your practice wisely. Spend the most on your “A” patients and don’t waste your resources on the “C” patients:

Emails. Get permission to send occasional “health tips” to interested patients. Encourage your patients to forward these tips to friends, coworkers and family members.

Postcards. This is a fast and inexpensive way to maintain “top-of-mind-awareness” with your inactive patient base. “How’s the golf game going?” “We are thinking about you, hope all is well.” Keep your message short, simple and nonclinical.

Letters. Announce staff changes, the latest research findings or other office announcements. At least send a New Year’s resolution letter in early January reminding them to stop in for an adjustment before embarking on any fitness or slimming programs.

Birthday Cards. This is the one time each year that patients are most likely to think about their health. Send a birthday greeting. As we get older, the number of greeting cards we receive diminishes, so getting one can become a high-impact reminder.

Patient Newsletter. A more ambitious quarterly newsletter with health tips can supplement your other mailings. Depending upon your budget, time resources or writing talents, publish your own, or work with a company that can do it for you.

Office events. Throughout the year, consider holding events that can stimulate the reactivation of your inactive patient trophy case. Kid’s Day events, community fun runs, food and coat drives are more interesting than the tired “Patient Appreciation Day.”

Focus Groups. Periodically invite four or five patients to lunch. It’s a great way to thank active patients for their commitment. Plus, you can uncover ways to serve your patients better. You’ll get lots of ideas to improve your practice for the price of a few lunches.

Marketing your practice is the best investment you can make. It can produce a higher return than the stock market, tax-free municipal bonds and, most definitely, a savings account! Like investing in one’s health, marketing doesn’t cost, it pays!

Buy the book
Connecting the Dots
Published in 2005
240 Pages
US $24.95

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