Issue 10 - August 2003

Quick Marketing Tips

Missed opportunities?
You may be missing anywhere from 100-150 referral opportunities a month! Here are some strategies you can use to turn all of your potential referrals into lifetime care opportunities:

• Be prepared. Place fresh marketing materials and brochures in high-visibility areas such as exam rooms, the reception area and the front desk.

• Explain innate intelligence. Use mind-body posters and props to illustrate innate intelligence and transition your patients from symptomatic to wellness care.

• Market to new residents. Obtain mailing lists from utility companies, Welcome Wagon and other organizations.

• Contact new mothers. Check the birth announcement section of your newspaper and mail a congratulatory letter and a discount offer. Conduct “Mother’s Morning Out” health talks.

• Conduct relationship marketing. Partner with other holistic providers to coordinate health fairs or develop a discount health card for the public that is good for services at your office and others. Offer a 20 percent discount to employees of key corporations and organizations.

• Alternate external and internal marketing plans each month. Pay attention to the news and tie it into chiropractic with stress relief clinics, backpack safety promotions, vaccination education, alternatives to hormone therapy and other areas.
— Eric Plasker, DC
The Family Practice

Patient numbers go through the roof
Host a Balloon Referral Day to increase referrals and talk to patients. The day before the event, buy balloons, helium and inexpensive prizes to give away. Write the name of each gift on a small piece of paper to put it inside the balloon. Good prize ideas are t-shirts, movie passes, water bottles and similar items.

Announce Balloon Day on a colorful poster in the reception area listing how to win a prize, such as: “Do you know someone who could benefit from chiropractic care? Make a referral and pull down a balloon to win a prize!”

When patients claim their prizes, tell them you will mail literature and a gift certificate for chiropractic care on their behalf. Be sure to get the referral’s name, address and phone number. Ask referring patients to write their name and address on the corner of the envelope, since the gift certificate and literature is being sent on their behalf. This ensures the referral will open the letter and makes them more likely to come in.

Your patients will feel good about helping you, enjoy the fun of their prizes, and you gain a new stream of potential new patients.
— David Singer, DC
David Singer Enterprises Inc.

Do you have a marketing idea you want to share? Was your most recent marketing attempt a smashing success? Share it with us!

Send your ideas to tmcquilken@chiroeco.com and watch this space to see if yours was chosen!