Issue 1 - January 2004

Team Tips by Susan Hoy
Don’t make marketing an accidental event

Marketing your clinic is a multi-faceted, on-going process that does not happen accidentally or sporadically. If you want your clinic to be successful, you must be consistent with your marketing strategies. Even the most seasoned practices must have a marketing plan that keeps the practice visible and growing.

Successful practices have marketing programs that include internal and external events, advertising and mailings. Practice growth should be every team member’s responsibility. Following are suggestions for marketing your practice both internally and externally:

• External advertising. Advertising one time does not create awareness. It takes nine impacts to stimulate an action. Target your advertising to your ideal patient and run a continual campaign to keep your name in front of your community.

• Visibility. Be active in your community in as many ways as possible. Join clubs, school activities, community events and sporting events. Be proactive by creating your own outside events such as health fairs, seminars and charity events.

• Extraordinary service. Part of your marketing plan should include providing extraordinary service to your patients. The best marketing begins in your office with the care you give your existing patients.

Make sure your care includes professional, courteous service administered by well-trained staff members. Additionally, be sure to add some special touches that will make your patients feel special like they are receiving extraordinary service. Ordinary service goes unnoticed and unmentioned.

• Special events. Make sure you plan six to eight special events throughout the year to create enthusiasm for your staff and patients. These events should include special plans for new patients.

• Mailings. Consistent marketing means keeping your name in front of your patients. Include a flier detailing an upcoming event or a pamphlet about chiropractic in all pieces of mail that leave your office. Create awareness of your special event by sending fliers to your inactive patients. Include local businesses such as area restaurants, theaters, salons, factories, attorneys and local physicians on your mailing list

• Newsletter. Send a bi-monthly newsletter to patients in your patient database. Your active patients may pick up the newsletter in your office but make sure your inactive patients receive it as well.

Also send newsletters to primary care physicians and attorneys. You might consider writing a specific primary care physician newsletter for local physicians.

• Practice brochure. Create a practice brochure that will entice potential patients to your office. Include your mission statement or purpose, information about you and your staff, facts about chiropractic, quotes from patients, pertinent information on your clinic, etc. Include these brochures in promotional mailings to physicians, attorneys, potential new patients and request your office staff to give them to patients to help in making referrals.

• Inside marketing. Internal marketing is the best way to get referrals from your existing patients. Nothing works better than to ask your patients to refer their friends and family. Every team member should be trained to know when to ask for a referral and how to ask. Develop scripting and practice it with your staff. Give each staff member a goal to ask one or two times a day for new business.

The bottom line is consistency. Do not create a marketing plan so ambitious that it cannot be completed consistently. Even a small amount of marketing done consistently is better than great marketing done sporadically.

Susan Hoy is an award-winning team trainer and consultant. She can be reached at 215-674-0130; suzzhoy@aol.com; or through her Web site at www.beefitup.net