New patients, no cost
By John Hayes Jr., DC

Finding new patients is a hard and often expensive part of marketing. But, it doesn’t have to be.

You can collect cost-free information on prospective patients. Your only expense is time.

Who is a prospective patient? It is anyone who expresses an interest in your practice. One way to define “prospect” is anyone who is not a patient. This can be anyone who calls your office, sends an e-mail, attends a workshop, or is referred by a friend.

Think about the many ways people who are not your patients express interest or curiosity about your practice. For example:

• People stop by your office and ask what your practice is about;
• Strangers you meet at a party ask what you do; and
• Audience members talk with you after a presentation.

These are all opportunities to gather a new list of clients for free. Everyone has these opportunities, but, unfortunately, too few take advantage of them. They let the opportunities slip by.

What is needed is a system to collect potential patient information:

1. Develop a database. This can be an elaborate database (such as one created using Microsoft Access), or a simple one, such as a card file. (Although not strictly a database, Microsoft’s spreadsheet Excel works well, too.)

2. Decide on the data to be collected. At a minimum, you will need the person’s name, address, telephone number (if possible), and e-mail address. It is also recommended you make a note of when and under what circumstances contact with the individual was made, such as “Met John Doe at ABC Health Screening on June 15, 2007.”

3. Train your staff to collect the information. Information not captured is a lost marketing opportunity. Everyone in your office needs to learn to capture prospective patient information, even if they only write it on a sticky note.

4. Assign data entry to one individual. Entering data into the database daily is best, but at a minimum, assign accountability for data entry to one individual and make sure it is done at the interval assigned. All database entries must be completed prior to your monthly marketing endeavor.

5. Implement a process to use the data. Consider the best way to follow up with each prospect — a telephone call, e-mail, or direct mail. You will probably use all three. The important thing is you develop a system and stick to it. For example: Assign an individual to follow up with a contact within 48 hours with a telephone call. Then, follow up the telephone call with an e-mail and/or mailing of your practice brochure and information on chiropractic.

Finally, follow up the mailing with another phone call to schedule.

Recommended: Patient and prospect phone calls should be handled by one person. The front-desk person is often best at this. 

If you use a system to collect information on prospects, by the end of the year you will have a significant number of potential (and new) patients in your files — and the marketing wouldn’t have cost you anything.

The real key, though, is to work this system daily. You will be rewarded with a “fat” database of new patients.

John Hayes Jr., DC, founder of Perfect Practice Web, is an experienced practitioner who actively works in the chiropractic, medical, dental, and physical therapy communities. He can be reached by phone at 781-659-7989, by e-mail at info@PerfectPracticeWeb.com, or through the Web site www.perfectpracticeweb.com.