How to maintain a personal touch while growing your chiropractic business

You’ve finally decided to take the leap—you’re going to grow your chiropractic business.

You’ve run the numbers, you’ve chosen the right space and you’re going to help so many more patients. But how can you do this while keeping a personal feel at the same time? You certainly don’t want to end up with an “institutional” feel after all the hard work you’ve done.

As you grow, you want to continue to make your patients feel special, keep that personal touch and incorporate this personal touch into appointments, correspondence and overall communication. You also need to make easy changes to your marketing and social media messaging to keep the local community engaged with your practice.

How to grow a chiropractic business and keep your patients engaged

“It is important to always separate your business hand from your service hand. A good, patient-focused chiropractor should never do ‘business’ work in between patient adjustments,” said Dan Roses, DC, owner of The Nest—Family, Pediatric, and Prenatal Chiropractic. “Instead, set aside separate time to make insurance calls, complete billing and finish any other operational tasks.

“This will allow you to concentrate 100% on patient care during adjusting hours and help you keep a clear head to make the perfect, specific chiropractic adjustment for each patient who walks through your door.”

Additionally, he said, find a coaching group in your area that can train you on effective office procedures. “As a chiropractor, adjusting patients is the easy part; the hard part is making sure you and your team know how to respond to every possible patient situation,” Roses said.

How do you make your patients continue to feel special?

“The answer is easy. Get to know your patients on a personal level. It takes hard work, but it’s worth it,” said Roses. “I pride myself in knowing and being able to memorize at least one personal thing about each one of my patients.”

The personal touch is just that: personal. Find the personal touch that works for you. “When I ask a patient how their son’s soccer game went or how that new job they started is going, it helps create a special bond between us and enhances their trust in me as a caretaker,” said Roses. “Most of the time, my patients are shocked I took the time to remember something they brought up to me months ago, and it shows I care.”

Roses also extends the personal touch to his practice’s professional business correspondence. “This can be as small as wishing them good luck on an upcoming event or simply giving them a restaurant recommendation while they are scheduling their next appointment. We also send handwritten thank-you notes to patients who refer other people to us,” he said. “Adding small personal touches in your patient interactions are little things that go a long way toward creating a sense of community and a culture of trust between you as the doctor, your team and the patient.”

Stay connected and get involved

“No matter how fast we grow, we make sure to stay connected to our local community by giving back or getting involved in local events,” Roses said.

“Without our community, there would be no growth to our practice, so we prioritize participating in events like the town street fair or Halloween trunk or treat. We also look for opportunities to partner with local businesses so we can provide perks to our patients such as free wellness workshops or discounts at local businesses.”

For example, Roses’ practice recently hosted a Teacher Appreciation Day for the Goddard School in nearby Parsippany, N.J., providing complimentary exams and adjustments to the teachers and staff.

Maximize your social presence

Roses recommends steering clear of the gimmicky deals and dramatic back- and neck-cracking videos that tend to permeate chiropractic marketing on social media. Stick to the real message of chiropractic, he advised.

“Forget about trying to go viral and stay true to the practice,” he said. “Use social media to positively influence and educate followers about the importance of chiropractic care, i.e., removing specific nerve interferences (subluxations) so the body’s nervous system can function the way it’s supposed to.”

“By staying authentic to the true chiropractic message … you will organically grow your practice by attracting more patients who feel a genuine connection to your message and see firsthand how you can be the solution to their issues.”

Roses also adds the personal touch with shout-outs to patients on social media, making them feel special by calling out their personal success stories and amazing reviews, and posting photos (with permission) of their newborns’ first adjustments while wearing the practice’s Nest-branded onesies.

Get growing

By committing yourself to being a patient-focused chiropractor as well as a strategic business owner, you will be able to actively grow your practice while maintaining the positive, patient-centered approach that fueled your success in the first place.