Everything is Marketing and Marketing is Everything
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Nancy Singleton
In your chiropractic office, marketing is the bread and butter of your business, so it should always be a top priority. Without marketing, you won’t connect with potential patients and eventually your business may fail! Unfortunately, even the most effective services and products may not survive long without sufficient marketing.
Before you go out and spend money on any marketing, though, please make sure that you realize “everything is marketing, and marketing is everything!” What does that mean? It means that everything that happens inside your office should be considered marketing because it will affect whether prospective patients become patients, and whether existing patients continue care.
Start with Your Staff: One of the most effective marketing strategies is to hire an incredible team. Your staff members help set the tone of your practice and are most often the foundation of your patients’ first impressions. From the way they answer the phone or greet patients in person, to their attitude and appearance, your staff can make a huge impact. Make sure they greet each patient with a smile and address him or her by name because positive acknowledgement will make the patient feel welcome and comfortable in your office. Smiling while on the phone is just as important. It not only helps to keep your staff’s attitude positive, but believe it or not, patients can hear the smile through the phone. Also, encourage your staff to have a clean, put-together appearance. Wrinkled clothing and messy hair are not acceptable and may lead patients to believe your business is just as disorganized. Proper scripting for each patient interaction is also vital.
Your team needs to be enthusiastic, ambitious, and passionate about your clinic and its goals. If you and your staff generate an overall feeling of optimism and comfort, patients will be attracted to that. When posting a job opening, phrase the ad to emphasize that you’re searching for someone who is upbeat and motivated (no matter what the position may be). Hire for attitude, train for skills. Let your staff become part of your marketing effort!
Your Office Atmosphere Matters: Patients will not only be influenced by the friendliness and appearance of your staff, but also the atmosphere and appearance of your office. Is your office clean, organized, and inviting? Does it need some serious updating? The overall feel of your office may say more
^It means that everything that happens inside your office should be considered marketing because it will affect whether prospective patients become patients, and whether existing patients continue care. J Ï
to your patients than you know. This may take a little effort on your part, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to create a welcoming office. Start by repairing or replacing anything broken or tattered. Remove clutter and arrange furniture so that the area feels open and accessible. Then, update paint, lighting, and decorations as needed. From there,
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it’s all about maintaining. You can put your staff in charge of a regular cleaning schedule or hire a janitorial service to do the work. And please don’t forget sound and smell! You can really enhance the atmosphere in your office by playing soft music and ensuring a pleasant smell. In addition to that, what messages are being sent? Do you have brochures and posters that motivate and educate your patients?
Secret Shopper: You and your staff are in your office every day and see the same things. You may be walking by something that needs repair or sends the wrong message, yet you don’t even notice it. There may be things said or done that repel new patients rather than attract them. A great thing to do is to hire a “secret shopper” to come into your office and give you feedback on his or her experience.
Get Your Head in the Game: Please know that your thoughts and attitude affect your business and its marketing in a big way. Negative thoughts are like heavy stones dropped into a lake. Their impact starts in the center and ripples outward into wider circles. Your negative thoughts may build upon each other until you become a virtual breeding ground of “I can’t” and/or “I won’t.” These thoughts may block you from building your business into a success! That is why it is so important to take advantage of the incredible, life-changing power of your thoughts. Take negative words out of your vocabulary and replace them with positive ones! A great way to do this is to have a team huddle five minutes before you see patients each day. Take turns sharing positive thoughts. Remind your staff that when they think and act positively, your office prospers.
External Marketing: External marketing, such as newspaper, television, online ads, mailers, trade shows, and guerilla marketing can all work, but in order to have the best return on investment for any of these, it is imperative to pay attention to all of the details inside of your office. The importance of this cannot be stressed too much. When you pay attention to the details internally, such as having the right staff, having a nice atmosphere in your office, and keeping everything positive and upbeat, your office will flourish and you will help more people in your community.
The more people you help, the more fulfilled you will be in your practice. So don’t forget, “everything is marketing and marketing is everything!”
â Nancy Singleton is a 1989 graduate of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic Assisting College. She has been consulting and helping doctors groyv their practices for more than 20 years. Along with her husband, Dr. Todd Singleton, she oversees their busy private practice. In addition to that, they teach chiropractors how to implement multiple cash systems into existing practices. For more information to [email protected] or visit www. DoctorsCashSeminar. com.
