New Practice Marketing .. found on webpage: http://www.chiro.org/newDCs by: John Whitney, DC Over the past year you have been presented with the process of locating a place to practice, after graduation. Be your choice, Associateship, Purchase, Sublease space, or Scratch-Start, you are now faced with the familiar refrain, "where will the new patients come from?" All new patients come to you as the result of some form of "marketing". Marketing has a very broad definition and includes referrals. From established clients-patients to frank advertising; it is all marketing. In your case you will be thinking of external marketing and internal marketing. These two definitions have fuzzy borders but generally one tends to think that internal marketing has to do with marketing activities originating with or confined to your present patients of record. An example of internal marketing would be you doing health carte classes for your present patients and urging these patients to refer their friends and acquaintances. Authorities in this field say that approximately 63% of your new patients will come from present patients of record. The best source of new patients is from current patients. External marketing examples are, direct mail, telemarketing, Yellow Page, mall screenings, and newspaper ads. Almost any marketing will have some positive effects; at this point you need to know what works best, for the least amount of money. One of the great benefits of purchasing a practice is that you can do a lot of internal marketing for cheap as opposed to external marketing which is often costly. when using external marketing expect to have costs of approximately $200 per patient. My friend Roland Ashby tells me he can reduce that cost to $98 per patients. I don't doubt that he could do that but it is uncommon. In order to approach this whole business of marketing a chiropractic practice you need a plan- "a marketing plan". Too many newbies spend all of their families money just getting into practice and give little thought or budget to how they will promote or market the practice. It is conventional wisdom among new graduates to believe that placing an ad in the local newspaper and sending opening announcements to the neighborhood will start their phones ringing. Naivete is charming in children, deadly in an businessperson. A marketing plan really begins with a self assessment and an assessment of what you can offer your market. Who are you.? Why would someone call you and not the DC down the block? Can you offer any unique factors that are beneficial? Please don't answer by saying, "well I'm the only one around here that uses ABC technique", assuming that your technical abilities have anything to do with how busy you will be. THE PLAN When attempting to develop a marketing plan, the first order of business is to analyze your market; so that you understand, "who is out there"? The market segment you go after must be large enough in its totality, to support your efforts. You may want to develop a "women and children" practice. However you may have to be around for a while before your practice develops to the point where you can restrict yourself to that small niche. In the interim, you accept anyone who can fog a mirror. How many other people just like you are serving the same market (competition)? And yet another consideration: how well qualified are you to pursue the target market you've chosen? These questions are all part of the marketing analysis. It is a sad fact that most health-care marketing projects fail. They fail because the fundamentals are neglected. Too often there is a headlong rush to go out and "do something" to pump up a practice, without going through what has proven to be effective. Step #1: Analyze the population within your catchment area. That area is often described as a five mile circumference around your office. If you are in a rural or isolated area the catchment area is much larger. However you determine your catchment area you should get a demographic profile of the area. Obtain demographic profiles by zip code. Check the yellow pages under marketing or demographic information for a company who will provide this service. Many demographic companies have a "doctor package". This package provides all the basic information you require for marketing the practice. If you choose to seek out the information yourself you can go to the library and ask for help. If you are on-line with CompuServe go into American Demographics for the information. The information you seek about your demographic area generally is: #1. Projections: for your area, how many people will be moving in or out of your area over the next 3 years. #2. Income: detailed information about the income for your area, high to low. #3. Population by Age: the "median" age is not important to you. You need to know the percentage from <5 years old to 75+. #4. Race: to determine the possibility of ethnic marketing. #5. Housing: the percentage of owners and renters of condos, and homes. The number of renters, prices of homes, condos, cost of apartments, are all important. #6. Employment: type of employment by category. #7. "Lifestyle": this can be very significant category in and off itself. Often called "psychographics", it has to do with a very broad range of characteristics possessed by the population. Your competition, even those outside your discipline, e.g. PTs DOs, Acupuncturists who target the same market as you do, bears investigation. Describe in general and in detail what your "marketing objective" is. What are you trying to do, with and for, this group of people you have choosen as your market? Describe what you are trying to accomplish. By analyzing your demographics and psychographics you will know who you are dealing with. You must also know who you are and what you are capable of. Marketing Strategies and Tactics: The "strategy" is the all over plan; for example you may decide that it would be an excellent "strategy" to go after the elderly. "Tactics" are the activities you employ to carry out the strategy, e.g. giving discounts to people over a particular age or having a van pick up your patients. These are "tactics"; the actual action step. There are almost an infinite number of strategies to choose from. Some will appeal to you, and some won't. Generally speaking, this is where you must step out of your comfort zone and become a little more gonadal than your normal self. It is rare to meet a doctor who takes easily to marketing. Too many new DCs opt for "cream-puff marketing"; the kind that is so bland as to have no worth. Generally health care providers are only comfortable with what is classified as "public relations". There is nothing wrong with "public-relations" as a form of promotion except that it does little to increase your practice. It may increase your profile, but at this stage of your practice life you need new patients more than a lofty image. The image stuff comes a little later. Right now you need cash flow. When it comes to marketing there is one primary question to keep in mind: "what is the hard cost of bringing a new patient into the office and what will be my ROI", period. It all boils down to ROI, return on (marketing) investment. There will be a few surprises. It will become obvious that if you are in a competitive market your cost per new patient is rather high. How Effective? You have heard that "country music tells a story", well in marketing it's different. Numbers tell a story. Here are the common marketing numbers to keep. You should become as familiar with them as your telephone number. #1. Case Average Size: This is the gross number of dollars generated by a new patient during the first year in the practice. It does not include revenue generated by their personal referrals. Once you know what a new patient is worth to you, you can determine what you will spend generating more new patients. If a new patient brings in an average of $1200 per, in year one, how much can you afford to spend? If your overhead is 50% you could spend up to $500.00 per new patient (you won't get rich that way!) More appropriately, $50 to $200, should be considered. In order to determine your present case size, pull every tenth file from your last years new patient list and get an average dollar amount. Well run chiropractic offices collect approximately $1200 per new patient in the first year. #2 Old Dollars or New Dollars: Of all the money collected last year in your office, how many dollars came from new patients that year. If you are around 60% new dollars, that is about average. As you can see this number tells us something about your practice. For instance if the figure was 75% new dollars, it would appear that your retention was questionable (compliance) and that you run an acute care practice. If the new dollars were 40%, it would indicate high retention but perhaps a problem in acquiring new patients. Once again a random search of your files, coming to an average new/old dollars ratio is your route. #3. Response to Promotion: --"how did you happen to choose our office" Posed by the receptionist or physician will help you track where the new ones come from. This tracking is essential to determine (in the future) what marketing you will repeat due to acceptable ROI. What has worked best for other DCs? : Yellow Page advertising, Spinal Screenings, Patient Appreciation Days, Marketing to inactive files, Val Pac, Direct Mail Brochures, Community Health talks, Chiropractic Orientation (in house) talks, personalized coupon handouts, Back Schools for Industry, and several other less known methods. Marketing Chiropractic is a highly specialized endeavor. Amateurish, ill conceived planning and execution will not draw people. Dont even think of creating your own brochures, handouts, direct mail, Yellow Page ad, or any creative graphics or promotional text. You dont know what you are doing. It is tough enough for the professionals. Would you go to a graphic artist for an adjustment? Use what has proven to work. Keep away from goofy things like putting your name on supermarket receipts, placing an ad on the plastic cover of telephone books, putting your name on bus stop benches. You aspired and were trained to become a Chiropractor. You will discover that part of practice is the easy party. The business and marketing aspect of practice will occupy much of your waking moments. That is just the way things are. SAMPLE MARKETING PLANS FOR CHIROPRACTORS Sample Market Plan: Senior Citizens Objective: Generate 5 additional geriatric patients per month. Target: Seniors living in well-to-do retirement village 1 mile away. What they Want: Expertise, bedside manner, a practitioner others already trust. Who You Are: Chiropractor 0 Years in community, prolific author. Competitors: 5 chiropractors who receive some referrals from primary care MD's. None promote. How to Compete: Establish strong image in community as expert. Emphasize experience and my conservation approach. Budget: $1000. Strategy: Promote directly to this closely knit community. Give free seminars through their recreation and education program. Advertise in their newspaper. Raise awareness to generate particularly strong word-of-mouth often found in senior groups. Timing: Seminars every month on geriatric & wellness topics. Execution: Schedule seminar by Jan. 10 so Rec. Dept. can promote. Sample Market Plan: Gaining Referrals Objective: Within 12 months, 5 additional referrals per month from other practitioners. Target: Primary care medical doctors . What They Want: An expert they can refer to who will reflect well upon them, and someone they feel comfortable with. Who You Are: Chiropractor, 0 years experience. Competitors: 2 other Chiropractors -- low key. 3 Orthopedic Surgeons who court primary care MD's. How To Compete: Establish self as an expert. Don't compete for referrals against others since they don't seek referrals. Differentiate from Orthropods by emphasizing specialization in non-invasive and natural approach for quicker recovery and lower costs. Budget: $1000. Strategy: Publish quarterly newsletter on spinal info important to primary care MD's and DPMs. (Print establishes my credibility.) Follow up by phone to introduce myself and establish personal relationship. Emphasize he/she can call me with any questions or refer patients with confidence. Media, Copy, Commercial artist designs newsletter Graphics: masthead and layout. Format -- 11x 17" printed 2 sides, 1 color, & folded down to 8 1/2 x 11". Write newsletter articles about people and from the case establish a principle. Short articles best. Send cover letter with first copy to introduce newsletter. Timing: Publish Jan. 15, Apr. 15, Jul. 15, Oct. 15. Make follow-up calls 1 week after mailing. Execution: I write. Hire editor to assure top quality. Commercial artists lays out each issue. Quick printed. Office staff mails bulk rate. Sample Market Plan: Recalls Objective: Increase recalls by 35% within 6 months. Target: Existing patients. What They Want: To only return when they perceive there's a strong need. Who You Are: Chiropractor, urban area, 0 years experience. Competitors: Competing for recalls are other discretionary expenditures - and other DC's promoting their services. How to Compete: Inform patients of necessity for recall and risk to health if they don't return. Need for wellness. Budget: $0 Strategy: Take them psychologically out of market to shield them from alluring claims of other DC's by setting recall at time of last appointment. -- even if 6-12 months away. Position as a convenience to patient to set aside hard-to-get appointment. Times now. Confirm by postcard two weeks in advance. Reconfirm by phone the day before. If no show, send a letter emphasizing what may happen if patient doesn't come in. If no response, have front desk call with same message and ask for appointment. Repeat contacts until no longer profitable. Media, Copy, Postcards, phone calls, letters. Graphics: Timing: Start immediately. Execution: I write copy. Whitney Management Group to critique. Sample Marketing Plan Objective: Generate 20 new patients per month. Target: Families and those persons interested in wellness care. Initially I will accept all cases. What They Want: Expertise, bedside manner, a practitioner others already trust. Who am I: Wellness oriented chiropractic practitioner, 3 years associated with Cleveland Clinic, strong "natural health" advocate. Competitors: 3 other MD's practicing similar techniques in the area. One homeopath. How to Compete: Establish strong image in community. Give free seminars through organizations interested in health. Advertise in the yellow pages. Raise awareness to generate particularly strong word of mouth throughout. Timing: Monthly seminars on wellness. Execution: I perform seminars and meetings. Contact local organizations to arrange a presentation. *Community Seminars *Resident and New Resident Program *Networking the Neighborhood *Direct Mail *Industrial/Corporate Penetration *Weekly Health Care Class *Market to area Physicians *Newspaper Column *Network patients *Yellow Page ad *Special Days *Recall old patient Direct Mail Objective: To present myself to the community at large. Target: White collar families who show an interest in health care, people who frequent: *Local gyms and health clubs *Health food stores *Health organizations or support groups (Lung, Heart, etc......) What They Want: Information regarding health optimization and an incentive to begin care. Strategy: Send out mailer with a coupon for a free consultation. Timing: In the late spring or mid winter. Execution: *Obtain demographic information from library *Contact a designer *Contact a printer