BACK TALK SYSTEMS, INC. 14998 W. 6th Avenue, Suite E-500 Golden, CO USA 80904-5025 USA 1/800/937-3113 CANADA 1/800/461-0100 UNITED KINGDOM 44(0)1202-534-986 AUSTRALIA 1/800-800-963 www.backtalksystems.com Team Tip #56 REACTIVATIONS - RECALL LETTERS (part 4) by Susan Hoy In our office, recall letters are sent without fail, on a monthly basis. We send cards to patients who we have not seen in over a month, and letters to patients who have gone three, six, twelve and twenty- four months without an adjustment. These cards and letters definitely generate reactivations. Often I will hear a patient say, "I got your letter so I knew it was time to make an appointment." Consistency is critical though, they should be sent every month. Additionally, there are certain times during the year that warrant a special letter like the one we send out in the fall. For instance, January is when everyone is thinking about health, exercise and diet. It is the perfect time to send a letter reminding patients to be more consistent with adjustments, to stay healthy. Include some exercise tips and diet information and suddenly your letter is not just a tactic to get patients back into your office, but it gives them valuable information that they can share with others! It then becomes not just a recall letter, but a service to your patients. There are several times during the year that you can send these service- oriented letters. Spring can be for gardening and yard work safety tips, summer for car and air travel, etc. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. As long as you are spending the money for postage, why not drop an office brochure into the letter, too. Everyone knows that chiropractors treat low backs but do they know about shoulders, arms, wrists, knees, feet, etc.? Our patients are continually getting letters from companies enticing them to spend money on their products. A simple recall letter from a chiropractor can be viewed in the same way. However, when the letter becomes informational and service-oriented and sent with the proper motives, those letters may actually be saved, shared with others, and yes, even be used as a reminder to "call my favorite chiropractor to make an appointment"! Do it from your heart, trust me, your patients will know the difference! Following are samples of recall/reactivation letters: THREE MONTH RECALL: Three months go by so quickly! Even though it seems like only yesterday that you were in our office, your spine knows differently. We understand how busy our patients get with work and family. It's very easy to let things like scheduling appointments slip through the cracks. Please don't let your health suffer because you are too busy! A spinal adjustment can help prevent many health problems later and it literally takes very little time to do. There aren't many things you can say that about. If you haven't returned for other reasons like insurance problems or dissatisfaction of any kind, please let us know. We pride ourselves on maintaining open communication with our patients. Your happiness and satisfaction comes first in our office. Please give us a call and let us know how you are doing. We would like to hear from you. SIX MONTH RECALL: We sending this six month reminder to make an appointment for an adjustment just in case you've been too busy to call. We can certainly understand how the hassles of every day life can weigh you down. That's why we wanted to remind you to call our office and get scheduled soon. Healthy spines make for healthy bodies. In today's world, you need to have all the advantages you can to stay healthy. Prevention is your best defense against illness and injury. Please call our office and let us know how you are doing. We would love to hear from you. ONE YEAR RECALL: Did you think we forgot about you? Well we haven't! A whole year has gone by since your last adjustment and we miss you. Moreover, you should be missing us by now! We're concerned that your health isn't all it could be without spinal adjustments. Just think, you could be less likely to get a cold this winter or hurt yourself at the gym if you get adjusted once every four to six weeks. A visit to our office just six times a year could make all the difference in your health. Just to update you a bit, in the past year we've accelerated the exercise and nutritional counseling aspect of our practice. Additionally, we accept now many other insurance programs. If you have questions about your coverage, please contact our office and speak to ________. In any case, just give us a call and let us know how you're doing! TWO YEAR RECALL: In reviewing our files, we noticed that it has been two years since your last visit. We hope you are doing well and staying healthy! Just to update you a bit, in the past two years we've really accelerated the exercise and nutritional counseling aspect of our practice. Getting healthy in today's society is hard enough on your own, staying healthy is even harder. That's why we're here to help. Additionally, we accept now many other insurance programs. If you have questions about your individual coverage, call and speak with _______. If you would like to return for care, or desire nutritional or exercise counseling, please call us. Remember, prevention is key to any health program. OPTIONAL FINAL PARAGRAPH ON ALL LETTERS: I have asked _______, our patient service specialist, to contact you within the next few weeks. I hope you don't mind, but I like to keep contact with our patients. Additionally, we would like to update our records with regard to possible new address, phone and insurance information. I look forward to hearing from you.