Marketing, generating sales, and doing the things you didn’t learn in chiropractic school are not every chiropractor’s favorite topic. However, it is necessary if you want to remain competitive in your local area. Below are a few actionable items you should be doing every day to build your book of patients.
1. Implement a digital marketing strategy.
You can just have a website. But, for your website to be successful and an asset to your business, it needs to have an authoritative presence in your local area. The website needs to be responsive to potential patients who visit your site. Your site should include pages with everything you, as a chiropractor, help treat.
In the digital age, the business owner who has a solid online presence will win a majority of the business. To increase your online presence, you’ll need website visitors (aka. website traffic). The majority of chiropractors in the U.S. use a few main sources of web traffic.
The following are the most common ones:
- Google Advertising
- Facebook Advertising
- YouTube Videos
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Online advertising is always a good option, but SEO is one of the best traffic sources you can get if you don’t have an advertising budget. Namely because it’s “free traffic” and once you rank for the chiropractic keywords in your local area. We wrote an article explaining the benefits of utilizing a chiropractor’s SEO strategy.
2. Implement a monthly and new patient program.
As a chiropractor, you should consider giving your potential patients options when signing up for your services. An example of a monthly patient program could be allowing a potential patient to visit as many times as they want.
Set a price according to your estimated time per visit so you don’t spread yourself too thin while remaining profitable. The monthly program includes a one-time-only new patient special such as a discount for the first appointment or a free massage with a monthly sign-up.
Many people, unfortunately, do not understand the benefits of chiropractic care. If you offer these options with a new patient visit and provide quality chiropractic care, more people will signup for your monthly program.
3. Make your schedule flexible.
Have an understanding of your business hours and the amount of traffic per hour. Study this over time. At the same time, ask yourself, are you a straight 8 to 5 clinic, or do your hours vary? Having a flexible schedule will suit a variety of patient availability and increase your bottom line.
4. Print Advertising.
Print advertising does not require your business to spend a fortune to get noticed in your local area. Even in the digital age, some people still read their local newspapers. In your print ad, offer your new patient specials to get more people in the door (people love discounts!).
Your phone might not start ringing on day one, but when that time comes to look for a new chiropractor, you will be on their mind because of your efforts.
5. Network, Network, Network.
As your brand awareness increases, it requires outside-the-box thinking. Visit your local chamber of commerce events. All of these events run by a chamber of commerce have small business owners across your local area looking to grow their business in some way, just like you.
Another successful networking idea is to get involved in a networking organization like Letip (say, Instinct Marketing sent you). The organization is great because everyone is obligated to pass new leads to fellow business owners every month.
Getting to know your local primary care physicians, physical therapists, and gyms in your area can always benefit your clinic. Car accident injury lawyers could also be a good source of referrals for your chiropractic clinic.
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