AN OVERVIEW OF MARKETING AND PRACTICE BUILDING FOR CHIROPRACTORS
Chiropractic Marketing and Practice Management
Chiropractors generally seem to have a better understanding of how to market their practices than the acupuncturists, massage therapists, and psychotherapists. My experience has been that chiropractors tend to treat their practice more like a business, which means that they make marketing more of a priority.
With that said, there are still many chiropractors who are currently struggling to build and market a private practice. Many chiropractors are concerned that the economy is going to destroy their chances for a successful practice.
I have also worked with chiropractors who are still trying to use a lot of outdated and expensive marketing approaches and coaching programs to build their practices. One of my coaching clients was spending $20,000 a year on a well-known practice-building program until he came across my Dream Practice website where he learned that he could implement a much more cutting-edge approach at a fraction of the cost.
As a chiropractor, you don’t need to spend $20k on some fancy coaching system to build your practice. Many of these approaches use hard-selling, aggressive and outdated approaches, like doing free evaluations and then making the patient feel like they’re an absolute fool if they don’t commit to a long-term and expensive treatment process.
The chiropractors that I work with are committed to the path of conscious entrepreneurship. They are not interested in aggressive sales tactics, unnecessarily freqent and lengthy treatment plans, or coercing their patients into care they really don’t need. If practiced with a certain intention, chiropractic can be a tool that shifts people’s consciousness as much as it treats subluxations and improves pain disorders.
The chiropractors who are committed to this intention tend to do very well using the Dream Practice coaching system. My approach focuses on a few key principles:
- Identifying your unique purpose in the services you offer– Most chiropractors don’t have any compelling and unique attributes that distinguish them from their competitors. This is the foundation to all marketing– and when it’s not in place, whatever you do to promote your work will be much less effective than you’d like it to be. To help with this, I recommend picking up a copy of my new book The Purpose Principle at http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/purpose
- Utlizing online technology– Your chiropractic website can be the most powerful marketin asset for your practice, but only if it is set up right. Your website should be consistently generating new patients and helping you to retain current patients more effectively. You can learn more about my web package at http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/webpackage
- Transcending symptomatic care– Many chiropractors are perceived as a sort of mechanic for the body; when a body part is damaged, go to the chiropractor to get it fixed. My feeling is that many chiropractors are longing to offer something more profound and meaningful in their work, but they aren’t sure how to go about this. This kind of chiropractor feels empty spending 5 minutes with a patient, giving them a quick adjustment, and sending them out the door, only to have them come back 2 days later when their spine goes out again. For this chiropractor, success isn’t defined by how much money they make or by how many patients they can cram in the schedule for the week; it is defined by the degree to which they can help their patients make authentic and long-term changes that deeply impact their quality of life.
- Creating long-term therapeutic relationships that are based on the real-life evolution of the patient, not on maintaining care just because… that’s what you do when you see a chiropractor.
My main goal in working with chiropractors who want to become conscious entrepreneurs is to help them:
- clarify their USP (unique selling proposition)
- establish a very strong online presence
- create meaningful relationships with their patients through effective education
- generate a powerful word of mouth marketing campaign
- create diverse income streams within the practice
- leverage their time better so they have a life outside their work
- be perceived as the most credible expert in their local area
Once all of these objectives are implemented properly, I have witnessed many chiropractors build primarily cash-based practices– even in areas where everyone else is relying on insurance. It is possible, but it takes a lot of clarity, creativity, honesty, and strong education/communication skills.
You can learn more about the coaching services I offer at:
http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/personalcoaching
and my most comprehensive coaching package:
http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/coachingclub.html
All the best,
Kevin Doherty, L.Ac., MS
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