The High Value of an Educated Practice Member
As a chiropractor, you understand the value and need for attracting new practice members. But what about all those people you are already serving? If you run a philosophically congruent office then you undoubtedly understand the need for chiropractic throughout life.
You’re doing that for your own family aren’t you?
So why are we so focused on bringing new people in instead of keeping the ones we have? 80 to 100 new people per month is great, but if you actually kept them, you would soon have no where to put them!
They Don’t Know What You Know!
We’ve all heard it said, “If they knew what you know, they’d do what you’d do.”
So why aren’t practice members doing what you do? It basically comes down to three reasons. We’ll handle the first and most important reason here and come back to the other two in coming weeks.
People coming into your office did not take 4 years of chiropractic college. Plain and simple, they do not know what you know. Nor should you ever expect them to reach that level.
However, there are key concepts that we should be communicating so that our people get it.
chiropractic is… was created as a result of my dissatisfaction with our utilization rates and the public and professional perception of what chiropractic really is. The guiding question for me was, “What are the core concepts that people need to really GET chiropractic and more importantly, be able to communicate it to others effectively?‘
I spent a year defining and refining what those core concepts were and developed a strategy to educate people in our offices and track those results.
I’ve laid that strategy out in an implementation manual that has received tons of great feedback from those using it their offices. Like any successful strategy it takes consistency and congruency.
Consistency
What did it take for you to get chiropractic? Did you really get it when it was first explained or did it take repetition and mentorship? Like any new idea, especially one that is contrary to one’s dominate belief systems, really understanding chiropractic takes repetition. It takes guidance and support and key concepts should be presented in a strategic order as new beliefs are being established. The manual examines this more fully, laying down the strategy and action steps.
Implementing change and new procedures can initially feel difficult or daunting, but to be congruent we have an obligation to educate the people in our offices. Consistency creates new habits to replace the old. How did it feel the last time you persevered and implemented a new healthy habit in your life? The same great benefits are true for your office.
Results = ROI
Astute business people calculate their Return on Investment (ROI) for all marketing activities. It’s a basic equation. Simply multiply the number of new practice members generated by an activity by your average case value and then divide that by the cost of the specific activity. The result is your ROI. Some would say an activity is successful if it provides a return of at least 2:1. From a business perspective, it makes sense that if you spend $1 and make $2, you should probably consider doing it again.
But what about the value of retaining practice members in your office? You’ve already spent time, energy and money on attracting them into the office. Wouldn’t it be a far more intelligent business decision that is philosophically congruent to invest time, energy and money on educating them on the value and need for lifetime care?
How much is it worth to you personally, professionally and financially to have practice members that understand vertebral subluxation and are able to communicate it as one person did recently on their 6th visit quiz found in the implementation manual?
The True Value of Education
The value of a practice member really getting chiropractic at this level is astronomical. The referrals of family and friends and the value of their lifetime care will far exceed any new practice member marketing activities you could attempt.
Are you ready to experience the personal satisfaction and decreased stress of running a successful practice that is not constantly scurrying for new people but instead focused on providing care to those that actually want and value your services?
What is the value of a practice member that stays for lifetime care? What about the value of each referral they send?
The value obviously far exceeds the minimal cost of doing things right in the first place.
You’ll be glad you did.
Steve Tullius, D.C., ACP
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