His philosophy makes sense. With multiple incomes, you can make more money, but also, you can stabilize your income stream by drawing from many sources. If one stream hits a low streak, that's okay, because the other streams are still there to keep you stable.
Let's take that same philosophy and apply it to your patient streams. Hopefully, you have a good number of marketing programs out there working for you. A good marketing program always will include a variety of sources like a newsletter, postcard, newspaper, website... etc. By now, you should have a pretty good idea what type of marketing has drawn-in most of your new patients since the first of the year.
The benefits in creating multiple sources of new patients are, if any of them ever stop working, you have the others to rely on. Let's look at an example:
Dr. X has an infomercial on cable access. The cable access station is right between 2 of the major networks and draws about 7-9 new patients a month. This is Dr. X's greatest source (second to referrals) of new patients.
Well, in their infinite wisdom, the cable company moves the cable access station from channel 4 to channel 75. This places it between HSN and Univision. This is a rarely clicked through section of channels.
Needless to say, Dr. X's infomercial patient stream dries up. A solid nine patients a month... GONE!
If that had been his only source of new patients, it would be a struggle for Dr. X to find replacements, and the first month or two after the switch, there would be some holes in the schedule.
Let's take another simple example with a more positive outcome. DR. Z, had patients from 4 sources. Total new patients were: 37 from Referrals, 25 from Postcard 1, 20 from Postcard 2, and 1 from the Yellow Pages.
With 4 streams, you can clearly see well-balanced sources of new patients from 3 sources, but on the fourth, the Yellow Pages, there is a clear ROI problem. Unless this was a high quality patient needing a lot of work, I'm sure this patient didn't cover the Yellow Pages bill.
With 2 other postcards working, the solution would be to add quantities of one of the other postcards and cut the Yellow Pages, or at the very least redesign the ad in hopes it will do better next time.
There are many advantages to having multiple streams of new patients. Make sure to diversify your marketing portfolio so when you end up with a "dog" it doesn't ruin your practice.
Did you know that only 5% of eligible Americans give blood? One blood donation can help save up to 3 lives. Donated blood has a shelf life of only 42 days. You can donate blood every two months. There is a 97% chance that someone you know will need a blood transfusion. (American Red Cross Quote) If you are not already regularly giving blood, I urge you to do so. Post these facts in your office or in a mail out letter to your patients. Your community and patients will respect your efforts to help those who are in need of blood donations.
So now you are ready to host a blood drive. That's great! You can contact the national directory for the American Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE LIFE or www.givelife.org. Once you set a date and time the American Red Cross should help you promote your event. They should be able to post minimal signage and make phone calls to previous donators in your area. Be sure to encourage your patients to donate as well. If you would like, you can offer incentives for patients who donate. If your patients have a friend or family member who wants to donate this would be a good time to introduce yourself to them. It will also help you to get to know the general public who show up to donate blood.
Once the date has been set, get ready to educate the blood donors. When I set a blood drive, I explained to the American Red Cross coordinators that I wanted the opportunity to give each donor a free spinal screening. I also held a drawing at the end of the week for Biofreeze, a free exam and set of x-rays (if necessary) to a few lucky donors. When a donor shows up to give blood, they sign in with the American Red Cross. At this time they can fill out a slip for your drawing as well. Information should include name, address, phone number and optional email address for monthly email newsletter. Another good piece of information to ask for on your drawing slip is, "do you have any questions for the doctor?" This gets the potential patient considering possibly getting help from you. It also gives you information to talk about if you decide to make a follow up call.
After they have donated blood, they are required by the American Red Cross to stick around for about 10 minutes to make sure there are no problems such as excessive hemorrhaging. This is a great chance for you to thank them for coming out and talk to them about chiropractic care. Be sure to provide plenty of take home information about your practice. With any event I cannot emphasis enough how important it is to follow up on potential patient leads. Although you want to make sure you do not excessively bother people. Following up on a lead means either sending a letter or phone call stating, "It was nice to meet you and please let us know if we can help you or anyone you know in anyway." You can also leave a magnet and two business cards in the letter. People will respect your professionalism if you do not badger them. You would be surprised how many people will call even six months to a year later to make an appointment.
This event should be very successful for you and your practice. We have done very well in the past. Even some of the American Red Cross employees have even started care in our office!
Once you host a successful blood drive you should consider hosting blood drives on a regular basis. This will make the community more aware of when and where they can donate blood. At the same time it generates positive exposure for your practice. Again another win, win, win situation for you, your patients and those in need of blood donated to the American Red Cross.
Both James Erickson & Jeremy Zongker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
James Erickson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dental Practice, Attracting Mate and Dental Practice. James Erickson is the President of which gives Dentists a resource for turn-key dental marketing programs and dental practice marketing education inclu. James Erickson's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
Jeremy Zongker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Finances and Credit Cards. Provided by Marshall Chiropractic and Wellness Center a certified .. Jeremy Zongker's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.