In the late spring, summer and fall months, people become more active. Hand out water bottles with your practice logo and contact information at health clubs and local beaches.
— Marc Swerdlick, DC

If you include acupuncture in your practice, try taping an actual half-inch needle to your business card. Give it to patients to keep in their wallet and pull out whenever conversations with friends turn to health topics.
— John Amaro, DC

Call patients on their birthdays. Many will mention that they have been meaning to call and will schedule an appointment, as well as be touched that you thought of them.
— Jeffery Byrne, DC

Ask yourself how you would react to any marketing campaign if you were a potential patient. Make sure your marketing portrays your practice the way you want it to be seen.
— Terry Weyman, DC

A relaxation center can be a great addition to your office. Dry hydro massagers and other relaxation and massage equipment in a self-care facility can be used by both patients and the general public.
— Paul Trentalange, DC

Your practice is a business. If you want it to grow, you have to market it. Begin with understanding the needs of your patients and designing your practice around meeting those needs.
— Linda Segall

You may be missing 100-150 referral opportunities per month. To reach those potential referrals, place fresh materials in highly visible places, market to new residents, contact new mothers and participate in health fairs.
— Eric Plasker, DC

Yellow Page advertising is the only place where you and your competitors are side by side and available for consumer comparison. Use headlines to highlight what makes you different and steer away from generic phrases or statements such as “We're the best.”
— Claudio Gormaz

When you consistently use research as a patient-education tool, your patients become walking, talking billboards for chiropractic care. Have referral kits ready to go when a patient indicates he or she might know someone who would benefit from chiropractic.
— Len Schwartz, DC

Casual conversations often turn into curiosity about chiropractic care. In addition to answering questions, ask about specific problems the person may be having. This shows you care and will often result in a scheduled appointment.
— Harvey Schwartz, DC

To make your marketing efforts pay off, do the basics and do them consistently with the right attitude.
— Patricia Hospy, DC

Use WIIFM when designing your ad — What's In It For Me. Target your market, understand its desires and present the benefits of using your services.
— Claudio Gormaz

When you adjust a patient, you have a captive audience. Turn this time into a patient-education opportunity. Talk about subluxations and the problems they cause and detail how your care is going to fix the problem.
— Peter Fernandez, DC

Chiropractic should be an important part of keeping child athletes healthy. Educate the children; work with parents and coaches; and give talks on the topic of “Children, athletics and chiropractic” to establish yourself as an expert in this area.
— Drs. Theresa and Stuart Warner

Use demographics — the statistical characteristics of given populations — when designing your marketing campaign. This will help you get the most for your time and money.
— Deborah Peterson, John Healy and Stephen Bowles, DC

The telephone can be a very effective referral-stimulating tool. Make thank-you calls to all patients who refer and make sure that all patients, whether they refer or not, receive at least one personal phone call from you per year.
— Peter Fernandez, DC

The first principle in the quest for quality is the recognition that quality is what the patient perceives it to be — not what you say it is.
— Bob Levoy

Take your staff on a field trip around your office. Look for things that are worn, out-of-date, dusty, etc. Try to see the practice through the eyes of your patients and make sure it looks professional and inviting.
— William Esteb

Take your patients' pulse — Hold focus groups to find out what they like, don't like or would change about you and your practice.
— Bob Levoy

Tailor your message and method to the size of the community. What might work in a small, rural community won't be as effective in a large suburban area.
— Solomon Cogan, DC

Successful practices understand their markets and design their marketing messages to appeal to that specific audience.
— Patricia Hospy, DC

To develop an effective lead-box program:
1. Design an attractive box
2. Make an offer
3. Name a coordinator
4. Place the boxes in area businesses (such as restaurants and dry cleaners)
5. Organize and service the route
6. Build a profile summary
7. Contact the leads
8. Set and measure goals patient recruitment goals.
— Jimmy Mack

Start a response program in your office that uses patient concerns and questions as springboards for referral requests. Make a list of common questions and statements, then brainstorm responses with your staff. Practice until the responses become automatic.
— Peter Fernandez, DC

Speaking is free, and it is a very effective marketing tool. Give talks at health fairs, schools, churches — anywhere you can get an invitation. Find a niche and make yourself the community expert and the requests - and referrals - will grow.
— Mark Strom, DC

Provide safety and wellness programs to your community to promote your practice and stimulate new patients. Provide valuable information in a 15-minute format. Topics include preventing disc injuries and balance and peak performance.
— Kevin Schreiner

Plan a mid-winter tropical party to boost your patients' spirits and beat the winter blahs. Turn up the office heat, play surfing music and serve natural fruit drinks. Wear loud Hawaiian shirts. Go barefoot. And have fun!
— William Esteb

Approximately 25 percent of all patients play golf. Start a bulletin board with a golf tip of the month. Stress muscle conditioning as you define golf terms and their history.
— Raymond Trottier

One day per month conduct free diabetes screening for all your patients in your office. You can rule out many major health problems or recommended treatment if they test positive. This objective test is a great referral stimulator.
— Van Merkle

Nutritional supplements promote patient health and add income to your practice. Develop a plan for adding them to your practice; educate yourself and your staff about the inventory and establish credibility with patients with education programs.
— Bryan Miller

Loyal customers don't just deserve preferential treatment — they expect it. Preferential treatment includes remembering patient's names, coming early or staying late to accommodate schedules and returning phone calls promptly.
— Bob Levoy

Let the world know when you have attended a seminar or obtained a certification. Send out press releases, tell every patient who comes in, publish a calendar of seminars you are planning to attend and network with other attending doctors.
— Peter Fernandez, DC

Internal marketing is often an untapped opportunity. Keep in touch with mailings, letters and newsletters to current, inactive, new and potential patients to keep your name in front of them.
— Steven Aruculeo, DC

If you want to get referrals from medical doctors, you will need to educate them about what you do. Once you get in the door, be prepared to answer any questions and don't use terms they won't now, such as “subluxation.” Instead, use x-rays and case studies.
— Daniel Shaye, DC, CCSP, FIAMA

Having your own Web site will allow you to educate patients and provide value-added information. The Internet is being used as “yellow pages” with increasing frequency and a Web site allows you to reach potential patients before they walk in the door.
— William Austin, DC, CCSP

Have a COW — Chiropractic Opportunity Week. For an entire week examine all new patients for no cost with a personal report of findings. Design posters and fliers to hand out with cows on them, wear cow clothes and have fun with it.
— Frank Sovinsky

Encourage your patients to keep in touch with you by sending out weekly inspirational, motivational, informational electronic newsletters. You can become the editor of your own online health “magazine” and establish yourself as a health authority.
— Mark Sanna, DC

Erasable whiteboards are a great marketing tool. Put one in each exam room, and each week write a new word, such as “champagne.” When patients ask about the word, tell them, “Champagne makes the same sound you hear when an adjustment is made.”
— Lynne Sullivan, DC

Don't let the inactive patients slip away. Be proactive and follow up with them by sending newsletters or cards, office events targeted to them and e-mails with health tips to keep your name in front of them.
— William Esteb

E-mail newsletters allow you to stay in front of your patients for no cost at all. Ask for e-mail addresses and permission to send a newsletter.
— Peter Fernandez, DC

Don't take loyal patients for granted while trying to get new patients. Let those loyal patients know you appreciate them by thanking them for being part of your practice.
— Bob Levoy

Don't spend too much time looking for industry-specific “magic bullets.” The retail strategy of making something out of nothing and creating targeted promotional events can also be a big winner in a chiropractic practice.
— Patricia Hospy, DC

Don't be guilty of “hit and run” marketing tactics. Just because something doesn't pay off immediately, don't abandon it. Consistency — and patience — are essential for marketing to pay off.
— Patricia Hospy, DC

At the end of health talks, pass around a sign-up sheet for attendees to receive a complimentary exam or x-ray. Now you have the contact information of people who are interested in chiropractic with the potential to become full-time patients.
— Lynne Sullivan, DC

Give out business card magnets instead of paper business cards. Magnets have a longer shelf life than ordinary paper business cards. They are convenient for patients and more visible to family and friends — resulting in more referrals.
— John Heggie, DC

Do you refer? When you refer your patients to other practitioners or businesses in your area, you stimulate reciprocal referrals in which those that you refer to return the favor.
— William Esteb

A great way to stay close to your patients is to provide a monthly newsletter with information about your practice and chiropractic in general. This is also a great place to make them aware of special events and encourage them to bring a friend.
— Len Schwartz, DC

A lead-box marketing program is a great opportunity to build your practice and establish relationships with area businesses. Place lead-generation boxes (boxes that offer information or a “prize” in return for a completed information blank) in area businesses. Collect the leads and follow up on their regularly.
— Jimmy Mack

Conduct a contest among staff members to see who can get the most inactive or semi-active patients into the office on a given week. Reward the winner with movie tickets or a complementary dinner to a local restaurant.
— John Demartini, DC

Contact local businesses and offer to organize on-site, three-hour employee health fairs. Coordinate with other local wellness-minded businesses and provide the service free of charge to the organization.
— Philip Golinsky, DC

A “Balloon Referral Day” can increase patient numbers. Write the name of various prizes on slips of paper and insert them into helium-filled balloons. If a patient makes a referral, invite him to pull down a balloon and win the prize inside.
— David Singer, DC

Gaining certification in specialty areas of chiropractic will give you another service to offer your patients and another reason to tell people about your practice.

— Kurt Larsen, DC, FICS