The Marketing Mentor

Have you really ever thought of who your perfect patients are?  Is it a man, woman, child, how old is that person and what might that person do for his/her profession? If you sat down right now with a pen and paper and made a list of some of the traits of your best ten or fifteen patients, you may be able to determine who your ideal patient is.  Believe it or not writing down the characteristics of your ideal patient just might bring them knocking at your door.  If you are wondering what makes a “best patient”, here are some great suggestions to consider:

The best patients comply with care, follow your care plan.
The best patients keep their scheduled appointments.
The best patients bring in their family members.
The best patients refer in their friends and co-workers.
The best patients are excited about chiropractic.
The best patients get you in to speak at their place of business, or an organization that they belong to on a health, wellness or safety topic.
The best patients understand chiropractic and why it is so important to be a lifetime chiropractic patient.
The best patients participate in all of your internal events.
The best patients come to your wellness workshops (health care class) and bring someone.
 
Now after you have done that, consider where you might find those potential patients.  Are you active in your community?  Do you participate in community events?  Do you speak on health, wellness and safety topics at your local schools, businesses and organizations?  Do you have Patient Appreciation Dinners?  Do you belong to any organizations such as BNI (Business Networking International), your local chamber of commerce or a local toastmasters club?  Do you participate in health fairs at corporations or do screenings at fitness clubs or health food stores?  These are definitely proven ways of attracting and getting new patients to your practice.

Here are some suggestions to consider when determining who the people that you wish to attract to you and your practice.  If you are willing to do this exercise in its completion, you may just see your practice grow before you very eyes!

-Wellness – we all want more wellness type patients – people that want to stay

healthy and are open to health and wellness through chiropractic.  They can be found anywhere and everywhere.  That’s why it’s so important to go out into the community and present workshops in schools, businesses and organizations.  This will attract all types of people into your practice.

-Personal Injury – attorney/physician networking – is about finding a common bond between you and the other person, not necessarily about you writing the best reports or being the best doctor.  It’s a numbers game.  The goal of a personal injury patients should be to get them well and convert them into a wellness patient.

-Geriatrics/Seniors – In today’s day and age, seniors want to stay younger and live a more quality life.  They want longevity.  Many senior centers have programs including exercise and guest speakers on staying young and vital. Also churches and synagogues, women’s and men’s groups. 

-Sports Injuries – adults/children injured by participating in a sporting activity. Coaches and nurses at schools and medical doctors as well as speaking to  parenting groups about preventing sports injuries for their children.  A goal of treating sports injury patients is to convert them into becoming wellness patients. 

-Pediatrics – networking with pediatricians, midwives, mother/parenting groups (MOPS, Mothers of Multiples, Mother’s of Twins), easy to speak on ear

Infections, colic bed wetting, add/adhd, anti-biotic use/abuse – peak performance. (age appropriate)

***remember moms are usually the health care decision makers in the family***

-Specific Conditions – Headaches, Fibromyalgia and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.  Besides networking with physicians, local support groups/hospitals and making sure you have good material on your specific conditions so that people can connect to you and think you’re an expert.  – convert these patients to wellness.

***Discussing with your team who your ideal patients are and having a Community Relations Director (CRD) on your team can help you achieve new found growth!