March 2009

10 tips to recession-proof your practice

by Dr. Dennis Nikitow

Your practice can continue to grow and prosper during these tougher economic times. One of the simplest strategies is to remember what you did to build your practice and do more of it. Remember, there are still many people who need chiropractic care. They're chronically symptomatic, have suffered acute injury, or are seeking prevention and wellness alternatives. In addition, there are still many people who have the resources to afford care, and those who will value your care so much, they'll find a way to afford it.

The following 10 tips will help you recession-proof your practice.

1. Stimulate employee participation. While some clinics look to cut staff, benefits and pay, you should develop a bonus incentive for your staff. Get them in the mindset that they will grow as the clinic grows. Get them involved with obtaining leads for outreach programs and bonus them when they do. Set goals for incremental growth for new patient, patient visits and collections with bonuses for meeting them. Emphasize the importance of team effort for success. Increase employee education and work on "sharpening their saw" in every skill set and procedure. Get rid of low performers who'll only spoil the rest of the team and add to the recession by their negative attitude.

2. Ask, seek and knock. People 'tuned into' their spirituality will know what I'm referring to. Basically, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. Go out and meet more people, ask for more referrals, ask your current patients for human resources leads to help you get into companies to do employee benefit wellness programs. Seek out every opportunity and every lead. Keep knocking -- and never give up.

3. Do the little extras to serve your patients. Recently, I brought in coffee and bagels for my patients on a Saturday. There was no occasion. I just felt like doing it and having fun with it. WOW. I couldn't believe the response. They were so appreciative, and surprised. They even mentioned how important little things are. It dawned on me that people really appreciate thoughtfulness and sometimes we overlook it. Imagine how many people they told about coffee and bagels at their chiropractor's and what a perfect springboard it was to explain chiropractic.

4. Provide clinic programs for wellness to include nutrition, exercise and emotional stress. People want to improve wellness, to prevent injury and illness. If they don't get it from you, they'll get it elsewhere. Make sure you always incorporate the nervous system and how each topic affects their spinal alignment, too (the Triad Workshops from Certainty Practice Products is a good resource on how to do these).

5. Network with other doctors and businesses. Find likeminded DCs to do advertising and broaden leads. More expensive advertising can be done at affordable cost with groups. Contact businesses that you can cross refer to. Just pick patients or people you know and ask them if they'd like to participate in a cross-referring networking group. Make a list of the people participating with the discount in service they want to offer and each person should pass it on to their respective customers, clients or patients.

6. MD referrals. Tell your patients you'd like to update their primary care provider with their progress. Once you get their authorization, send a short update to their MD and mention you'd be happy to help any of their neck or back pain patients should the need arise. Don't give them a history on philosophy. Establish a relationship first. For those who are receptive, offer to meet for lunch to explain what you do and further the relationship. Soon you'll be receiving patients on a regular basis.

7. Offer a little more to new patients and their referrer during promotions. Instead of just free exams and x-rays, offer a free week of trial care. If the patient starts a program, give the referring patient a week's worth of care. This will be a better stimulation for referrals in tougher times and won't hurt you if your system (like the Certainty System) is geared toward high retention.

8. Drive people to your website. Every promotion should drive people to your website for more information and a deeper understanding of you, your clinic and your mission and purpose. There they can view testimonials, research and even videos. There are several companies that have very affordable templates for your site. I like, "Now You Know" because they're principled, have great explanations on subluxation and modern philosophy, tons of research, and loads of other features. Plus, they're great people, always helpful, prompt, willing to make any changes you need and very professional.

9. Cut useless expenses. Analyze finances, decrease inventory and cut excess costs.

10. Lastly, invest in what makes you money. Go to seminars, buy practice-building resources and learn how to grow your practice. If you belong to a coaching program, reach beyond it and gather as much knowledge as possible. New tables and x-ray machines may be nice but knowledge is power when coupled with action. By investing in the wisdom to build, sustain and grow a practice, you'll definitely thrive in a recession and beyond.

(To learn about the Certainty System, Certainty Practice Products and Dr. Dennis Nikitow's upcoming seminar schedule, call 800-544-3884. Outside the US, 303-721-6202.)