Marketing to your existing chiropractic patient mailing list is a smart thing to do. In fact, some of the most successful chiropractors in the world make chiropractic existing patient marketing their primary marketing tool. Most don’t do it because they think it’s too expensive, which it can be if not done right. There is a tendency to only do email marketing because it is so much cheaper. There are good email strategies too, but as you will see, this one is not possible via email. With the proper mailing list segmentation strategy in place as part of an overall marketing budget for your chiropractic clinic, the return can be consistent and predictable. Here’s what to do:
Segment your list into at least three groups A, B and C. “A” patients are worth the most to you and “C” the least. By segmenting your list, you can spend more time and money on the part of your list that will give you the greatest return. With your list is segmented this way, you can set up a relationship enhancement schedule.
A relationship enhancement schedule is a full year plan for sending unsolicited gifts to your patients. Unsolicited gifts create a feeling of indebtedness. This is an obligation most normal people feel the need to discharge. Your patients will discharge their indebtedness by coming in more frequently and referring.
Many members squawk at the cost to do this, which is crazy. It’s simple math. If you send a $20 gift to your “A” list patients every other month. That’s only $120 a year per patient. How many extra visits do they have to come in to cover that? One? Maybe two if your fees are low. If your case average is $1,200 (here’s the best part) only one out of every ten of your “A” list patients would have to refer for you to break even…and if you are certain you provide exceptional service, experience, and results, you won’t just break even.
Dan Kennedy recently told me one of his clients figured out that 17% of his customers are responsible for 85% of his profit. And, 50% of that 17% are responsible for a disproportionate percentage of that 85%. It’s clear this guy should split those two groups into “A” and “A+” and pay much more attention to them then the rest of his list. Mail to them more. Give them different offers. Unsolicited gifts. They will respond by giving him even more profit and referrals. He should also find a way to turn others into that 17%. What makes them “tick”? You should be doing the same with your practice list. It is by far the most valuable asset you could ever have.
Accordingly, “B” list shouldn’t get mailed less than “A” but more than “C” etc. How much should you spend per year on relationship enhancement? 3% of your annual gross collections is a decent rule of thumb. If you are looking for ideas to do extra mailing or send gifts… all you have to do is do an internet search. There are tons and tons of wholesale sites where you can get gifts with a pretty high perceived value at a steep discount.
Here are some of the sites I’ve used: www.viking.com, www.orientaltradingcompany.com and www.promotionsfd.com. And remember…there is always a reason that those at the top are there.
To put it simply…they do what others are not willing to do. If being successful was easy then everyone would be successful. Chiropractic existing patient marketing takes planning and effort. This strategy is not for everyone, but it just may be for you!
