Daniel R. Woodruff, DC
Just as there are many ways to adjust a patient, there are also many ways to run a successful business. Your personality, goals and even geographic location all factor into your business success. Just like finding the right combination to a lock, it is possible to find the right formula for success. Individual factors aside, there are fundamental and basic things that everyone must do to ensure their business is successful.
If you take a look at top national and international corporations, you will see they have mastered the basics of business. Their success is not due to their ability to do the unique well; it is in the fact that they have perfected the common aspects of business. With that in mind, here are seven easy-to-follow steps that can make any business busier, more profitable and more fun.
1. Know Your Product
This is the most important step that any business owner must master. In order to deliver, price, advertise or sell your product, you have to know what it is. In other words, all aspects of the business process revolve around knowing your product. This can be a difficult concept to understand. Most people would say that a chiropractor's product is chiropractic care. That is incorrect. Chiropractic care is merely the delivery system through which the product is sold. The chiropractic profession's real products are improved quality of life, longer lifespan and relief from pain. If you look at successful advertising campaigns of major corporations, you will see how this works. For example, Rolex's product is elitism, which is delivered through watches. State Farm offers security and peace of mind through insurance. Any successful chiropractic business I have seen does not actually advertise chiropractic care, but instead touts its benefits.
2. Know Your Target Market
If you try to appeal to everyone, you will appeal to no one. This is why it is crucial to establish your target market right from the start. Target markets are determined by three factors. First, whom do you want as patients? Some doctors prefer seniors, while others prefer athletes. It is important to stay true to yourself when determining your target market. The second factor is your locale. Do you have enough of your target market in your area to sustain your practice? Third, you have to determine what product your target market wants to buy. What are their buying habits and patterns? Are these habits and patterns consistent with your product?
3. Know Your Company Structure
As chiropractors, we know that the skeletal system is one of the most important parts of the body because it provides structural framework. In the business world, a company's structure is also one of the most important parts. Structure gives companies the critical framework to run their daily operations. Structure also determines a company's departments and the leadership of those departments. In short, it establishes a hierarchy. Without this hierarchy, the decision-making process can be corrupted. This leads to confusion over workplace accountability. Unfortunately, the mistake most chiropractors make is believing that their offices are too small to require structure. This is absolutely untrue. Regardless of the size of the company, a business structure develops a division of labor, which in turn creates leadership opportunities and can raise morale.
4. Know Your Systems
Quite simply, systems ensure that your product gets to your target market. It describes how things are done in your business. Systems are made up of all your different office procedures. These procedures, which can be perfected and repeated, lead to higher customer satisfaction. These systems can also lead to higher efficiency and better accountability in the product delivery process. Without systems in a chiropractic office, staff will be left to handle daily tasks in any manner they choose. Can you imagine what it would be like if every McDonald's franchise ran its business as it saw fit?
5. Know Business Fluctuations
Planning for the future requires information and knowledge. Without accurate information of the local, state and national economy, it is impossible to make forecasting decisions. In order to predict future changes that will affect your business, you must start at the local level. Are there companies leaving the area? Are there new companies coming in? Look for possible changes in your demographics due to economic forces. It is important to do your homework to know exactly where the economy is headed, and then stay one step ahead. Otherwise, you will be riding the wave of the economy or, even worse, handling the fickle trends of patient reactions to the economy.
6. Know Who to Hire
Once your structure and systems are in place, staffing becomes much easier. Now you can focus on the quality of a person instead of their knowledge or abilities. My motto when hiring staff is: "Hire for character not experience." Don't hire for the required task; hire the person. Look for qualities that are important to you and personality traits that are consistent with your mission and your team. All skills can be taught. It is the person's ability to learn and be trained that are the most important characteristics to look for.
7. Know That You Have to Sell Your Product
Doctor, are you a salesperson? If you think not, then who is promoting and selling your product? As the leader of your business, you set the tone. If you are passionate about getting your product to those who need it, then you will see your sales grow. If you are stuck in a paradigm where it is beneath a doctor to be a salesperson, then you will see your sales plummet. Society has placed a negative connotation on sales. However, everything runs on sales. It is the exchange for goods and services upon which business is built. If you don't have sales, you don't have business. Being good at sales is the first step in being good at business.
There is no "free lunch" in life, and there is no get-rich-quick scheme. Success comes from the ability to do the common uncommonly well. I encourage you to take a look at your business and ask yourself, "Am I doing the fundamentals well?" Those fundamentals are the foundation for any business success. If your foundation is good and true, your business has to grow. I encourage you to analyze, explore and pick apart your business. If you aren't sure how to analyze your practice or are inexperienced with these seven steps, find someone who knows. Talk to an experienced colleague, a business owner (who may not even be in health care) or a consultant. You don't have to reinvent the wheel; just know how to use it.
