Editor's Note: This new series is designed to help DCs optimize their teams and practices, with particular emphasis on the role of the chiropractic assistant.
Ever wonder why two chiropractic practices can hold the same marketing event, yet have very different results? It's often a simple reason, and fortunately, easy to fix.
Pitfall #1: The Wrong Purpose
It's staggering how many times I've heard doctors complain about how they "didn't get enough new patients" from their last patient appreciation day. Whoa; wait a second. That's akin to throwing a party just to get gifts. In addition to being ironic, being more concerned about garnering new business than expressing appreciation to existing patients may actually be sabotaging the event.
If you're hosting internal marketing events solely out of a desperate need for new patients (or fear or lack), you may need to shift your focus of internal marketing and realign yourself with your true purpose. Otherwise, based on the law of attraction, you'll attract more neediness, more desperation more fear and more lack.
Start out by clarifying the why of your internal marketing events. Successful events have a clear purpose, such as investing in building a positive relationship with your patients and your community. Rather than focusing on a specific number of new or updated patients, consider focusing on:
Sincere appreciation of your patients; not only for choosing chiropractic, but also for choosing your office
Helping more people
Educating your community: getting the chiropractic message out or better educating your patients
Starting patients' families under care
Fund-raising for a charity
Increasing the fun, smiles, hugs, laughter and warm fuzzies in your practice
Being a light in your community
Merely planting seeds
Whichever you choose, get clear on your purpose. Since I believe that the ultimate goal of a CA is to build as many win-win relationships as possible between the practice and the community, internal marketing events offer a fitting vehicle to do so.
Pitfall #2: The Wrong Fit
To be successful, events need to be a good fit. Consider the type of new patients you want to attract so the events you choose are congruent. You would obviously pick very different events for attracting more kids vs. seniors; or for attracting athletes vs. pregnant moms.
Also be careful to choose events that are congruent with the doctor's personality. Whether your doctor thinks it's fun to occasionally act a little wacky and crazy, or if they pride themselves on always maintaining a high level of serious professionalism, you want to find events that are a good fit. "Hug day" will not work if you're not comfortable touching others (although you may be in the wrong profession if that's the case).
Years ago, we hosted what I was sure would be an amazing golf-themed event. We had the office all decked-out with a putting green in the reception room, prizes, logo golf giveaways – you name it. However, it turned out to be a flop. Why? Because my husband and the practice's DC, Dr. Klapp, hates golf.
The moral? Make sure everyone is on board in your office. Choose an event that excites your team and engages your patients, because the energy will help to attract others and make it a success.
Pitfall #3: The Wrong (or No) Plan
When it comes to internal marketing events, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." The most common posts I see on Facebook CA groups are questions relating to what other offices are doing for the next holiday. Unfortunately, in most cases the next holiday happens to be less than a week away.
It's critical to develop a marketing calendar. Rather than deciding on a whim on a month-by-month basis, you want to conceptualize a full year in advance. If you don't have one in place for 2020 yet, now is a great time to create your calendar. Whether you choose monthly, bimonthly or quarterly events, create themes based on the season, holidays, sporting events, or national (fill-in-the-blank) observances.
Once you have your themes in place, develop the various components of each event. If your event includes a prize drawing or giveaway, make sure to keep it in accordance with federal and state guidelines, as well as any insurance participation agreements.
Consider the environment and decide what decorations, costumes or entertainment would coordinate with each theme. Determine if food and drinks you're serving will be in alignment with healthy eating or a festive treat. Tailor your patient education around your theme if appropriate; for example, women's health issues for a Mother's Day event.
Budget is certainly a consideration for designing the event components, so you will need to determine and allocate resources – primarily time and money. The good news is that often, time can compensate for money and vice-versa. If you're newer in practice or seeing fewer patients than your capacity, take advantage of your extra time, do more yourself and save money. If you're already financially thriving, you can also outsource some of the tasks and save time. Your budget will serve as a guideline of how creative you'll need to be.
The good news is that most internal marketing can be done very inexpensively. Outside sponsorships are just one of the numerous ways to increase your budget and minimize your cost.
Making Your Internal Marketing Event Successful: Two Critical Tools
There are two critical tools for any successful event. The first is a comprehensive planning spreadsheet that covers what each component of the event will entail, from contingency plans for inclement weather to the essential steps of promoting each event, as well as who will be responsible for each action step. The second tool is a detailed timeline to identify tasks, action steps and due dates.
Utilize an alert/reminder in your software for each action step to stay ahead of deadlines and ensure a successful event. When it comes to lead time, two or three months ahead is best for a stress-free event. If you're coordinating a large event with other area businesses or charities, four months' lead time is often necessary.
Regardless of whether you choose simple or complex events, plan your internal marketing event calendar for the year ahead with your purpose and your patients in mind. As you continue to build relationships with your clients and your community, you will continue to build your practice.
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