If it ain’t broke, fix it.

So many of us apply this to our education process with patients, but how many of you apply this to your business on a consistent basis?

With a chiropractic viewpoint of improving someone’s health and wellbeing, we know that positive benefits arise from adjustments, regardless of if someone feels ‘broke’ or not.
However, when it comes to our business we often wait until there is a problem before we begin looking for solutions to fix it.

This week I want to share with you some common areas in practice where I have seen chiropractors struggle with this, and I want to give you some solutions to begin the process to fix them, now.

In a consumer driven world, as I have said many times, the market decides. This means you need to continue to please and provide solutions for your customers and appeal to their ‘wants’ and desires if you are to succeed and have a thriving business.

Here are the TOP 4 areas I see chiropractors struggle in their business, unbeknown to them for quite some time, until eventually a problem becomes obvious. And how to fix them.

1.       Skill.

It is so easy to just continue as we always have, once you’ve trained as a chiropractor and been doing it for a few years, it is easy to adjust someone. Or dare I say, easy to manipulate them.
This is seen from a vast variation in results from patients. Some get better, some don’t. We then look to blame the patient or circumstance to cover up for our short fall.
Chiropractic has become full of ‘sales’ seminars and lost its art.

Making sure you are continuously learning and stretching your comfort zone is key. I would suggest attending at least one technique seminar per year. And going more than once to a particular seminar so you can compound your learning.

2.       Customer experience.
Going to a chiropractor for many is a regular experience, especially in the first few months of care. This familiarity can have a detrimental effect on customer experience. When something is new, it is a ‘wow’ experience without any real effort, especially in a chiropractic setting.
But the more repetition of an experience or the more time elapsed, the less special it feels and the more ‘normal’ it becomes. And let’s be honest, normal is boring.

This is the biggest element of ‘if it ain’t broke, fix it’. How can you continue to change up and improve your customer experience. I would suggest simple introductions such as infused water (vary the flavours) and chalk boards, with new sayings and teachings each day. This subtle change can enhance and vary the experience for your customer to keep them engaged and guessing.

3.       The friend zone.
As mentioned in the pervious step, patients can become very familiar which can lead to the association of friendship. This often causes a chiropractor to drop their guard in conversation. Turning the talking point on themselves and referring to their patients and ‘mate’, ‘love’ or ‘darling’. This may seem genuine and good for the patient to feel closer to the chiropractor. But remember they are paying you. They are paying for a service, skill, and expertise. They are not paying for friendship. In the long run this lapsed conversation and association with patients can cause them to fall out of care.
Humans easily fall in and out of relationships but often commit to and pay consistently for what they desire.

Make a conscious decision and promise to yourself to stop using terms such as ‘mate’. Call your patients by their names or ‘sir’ and ‘madam’. Be courteous, friendly but maintain a processional boundary. And above all make the conversation all about them.

4.       Nurturing.
My favourite is the ‘art of giving a shit’. Once the patient has commenced care and paid you, are you continuing to go above and beyond in providing care, enthusiasm, and contact. I often see chiropractors and practices that have fantastic onboarding and acquisition procedures but loose so many patients along the way.
As the old saying goes, “there are holes in the bucket”. Patient retention and PVA is poor because the individual has not been continuously cared for and contacted outside their adjustments.

To solve this a proper nurture sequence is needed. Everything from an email sequence to follow their care, to birthday celebrations, patient of the month and referrers of the month, as well as long term patient letters and events. With a little work and automation this can be a simple ongoing procedure.

So there you have it, four items you can go right ahead and fix, even if you think it’s not broken.

With love,

Tom