Five Simple Ways to Stay in Touch with Your Patients
And Also Increase Patient Visits and Referrals!
Nancy Singleton
Statistics say that 68% of people stop doing business with a company because of indifference. When patients have finished with care, will they be back? Whether or not they come back has a lot to do with the relationship you built and the relationship you continue to build. Therefore, it is very important that you stay in touch with you current and past patients so that the next time they need a chiropractor, they will think of you.
Here are five simple things you can do to stay in front of your patients:
1.Newsletters
Patients want to connect to the businesses and brands that they like, and your practice is no exception. Connecting to your patients in person is a matter of being personable, caring, and professional, and that's easy to do with newsletters as well. Your newsletter can provide great value by informing your patients with interesting content that resonates with them.
So how do you provide value and why does it matter? Patients choose to receive their chiropractic care from doctors and staff whom they know and trust. There are many ways to build that trust and connection through newsletters.
Here are some topics to include in a newsletter:
• Success Stories - Feature patients who have recently experienced pain relief and how it's impacting their lives positively.
• Health Tips - Provide some of the advice that your doctor tells your patients on a day-to-day basis so that readers can learn about preventative measures to improve their health.
• FAQs - As you know, patients ask the same questions over and over again. Summarize the most frequently asked questions and include one of them in each newsletter.
• Announce Upcoming Events - If you do any patient appreciation events or patient education seminars, it's a good idea to include that in the newsletter. Ask your patients to invite friends and family so you can meet them, and have a great offer available for them to experience care in your practice.
2. Downtime Phone Calls
Occasionally, in every clinic, there's some downtime, such as when the phone isn't ringing or in between patient appointments. This would be a good time to call some of your patients who haven't been in for a while. A simple script could be:
"Hi (patient name), this is (your name). I'm just calling to make sure we have your correct address to make sure you are getting our newsletters."
It's amazing what happens when you make that simple call. You'll have patients say, "I was just thinking about your office, can you please schedule an appointment for me?" Try it and see!
3. Birthday Cards
Isn't it fun to get cards on yoi birthday? Well, it sure is for your patients. Making patients feel like they are cared about creates a special bond between your patients and your clinic. It's best to add a special handwritten message and have the staff and doctor sign it. A personal touch goes long way!
4. E-mails
With all of the new e-mail software programs that are out there, it's easier than ever to stay in touch with your patients via e-mail. You could send a monthly e-mail, or even a weekly e-mail, that could be about a variety of things, such as:
• Holiday greeting - It's fun for patients to get a special holiday greeting e-mail from your clinic. Include a message from the doctor and some tips on how to stay healthy.
• Promotion of a product - When you're running a promotion on a supplement or product, it's good to spread the word so everyone can take advantage of the offer.
• Thank-you message - Sometimes, patients can be overwhelmed with different types of e-mails in their inbox. Occasionally it might be a good idea to just send a quick "Thanks for being our patient" note via e-mail. Include some of the reasons you enjoy having them as patients and that you hope to see them soon. They'll rememberthatyou not only care abouttheir health, butthatyou also care that they're a patient of yours too!
5. Patient Appreciation Events
Patient appreciation events can be so much fun! It makes it feel as if you're all one giant family. The main
purpose of having a patient appreciation event is to allow your patients to come together at an exclusive event with their friends and families to say thank you for being a patient, promote health, have fun, and bond as a community of like-minded people. It's a good idea to have a prize drawing for patients who bring friends and family. This is a great way to introduce new patients to your office.
In Summary
Hopefully, you have your patients on maintenance programs, so they come in once a month for a tuneup. However, not all of your patients will be compliant with maintenance, so you will need to reach out to both your current and past patients each month. A monthly contact from your office will ensure that your patients think of you the next time they need a chiropractor.
Nancy Singleton is a 1989 graduate of the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic Assistants. She has been consulting and helping doctors grow their practices for more than 25 years. She and her husband, Dr. Todd Singleton, teach chir opractors how to implement multiple cash systems into their existing practices. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
