The chiropractic industry is the third-largest medical profession in the United States, with around 70,000 licensed chiropractors. And the industry is growing as 35 million Americans seek professional chiropractic care every year.
With such stiff competition amongst practitioners, you may be wondering how to build a successful chiropractic practice. We’ve outlined some of the top strategies you can implement to improve your chiropractic business.
Before offering more chiropractic services, conduct market research to determine whether this will be a good return on investment. First, discover what services other chiropractic offices in your area are providing. Next, poll your existing patients to see what types of services they would be interested in.
From this information, you can discover the types of chiropractic services that are in demand but may not be offered in your area. As such, this could be a great opportunity to expand your services to meet consumer needs and gain an advantage over competitors.
For instance, in addition to adjustments, your practice can offer corrective care, posture and spinal screenings, therapeutic services, or massages. Also, your practice may focus on treating specialty clients, such as elderly patients or athletes.
As a professional in the medical industry, your client base will likely include patients suffering from an injury or medical ailment. Therefore, in addition to possessing chiropractic expertise, successful chiropractors also need an excellent bedside manner. One way to do that is by using surveys and suggestion boxes.
In the last year, 59% of clients reported having higher customer service expectations. Therefore, periodically connecting with your clients to receive constructive feedback and suggestions is a great way to keep up with changing patient behaviors.
Patient input allows your practice to gauge customer needs and preferences, allowing your chiropractic business to recognize areas for additional services and personalized care plans. Ultimately, implementing these changes can lead to better care, improved client relations, and returning patients.
With increasingly busy schedules, individuals likely have their days planned by the hour. As such, offering clients flexible and quick appointments encourages them to seek out your chiropractic services because they align with their schedules.
For example, you can offer early morning or evening adjustment appointments. This allows your clients the option to come in before or after work. Similarly, most people dedicate weekends to catching up on appointments and errands. Therefore, by providing weekend chiropractic services, you can boost client acquisition and retention.
Additionally, schedule appointments with enough cushion room to avoid having long wait times for clients. For instance, if a typical adjustment appointment lasts 30 minutes, reserve the time slot for 45 minutes. This allots time in case the patient is late or if the appointment lasts longer. In turn, this doesn’t cause a chain reaction where your next client is waiting past their appointment time.
87% of marketers prioritize their clients’ informational needs, and rightly so. With the help of the Internet, patients have an immense amount of data at their fingertips. However, with this accessibility also comes the risk of self-diagnosis gone wrong. As a result, it is likely that your clients will turn to the web to assess their physical condition, often leading to misdiagnosis.
Instead, providing educational resources to your clients can mitigate these instances. Additionally, it can promote trust between you and your patients, increasing the likelihood that your patients will come to you for chiropractic care first.
Moreover, as a practitioner focused on the well-being of your clients, providing educational information can promote better self-care practices amongst your patients. This can ultimately lower the chances of injury and increase client satisfaction.
Unfortunately, chiropractic services aren’t always covered by insurance. As a result, many injured individuals opt out of the care they need because they cannot afford the costs. Chiropractic practices offering financing address the needs of patients seeking immediate services with pay later options.
Therefore, chiropractic patient financing options help your clients afford necessary services they would otherwise delay. Ultimately, a monthly payment plan provides your clients with a more affordable pricing policy.
Moreover, flexible payment options and promotions can help attract a new market of clients. For instance, 49% of individuals believe that promotions should be related to past purchases or services. To stand out amongst other providers in the area, your chiropractic practice can begin offering tailored promotional offers to loyal clients.
This can include a percentage off their next appointment or a free additional 30 minutes added to their massage. Similarly, you can provide new patient or referral deals.
Clients increasingly turn to social media and online sources to find information. According to HubSpot, 69% of young adults use Instagram to seek out more information about a business. As such, 70% of individuals learned about a business through the practitioner’s blogs rather than advertisements.
Thanks to the digital space, many chiropractic offices are attracting new clients with the help of personal websites and a Google Business Profile. Having a business website legitimizes your practice and acts as a hub for information.
WordPress and Wix are useful tools for setting up a chiropractic business website. WordPress powers 43.1% of the web, that’s why it is a better option for it. Once your site is live, your homepage should be the focus. The content on this page must promote your chiropractic practice’s distinct value, services, and competitive perks. For instance, you can advertise your promotional offers and financing plans on the homepage.
Moreover, you’ll want to include additional pages for contact and location information, as well as medical professional biographies. Before booking an appointment, clients can vet your medical background, expertise, and specialties. As such, providing information about your education, licenses and certifications, how long you’ve been practicing, and your achievements can build confidence in the patient that they are in good hands.
Chances are, your patients rely on Google as their primary source of information. As a result, they’ll likely search for chiropractic businesses near them. Having a Google Business Profile ensures that your chiropractic practice will pop up in the search results. The service is free and allows businesses to create a profile with details and pertinent information, such as location, hours, services, contact info, and reviews.
Some marketing ideas for chiropractors include blogging, posting infographics, and highlighting reviews on social media. 70% of shoppers state that they obtain information about a business from its blogs rather than traditional advertisements. And as mentioned previously, educating your patients is also a way to build trust and repeat clientele. Your blog can be utilized in the same way by creating engaging articles that convey pertinent or commonly asked information.
Additionally, social media is another avenue through which prospective clients can find your chiropractic business. Unlike blogs, social media posts should be easily digestible and captivating. Primarily, infographics about the benefits of chiropractic services, promotional offers, and excerpts of client reviews are popular post ideas. Moreover, showcasing positive client reviews is highly beneficial as user-generated content is almost six times more influential than branded content.
Building relationships doesn’t stop at just your patients. Rather, networking with other local businesses can help your chiropractic practice attract new clients. Possible connections you can make include yoga studios, gyms, legal offices, health stores, vitamin shops, physical therapists, and other medical practitioners.
However, keep in mind that your intention to network shouldn’t be to solely promote your business. Chances are, if your neighboring company uncovers your tactics to leverage their clients for personal gain, they’ll likely refuse to collaborate. Instead, the goal should be to build mutually beneficial relationships and a community.
Offering flexible appointments, financing options, and education promotes your business’ top priority: client care. Whether you’re a new practitioner or you’ve been in the business, these actionable tips can help your chiropractic business start on the right foot or gain a competitive edge.
