2018 INDUSTRY

REPORT

Private Practice

Marketing

Presented by Craig Ferreira, CEO

www.survivalstrategies.com

© 2018 Survival Strategies, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2018- INDUSTRY REPORT Private Practice Marketing

Based on recent studies done

throughout the U.S. and Canada,

57% of Private Practice owners

reported their need to increase new

patients, and another 43% specified

wanting to market directly to

patients. They all agreed on the

need to increase patients as their

major area of concern; the need to

create avenues through new

marketing strategies to attract new

patients, and find methods to

improve patient retention.

Marketing and Public Relations have everything to do with gaining and retaining patients!

Through various avenues of marketing one is able get their word out and work on making their

practice better known to attract more patients, but then one must understand and have proven

methods in place to KEEP their patient retention high.

Based on the top response of “Increased patients and patient retention” we’ve produced this

report as a guide to offer some solutions, as well as to educate and make decision making a bit

easier for an owner. The following tips are written as a gift, and offer free advice to improve

Marketing, Word-of-mouth Marketing, Public Relations, and Patient Retention:

1. VITAL PART OF BRANDING YOUR PRACTICE:

Get the following questions answered by at least 50 of your patients. (Never hand it out to take

home and bring back.) If you have a waiting room, have printed copies to hand and ask each to

complete one while waiting / prior to leaving. If you have patient email addresses, use these as

well and continue requesting these until you’ve got 50 + fully answered and in hand.

Questions: (The wording may be changed, but not the concept of the

questions.)You’ll first want to create some understanding with the person

you’re asking these questions of, or why you want their answers and advice.

To bridge this gap we suggest starting with something like this…

We’re working to improve our

Services and would greatly appreciate

your input on each of the following questions:

1) If you were to describe our services or

products to another person, what would you

say?

2) What one benefit have you, yourself,

received from our practice?

3) What would you say is remarkable or

stands out about our practice?

4) What would you say is different about our

practice as compared to our competitors?

5) In your view, is there anything we could

improve upon? If so, what would that be?

6) Anything else you would like to tell us?

Thank you for your input.

Your next step would be to thoroughly read through all the answers looking for a common

denominator from the majority of the replies, or a common statement amongst the highest

percentage of answers. That statement then becomes a “Tag Line”.

Take this Tag Line to a graphic designer, and ask them to draw you 5 visual representations of it.

Once done, you’d show all 5 representations to at least 25 – 30 more patients, (they need not be

the same as used earlier), and ask:

“Which of these 5 best represents this phrase ?” Place Your Tag Line here.

2. MARKETING CAMPAIGN:

Find out what your patients think of your services

or how they see your practice. Using what your

patients think / see as valuable makes your

marketing completely real to that customer base;

Being realistic creates improved impact of your

message.

Using the highest common denominator statements

found in your survey responses from Step 1 you’ll

now create the campaign around your Tag Line.

A good campaign might include things such as:

• Create a small postcard mailing that pushes these survey results and positions your services and

products as being exactly what they’re looking for. (Search online for postcard companies or use

your local print shop or copy store.)

• Incorporate a “buy now” approach here and there. This is a technique where you’d offer a

limited time special urging the prospective patient to buy now rather than later. Create fliers on

this for a mailing, or take these and pass them out locally. (Be sure it is legal to do so.)

• Survey your past patients for their successes. Was their non-optimum situation remedied?

Greatly improved? Was your service fast? Friendly? Professional? Allow them to tell you in

their own words how they personally feel about your practice. Make sure to also have them sign

or verbally give consent or “okay to publish” their responses in future promotions. Now, get this

information out and into your community through mailings, websites, Internet ads, fliers, etc.

• The creation, modification or updating of your website must incorporate the new Tag Line.

Include offers or “buy nows” for your services aligning with your survey results.

You don’t have a website? The world has become very reliant on the Internet and the majority of

people search the Web when looking for reliable businesses to service their needs, which can be

very important part of business these days.

Facts and figures:

• 97% of American Internet users use the Internet to shop.

• 63% of consumers turn to the Internet first for information about local companies.

• 82% use Search Engines to find what they are looking for. (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) (Facts from Webvisible.com and Nielson Online.)

Some say websites are too costly... There are many companies found online with the ability to

get up a quick, user-friendly site. My suggestion… Use Google and perform a search using

“build a website” where several options will appear; do your full research on several companies

until you feel well-informed and comfortable with all the terms offered. Websites may have up-

front fees, include separate maintenance contracts, and/or charge minimal monthly fees.

Comparison shop on this until you find what you want.

Promotion is not as complicated as it may seem, but does entail you knowing who will buy/pay

for your services, what they need and want in those services, and what they can afford to pay for

such services. Having current and surveyed information makes it easier to position your practice

properly with your public and how you can fulfill their needs. Be inventive! Think outside the

box! More importantly…put yourself in your patient’s shoes for the moment… What would

YOU be willing to pay for such a service? What would YOU expect from such a business?

How friendly or professional should those employees be? What types of promotions caught your

eye?

• New business cards, letterhead, etc. would be designed using your new Tag Line.

• Improve the signage inside and outside your practice to reflect this new Tag Line.

3. PUBLIC EXPOSURE:

Call your local Chamber of Commerce for times and

locales of the upcoming local events (I.E. City

Anniversary events, County Fairs, Farmer’s Markets,

etc.) What are the legalities to having a booth or

participating? Offer free consultations, short 5-minute

adjustments, massage, raffles, etc. – anything that will

attract more attention. Bring your most personable

clinicians to help establish friendly relationships with

the public. Do your best to create good interest with

whatever booth design you choose – this is important.

To expand on the exposure of your profession you could ask a few of your patients to state/write

in their own words why they chose to use YOU over others. The false myths should be addressed

and give you the opportunity to show you’ve had great success with handling all sorts of similar

physical situations. Yes, every scenario is different, but put yourself out there, over and over,

again and again on things you can deliver very well.

It’s also important to give the public a true understanding of your profession, your purpose in

this profession, and most importantly - about your patient’s successes and results.

• Post advertisements in a local paper or magazine showcasing previous patient’s results

and success, special / free consultations, etc.

• Send a mailing to the local community showcasing a recent patient success.

• Create a social network identity for your practice through: Facebook, LinkedIn,

MySpace, Twitter, etc. Have your clinicians also be involved posting recent successes,

special cases they’re working with, etc. (Do this without giving too much away for free!

You simply need to get the public to realize that you’re an expert in the area.) Really

work to get as many followers on these sites as these are free Marketing, Public Relations

and Promotion for your practice.

• Hold a monthly/quarterly Open House inviting the public in for free workshops and to

discover what you do, and how you can help them. See if you can get some of your better

patients who’ve experienced recent success with you to come speak and help answer their

questions. Or bring in a specialist to answer or offer additional information. Make it a

grand event and ensure to hand out cards for a free consultation, promotional items, etc.

4. PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR):

You already professionally produce your services or products. You also need to professionally

produce your practice!

The presentation of your practice to your patient base at a quality level to generate enough

interest to buy your services or products.

How’s this done? Your entire practice should have a common theme, from its business cards, to

its letterhead, its logo, product packaging, color schemes, staff appearance, website, promotional

materials, public relations messages, office space, trade-shows, email formats, motto, purpose,

goals, practice policy, staff training, etc. You’ve got to pull it all together! In other words, all

aspects of your practice must have a common look and message for every presentation. This

takes careful thought and planning on your part to incorporate the surveyed information from

your customer base on each of the above as well as coordination with your employees to carry-

through the same message in all their interactions with the public.

If you view your practice as a form of art, which it is, it must attract a high level of attention of

its “audience”, (your patient base), and elicit a desire to purchase your services or products.

Sales are far easier if all prior points as listed above are fully in place.

Most practices start with someone who is technically trained to deliver a specific product or

service; most do not also have the administrative expertise to produce a properly designed and

viably operating enterprise. Why? The owner / owner-clinician while quite able at delivering the

technical aspects of the practice is not normally trained on the administrative or managerial

aspects required as in overall practice design, administrative structure, Public Relations,

Marketing, and Management.

You might hire others with specialized training and proven track records, or out-source this work

to external professional firms. Either way, the high quality and professional presentation of your

practice, IS what will make it successful, so long as your practice also has a needed and valuable

service or product to deliver.

REVIEW THE PRESENTATION OF YOUR PRACTICE. Below is a list of things for any

owner to keep his/her eye on to assist their practice:

* No overall common denominator for every presentation. Look through the paragraphs above

and ensure you’ve got these covered and coordinated.

* Typos in promotional pieces: Too eager in sending out a promotion piece without final

proofing and before you know it your customers are asking if you really want them to “ax in the

questionnaire” – Yes, it’s minor, but embarrassing! (It should read “Fax in the questionnaire.”)

* Poor customer service: Ever hire a new employee and skimp on their apprenticeship time to

rush them onto production? You’ve probably experienced something like this; They just hung

up on a prospective patient because they were flustered and didn’t know what to say!

AAAHHH… PULL MY HAIR OUT!!!! Ensure every employee knows to handle others in a

manner which always maintains your practice’s good image and reputation.

* Not delivering as fully as promised: Your online promotion promises a 10% discount if

purchased before the end of the month. Unfortunately, you forgot to program your online store to

calculate the discount and you’ve received complaints that full price is being charged; Handle it

fast and courteously!

* Pushy salespersons: I don’t know anyone who enjoys the pushy salesperson including the

salesperson themselves! Don’t cramp and push people into a hard corner to sell your products;

instead teach your team to sell by instilling confidence and trust with the buyer and

demonstrating the “high value” of your products.

* Your positioning is way off: You sell cars using the slogan “We’re cheap just like you!”

Hmmm…that really implies that your cars are of no value AND that your patients are stingy

bugs! Pretty funny, but costly mistake. Put some extra thought into how your slogan positions

your practice taking the view of the buyer. “Very used cars” vs. “slightly used” — you can see

that one communicates a car used beyond its useful potential, while the other communicates one

in decently good condition. Pay attention to the fine details and survey your slogans. You need

to discover your prospective buyer’s perceptions BEFORE implementing new promotions.

* Poor signage: Is your practice’s name and address in good shape and easily seen by a driver?

Is it hidden behind an overgrown tree or bush? Having to crane one’s neck or stop to find the

address of your practice can irritate potential patients starting them off on a bad note. Make them

large, clean, and easy to read and keep your customers happy.

* Unkempt premises: Your practice should feel clean, comfortable and friendly. Check all those

nooks and crannies! Check the air temperature with your patients from time to time making sure

the patient feels fully taken care of and welcome! (And every once in a while enter your practice

as a patient would and scrutinize the place. Warning - This is sometimes an eye-opener!)

* Staff presentation: How your employees present themselves reflects directly on your practice

and speaks loads about you. If your staff display unsightly dress or hygiene, or a disorderly

work space, the general feel becomes “I should leave.” Nothing about your staff or quarters

should distract the public or their decision to partake in your services or make them think less of

you or your practice.

5. RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT:

With economic pressures, hardships, and competition, how do you keep your patients coming

back for treatment?

A practical definition of "SURVIVAL" is: "the act or fact of surviving, especially under adverse

or unusual circumstances".

The way to survive ANY hardship requires building real relationships with your staff, patients,

community, etc. Ideally, a practice needs to do much more than merely survive, so you’ve got to

create such a lasting "friendship" with your patients that even during the hardest of times they’d

never consider looking elsewhere; they would remain good patients based on the great

relationship developed with you and upon the great results you deliver.

The point here... What is the lasting impression you make and leave in the minds of your

patients? What do they remember you by? Some will say this isn’t so… but I know several

people paying top dollar for services to their dentists, doctors, etc. because they enjoy the

relationship they have along with their quality of service – even in tougher economic times. They

love walking in and being greeted with a smile and by name. Sure, they could go somewhere

cheaper, or select any HMO, but the quality, care, friendship, and professionalism are truly more

important and will keep them coming back.

Homework: This month ask EVERY employee to work harder giving a friendly smile, asking

questions about their customers’ lives, being interested in them and their families, and truly

working to build that lasting impression/relationship. Tell your front desk person to greet them

by name upon arrival whenever possible; offer them water, making them feel completely

welcome and comfortable.

New business equation: Positive Lasting Impression + Relationship = Continued Survival

6. SPECIALTY PROGRAMS:

During this same study throughout the U.S. and Canada many practice owners also voiced their

need for new services to aid in expanding their patient base, especially new cash paying services.

Most patients are interested in specialized programs designed to help avoid injury or ones which

improve upon their abilities, sport, etc. Here are some possible solutions you might want to

incorporate… of course always survey your local community to find what would be most

valuable to them!

• Pilates or Yoga classes. Great for muscular strength & tone which help avoid injury.

• Golf injury program or one that teaches special techniques to avoid such injuries.

• Postpartum program.

• Personal massage.

• Sauna/Steam room/Jacuzzi. Offer a monthly membership allowing members to use the

facilities any time you’re open.

• Sports therapy to increase potential and reduce injuries.

• Senior citizen exercise, strengthening, or stretch programs.

Or for Dentistry:

• Teeth Whitening.

• Hygiene, Nutrition & Prevention Workshops.

• Workshops that cover common mysteries such as: Causes of bad breath, Your dental

destiny, Avoiding dentures, Natural ways to improve the brightness of your teeth,

Fluoride controversy, Naturally restoring your enamel, etc.

• Workshops for new mothers covering teething and natural remedies.

• Kid Workshops on good dental hygiene habits.

7. REFERRAL PROGRAM:

Anyone, no matter their profession, knows how important referrals are for a business. A trusted

friend or co-worker giving a high recommendation tends to give prospects immediate

confidence. Push this and make a game with patients - create prizes and awards for bringing

new patients. Perhaps one of your patients works at a manufacturing plant or a law firm. See if

they’ll help represent your practice by co-hosting a workshop for their co-workers – your place

or theirs! Create gift certificates and Free Consultation cards that patients can hand to friends and

family and of course make sure the referral receives good service when coming in as a new

patient. Contact your current referral sources and see if they’ll help co-host a workshop. Both of

you will usually end up with new patients!

8. PATIENT FOLLOW-UP:

Once a patient is mid treatment, ensure you stay in touch with them. Have a system in place

where your front desk calls/emails your patients a week before their scheduled appointment and

then just a couple days prior to confirm it. This may also help you to reschedule ahead of

cancellations / no-shows; it also frees up that no-show time slot for another patient.

Send out monthly/quarterly THANK YOU cards to patients acknowledging your gratitude with

their continued business and in being able to help them with improved health, etc. Having your

patient’s birthdays on file and sending personalized greeting cards to show you’re thinking of

them and going the extra mile to improve the relationship is always an added plus.

Create a cancellation/no-show policy wherein the patient is made aware, and signs a form stating

they will pay a fee when not giving you 24-hour cancellation notice.

9. STRESS YOUR CONVENIENCE:

Make your practice hours of operation easy for your patients to accommodate. Find what other

clinics are successfully doing in the surrounding area and then stretch your hours just a bit more

to extend beyond your competition. Disclaimer: Only do what you’re comfortable with and

won’t adversely affect your practice, physical, personal, or family life.

On your website and all promotions clearly state where you are located, how easy it is to get

there, offering directions along with a map, where your parking is located, etc.

10. BE THE PROFESSIONAL / EXPERT:

Let’s first take a look at 2 definitions:

Professionalism - The practices or methods of a professional, as distinguished from an amateur.

Professional - a. Extremely competent in a job, etc. – b. Produced with competence or skill. (As

in a piece of work or anything performed.)

Here’s a scenario often seen:

A patient enters… The receptionist is making a triumphant effort to handle a phone call that’s

not going so well and talking a bit snidely to the person on the other end, then interrupts and puts

the caller on HOLD to set the next series of appointments for a patient at the desk, and finally

while showing her frustration with it all picks up on the caller once more. She’s dressed in faded

and tattered jeans, a trendy torn T-shirt and displays an over-the-top wild hairdo.

That is not quite the professional example of multi-tasking. What’s the first impression? It’s

definitely not “Professional”… more toward disorganized, frazzled, unhappy, and a juggling act.

Here’s the professional scenario:

The patient enters and is greeted immediately by name and accompanied with a smile or at least

“Hello, I’ll be right with you”. The receptionist is dressed in well-pressed clothing and her hair

pulled back neatly. She’s currently on a call using a friendly attitude and sounds quite

knowledgeable and proficient, completes the call and quickly assists the walk-in patient handling

each item one at a time and completing each. She appears calm, well dressed, well mannered,

and…PROFESSIONAL!

EVERY employee is a representative of your practice and each leaves the patient with an image

of professionalism, or not. Therefore, each should be given a “quality & professional assurance

check” from time to time. Hair, dress code, fingernails, and breath; from cleanliness, orderliness,

manners, and a friendly smile… IT ALL COUNTS!

You’d be surprised at the effect this creates on your customers. When they see and experience

true professional treatment, your job has been well done. You’ve created a lasting image of

professionalism that helps retain business for your future.

Implementing these 10 steps for your practice should help to increase new patients and improve

your patient retention on an immediate basis. I know… this may be a lot to absorb all at once, so

just start these actions one at a time and eventually you should end up with at least 1 full-time

person in-charge of these functions. That person is an investment in expanding your practice and

your future. My very first client back in 1985 started work with me immediately out of college

and built a HUGE practice servicing her community over the next several years; eventually

having 60 staff and 10% of those staff handled only the PR & Marketing! That’s right! 6 people

in PR & M Department resulted in 2,000 Referral Sources here in Los Angeles County – now

that’s success!

Obviously, there is much more information and training included in our client programs, and if

you're ever seeking more professional results for the longer term on any problem area of your

business, please give us a call and see what we can do to help you.

We look forward to helping you improve your image, expand your practice, and welcome your

feedback and successful implementation of these tips.

Sincerely,

Craig Ferreira, CEO

Survival Strategies, Inc.

(800) 834-0357

Email my assistant Nancy Mura at:

nancym@survivalstrategies.com

www.survivalstrategies.com

Recent Press Release…

PROVEN SYSTEM FOR GENERATING &

RETAINING NEW PATIENTS…

A recent analysis of the results of the Referral Increase Training and

Implementation Program as delivered by Survival Strategies, Inc. to Private

Practice Owners revealed dramatic increases in New Patients and Clinic

Productivity.

Private Practice Professionals agree that the traditional lunches with

doctors/referral sources and sending out thousands of promotional items typically

does not produce the desired long-term results.

Many other consulting companies have attempted to remedy this problem with

their marketing programs, however Survival Strategies’ proprietary techniques

and information as contained in their Referral Increase Training and

Implementation Program is the only service like it on the market that enables

one to create a broad referral base consistently bringing new patients.

Twenty-one practices in sixteen states that recently completed the

Referral Increase Program were included in this analysis yielding

the following results and averages:

Survival Strategies, Inc. has delivered the REFERRAL INCREASE

PROGRAM for over 25 years throughout the U.S. and Canada with stellar results.

It is a comprehensive program which trains the Private Practice Owner on specific

methods of creating, building, and maintaining a broad referral base through

professional relationship development. And done without sales approaches!

It is a fully implementable system from referral to intake, scheduling control,

quality assurance, discharge, internal referrals and many other management

strategies and referral tools.

What some of our clients had to say about their results with the REFERRAL

INCREASE PROGRAM:

“I believe the greatest asset derived from the Referral Increase Program is our ability to formulate and implement a plan to increase and gain control of referrals, and adjust the plan to fit our current needs. There has been a great deal of information to digest. The course has been hard work. The program teaches techniques and ideas that are really not available anywhere else for PTs in the University and Continuing Education system. I feel we have a great resource to draw from. We can continue to implement and monitor the effectiveness of new programs and activities which will enhance our ability to manage and control referrals. From the relationships with referral sources, to how our front desk handles the referrals, to how we maintain our relationship with patients after discharge, this program trained us in all aspects of improving our processes.” – B.E., PT

“We now have a great arrival rate of over 93%. Most of all, we have stronger working relationships with our doctors!” – P.A., Practice Owner

“In the last two months my practice has exploded! I have tripled my Referral Sources within weeks and my visits have more than doubled!” – T.H., PT

“Our patient load has increased 50%!” –M.R., Practice Owner

My clinic has doubled in growth. The Referral Program gave me the tools to expand my practice to a level that I never dreamed was possible in my area.” – R.G., Practice Owner

“We increased our new Weekly Evals by 55%!” – T.M., PT

For more information visit: http://www.survivalstrategies.com Or

contact Survival Strategies directly at: (800) 834-0357 Ext 224

This Report has been provided to you by Survival Strategies Inc.