You work hard to attract a new patient to your office only to have them drop out of care or resist becoming a health patient with regular maintenance care.
When your patient flow drops, you attempt to reactivate inactive patients.
The traditional method best by leading consultants is:
IS MARKETING A FIXED COST
* Telephone Call
* Post Card/Letter Mailers
The effectiveness of these methods are debatable... it works for some, at some level but is not as effective as most expect.
Patient Reactivation Marketing (PRM)
Patient Reactivation Marketing is an important component of your INTERNAL merchandising mix and for maximum effectiveness, you must have a written and structured plan.
PRM begins on the FIRST office visit. Most Chiropreneurs don't begin the PRM process until a patient become INACTIVE. That's the most difficult time to begin. The purpose of a solid PRM plan is to reduce the number of patients whom become INACTIVE for any number of reasons.
If your PVA is below 80, then you will have a HIGH number of inactive patients in your office. Often you will have more inactive patients than you do active ones.
Your PVA is a barometer on how effective you are in retaining patients, which will impact the number of inactive patients in your office. It all begins with the first, second, third.... office visit. In other words, your patient care communication possibility communications protocol has a direct link to your patient retention or lack thereof.
During the program of care, you will either build trust, respect and confidence with the patient... or they will become inactive.
The components of building patient loyalty are:
1. Patient Communications, i.e., scripting.
2. Patient Education
3. Number of Referrals piece under care.
4. Utilization of your services and products beyond chiropractic adjustments.
5. Consistent Marketing Communications, i.e., newsletter and special events.
6. Patient Loyalty Club to earn rewards.
7. Patient Recall Protocol
8. Supporting Patient's Aliveness
Each of these components in your patient care communication possibility communications protocol will stem the tide of patients vote with their feet and failing to return for care.
Inactive Protocol
Once you have enforced the components above, you will have patients whom go inactive for in number of reasons. However, you can reactive these patients with a structured and consistent merchandising plan.
The first rule: NEVER GIVE UP!
What I most often find is that after one or two attempts to reactivate a patient, the effort is abandon and the effort is aborted.
With the exception of those whom move away from your marketplace, those who die or those whom you no longer desire to serve, you should ne'er stop merchandising to your former active patients. The reason is simple: you ne'er know when they may need your brand of chiropractic again. You cannot predict when they may have an motorca accident, get hurt on the job or a slip and fall at home. You must be foremost upstairs of your patient so they can instantly recall your brand of chiropractic.
But, beyond this, just because has chosen to drop our of care doesn't not preclude them from referring others to your office!
Our of sight.... out of mind.
Here are some maneuver you can use to maintain a connection:
1. Monthly Print Newsletter
2. Weekly electronic newsletter
3. Invitation to special events
4. Monthly Promotional Offers
5. Personal Contact
6. Dimensional Reactivation Mailer
7. Loyalty Incentive Offers
8. Anniversary Gift Card
The important consideration is that you have a planned and structured merchandising scheme to reach out and stay connected.
Many Chiropreneurs make the mistake of giving up too soon... contention that if they drop out of care and don't respond to your reactivation messages, why waste money? Here's why:
Because you do not know when they will need you or have mortal to refer to you! Marketing is about consistency and spaced repetition. Who doesn't know about McConald's? So one would think that if mortal wanted a fast burger, they would just attend the local McDonald's and in proceedings satisfy their hunger. If that were true then why do they spend hundreds of millions of dollars on t.v., radio, newspaper, magazines, billboard and mailers calendar month-in and calendar month out? Because they have no clue when the hunger-pain may hit you, so they want to be front and center when it does.
Let's take an example: You "invest" $1.00 per calendar month, per patient (active and inactive) with some form of merchandising communication hypothesis. You do this for five years, 60 calendar months. Your total investment during the 60 calendar months would be $60.
Now, during that 60 calendar months of regular and consistent communication hypothesis, what would have to happen for you to recapture your investment? Maybe a single office visit would do it! But, what if they have a new case in the next five years, or a friend, family member or co-worker necessarily a chiropractor. Remember, McDonald's is merchandising 99 cent burger, you are merchandising $50 office visit or $2,000 care plans! You have a huge edge over McDonald's.
Dimensional Marketing
There are two kinds of mailers: flat and dimensional. Flat is a mailing-card or letter in an wrape. It's a flat piece of merchandising. And, this is the typical format used by most Chiropreneurs who attempt patient reactivation. But, it is the lest effective.
Dimensional merchandising is more like a:"package." It has heaviness which contributes to the curiosity factor.... important in creating readership and a response. When mortal receives a mailing-card or letter, they can quickly decide to read or trash. But, if they receive a "bulky" package, they are driven to OPEN and see what they received.
The mot important element in direct mail merchandising is acquiring "opened," and read.
Here are some dimensional mailers have used:
1. Sock Letter.... a bulky, bubble wrap with a letter and actual sock enclosed.
* Boomerang Letter... box with a letter and actual boomerang enclosed.
* Patient Chart Folder... an actual booklet with patient "stuff" enclosed.
* Ceramic Mask Letter... a box with a ceramic mask and letter.
* Yo Yo Letter.... a box with a letter and yo-yo enclosed.
* Gift Card Letter... Box with a gift wrapped Gift Card and letter.
* Slinky Letter... a box with a slinky and letter enclosed.
Get the idea? Add some dimension to your patient reactivation efforts to improve your results.
It's the Plan
Patient Reactivation Marketing is planned and structured and begins with the first visit and continues until the patient dies, moves away, patient request cessation of your communication hypothesis or you refuse to serve the patient.
Take a look at your PVA and count how many INACTIVE patient records you have and you may uncover a huge merchandising initiative that can change the dynamics of your practice.
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