This year, we are starting out with 13 things you need to do.  Quite frankly, I don’t think the number matters. Whether it’s 4 secrets or 7 or 70, there is one absolutely necessary, super vital, umm—ultra important (what else can I say?) thing you need to do with this helpful information. In fact, I was going to wait to put this as #13 of our 13 things series but I’ve received so many whining emails lately about how the economy is killing their practice, I just have to put it forward now.  Here it is: Read More

This post may come as a surprise to many of you as I don’t have any cool marketing names attached as a tagline that brand myself a self-proclaimed marketing “guru,” “genius,” “maven“ rainmaker or even noisemaker.

But, like it or not, our businesses all need marketing in some shape or form. And because of that, I am a student of many in this regard.  Mostly, I don’t look at chiropractic marketing experts because the bulk of them have just borrowed their ideas from each other and a select few, from real marketing heavyweights.

As the healthcare landscape changes in 2013 and beyond, I believe that many chiropractors will be forced to take a more serious look at their marketing efforts.  Some, in fact, who have not given a thought to marketing in a decade or more, will need to begin anew or face the consequences as they watch their numbers slowly take a dive.  Newer DC’s will have to master marketing skills that they were definitely not taught in school, as most materials that would appear in such a classroom are dated by a decade at the least.  So where do we turn? Read More

Today’s post is a quick reminder of something we too often sweep under the rug.  No one likes to deal with staff struggles and all of us like to point the finger when things are not going well in practice.

While the front desk does not deserve all the blame for poor performance of your practice, I have definitely observed a correlation in the success of your office and the quality of your front desk staff.  It’s very simple: the busiest, healthiest, most vibrant practices have, for the most part, outstanding staff.

Certainly, this generalization is hard to quantify, so let’s get very specific so you can begin to analyze potential areas you may need to improve – regardless of whether your practice is booming, stagnating or headed for the toilet.  EVERY practice can always do better in this department and MANY practices NEED to do better in order to thrive.

Each year, I visit more offices than my car tires want to count.  And it amazes me how many offices neglect the ultimate basics when staffing their front desk.  This is far from rocket science and very close to what most people would call common sense.  Unfortunately, it’s also rare enough that we really can’t accurately say it’s all that common in chiropractic offices.  So, let’s assume we are starting with a blank slate. Here are the basic requirements for a great front desk staff member. Read More