Summer Marketing

how to spend your time and not get frustrated

Summer is the time for vacations, long weekends or simply a time for everyone to slow down a little, including medical providers.  This is no excuse to stop working or marketing, you just have to modify what you are doing to maximize your time and not over exert yourself on wasted effort.

Update your CV – this is something that is overlooked quite often and it does take time.  Any time you take a course that offers continuing education, any time you publish an article or give a lecture.  Those should all be on your CV, you can easily modify it when it is posted on www.uschiropracticdirectory.com.  Look at medscape, all those classes are CV entries.  

Reach out to staff, do something fun – A staff picnic, a happy hour or some other fun and simple get together.  Socialize with them a little, it goes a long way.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, just something to let them know they are appreciated. 

Reaching out to MD offices – stay in touch with your reporting, by calling on difficult cases or simply stopping by those offices that you know.  Find a reason. Make sure they have a supply of post cards for referrals. Many MDs will not be available to meet, but that is ok, remember that we want to build relationships with staff anyway.  Call them, tell them you are in the neighborhood and ask what they want in their coffee.  Never ask IF they want coffee, assume they do and ask what they want in it…

Activate patients – call patients that have fallen off of care, those that missed appointment or those that were released.  If they were released, call them to make sure they are still feeling good. 

Clean – get rid of all those papers that you have been storing and filing.  You have not touched them in months or years. Clean house and clear your mind.  Believe me, it will help you to think and focus. 

Fill your Calendar – start filling your fall calendar with Marketing events, some lunches and dinners.  Do NOT wait until Labor Day to get your calendar moving, it is important and your staff can be used to help coordinate.  Call ALL your MD contacts and their offices to start to schedule, MD staff will be happy you are not trying to get in last minute. Call me and get an MD Lecture set where I will come in and we will invite area MDs to a CE dinner.

Communications – update your MD and Lawyer contact sheets, verify emails and phone contacts.  Update your patient newsletter list and verify patient email addresses, make sure you are not getting any bounces.  This will help focus your efforts with minimal “misses”.