According the the Associated Press (AP), over 500,000 jobs were lost in November of 2008. This basically proves what myself and other entrepreneurs have been saying for the longest time. “Security is an illusion and there’s certainly no security in a job!” Chiropractors are feeling the financial crunch more than ever as potential new patients are holding back and have their priorities in a different order at the moment. The economic climate hasn’t really improved that much since a year ago and is predicted to be about the same in 2010.

Since many regular folks have lost there jobs, they’ve lost the insurance coverage along with them. The tendency that I’ve seen has been for DC’s to cut down on their chiropractic marketing in lieu of this economic meltdown. In fact, they should be doing the opposite.

I wanted to share a few tips in this particular article that have allowed myself and my chiropractic marketing students to continue prosper in these times of uncertainty. It’s about becoming more creative and innovative in markets like we face today. Those chiropractors that adapt to the ever-changing economy will thrive while others close their doors for good. Let’s get something straight right now. You do NOT have to be a victim of what’s going on externally, by any means.

The first strategy I want to share with chiropractors is to begin collecting patients emails as they walk through the door. Hopefully, you’re already doing this. This is very simple but can be very powerful. There should be a spot on your entrance form for a new patient to fill this information in. Why, you may ask? Well, email is a free and effective medium to connect and build rapport with your highly targeted audience.

If you amass a list in the hundreds and even thousands, you can easily communicate with them whenever you want. This is especially important if you’d like to do a reactivation campaign, patient appreciation day, or referral based program. It’s hard to beat the simplicity of being able to keep in touch with patients via the click of a mouse. It would be a good idea to also send periodic health newsletters to provide value to your subscribers and to instill top-of-the-mind awareness. I recommend sending-out information at least one time per week.

The second strategy, which ties in with the first, is that you want to have email marketing software, otherwise known as an autoresponder. To clarify, this is an automated follow-up up system that puts your email marketing on autopilot in a sense. These are timed emails that go out when you want them to.

Just to give you an example, say you write 7 emails as follow-ups or health newsletters for different patients. You can store them in the auto-responder service and they can go out every so many days depending on how you set them. This is a massive time-saver and can literally transform your business in weeks! See below for my personal recommendations.

Your website page should have a sign-up or opt-in form which collects visitors names and emails. Of course, these are highly-specific leads that are surfing the net and have found your page. At the very least you need to get their contact information so they can be put into an autoresponder for potential new patients.

Over time, they will receive pre-scripted communications from you that ultimately lead them into your office. Make sure that you provide a great deal of practical and use value when people are on your list. That’s why I suggest having a health newsletter or one tailored for your specific type of chiropractic marketing and practice.

Implementing the tactics I just shared with you can boost your chiropractic marketing and practice significantly. It’s important to place yourself in a position to leverage your time, energy, and efforts. This type of automated business tool does just that. Be careful of what service you go with, though. There are a couple of big names that come to mind but it’s important for you to perform your own due diligence on this topic.

Continued success!

– Matthew Loop

PS – Need an autoresponder / email marketing software? I use MyProResponse.com, as myself and other well-know online marketers feel their service, functionality, and customer support are the best in the business.