The Importance of Refining Your Product and Service- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Recently, I was listening to Jason Fried (co-founder of 37Signals/Basecamp) talk about pulling back the lens on product development. While not every chiropractor is developing products; we are certainly all in the service industry. In a practical sense, I think this can be applied to every Chiropractors blog. For instance, why did you choose this brand of a new chiropractic table? What goes into your decision to upgrade the copy/design on your website? I believe that the answers to these questions are important, not only to your patients, but also to other chiropractors struggling with the same questions.

In light on this I want to touch on the evolution of our MD Research Briefs. We did not choose the design out of the sky, but rather it has been a journey. The original design is a distance cousin of our current design. Originally, I had a multipage letter/newsletter hybrid as you can see below.

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The design was a bit cumbersome and lacked the elegance I had hoped to achieve. Additionally, one of the biggest challenges in reaching MD's is time. They are completely swamped in practice and probably don't have the time to read multiple pages of text (even if the layout is world class). 

This started the process of our transition to the current format; a single page PDF with a customized header/footer, clear indication of the highlighted study, short and direct analysis, beautiful graphics, and some direct quotes. We have found that this design really fires on all cylinders. 

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In 2015, we will continue to explore new design ideas which can improve our message. Simplicity, elegance, and efficiency are the hallmarks of good design. And truthfully, the bottom line is that good design solves problems. The problem we encounter is the inequity of referrals from other health care professionals. I believe we can solve this problem with hard work, persistence, a clear message, and perhaps a little bit of good design. 

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

Free Chiropractic Marketing Calendar- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

"What gets measured gets managed."- Peter Drucker

I am sure we are all familiar with the above quote, but have you actually implemented it? Let me ask a simple question- do you like wasting money? I didn't think so.  Chiropractors that carefully track their marketing and outreach stand to make substantially more income than those who choose not to. When items are not tracked, results tend to be esoteric, and revenue slips out the door.

We have put together a complete MD Marketing Calendar and tracking sheet which is available for free right here. 

Use our Marketing Calendar to maximize your results and-

• -keep track of your targeted physicians
• -see the essential practice information at a glance
• -monitor your monthly "touches"

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

Building Your Tribe- by Beau Pierce of Circle of Docs

As a Doctor of Chiropractic we should always be looking for ways to grow our practice and make our personal brand synonymous with the words authority and trust.

One way to aide in accomplishing this is to have a great working relationship with other medical professionals. What was once generally perceived as an easy task of, “Just pick up the phone and call them” can turn quickly into a daunting situation. 

Here are strategies to help build your tribe of medical professionals in your local community.

1. Be a “Real” Person

If you want to reach other doctors, act like them. Simple right? Hardly

Contrary to perceived belief, medical doctors are living and breathing people. Yes, their ideas for how to best care for a patient may be slightly differing from ours, but at the core we are still all on the same team. 

A lot of people turn into robots when they get in front of other “doctors” and freeze up or become the “holier than thou” doctor.

Don’t be that guy or girl.

You can be different:

• Talk like a real person (even if it means breaking a few grammatical rules).
• Be accessible. Answer your phone when they call, respond back to emails promptly and send over detailed notes about the patients you share. 

Just don’t be someone you’re not. Be you and amazing stuff will happen.

2. Be Relevant

People don’t care about what matters to you; they care about what matters to them. If you want to attract more doctors, you need to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about how you can help them and their practice.

One thing I see Chiropractors do is immediately try to “talk shop” to the other doctor the day they meet them. 

Stop!  

They do not care. Why? 

Because the word “chiropractic” holds no relevancy in their minds… yet

Remember: MD’s are taught to find a problem, prescribe, and fix it.  Words like low back pain, neck pain, headache, etc are what these doctors associate with “chiropractic”. Be relevant in their terms and then let the conversation flow.  

Eventually you will be able to go into the history of Chiropractic, show them a presentation on chiropractic and channel your inner BJ Palmer, but not at first.

The first thing you should be doing is figuring out how to help them. Be their best marketer. Send them patients, answer any questions they toss your way and be a cheerleader for their practice.

Over- the top generosity is the best marketing you’ll ever do. Nothing builds an audience faster than freely giving without expectation

3. Create a Bond

In the words of former Navy Seal, Marcus Luttrell, “Bonds are created in times of Adversity”.  If you are working with another doctor by managing a case, use this “Adversity” to build a bond with that doctor and his/her staff. 

Perform!  

Do a great job caring for that patient and then follow up with that doctor. Forge that bond further by sending over your detailed notes and pick up the phone and have conversation about your care plan.  Show them that you are responsible for the patient and want to work with them further. 

4. Make them a Super Star

Everyone loves to see their name in “lights”.  Highlight the doctor. Write a blog post about them and their practice. Grab your iphone and do a quick interview with them on camera. Perhaps even create a page on your website for “affiliations” and put their practice logo and a snippet about them.  Make them a Super Star.

 When you make your practice about other people, they’ll make it about you.

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Dr. Beau Pierce is the Founder of CircleofDocs, the online network for the Chiropractic Profession. His expertise in digital community building paired with his medical background has catapulted him to be a in demand speaker and lecturer. His Chiropractic practice is located in Santa Maria, California and where he resides with his wife and two children.

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

3 Essential Questions to Ask an MD- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Using the Socratic method during your MD Meetings is absolutely essential for success. The Socratic method is "based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas". In the context of an MD Meeting your goals are to gain insight and position your message.

There are 3 main questions that you should ask during your meeting. These questions will give you the information necessary to match your "message to the market".  When you message matches the market it creates a foundation necessary to fluidly build referral relationships. Let's take a look at the 3 questions.

1. Do they see patients with spine complaints in practice?

2. What specific complaints?

3. What are their current treatment protocols?

Believe it or not, the first question is often overlooked by most chiropractors! While most primary care physicians daily case load consists of 20-30% spinal complaints, there are some which do not see any spine patients. This could be due to a variety of reasons. For some, their partner physician may see all the spine patients.  Others may have an affiliation with a local spine group. In either case you can see why its important to first confirm that they see spine complaints in practice. 

Second, you will want to determine what complaints they are seeing practice. It will very likely be a broad range, similar to your practice. However, you will find that a substantial amount of docs will provide you additional information. It may be an increase in lumbar disc herniation because the snow birds are back in town. They may see a lot of cervicothoracic pain because they perform in-office trigger point injections. Any answer they give will provide you with additional insight to refine your message to their exact patient profile.

Finally, you will want to understand their current treatment protocols. We have found that 99% of the time medical doctors refer to physical therapy, other MD's, or treat in-house (meds) for spinal complaints. Thankfully, chiropractic has distinct advantages over all 3 of these choices. These advantageous are reviewed in detail in our free MD Meeting guide and my book, Marketing Chiropractic to Medical Doctors. By understanding their current choices you will be in the best position to fine tune your message to the market.

As you can see, asking 3 simple questions can give you a plethora of information to accelerate your marketing and outreach. Efficiency, affordability, and elegance.

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

The Essential Tool to Maximize Your MD Meeting- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

For many chiropractors the thought of preparing for a meeting with an MD can send them into a cold sweat. Read that sentence again. See, its not the actual meeting which is daunting, but rather the preparation. 

Preparation for the meeting typically includes gathering research, examining their current treatment options, digging up statistics, sourcing high quality photography, highlighting interdisciplinary cooperation, and then wrapping it all up in an elegant and professional package. That sounds like a lot of work! No wonder most chiropractors find it daunting. 

Wouldn't it be much easier if you had a presentation which was elegant, packed with current research, and laid out your information in a logical and educational format?

Well, there is a solution. It is our fully editable, MD Keynote Presentation. Available in both Keynote and Powerpoint formats, this beautifully modern presentation has assisted chiropractors around the world present to their local Medical Doctors. 

Simply click here and download it directly to your computer. We have done the hard work of preparing your materials. Now you can focus on your time and energy on building your practice.

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.