Chiropractic Postcards- Are They Worth It?

Sending postcards may seem a bit old-school, but you shouldn't underestimate their effectiveness at driving new patients and re-activations.

Today we'll break down the three important types of postcards that you need for your chiropractic practice. Typically I talk a lot about social media and online marketing (because it's SUPER important) because it's the best way you can grow your practice quickly. But there is something to be said for the physical nature of mailing a postcard. And there are three postcard types I would recommend starting immediately which all have an extremely high return on investment.

Chiropractic Happy Birthday Postcards

So postcard type number one is the good old fashioned "Happy Birthday" postcard. We all know getting physical mail carries way more perceived importance than just an email. Think about it yourself. When it's your birthday, you open up the mailbox you'll see a card there. It makes you feel good! You should, of course also send a happy birthday email to your patient but sending a physical postcard at somebody's birthday has that little bit extra pizazz. It's a little bit special, it's a little bit over the top, and I think it delivers a very high return on investment through goodwill and caring.

Sold out

Chiropractic Reactivation Postcard Set

$15.00

Add to cart

The second type of postcard you should be sending is a re-activation postcard. The goal of this postcard is to engage with your past patients, let them know you've been thinking about them and that you care.

Over time you will have an inactive patients list in the hundreds, if not thousands. Sending a physical postcard and reminder of your practice thorugh direct mail is a compelling way to stimulate re-activations. Incidentally, you should also be sending these reminders consistently through email, but mixing in a physical postcard every few months is a great way to deepen your relationship and add another touch point.

A reminder that you exist is an excellent opportunity for your in-active patients to pick up the phone and call your office. How many patients leave your practice happy and healthy? Probably more than 90%. So think about it, you have a plethora of "fans' of your practice out there in your community. Don't hesitate to remind them with a physical postcard that you are part of their healthcare team and you are ready to help when they need you.

Chiropractic Holiday Postcard Set

$15.00

Quantity:

Add to cart

The third type of postcard you should consider is a holiday card. Around the New Year is a great time to send a physical piece of mail to your patients and let them know you are thinking of them. Pro-tip- the timing of your holiday card can vary. If you are looking for a boost in the new year, then it may be beneficial to wait until after the 1st to send. If you are looking for a little practice uptick before the close of the year (and as your patients are looking at their deductibles) then sending the holiday card towards the beginning of December may be a better idea. It's up to you!

These three postcards will give you touch point practically every quarter with your patients.

I'd encourage you to explore sending postcards in 2019. Test it. See what kind of return on investment you can get. I think you'll be happily surprised with the results.

Chiropractic Salary: How much money can you make as a chiropractor?

In this article we will look at the good, the bad, the ugly and even one avenue you may not have thought of that has been shown to generate up to 10% MORE revenue for your practice.

When we talk about chiropractic salaries, it's important to keep in mind that over 70% of the chiropractic profession are "sole proprietors." So it's not an actual salary that is taken. Most chiropractors take home whatever money is left after expenses. This equation is (top line revenue- expenses = take home pay) That take-home pay is what many chiropractors call their salary, even though by textbook definition it might not be an actual salary.

Chiropractic salaries- how much can you expect to make if you are a doc?

Total Revenue - Total Expenses = Most Chiropractors Take Home Pay (aka- salary)

So what does all that jargon mean?

Well, number one it says if you are not taking an actual salary. Think of an accountant at a grocery store. Their salary may be $65,000 per year, paid every two weeks. This amount stays the same every two weeks, regardless of if they took a vacation, or if the company made or lost money over those two weeks. A salary is defined as a fixed amount of pay over a certain amount of time.

So, you can probably already start to see that for many chiropractors there can be fluctuation. If you are taking home the amount of between the top line revenue and expenses, it can be variable from year to year, month to month, or even week to week. So unlike our accountant with a fixed salary in a corporation that might be $65,000 with a two percent raise each year; as a chiropractor to have the opportunity to make a lot more money OR a lot less money. So understanding the salary for many chiropractors is continually changing is critical to know as we start to look at the numbers.

via GIPHY

Now let's start at the bottom of the barrel. What the research has shown is that the bottom 10% of a chiropractor's salary is around $30,000 per year. Not exactly a good return on investment for eight years of schooling and upwards of $200,000 in debt.

So that is important to keep in mind with your planning. As a new chiropractor, it's unlikely you are going to be out purchasing your first sports car when you start your practice. As a new doc, unless you are bringing a big audience, a unique skill set, or you have found a fantastic opportunity, the starting point for your salary is often going to be quite low. The good news is that chiropractic salaries tend to rise the longer you are in practice. So while the first few years can be very tough, often there is light at the end of the tunnel!

As we get up towards the middle of the curve, we see two different sets of numbers emerge. Chiropractic Economics runs an annual, and the self-reported median salary is right around $100,000. However, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics pegs the middle closer to $80,000.

So the question is when self-reporting are a lot of chiropractors inflating their salaries? Or is it maybe just an incomplete data set?

Either way, it seems as though $80,000-100,000 is a good median point for a chiropractic income or salary. Now interestingly, as I mentioned earlier the data shows that salaries tend to increase as time goes on. So the longer you are around your community, the more that you have built a brand, and the more past patients you've seen, the more money you will statistically make.

via GIPHY

At the highest end, there is not a salary cap. In many cities, there are practices where the chiropractic owner can take home over $1,000,000 per year. Typically these practices have incorporated associate doctors across multiple locations that help grow the revenue.

And finally, the data has shown retail services can increase your top line revenue by 10% or more. This could consist of DME (durable medical equipment), nutritional supplements, pillows, and more.

More recently this type of "retail" has expanded into group coaching, clinic-gym hybrids, cross-fit classes, and other services. These new service lines have the opportunity to sit in the perfect sweet spot- lucrative for the provider and extremely beneficial for the patients.

So there you have it. Feel free to comment down below with any questions that you may have!