As a chiropractor, you are expected to juggle many different needs to establish a successful practice, from bringing in new patients to retaining current ones, not to mention insurance claims, employee management, patient record keeping … the list continues. But you didn’t become a chiropractor to resemble a circus performer; you became a chiropractor to help people heal. Where should you dedicate more time to promote practice growth?

The Folly of the New Patient Focus

Acquiring new patients is a much larger uphill battle than retaining current patients. Time, money and energy are expended into generating those leads, making those phone calls, placing ads, creating buzz on social media and fully onboarding that patient. However, if retention efforts are not on point, then that will be all for naught if the patient only comes in once or twice, as the money brought in from that short interlude ultimately represents a loss when everything is added up. Repeating this cycle across dozens or even hundreds of patients is not sustainable, leading to burnout, stress and unreliable revenue streams. How can the tide be turned?

Encouraging Retention

Healthy retention rates are often a result of diligent education of patients so that they understand that you care about their health, demonstrating why ongoing chiropractic care is beneficial to them as well as their family and friends. Retention-focused practices make a point to remind their patients about the long-term health benefits of routine chiropractic care, making sure to highlight any techniques or offerings that your office offers that suit the patient’s individual health goals. Communication needs to be consistent and passionate, delivered with confidence. Lastly, it is essential to help patients understand that Chiropractic seeks to be preventive rather than reactive to symptoms, ideally eliminating root causes of potential pain before they even become a problem. Patients are more likely to stick around if they truly understand how it serves them.

Chiropractic Economics lays out a straightforward patient retention strategy in their article “The 4 ‘F’s’ of a patient retention strategy”. The 4 F’s are:

  • Feedback should be intuitive, accurately demonstrating the need for care and tracking progress throughout care.
  • Forecasting care throughout a patient’s journey ensures a clear path to wellness and doesn’t leave the patient confused about the game plan for care and why it is necessary.
  • Frictionless payments take the financial discussions out of the equation and remove the thought of money. Consider automated payments if that is conducive to your financial policies. Generally, reducing friction points for the patient is going to lead to a higher likelihood of return.
  • Frequent contact allows for automated education and marketing. It is important to keep communications brief and to the point, however, as people are likely to tune out large blocks of text without enticing visuals to back it up.

Making early efforts to improve retention can pay back dividends on your bottom line, as well as help you feel more accomplished in your practice. Creating a loyal patient base means spending less time on basic chiropractic education and general onboarding. Then those tuned-in patients are more likely to refer others to your practice, further growing your practice and improving the office culture. Retention is the natural reward that comes from properly demonstrating care for your patients and your community, as patients see the value you provide and learn to trust you based on their positive experiences.