Dear Doctor:
In my visits with our members, I find that too often doctors think of August as vacation time, and erroneously expect that their practices will slow down accordingly. Yet, after looking at practice statistics from thousands of offices over the last fifteen years, I can say with certainty that August is one of the busiest months in practice volume — thirty one days, no holidays, weather typically not a problem, and everyone who either is a student, was a student or has kids who are students is trained to look at September as the beginning of a new cycle, and August is when people prepare for that.
All in all, August stacks up to be a great month in practice — so why do some doctors miss this opportunity for growth? Through some combination of summer head, self-indulgent vacation planning and lowered expectation, August is often blown off instead of capitalized upon. There are no dog days in a chiropractic office — get your head back in the game, arrange your schedule so next year you take your summer break in July — and mostly, remember that even if thousands of people leave town every week, that still leaves thousands who remain available to learn about and take advantage of your services. The notion that “everyone in town goes away this week” flies in the face of logic — everyone doesn’t go away, you don’t need four thousand or even four hundred new patients that week, four or five or eight or ten would be just fine, and you can’t convince me or yourself that there aren’t eight or ten people left in town to be your new patients. If you need to be a little more creative or persistent to find them, then so be it, but they are there to be recruited if you have the right attitude.
There are many ways to market in August. For example, catch the proactive parents with a scoliosis screening. Make August “Screenings For School Kids” Month — screenings are already mandatory in many states and are known and accepted all over. You can structure it as a public service or collect donations toward a worthy cause, but the positive press and excellent service to the community cannot go unnoticed. For those kids who require follow-up services, have a packet of materials prepared for the parents, to explain the seriousness of the situation without causing undue alarm.
Another idea is the “late summer tune-up,” a great promotion for your weekend warriors who have pushed the envelope with lawn care, baseball with their kids and getting that garage cleaned out once and for all. Or, you can publish an article or advertorial in your local shopper or Pennysaver on the stresses of starting the school year and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle in decreasing lost time from school or work.
Your creative juices will only start to flow if you get off the belief that August is supposed to be slow, and realize it’s up to you to find ways to make it productive. Set your goals and plan to make August a big success in your office, and you’ll generate momentum that will add energy throughout the year.
Dennis Perman DC, for The Masters Circle
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