Building Acupuncture Practice
Most CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) practitioners do not realize when they go into business that they will have to market themselves in addition to taking care of patients. This may be a foreign concept to a lot of health care practitioners, however it is necessary to have a thriving acupuncture practice in today’s world and economy.
In order to have a successful practice, a acupuncturists must have a steady influx of regular and new patients coming into their practice. There are several marketing strategies that can be utilized in order to make this a reality for any practitioner. Here are some strategies that are proved to be working.
First, give new patients the personal touch. Send them a hand written thank you card for using your services. Have someone from your staff call them to inquire as to how they feel after their treatment. This makes the patients feel special in your eyes, shows that you care about their health, and want them to feel better. This goes a long way toward keeping patients on your table.
Second, in a struggling economy some patients may have issues with paying out of pocket for CAM treatments. Since most acupuncture treatments are ongoing or long term, it might be wise to offer your patients a discount on a set number of treatments or on a monthly basis for payment up-front. This is a win-win situation for you and the patient. You receive money up-front and are assured of bookings by that patient. The patient will definitely use the service if they have paid for it.
Give satisfied patients cards or coupons to give to their friends or loved ones. This with their world of mouth referral will go a long way in bringing in new patients, thus improving your patient numbers. Word of mouth advertising is still the best way to sell anything today so do not hesitate to use it as a marketing strategy. You can also ask satisfied patients to give you a testimonial to use in a newsletter or quarterly email newsletter.
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