New Hope in Hard Times: Education Offers Salvation To Ailing Practices

As North-Americans everywhere feel the sting of tight wallets, no other sector is being hit harder than the private alternative health care provider.  Chiropractors, Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists, Naturopaths, Physiotherapists and others are finding fewer patients are coming in the door and even fewer are coming back.

Private clinics and practices are going out of business all over the country.  And according to Dr. Blaise Ryan, author of Booming Practice Marketing (www.boomingpractice.com), this is just the beginning but education is the key to staying afloat in tough times. These concerns are echoed by Richard Brown, President of Dynasty Chiropractic Equipment Corporation who says “We’re feeling a huge impact. No one is buying anything”.

“Practitioners need education on how to market themselves professionally.”  Dr. Ryan says: “The economy is changing how practitioners think about marketing and promotion because while many of them resisted self-promotion before, they are now realizing it’s a necessity in this economy.” One of the realizations that health care providers must understand is they are not only professional practitioners but they also require business acumen to thrive as practitioners. Dr. Johnstone of the Global College of Natural Medicine reinforces this assessment as he reports “the large majority of students that graduate go onto their professional practice.”

“The reason why many practitioners resist marketing is because they do not want to come across as a ‘salesperson’”. Says Jean-Guy Francoeur, Booming Practice Marketing’s co-author, president and chief instructor.  “But the problem is that practitioners were mis-educated about what marketing is.

“…the rules of marketing have changed,
and no one told the self-employed professional.”

You see the rules of marketing have changed and no one told the self-employed professional.” Louba Plotkin, Dean at the Ontario College of Homeopathic Medicine states that 15 years ago, their new Website generated two percent of their enrollment. Today, 95 percent of the College’s enrollment comes from online requests and inquiries.” Jean-Guy continues; “If you want to thrive in a down economy and expand in a growing economy then you must adapt to the new rules, marketing is not selling.  Marketing is educating.  And once we teach practitioners how to educate instead of sell, then they immediately see a large increase in new patients and more return clients too.”

Mr. Fouad, President of Premier Medical and Anne, Co-Owner of Pedia Pals both confirm that they have been spending less on Advertising and relying more on online marketing and referral programs which have produced great results in these economic times.

The day when you could just hang your ‘open’ sign on your front door and expect business to come walking in is over.  With the recent twitter phenomenon, facebook explosion and the consistent trend towards internet marketing, the rules of marketing have indeed changed.  And smart professionals who want to stay in business during the recession are now turning to websites like www.BoomingPractice.com to learn how to get more patients and clients while spending less on advertising.

One common mistake made by many professionals is their lack of tracking. Smart business people who understand marketing like Amanda Moore, Co-Owner of Riverdale Homepathic Resources have tracked their marketing and noticed different trends so they can adapt. Amanda reports “We found that Yellow Pages was not working anymore so we stopped and re-adjusted our marketing to a more web-friendly strategy”.

With all the doom and gloom of the economic recession, there is still hope and education is playing a big part in the recovery. Lisa Richards, Head of Marketing at the South West Institute of Healing Arts says “A lot of people are losing jobs and switching careers. The Massage Therapy industry is trending a nice growth pattern and it’s a great time to get in”.

Dr. Blaise Ryan and Jean-Guy Francoeur are the co-founders of Booming Practice Marketing Training, and are each responsible for growing clinics to 6-figure businesses within 2 years of starting up.

Booming Practice Marketing is based out of Sarasota, FL and they have a Canadian Office in Ottawa, Ontario.  These two young entrepreneurs are spearheading an effort to help practitioners thrive in the recession.  They’re doing this by releasing a series of free training videos on how you can get more patients and clients with a tight, or zero, budget.