How Happy Hour Can Grow Your Acupuncture and Herbal Practice
Recently we have had an enormous amount of calls and emails from practitioners feeling the economic crunch. The main thing they want to know is, "how can I get new patients, FAST!". We are currently covering the 12 visit protocol for lifetime patients, but we feel that given the current economic circumstances we need to be offering a "quick return" on practice advice.
That having been said, we are going to be alternating our emails between the 12-visit protocol and recession proofing your practice tips. I understand that an email a week may be a little too much for some of you and you are always able to delete them if you don't have time, but we guarantee that there will be some great tips to keep you and your patients afloat. We will also be adding most tips from our emails onto our new blog spot (when it's up and running) on our website.
I was reading a marketing column today about the recession and realized that we, as alternative healthcare provides, should potentially be recession proof. It's true that the economy may not be doing particularly well, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not all that bad. It's sustaining itself, and so should we.
In the times of a "bad economy", our patients, their family members, and friends may be having trouble not only financially, but also physically and emotionally as well. Knowing what we know about acupuncture and Chinese medicine makes it great time to be a practitioner.
Why? Simple. We are in the business of making people feel better! We are trained to address physical and emotional problems. Today there is a high level of emotional stress, which manifests as physical aches and pains. The overall emotional breakdown of people in the country is expressing itself as new or exacerbated ailments that we have a solution for!
So, why aren't people breaking down your door and lining up at your clinic? Good question!
First of all, people's perception of acupuncture is that we mostly treat pain. Most people are not aware that acupuncture can make them calm, relaxed, and help them through these tough emotional times. People are not familiar with the powerful emotional support that acupuncture can offer. That's why it's important to shift that paradigm, and I know of no better way to do that than through the powerful benefits of Ear Shen Men, Point Zero and Yin Tang!
Happy Hour, Acupuncture Style
That is why I started holding Happy Hour sessions. The acupuncture sessions during happy hour are 20-minute ear acupuncture treatments, for $20, given in a group setting. I started doing it for a few reasons.
1) It's a great way to show people how quickly acupuncture can reduce stress and anxiety and,
2) it's a great way to break the "I never had acupuncture and am afraid of needles" ice.
The first time I held a Happy Hour, 6 people showed up and 3 of them opted for further treatments! With such a great return I decided to do one the next day. This time 10 people showed up and 4 of them opted for more care.
So, in two days, just by putting out flyers and not much more than that, I got 7 new patients. Not bad for a few hours of business canvassing with flyers.
Here's what I did:
- I created a flyer (we have a few promotional templates on our site)
- I went to local businesses within walking distance and told them about the event and invited them over
- I asked local businesses if I could place a few flyers near their cash register where they would easily be seen
- I had a local massage therapist stop by to give chair massages
- I had the Acupuncture and Stress PowerPoint playing in the treatment room
Through education, marketing and holding a Happy Hour you will be able to help shift that paradigm and provide a calmer, more peaceful world, one patient at a time!
Yours in health, practice growth and a stress-less world.
Good luck and make it fun!
Jeffrey Grossman, L.Ac.
Visit www.AcupunctureMediaWorks.com for the best educational material available for acupuncturists.
