what they expect from your services. He explained that in a product-driven industry like chiroprac-tic, there are two reasons why your target market goes in search of your services: the first is for help with things they would like to move away from such as pain, dysfunction and illness; the second is for things they would like to move toward, such as relief from pain, return to function and overall wellness. Port said you must offer what your potential clients want to buy, not what you want to sell or think they should want to buy. An example of a product-driven industry is the movie theatre experience. Going to the movies can be such a won-derful outing with so many exciting things to see and do before the movie even begins. There’s food like popcorn, licorice and poutine. There are arcade games like air hockey, car racing and pool tables, and, of course, everyone enjoys the movie previews right before the main attraction. How-ever, if it turns out to be a bad movie, the moviegoer’s ex-pectations of being entertained will not be met. Many people visit the movie theatre to be entertained, much like many people visit the chiropractor to obtain relief from pain and achieve better health. If our product cannot fulfill our patients’ expectations, it’s time to re-examine the quality of our clinical outcomes. ® Strong on inflammation, gentle on patients How to improve your product In his book Future Shock , economist and author Alvin Toffler makes several recommendations about how to evaluate and improve your product. Toffler recommends doing a comprehensive review of your product, the benefits it offers and why someone would want to use it. This is a process that involves analyzing things like patient visit numbers, patient satisfaction surveys and employee feedback. What you’re seeking is honest, frank and constructive criticism, even if it hurts your ego. “If your product isn’t good, let alone great, you’ve got a problem that no amount of marketing is going to fix,” says Toffler. I continually evaluate and analyze the quality of my clin-ical results by asking myself two questions: • Do I know that my treatment will help my patient or do I hope my treatment will help my patient? • Am I looking for a solution that changes the way I practise or am I looking for a solution that merely fits the way I practice? Marketing can attract new patients to your office but it doesn’t take long for patients to realize your product is not worth their time and money. John Deere teaches us to strive to solve clinical problems others can’t; Estée Lauder encour-ages us to provide intangible benefits few others can provide; and Michael Port suggests we focus on giving our target market what they expect from our services. By making product excellence our top priority we will continue to generate new patient referrals from our current patients, medical professionals and the surrounding community. Effective relief of muscle and joint pain, as well as inflammation associated with injuries. Supported by over two dozen scientific studies, Traumeel S is a clinically proven preparation formulated to help regulate inflammation. ® Traumeel S relieves muscle pain, bruising and inflammation associated with injuries such as sprains and contusions, as well as joint pain. ® www.heel.ca www.traumeel.ca For more on practice management, visit www.canadianchiropractor.ca. www.canadianchiropractor.ca September 2013 Canadian Chiropractor 21
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