Think Outside the Box
Posted on December 4, 2006 - Filed Under General |
I’ve been hearing the statistics of how many acupuncturists fail in their efforts after acupuncture school. I think we all start school rather idealistically, thinking that our business will be about healing patients. Unfortunately, most acupuncture schools teach us little about actually running that business.
We need to have a plan. We need to understand what our expenses are and how to budget for them. We need to understand business licenses and business taxes. We need to understand how to market ourselves. We need to understand how to target our market and how to reach those people.
Most models of marketing for acupuncture come from the healthcare industry. Doctors do very little marketing, as many of their referrals come from insurance companies or they work for a clinic or hospital that markets for them. Chiropractors do some marketing. Often they have spinal screenings and can tell people about why their body is out of alignment and how chiropractic can help.
We are not doctors and our business model shouldn’t be based on the model of Western Healthcare. It’s limiting. Chiropractors have a specific specialty. Everyone can feel their spine. Their tests can affirm obvious problems with the spine. Acupuncture is more subtle. One treatment under the best conditions rarely makes radical changes, much less a mini treatment given in less than ideal conditions.
The models that Western doctors and chiropractors use can be where we start in creating our own. However, we need to realize that acupuncture is not based on the theories embraced by the West. It’s based on a different paradigm. We need to try and work that paradigm into how we practice as well as into our diagnostics. When it comes to marketing, sometimes we need to think outside the box. Each person has something to offer. As we embrace our success in creating the perfect business, then we’ll be able to come up with ideas for a business model that will work not just for ourselves but for others.
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