Are You Building a Patient Base or a Tribe?

Seth Godin’s book Tribes creates an interesting discussion framed around our practices. He makes an ingenious point that tribes, whether they’re massive or miniscule, are connected around three factors: to an idea, to one another and to a leader. Which begs the question: what are you doing inside your practice to create a tribe?

A patient base is a collection of people that come into your office seeking quality Chiropractic care. They come in for their spinal analysis, get adjusted if needed, and then go their merry way, never completely understanding the full value of Chiropractic. They may or may not bring in their family (usually not!), they usually don’t refer others, and may miss an appointment here and there. They usually wind up out the door when their pain is gone, missing the point completely. They are overall satisfied with you and your service, but will not go to any great length to be an ambassador for you and your idea. The idea may or may not be there, that is, the doctor and staff may have in their minds and hearts the true essence of Chiropractic and the benefits it holds for humanity, but they haven’t taken a leadership position in their practice and lack the conviction and confidence necessary to communicate the idea to their patients and definitely have not set up systems to allow the patients to communicate with each other about the idea.

A practice that creates a tribe looks different. In it, the doctor and staff are committed to educating their patients every chance they get about the BIG IDEA that is Chiropractic. They create a shared vision that their patients can connect to and then they leverage that connection to build their tribe. Imagine that your patients are actively creating new patients for your practice by bringing in their family and friends. Continuously. They are followers of a tremendous leader (you!) instilled with an idea that is bigger than anything, and are connected to one another with a vision that transforms lives. Patients that come early with their entire family, that pay ahead of time, that bring others to your health class (you better be doing one!) regularly, that communicate with others the wonders of Chiropractic and the service that you provide them. That’s a tribe, and it’s something you can create.

Bottom line…An idea. A leader. One another. Put all three together and watch your practice explode!