Understanding the Lifetime Value of a Chiropractic Patient

Thinking about investing some money in Chiropractic Marketing? Well how much should you spend? The answer depends on home much you think new patients are worth. This article shows you how to figure out the value of a new chiropractic patient to the chiropractor. We look at three key factors: the immediate revenue stream, the long-term referrals and the incremental cost.
 
First, you need to figure out how much revenue you would expect to see for providing the sought after chiropractic treatment. Assuming that you charge $70 per session and will do an average of 25 sessions, that means you will get immediate revenue of $1,750. Don't know what these averages are for your clinic, then have your office manager look through your records and figure out some rough estimates. This is something you need to be tracking.
 
Second, figure out how much revenue this patient will generate in the long-term. Do your patients tend to come back? Do your patients refer their friends when they have a sore back? Lets assume that the average patient will come and see you two additional times over their lifetime, making an additional 50 sessions. Lets also assume they will refer an average of one other patient, so that is another 75 sessions. That is another $8,750 in long-term revenue.
 
Finally, you need to figure out how much it costs you to deliver this additional treatment. For most chiropractors the incremental cost for each additional patients is low. You have already paid for your rent and don't need to pay any more for additional patients. Similarly, your office manager, equipment and utilities don't increase if you have any extra patients. You probably have to pay your massage therapist for an extra half hour of treatment and have to pay for a few miscellaneous supplies. Lets assume that totals $20 per visit. Now for the extra 150 chiropractic sessions that you performed, that amounts to $3000.
 
So how much is an extra patient worth. Add up the total of the immediate revenue stream, the long-term referrals and subtract the incremental cost. For our example, an extra patient was worth $7,500. 
 
Surprised? Your numbers may be different, but they are probably much higher than you thought. The key is that new patients really cost very little to see because everything is already paid for. And over their lifetime each patient brings in a lot of revenue, you just don't notice because it arrives in lots of very small chunks. So go forth and market!