Adapting to the recession

Everyone now knows we're in a recession. But the message is to get over the stigma as soon as possible because if you don't adapt to the situation, this year will be even more difficult.

As a healthcare profession though, chiropractic is well positioned.
Anyone with a spine is a potential customer so, Tax Inspectors aside, there is a population of 60m people ready to become clients. And chiropractic is still in its infancy in the UK, with still only around 2,500 registered GCC members, that's an opportunity to build a patient list from an average 24,000 people.

So where's the problem? Well, during the years of growth, many people in all industries had set-up their own businesses and expected to flourish. And the word 'expected' is important. Just being open is not enough now and a clinic needs to have a Unique Selling Factor or a suitable brand. I have always maintained that running a successful clinic was a mix of an enthusiastic approach to marketing, strong financial systems and, of course, treating. That mix will become steadily more important as the economy sorts the wheat from the chaff.

So what else can be done?

Well for starters, planning is a must. Take time to review the business plan for the clinic (firstly hoping that you have one!?). Double-digit growth may have been possible in previous years but is it now? Does the marketing need revising? Does that new adjusting table now make financial sense? On the basis of this 'fresh look' at your business, the cash position also needs to be known for the next 12 months. Is it expected that accountants have to work proactively for their clients but owners now too need to embrace that attitude. Monthly targets must be set and reviewed. Knowing immediately whether a business is ahead of target or behind is valuable information. Knowing how many treatments is needed per week, just to cover basic requirements, is a key indicator in chiropractic. All too many times we have become involved with a clinic with a lack of 'direction' and in a tougher market this control is essential. None of this is insurmountable though and we have been able to successfully reinstall the focus on many occasion although it does require a change of mindset and being able to step back and work on the business instead of working in it. 

Apart from the cost of the associate, the tax bill will probably be your largest expense in the year. So saving for it, every month, is a mandatory habit to get into. If you don't know how much to be saving, then you should do whatever is necessary to find out - unfortunately that may involve bringing bookkeeping up-to-date! January 2009 may have been a difficult month for some but I would predict January 2010 to be even tougher.

We invest a significant proportion of time ensuring every client's tax bill is legally as low as possible whether this is by systemising bookkeeping, taking advantage of tax opportunities or breaking new ground in tax planning. So you should use our skills should be used to improve your business' position as much as possible.

Finally, I am aware that there is a lot of focus on cost-cutting and whilst these times may necessitate some personal budgeting I believe that chiropractic is unique in its potential. To continue to flourish a clinic needs to operate so that patients would recommend, but it also needs to persuade them to actually recommend. It is perhaps regrettable in these times that the quality of the chiropractic care does not guarantee both of those. The restaurant analogy is often useful here and I do not have too much space left here for the detail, but I would suppose your experience of a meal in a restaurant probably has only 10% to do with the food so an independent view of the 'patient journey' through a clinic is interesting information to hold. Less than 90% satisfaction means business is being lost. Any changes needed to be made will surely not cost as much as a Yell advert.