Transform Your Waiting Room into a Selling Space
We have all sat in reception areas and waiting rooms at doctors, dentists, car dealerships, tire stores, banks, you name it. Usually what we have to occupy ourselves in these environments is outdated magazines. If you are lucky, the magazines might be current!
Since most of us have a waiting room for patients, I think we should recycle the magazines and do something more creative. If people are waiting less than ten minutes, they don’t have time for much, so we have to capture their attentions quickly and powerfully. Either educate your patients about Chinese medicine, or sell them something good. Here are my ideas.
1. A research notebook
This can be powerful and it potentially tells patients the full range of what Chinese medicine can treat. You can download it from this very website….over 1500 pages of it, put it in alphabetical order in laminated sleeves with a sign on the outside of the notebook offering to make a copy if a patient wishes to share information with a friend, colleague or family member. Make sure to stamp the outgoing copy of any article with your clinic info or staple your biz card to the front.
2. A testimonials, articles, and photos scrapbook
This is really kind of fun but takes some months to create. Photos from a trip to China; letters from happy patients (with their approval of course); articles that you have written; articles from the general press about acupuncture and Chinese medicine; anything else of possible interest to patients. The idea is to share something about you, about the medicine, in a fun and interesting way. This is a great project for “scrapbookers.”
3. Small, tasteful product displays
Lovely soaps, aroma-therapy product lines, a line of cosmetics, candles, books, even just regular old Blue Poppy Allerease during allergy season, whatever you like. This should have a little sign perhaps with pricing and something like “See Jamie at the front desk to purchase.”
4. Book of the month displays
There are some books from Blue Poppy and other publishers written just to educate our patients. We and others will give discounts if you buy several copies. Or, what other books do you like on any subject? You can display a book each month, with a little blurb about it in a plexiglass sign and offer for sale. A little extra income and good education about Chinese medicine for your patients.
5. Signage that educates
All over your clinic, but especially in the waiting area should be signs that say things like “Did You Know All the Things Chinese Medicine Can Treat?” (this is followed by the WHO list of things acupuncture can treat) or “The highest compliment you can pay me is to refer your family and friends.” or “Want some information to share with a friend? Ask for a brochure on any of the following subjects to take with you.” (This is followed by a list of all the condition-specific brochures that are available from either Acupuncture Media Works or Blue Poppy.
These types of displays can be creative, fun, educational and profitable and are far more interesting to your patients than last week’s People Magazine!