If you ran a business where a customer represented an additional $2,000 in profit, how would you staff? How long would you make someone wait? If staff costs $25 an hour, how long would that extra person take to pay off?

Few businesses understand (really understand) just how much a customer is worth. Add to this the additional profit you get from a delighted customer spreading the word--it can easily double or triple the lifetime value.

So, a chiropractor might see a new patient being worth $2,500, easily. And yet... how much is she spending on courting, catering to and seducing that new customer? My guess is that $50 feels like a lot to the doc. Instead of comparing what you invest to the benefit you receive from the first bill, the first visit, the first transaction, it's important to not only recognize but embrace the true lifetime value of one more customer.

So few physicians understand this concept…In some studies, a significant percentage of patients report that they will not return to a physicians office because of the way they were treated by the staff. Others stated they wouldn’t return because of the time they had to wait or the doctor was too succinct in his/her evaluation. Patients have sent physicians a bill for their time after waiting three hours in their office.

Word of mouth referrals are the best drivers for bottom line appreciation in a physician’s office. Every physician should read this and post it on the walls throughout their office.