As the weather heats up and the sun begins to set later and later in the sky, beware the Summer Doldrums. There is nothing worse… Graduation, vacation, relatives in from out of town, barbecues and ice cream socials can all cut into the time your patients spend on their health… and before you know it, your appointment book starts looking empty. Your patients have gotten off their routines, and once that happens, I don’t have to tell you…it’s hard to get them back.

A few years back I read a survey about why people stopped seeing their regular health care practitioner (this survey was focused on chiropractic patients); did he/she do something wrong? Did the staff offend them? Not at all. The patients missed a few appointments, and they just got out of the routine of going.

What can you do to avoid hearing crickets in your office this summer? The best way to avoid a problem is to prevent it in the first place. This is good advice for your patients and for you too! This month I am sharing with you three strategies to prevent the doldrums from hitting your office this summer, and keep you sailing along right through Labor Day.

Strategy #1 – Create a Shape Up for the 4th of July Challenge

Decorate your office for Independence Day with streamers, balloons and other fun decorations now to promote your contest and generate interest in the challenge. It’s a great way to let your patients know the 4th will be here sooner than they think and now is the time to shed those winter pounds. Let’s shave down the beer belly before its time to put that bathing suit on in public.

You can do a 14, 21 or 28 day group detox. This is an effective way to help your patients drop weight, gain more energy and start their summer feeling lighter. You could even get some local businesses to sponsor some of the activities and even donate prizes to winners for achievement milestones. Be sure to incorporate exercise into your program; schedule some early morning and/or weekend groups for walking, jogging, biking or plain old stretching activities that you or your staff can lead.

Keep the exercise program going throughout the summer, it creates camaraderie with your office; and provides the opportunity to stay connected with your patients over the busy summer months. And by all means, don’t forget to have a continuity program to help your patients maintain or continue their weight loss throughout the potato salad season.

Strategy #2 – Have a Health Fair Party

If you are feeling ambitious throw a summer shindig or health fair for your community. Decorate your parking lot with those triangle plastic flags the week before, and the day of the big event get a balloon arch to let people know that it’s a party! Invite all your patients and everyone else you can think of.

Invite some other practitioners that compliment (not compete) with your specialty, i.e.: massage therapists, Reiki practitioners, yoga studios, health clubs, juice bars; there are tons of possibilities. Think of businesses that have a client base similar to yours, who would benefit from your services, and vice versa.

Barbecue some chicken or burgers, offer free health screenings, and don’t forget to make an irresistible offer to invite your attendees into your office for a special deal. You could even go all-out and have health fair entertainment, perhaps a stage featuring informative lectures by you, and some of the other participants and practitioners.

Other ideas to attract people to the party:

• Screen a movie on a topic of interest to your tribe
• Invite a local college or music school to have their students perform
• Invite a local theatre troupe to perform a short production
• Invite the fire department, police department and the Red Cross to talk about health and safety….

Make the event as big or as small as you like. But keep in mind the more community engagement you have, the more help you get with marketing the event, and the more attendees you will have. Have colorful tickets made up to the event and give them out wherever possible, make it look like FUN.

And one very important point, do not overlook the other practitioners and attendees as potential patients; in fact, the best new patients my office got from this event were the other participants!

I love this kind of event to give your office great exposure (send out press releases to radio, TV and newspapers), and create good will for your office in the community. It was a bit of work, but it definitely paid off; I got some wonderful new patients and made some great friends and collaborative partners too!

Strategy # 3 – Cool and Fresh Summer Meals Class

Teach a series of classes (or invite someone else to) on prepping healthy meals without heating up your kitchen. Have classes on grilling and marinating, summer salad preparation, easy summer desserts. Consider a once or twice a month class, ask your patients for their favorite recipes and have a contest for the best entries in different categories.

Go to a local cooking store and see if they might be willing to donate some prizes for the winners; if they don’t want to donate something, go to Cost Plus and purchase a great big wooden salad bowl and fill the bowl with salad ingredients such as olive oil, special vinegars, hearts of palm, marinated artichoke hearts, olives, etc.

Keep the fun going all summer long with one or more of these strategies to make sure the doldrums don’t get anywhere near your office this summer!