Full Recap
Tuesday morning, hosts Wilson Lau and Erica Chu had an in-depth discussion with Benjamin Zappin of Five Flavors Herbs on different aspects to consider when marketing Traditional Chinese Medicine through the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, the bare minimum of what it means to open your Traditional Chinese Medicine practice is to perform your TCM work in a safe physical space where you limit contamination to yourself and your patients. That can be impractical depending on a variety of factors from high overhead costs or work-safe orders in your location. The more important question is what does it mean to maintain a high level of patient care from a distance? To answer that and, as Benjamin put it, “maintain buoyancy” during these uncertain times, boils down to 3 key questions each practitioner can ask themselves:
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how can I pivot my Traditional Chinese Medicine practice to meet the needs of your patients,
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how do I serve those patients without the use of intradermal needling as the primary means of care, and
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how can I continue to create enough of an income stream to meet my acupuncture practice’s financial needs?
Now, more than ever, is the time to remember and embrace the knowledge that as professionals in the field of TCM, you are trained and qualified to treat more than pain management. The resources available to practitioners of this field stretch far and wide into that of internal medicine, mental health and wellness, chronic illnesses and infections - everything that prepared you to earn your acupuncture license! In the same vein, market spending on supplements and wellness products are at an all-time high; there is no reason our Chinese herbal practices should be left out.
Benjamin's call to action for TCM practitioners is to take steps to bridge the gap between what a pre-COVID practice looked like and what a post-COVID practice can be. This may be different per practitioner given the specific practice or special skill set they offer. However, utilizing telehealth/virtual platforms can be both a direct and indirect way of reaching clients and professional referral networks. No matter if you offer herbal or wellness consultations, personalized qigong practices, or speak on a podcast about TCM as an auxiliary therapy to allopathic care, Benjamin encourages practitioners to explore the possibilities available to you and your audiences. You may find that your referral network gets bigger or your audience base increases due to the lack of geographic boundaries the world wide web offers. The point is to provide a service which invite a large audience to you and personalize it to your system of practice. If it is good practice to diversify a stock portfolio, why not create a robust portfolio in your practice by diversifying the ways in which you offer professional knowledge and advice!
Thanks for joining the conversation at Nuherbs Practice Building!
Sincerely,
The Nuherbs Practice Building Team
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