Chiropractor Advertising: ISO Effective Word of Mouth Advertising

You know that finding new patients is the KEY to establishing a successful chiropractic practice.  You’ve been to seminars, you’ve talked to other chiropractors and you’ll hear over and over again that you never have to “market” your practice.  The underlying message is that if you’re good, if you’re worthy… your practice will magically grow via word of mouth.

There’s a reason that word of mouth advertising is the “holy grail” for chiropractors.  It takes the “burden” of marketing your practice squarely off of your shoulders and places it squarely in the hands of your patients.

However, there are many reasons why a gifted and talented chiropractor’s business won’t benefit from word of mouth advertising.  The most important reason is your patients are NOT qualified to evaluate your expertise.

What they do know is whether your receptionist knows them by name.  What they do know is whether their visit was pleasant.  They can recognize a clean office… they probably can’t recognize why your services are better than the massage therapist at their spa.  (ouch!)

Because we all tend to be “blind” to what’s familiar to us… let me give an example of why relying upon your patients to deliver your marketing message is a really bad foundation for your practice marketing strategy.

Let’s say your receptionist mentions that her car is making a funny noise in front of a patient.  The patient who has overheard the comment is a woman in her 60’s who is as dear as she is sweet.  As a matter of fact, she’s one of your FAVORITE patients.

This patient overhears the receptionist’s comment and offers her suggestion of a mechanic.  She’s very enthusiastic in her recommendation, but it’s not based on the mechanic’s skills or even his trustworthiness.  Instead, your dear sweet patient goes on and on about how much she adores the mechanic’s “shop cat”.  She tells you the cat’s name and describes his physical appearance.  She tells you how old the cat is and how much he weighs.  She also tells you how she brings it treats every time she takes her car in for an oil change.

Are you or your receptionist likely to be inspired to take her up on her recommendation?

Probably not.

However, if you were to ask your next patient about this mechanic, a patient who works in a body shop and who knows a bit about cars…. if he were to confirm the mechanic recommendation… then you’d probably trust his recommendation.

Keep in mind that when you’re relying on your patients to refer other patients, they probably can’t evaluate the quality of the service you provide.  Which is why, when your dear sweet elderly patient talks about how sweet your receptionist is… it may not be enough to get her son to schedule an appointment.

That’s why Word of Mouth Advertising makes a LOUSY foundation for building your practice.  It’s a great “gravy” for practice building…. but focus on providing ways of establishing your expertise to potential patients.  New patients want to know if you can solve their problems.  Give them proof that you can.

Niche Marketing and Your Chiropractic Practice

Finding new patients for your chiropractic practice is hard. It’s a mixture of art and science. One of the most essential keys to finding new patients for your chiropractic practice is two fold:

1. You must know WHO your potential patients are.
2. You must get your message in front of those potential patients.

Honestly, #2 gets a LOT easier when you take a moment to define who your patients are.

So who are your potential patients?

If you answered “everyone”… you’re wrong… dead wrong.

If you narrowed your answer down to “everyone within 10 miles of my chiropractic office location”… you’re getting warmer.

If you said, “My ideal potential patient is a man who is 30-55 years old. He’s educated, he’s a professional and he lives within 15 miles of my office. He suffers from chronic back pain and wants to avoid surgery at all costs,” then you’re right on the money.

Once you have him in mind, now try to think about how he might go about trying to find your solutions to his problem.

Effective marketing of your practice begins with defining your best potential patient.  You’ll find step by step advice on how to do this in the book: Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results

Will a Yellow Page Ad Get New Patients for Your Chiropractic Practice

The “go-to” form of advertising for chiropractors is the yellow pages. However, if you think he is simply going to call the biggest ad on the page… think again.

To help illustrate this point, I ask clients to think about how THEY use the yellow pages to find a roofer. Unless you’ve recently been hammered by a natural disaster, you probably haven’t thought about hiring a roofer lately. (Trust me, your best potential patient isn’t thinking about needing your services until they start to hurt!)

So think about WHEN you’ll pick up the Yellow Pages to find a roofer. Chances are your roof is already leaking or is missing. As you scan the Yellow Pages, try to pay attention to the listings that are drawing your eye. Chances are, your thought processes are moving in this direction:

“Hmm… Ralph’s Roofing… big ad… oh, there’s his picture… he looks like a good guy. Let’s see what else is here. HEY! Ron’s Roofing… the listing is definitely smaller but I remember when my Aunt Harriet replaced her roof… she used Ron’s Roofing and he did a GREAT job for her!”

In essence… size doesn’t determine the success of a yellow pages ad. The success of your yellow pages ad is based on how FAMILIAR you are to your potential patients.

There’s an element of “Hey, I’ve HEARD of this place! They must be good.” Whether it’s Aunt Harriet… or the nice man on the radio…. familiarity breeds business!!!

Now, if you’re in a market where every chiropractor spends ALL his/her advertising dollars in the yellow pages… then you have a GREAT opportunity to find new patients by putting your message in front of your best potential customers.

Yellow Page ads are an essential part of your marketing mix. However, they should not make up the foundation of your advertising.

Learn more in my book Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results.