For many chiropractors, marketing is one of the most dreaded parts of running a practice. While attracting new patients is an essential part of building any practice (and a critical factor in launching a new practice) doing the marketing and advertising necessary to bring those new patients in the door is a common source of frustration.
The problem with most marketing and advertising done by chiropractors is that it isn’t effective. For example, the most common form of marketing done by chiropractors is to offer a low cost spinal screening. The low cost screening is offered to provide the chiropractor the ability to meet with a patient and “sell” the chiropractor’s services.
Let me warn you right now – if you as a chiropractor approach the marketing of your chiropractic practice as “selling” your services, it’s time for a reality check. This will be a welcomed reality check for those chiropractors who absolute HATE the hard sell, focus on closing tactics which were taught to used car salesmen more than two decades ago. Most used car salesmen today don’t use those hard sell – hard closing sales tactics anymore for a good reason – CONSUMERS HATE THEM.
There’s been a “revolution” in the professional sales arena over the past two decades. Best documented by Neil Rackham in his groundbreaking book Spin Selling, Rackham (a psychologist – not a traditional “sales professional”) performed extensive research with regards to what qualities were shared by the most successful sales people. In his research, Rackham divided all sales into two distinct categories – the Minor Sale and the Major Sale. An example of a Minor Sale would be buying copy paper. Copy paper is a low cost items with insignificant consequences if you make the “wrong” decision.
Then there are the sales which fall into the category of Major Sales. The Major Sale doesn’t necessarily involve a large investment of capital – though many Major Sales share that characteristic. The one common shared trait of every Major Sale is simply the element of trust. The Major Sale involves a significant amount of risk – as a matter of fact, one of the criteria specified by Rackham is “The consequences of making a purchasing mistake are high.”
So while our Minor Sale example of buying copy paper has relatively insignificant consequences – Major Sale decisions are defined by the following:
- The buyer’s financial and/or emotional investment is significant
- The purchase warrants significant time and research into alternatives
- There is the potential for a long-term relationship between you and/or your business and the customer
- The consequences of making a purchasing mistake are high
Seeing this list, it should not surprise you that choosing a chiropractor definitely qualifies as a Major Sale.
“But wait – you said marketing for chiropractors was NOT selling. All you’ve talked about so far is selling!”
Reality check – building your practice is all about bringing in new patients – and that is indeed a form of “sales”. However, when it comes to making the Major Sale – the absolute WORST approach is to treat it like a “sales call”.
Which is why – the traditional “spinal screening” marketing tactic is rarely successful in building a thriving chiropractic practice.
What marketing techniques are successful?
The key element in creating successful practice building chiropractic marketing campaigns is to recognize that the primary goal is not to “sell” prospective patients on chiropractic – but rather to gain their trust.
When you change the focus of your marketing from “closing sales” to “building trust” you’ll not only find you attract a better “quality” of patient – but the act of marketing and promoting your practice becomes enjoyable.
