As we’ve discussed before, even the simplest detail plays a critical role in how well your chiropractic practice’s  “brand” communicates the “who, what and why” of what you do within your practice.

For example, the colors you choose as part of your branding plays an important role in your branding because the use of color has a measurable effect on people.

Color plays a powerful subconscious role – especially when it comet to your web site.  The colors used make the first impression upon your visitor.  The color sets the “tone” for the content of your web site or blog.  Before your visitor has a chance to read a single word – the colors used on your web site or blog are already hard at work, shaping your visitor’s perception of your practice.

There’s more to the “art” of color psychology than might originally meet the eye.  Different cultures interpret colors differently.  For example, in Japan – white is the color of mourning while in the United States, we dress brides in white to symbolize purity.

So where in the world you (or more importantly – your patients) are affects which colors you use to carry your intended message.

For the sake of simplicity,we’re going to use the color red with a United States point of view.

Ah – the color red.  When you hear “red” – what do you think?  Blood?  Fire?  Danger?

Without even seeing the color – the word alone conjures images and emotion.

This is a “pure” clear red…ff0000.

This shade of red is the shade used for stop signs and it’s used for a reason.  This shade of red literally GRABS your visual attention.

If you’re thinking – “Hey!  My branding elements should be pure red then!  I really want to capture people’s attention”  – STOP!  It’s not that easy.

Too much of this clear, strong shade can easily overwhelm a web visitor.  Red is best used as an accent on the web.

Have you ever noticed how FEW products you see that use this strong red color in their branding?  Ever wonder why that it?

While it’s true that red does capture attention – it also carries a message.

Think for a moment of the big brands that you’ve seen which use this shade of red.  This shade of red is used by such corporate giants as McDonalds and Coca Cola.

Clearance sale tags are often this shade of red because one of the messages carried by this shade of red – while subtle – is  “this is inexpensive”.

When it comes to a soft drink – or fast food – inexpensive is a good thing.  However, you have to ask yourself – is this a message you want to send about your chiropractic practice?

However, when it comes to red – you’ve got a lot of options.

Take for example this shade of red.  This shade of red has enough blue mixed in to change the message this red sends.  It doesn’t carry the same meaning as the clear, clean shade of red above.

This “red” is a much better choice for the professional who wants to give the impression of high class and quality.

If the color block above looks brown – it’s probably because of the display settings on your computer monitor.

Yes, another “joy” of using the internet to market your chiropractic practice is that different computers will display content differently.  So if you look at your web site on a computer at the library for example – you might see something much different than you’re used to seeing at home or in your office.

You may see “pink” when you see this red – but this is also another shade of red. It’s obvious that this shade of red obviously carries a completely different message than either of the two reds featured above.

Pink is “girly” and childish.  Pink is probably the BEST example of how color can be used to communicate a lot of marketing message without saying a single word.

As you can see – there’s a lot to consider when choosing the color for your branding.   Which is why it’s essential to think about who your target audience is and what you’re wanting to communicate.

Ah – and in case you hadn’t thought of it before  now – your “branding” should be carried from your marketing and advertising messages and into your signage and even your waiting room.

“Branding” is the visual identity of your practice – and as such it needs to occupy more than just your advertising messages.

For example, if your practice is geared towards families with children – then you may want to choose a primary color palate for your branding.  When joined by similar shades of blue and yellow – the crisp, clear shade of red we talked about earlier can shift it’s meaning from “cheap” to “child friendly”.

One of the biggest challenges in starting a chiropractic practice is developing a “visual identity”. Sometimes known as “branding” – the visual elements you choose to represent your practice are an important part of your practice success.

Part of the “brand” development process is to create visual elements– such as a logo – which help to carry your marketing message. Every detail plays a role in how well the “brand” communicates the“who, what and why” of your practice.

Seemingly inconsequential elements such as the choice of colors and the style of font  used play pivotal roles in the overall message your “branding elements” communicate.

It’s important to note at this point that while visual elements can and do play an important rol in communicating with prospective chiropractic patients – “branding” is not limited to the visual elements you choose to represent your practice.

It wasn’t that long ago that the term “branding” described the act of scarring an animal permanently.  However, over the past few years – more than a few “branding” experts have tried to sell businesses on the notion that branding is something that a business can “buy”.

Branding is not something you choose to do to your practice but rather is something that your PATIENTS will do to your practice.

Just as the unsuspecting calf is branded by searing metal pressed into it’s flesh, your practice is being branded by your patients.

That’s right.  Branding is not an “inside out” process, though it is a process that begins deep within your practice.  Instead, branding is the process through which you imprint what it is your practice is about upon the minds of your prospective and current patients.

Because branding is an ongoing activity, it occurs constantly.  Every interaction between you and your staff with your current and potential patients is – whether you like it or not – building your brand.

With that perspective on branding, it’s easy to see that the task at hand is to control your patient’s perceptions of your practice as much as is possible.  It starts with visual elements such as a logo – but the process of branding goes much much further than being just “skin deep”.

For the chiropractic practice – your “brand” is literally written on the DNA of your practice!

With this perspective, you may suddenly realize that the surely angst ridden teen who answers your phone after school is helping to building your chiropractic practice’s brand – just as your office manager does every time he/she interacts with a patient.

Every time someone you employ has contact with patients and potential patients, they are in fact helping to build your brand.

If this doesn’t frighten you, nothing will.

The “experts” want you to believe that branding is something you can buy.  Can you blame them?  It’s much easier to say, “Run your ads here and be sure to use use the right colors and font faces in those ads,” than to look beyond the ads at the business behind the ads.

Advertisements are simply invitations to strangers asking them to allow you to solve their problems.  Implementing a methodical identity program (a.k.a. branding program) will allow you to determine exactly how you want to portray your company or product to the outside world.  However, what happens once those customers do business with you will, in the end, determine your company’s “brand.”

In the end, your brand is merely the way you are perceived by your customers.  Developing visual branding elements  is merely identifying the image you want to communicate to outsiders.  Your goal should be to make certain that your brand accurately reflects what you do within your practice.

Part of the “brand” development process is to create visual elements – such as a logo – which help to carry your marketing message.  Every detail plays a role in how well the “brand” communicates the “who, what and why” of your business.   Seemingly inconsequential elements such as the choice of colors and the style of font  used play pivotal roles in the overall message your “branding elements” communicate.

Chiropractic practice building is like training for a marathon – it’s not fast – it’s not easy – and it doesn’t happen by accident.  Building your chiropractic practice is not something you do overnight.

But you already knew that.

Instead – building your chiropractic practice takes time and planning.  One of the most important, practice building tools you can put to use to grow your practice is a comprehensive marketing strategy.

There are three words that keep chiropractors poor and holds them back from building a successful practice.  Those three words are:

“I HELP EVERYONE.”

When that is the basis of your comprehensive marketing strategy – when you’re targeting EVERYONE – in essence, you’re targeting no one.

The KEY element to building a successful chiropractic practice lies in these four words:

IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET PATIENT.

Your target patient is your ideal patient.  So ask yourself, “Who is your ideal patient?”

Try not to think about which procedure is the most “profitable”… rather look back on your day and ask yourself which days seem to FLY by.  Which patients bring a smile to your face when you see their name on your schedule?

What if you could have dozens of patients – just like those that bring a smile to your face – booked back to back every day?

This “ideal patient” is the key to building the chiropractic practice you’ve always dreamed of having.

For one chiropractor – there was nothing more heart warming than the sounds of children playing in the waiting room.  So she targets her practice towards families with children.  Her “comprehensive marketing strategy” includes creating a child -friendly environment in the reception area of her office.

The walls are adorned with the hand prints of each child she’s seen and treated.   When the children return for a follow up visit, the first place they go is to their hand print on the wall – to see how much they’ve grown since the last time they were seen by her.

When she advertises her clinic – she chooses family friendly publications – like the area homeschool newsletter.  She’s also invited the local homeschool group to come visit her clinic on an annual basis – and the families have responded enthusiastically to her generous offer.

If this doesn’t sound like “traditional” marketing and advertising advice- it’s not.  However, it is the kind of advice that, if you embrace it, will literally change the face of your practice.

For another chiropractor – his passion is sports. His busiest days seem to FLY by when he’s treating area athletes for their injuries – and it shows.  His waiting room is adorned with motivational prints showing athletes in competition.  ESPN is playing on the television in the waiting area and the magazines range from golf to racing and every sport in between.

This chiropractor is a dedicated youth athletics sponsor.  If there’s a sport in season – chances are good you’ll see this chiropractor’s name emblazened across an entire team’s chest.  Their appreciation plaques adorn the walls of his office.  He even offers school physicals at a ridiculously low rate – just to entice area high school athletes to visit his office for their yearly sports physicals.   He does this because he knows his passion for sports will help him make a connection with these high school athletes.

By focusing on your “ideal” patient – you can then begin the process of developing a comprehensive marketing strategy – with that ideal patient as the “centerpiece” of this marketing strategy.

Once you have a clear picture of your “ideal patient” in mind – then marketing your chiropractic practice can become positively easy – maybe even fun.  You’ll find you can quit playing a game of “spray and pray” with your marketing and advertising dollars.

With your idea patient in mind – you can decide whether placing an ad on a placemat at a local bar would be a good investment of your advertising dollars.

If you’re the first chiropractor – the one who targets families with small children – the answer is probably “no”… while a few of the parents may be regular “bar flies” – a majority of your ideal patients probably won’t ever see that ad on that placemat in the bar.

However, if you’re the second chiropractor – the one whose ideal patient is the injured athlete – and you know for a fact that the placemats will be used at the local watering hole for the men’s softball team you sponsor – then the answer is a resounding “YES”.

Not only does your comprehensive marketing strategy let you know WHERE to place your ads – it also allows you to decide WHAT KIND of ad to place.  The second chiropractor – the one whose ideal patient is the injured athelte – might decide to purchase a large display on the placemat – and include a sports trivia quiz as part of the ad.

One of the most closely guarded chiropractic practice building secrets is to identify your ideal target patient.  It’s covered in complete detail in the 7 week comprehensive e-course on internet marketing for chiropractors.

Is a website essential to successfully market your chiropractic practice? The answer may surprise you.

A website is NOT essential to successfully market ANY business.  As a matter of fact, if you have a horrible website or a website that can’t be found by the search engines, you may be better off saving your self the hosting fee and investing those marketing dollars elsewhere.

However, a chiropractic website that CAN be found by the search engines can make marketing your chiropractic practice a whole lot easier AND make your marketing messages more effective.  Here’s why.

Chiropractic services are an example of a MAJOR SALE.  Neil Rackham in his book, “Spin Selling” defines the major sale as one where the buyer’s financial and/or emotional investment is significant.  As such, the purchase warrants significant time and research into alternatives.  One of the reason patients need to research this decision is there  is the potential for a long-term relationship between you and your patient.  As a result,  the consequences of making a purchasing mistake are high.

What does this have to do with a website?  A lot it turns out.  See, the best chiropractic websites are designed with the Major Sale in mind is a GREAT tool for converting visitors into patients.  When you recognize that prospective patients need a LOT of information before making a decision – that’s when you realize how important your website is to marketing your chiropractic practice.

See, when you run a print ad in either the newspaper or a weekly flyer – patients can see your name, the address of your practice and possibly your face (if you include a photo) but not much else.  However, if that newspaper ad gives your web address – then interested prospective  patients can visit your website – created with building trust in mind – to learn more about you and what you do.

If your chiropractic website is NOT designed with the Major Sale in mind – well, then chances are that your chiropractic website is not doing much to build your chiropractic practice.

Here’s a question that has come in to this blog: “Should chiropractors advertise in the yellow pages?”

Twenty years ago, this wasn’t an issue.  There was but a single version of the Yellow Pages and being excluded from the sacred book was unthinkable.

Then came multiple VERSIONS of “the” yellow pages.  It seems every other month a new Yellow Page directory is being released.  One even calls itself the “real” Yellow Pages – can you remember which one?

In some marketing, being listed in each and every yellow pages can easily eat up your entire advertising budget.  That wouldn’t be a problem if yellow page advertising were powerful enough to stand alone.

Unfortunately, it’s not.  If you don’t believe me, believe the Yellow Pages themselves.  When the Yellow Page reps come to your town to sell advertising, they buy advertising in other media.  Suddenly, the various media in town are flooded with ads for the Yellow Pages.   Many yellow page directories advertise their resource using every media possible: radio, television, billboards and newspapers just to name a few.

It makes me laugh – it really does!  Once a year, you will be assaulted with a barrage of testimonials from business owners who “tell their story” of how the yellow pages increased business for them – and this message will be delivered in every way EXCEPT via the Yellow Pages.

So I’d LIKE to tell you that chiropractors can SKIP advertising in the Yellow Pages.  I’d LOVE to give you that good news – unfortunately I can’t do that.  Listing your business in the yellow page is ESSENTIAL.

However, the good news is that a display ad in the yellow pages is DEFINITELY optional!  You can definitely pass on the display ads – if you’ve got other forms of marketing in the mix!

One thing every chiropractor should be doing is to list your website URL in your yellow page ad.  Let prospective patients learn more about you on your chiropractic website instead of paying by the inch in the Yellow Pages.

When you launched your chiropractic practice, you launched a business. Every business needs to “get the word out” about the products and services the business offers. Your chiropractic practice is no different. Marketing is merely the act of getting the message out about the products and services your practice offers the surrounding community!  When you start viewing marketing as merely a way of introducing your practice to people, then it begins to take on a whole new meaning.

Chiropractic Marketing Tips: Sports Teams Sponsorships

Picking a target audience to which you wish to educate about your services is essential for marketing your practice. By picking a target marketing audience, you narrow your marketing options considerably.  This reduces the “spray and pray” marketing tendencies to which we ALL fall victim.

For example, let’s say you would like to specialize in treating families with children.  Because you’ve narrowed your target audience, it’s now easier to pick successful marketing activities.

When you’re trying to reach families with children an exceptional marketing tip is to sponsor a local sports team.

Yes, you read that right.  Sponsoring a sports team is a GREAT investment in marketing for your practice if you don’t just write a check and let your relationship with the team end there.  Try to view sponsoring the team is the opportunity to build RELATIONSHIPS with the players (and their parents).

When the coach contacts you to pick up the check for the sponsorship, be sure to have brochures prepared  for the coach to hand out at the beginning of the season.  Ideally, the brochure should cover things young athletes can do to avoid injuries and what to do if injuries occur.  Of course, the brochure should also cover which injuries can best be treated with chiropractic care.

As the team sponsor, be sure to watch at least a few of the games.  Learn the players names.  Cheer.  Then, offer to take the team out for ice cream after the season ends to celebrate the season.  Make it a fun evening out for your staff and the team.  During the party, be sure to take LOTS of pictures of your staff with the team.   Frame and display these later in your office and be sure to offer copies to the families just for stopping by the office.

Most importantly, make this a HABIT instead of a one time event.  Get into the habit of sponsoring THIS SAME TEAM every year and soon you’ll be known THROUGHOUT the entire league as THE team on which every kid wants to play – not because they win championships but because they have such a GREAT end of season party.

Sponsoring a children’s sports team can be an EFFECTIVE way of marketing your practice, but  only if you take it as an opportunity to build relationships with the team members and their families.

I don’t recommend blatantly “marketing” your practice during the party unless it’s passing out balloons filled with helium with your practice name printed on them.  Beyond that, make the end of season party all about connecting with the team and their families.

Oh, and be sure to include team photos on your chiropractic website.   The kids will love seeing their smiling faces featured on the web!

Creating a successful chiropractic marketing strategy is essential in establishing a six figure chiropractic practice.

If you’re a chiropractor who has a love/hate relationship with your marketing and advertising, then you’re in good company. Many chiropractors often find themselves chasing after an array of marketing tactics instead of implementing a cohesive chiropractic marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, marketing tactics which may result in great success for one practice may fail miserably for the next. Yet many chiropractors attend seminars, buy books and subscribe to newsletters that do little more than provide a never ending list of various marketing tactics. They keep gathering these crumbs, hoping to collect enough crumbs and the finding the magical marketing tactic(s) that will turn this collection of crumbs into a slice of toast.

The search for tactics to increase the return on investment dates back to the earliest recorded history. One tactic used by early farmers to improve their farming “return on investment” was to plant discarded fish parts to improve their production of corn. Modern science has shown there are practical scientific principles behind this ancient practice. The decaying fish parts provide the steady supply of nitrogen which corn needs to grow abundantly. It seems the decaying fish parts are a great “lo-tech” method for providing the steady fertilization needs of growing corn plants.

It turns out that in ancient cultures there were two schools of thought about the role of the planting fish with corn. On one hand, there were the cultures that, at some level, seemed to recognize the science behind the practice. Farmers in these cultures believed that the corn was literally feeding upon the decaying fish. So while they used the “tactic” of planting fish parts with corn, they were aware of the overall strategy behind the tactic which was to provide nourishment for the plants so they could produce an abundant crop.

However, there were other cultures that also planted fish parts with their crops but did so without any understanding of the science behind the practice. For these cultures, the fish were thought to have magical properties. They believed that the spirit of the dead fish magically helped the plants to grow. These cultures were using the same tactic; however they were using it without any understanding of the strategy behind the tactic’s success.

From our 21st Century perspective, it’s easy to see that the farmers that viewed the fish as having magical properties were putting themselves at a severe disadvantage. Without being aware of the underlying strategy of feeding the plants, the farmers who subscribed to the fish spirit as magic tactic could not understand how placing too much fish in with each seed could actually lead to undesirable results. (If you are a dog owner and have brown spots in your lawn, then you’ve seen firsthand the results of excessive nitrogen on vegetation.)

Imagine that you were a farmer who subscribed to the fish as magic school of thinking. At some point as you watched your corn fail to grow, you would have to ask yourself: Is there such a thing as too much magic? How can some magic be good but more of the same magic be bad? Only when you adopt the scientific view of using the fish as part of a fertilization strategy can you begin to see where too much of a good tactic can actually lead to undesirable results.

The same is true in modern marketing. For example, offering a limited time discount is a time honored way to improve patient counts initially but when used excessively, consumers become conditioned to wait until the next big discount to buy. Even the biggest players in the market, like GM and Macy’s aren’t immune to the underlying principles at work.

No matter what size your practice, the going gets tough when you learn that there is such a thing as too much marketing magic.

When you understand the underlying principles behind creating a successful marketing strategy and successful marketing message, then you’ll be able to choose the right marketing tactics that will help you to achieve your marketing objectives.

Pick up a copy of the book Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results to learn more about developing a marketing strategy for your chiropractic practice.

Marketing can be easy…and maybe even fun

with a simple attitude adjustment.

We’ve talked here about the importance of defining who you want exposed to your marketing message.   Defining your target audience is essential to your marketing success.

Most chiropractors still rely on Yellow Page advertising to reach new patients. It’s easy and most importantly, using the yellow pages doesn’t require that you define your target audience.  Yet, there are other ways potential patients will find your chiropractic practice.

If your practice is like most, your ideal potential patients are well educated and are usually internet users.  One often overlooked but incredibly effective and efficient way to get your message in front of your potential patients is having a great chiropractic website.

Your definition of a “great” chiropractic website may differ from mine.  Some people think a great chiropractic website is one that is “pretty”.  Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate the beauty of a great looking website.   However, a pretty website that doesn’t bring in new patients to your practice… well, that’s not a great chiropractor website in my book.

Here’s my definition of a great chiropractic web site:  When a potential patient searches the internet, they find your site!

Yesterday, 786 people searched for a chiropractor in Pittsburgh. Are you a chiropractor in Pittsburgh? How many of those searches ended up at your website?

However, if you’re a chiropractor in Philadelphia, those searchers won’t do anything to build your practice.  Those searchers are not your potential patients.

That means a chiropractic website that ranks well for the generic keyword “back pain” won’t do your practice near as much good as a website that ranks well for the keyword “back pain [insert your city/county/area]”

Our Easy Chiropractic Websites make is EASY for you to target the keywords your potential patients are using to try to find your practice.  Because the prettiest website is the one that gets listed as a referral source on your new patient intake forms!

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.

A chiropractic website with video testimonials from satisfied patients can be the best Word of Mouth Advertising you can get for your chiropractic practice!