Don't Believe Guaranteed Success Claims

SIMPLE CHIRO MARKETING

Promotion and advertising can be a heavy expense, especially for a new business that wants to make itself known in a community. There is no shortage of marketing companies and products that will “guarantee success” if you just sign up for their service or product.  I have fallen prey to such programs and they cost me dearly. My first year out of chiropractic school, I had no specific business plan, no excess cash, and a room I was renting from a doc that was over a million dollars in debt! I knew he was not the person to learn the ropes of how to financially succeed as a chiropractor but I had to start working somewhere.  He was a great guy but I didn’t want to end up in the financial situation that he was experiencing. 

Here is a list of purchases I made (via several credit cards) 

to “guarantee success”:

1.     Swiss balls for rehab

2.     Mats for stretches

3.     Cervical pillows to use as giveaways for people who signed up for the “platinum plan”

4.     A new flat screen TV (OK that was a splurge!)

5.     A set of golf tees and divot keys ( I was golf injury certified)

6.     Plaques on the tee boxes of an area golf course with a logo, tag-line and contact info

7.     One on One coaching for over $1000/mo (I really thought this would make my success a given)

8.     Brochures and pamphlets discussing golf injuries and chiropractic

9.     Chamber of Commerce Membership

10. ToastMasters international membership at Callaway golf (I even got voted President of the group!)

11.  Business Networking International (BNI) for even more networking

12.  Marketing software with email drip campaigns that set up autoresponders for patients (this would have been great if I knew how to get patients to send them to)


The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success - New Products for Classification.Claiming Your Self Esteem By Ball,  

I am a huge “Self-Improvement” junkie.  All the books I had read recommended finding someone that was successful in the same industry as me and do what they did.  My biggest expense was my one on one coaching that I started during my last trimester of Chiropractic School.  He was a great coach and has even gone on to work with some of the biggest Practice Management companies out there.  I even ran into him at a seminar recently and discovered he is doing his own coaching again with a focus on the family and what everyone involved in a chiropractic student’s life had to expect in the future from wife, kids to parents.

So why didn’t it work for me?  

Plain and simple…

Focus and Self-awareness  

Success at anything in life is greatly determined by a person's ability to focus on a goal with so much intensity that time literally stands still.  Everyday distractions, the latest popular TV show or sports event come along but they do not sway the focused individual.  When you get tunnel vision on the finish line, the obstacles blur in your peripheral vision.

Patient’s don’t “buy” chiropractic, they buy the doctor. 

“So how do you make them “buy” you?  Very good question.  People go through life and are constantly told that they are “too passive” or “to aggressive” or “a people person”.  These comments we all get throughout our lives are hints as to what people perceive us to be regardless of what we think we are.  Once again, I’ll use myself as an example.

I played professional football for over twelve years in a plethora of different leagues.  My coaches always told me, even during college, that I was “too nice” and that nobody could stop me when I got mad.  I heard this so often that I would expect it whenever I went to another team and coaching staff.  The key for me was to realize that being “nice” is an asset as long as it is not perceived as a weakness.  This could be interpreted as a lack of confidence by a patient which would make them doubt my recommendations.  That is why the coaching I received did not work very well.  It was more of a “do what I say or you’re going to die” hard sell type of approach that was completely against my nature. 

How does that effect you?  I use this example to impress upon you the need to do some real self analysis.  Are you outgoing or more introspective? Are you strong willed or more of a “go with the flow” type?  The answers to these questions will help determine the type of chiropractor you should be and maybe even what techniques you should study.

Back to Marketing

So how do you get patients when you are a brand new solo practitioner?  First of all, let me assure you that depending on friends and family is more often than not a MISTAKE.  Well meaning relatives easily agree to be your first patients but when a financial transaction is involved, they suddenly become less agreeable.  Following are some examples of how to “think outside the box” to make your office stand out.

There are many ways. A pet breeder in a large city was struggling for several years-until he came up with a novel idea. He started giving away customized "birth certificates" for the pets he sold. Almost immediately, his sales rose more than 10 percent. Often people refer to this as a Unique Selling Proposition or USP.

The owner of a new home cleaning service was trying to attract clients. She couldn't afford much advertising, so she began offering "home cleaning seminars" to civic groups. After two months of seminars, she was swamped with inquiries and clients. As a chiropractor, get over your fear of public speaking and go to some community centers, libraries and anywhere people will listen, and educate people on the benefits of chiropractic care.  Ensure you have a compelling third party testimonial (even if it’s your own story) and have a strong, emotional call to action at the closing.  I will cover more on strong closings and presentations in another entry. 

Promotion often makes the crucial difference between business success and failure. Customers or clients must know about a business before they'll buy and they must have a reason to buy.

If you are trying to promote your business now, you can move in one of two directions: 1) You can take the conventional route to promotion and mount an elaborate media campaign, spending a considerable amount of money (I think I’ve shown that isn’t the best way)or 2) You can let your creative juices flow and mount a low-cost promotion effort, using a potpourri of attention-getting gimmicks to bring your message to the buying local community.

If money is tight, however, or you're not sure you can amortize the heavy cost of a media campaign over a period of time, the following is a assortment of low-cost techniques you can try. Not all may be appropriate for your chiropractic business, and certainly it would be costly to try them all. But you're sure to find some ideas that will work for you.  Let these examples get you thinking outside the box.  Write down any idea that comes to your head as you read these regardless of how silly they may seem.  You never know when the golden nuggets will appear.

GIVEAWAYS.

People love to receive "free" items, especially items they can use to gain knowledge or improve their lives. You can base an entire promotional campaign on this desire. If you're running a furniture repair business, for instance, you could give away a furniture repair brochure, free furniture planning guides, or color swatches. Once you begin giving away authoritative information customers will begin to perceive you as an expert in your field.

NEWS CREATION.

Want to get names and news from your business in the local newspaper? It may be easier that you think. If you don't have any news to report to the local media, create some. Maybe you've taken on a new associate. Or maybe you're selling an unusual product line. Or maybe you've opened a free advice center for the community. Or maybe you've received an award from a civic or professional group. Local Pennysavers and weekly ads are often quite interested in business news of this sort and can help you attract the attention of thousands of people.

EVENTS.

You may be able to attract the attention of the media or a crowd by staging a special promotional event. If you run fitness classes, for instance, you could stage a celebrity instructor day. If you're promoting a new real estate business, you can offer tours of a model home in the area. Dr. Robert Martines in Santa Clarita, CA holds an annual 5K Charity run to stop subluxations.  Talk about community education! If you're selling children's products and it's springtime, you can offer lunch with the Easter bunny. Get the idea?

CHARITY TIE-INS.

Are you launching a new product? Trying to increase visibility among a particular segment of your community? Offer your product to one or more local charities as a raffle prize or for use at a fund raising event. You'll receive lots of exposure among people who buy tickets or attend the event. Offer a complimentary New Patient Package with Xrays or Massage for the silent auction of these charities.  It costs you almost nothing and gets your name out there in affluent circles.

CONTESTS.

Offer a desirable or unique item-or even several items-as contest prizes. First, find a contest theme that ties into your business. A caterer might offer a quiche-eating contest. A photographer might offer a young model contest. A mail order craft firm might offer an "Early American" handicrafts contest. Invite contest submissions and offer prizes to the winners. Do contests attract attention? You bet. All it takes is a few signs, a small press announcement or two, and the word will spread throughout the community grapevine.

None of this information will be of any benefit to you if you don’t Take Action!  Stop waffling, analyzing the information, trying to decide and DO SOMETHING.  You are only beginning to see how Simple Chiro Marketing can be.