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Change - Professional Image Building



Change is with us to stay!  The rate of change is staggering.  James Burke, Author of the “Pin-Ball Effect” (best selling Connections book,)  makes the case that, the rate of change is accelerating rapidly. . . So rapidly that human beings will need to re-skill every decade just to keep a job.  We are not talking about restyling the chiropractic profession here, but changing to keep and increase our job.  The wisdom and technique of a good practitioner will stand by itself,  however, we do need to restyle our marketing emphasis.  He is quoted as saying, “The rate at which change now occurs is an integral part of the way our society functions.”

This is extremely important to take into account when considering your marketing options.  You can’t expect to do the same thing, the same way and expect different results.  The equation for success has changed and either you are going to change with it or be left behind.  People now expect change. They are conditioned by our sophisticated media that they are bombarded with everyday to expect change.  And, change which is employed correctly is the secret to successful marketing.

People are basically bored with life and numb to information.  According to David Shenk’s work Data Smog, “the glut of information no longer adds to our quality of life, but instead begins to cultivate stress, confusion, and even ignorance.”  You can’t just throw an ad out there, because someone claimed that it worked for them at some point in time.  That is like doing the same adjustment to a patient from birth to retirement age.  Life circumstances and time effects all.  

If you haven’t made the switch from information brokering to professional advertising, here are some things to consider.  

1.  People are more than ever open to health care options outside of the drug/medical arena.  Score one big advantage for chiropractic.

2.  If you are throwing an ad out there randomly and without a plan, you are competing with the big guns and you may win a battle or two, but you will loose the war.  Whether you like it or not you are competing for attention with national advertisers.  They are sophisticated. . .and they play to win with big dollars behind them.

3.    All professional advertising is strategic, consistent, scientific in approach, and organized.  If you don’t have the time to put into the effort, hire someone who can help you.  The benefits will way out-weigh the costs.  

4.  Make sure that it is dynamic and changes to meet the market and your needs.   It needs to take into account your local events, your schedule, trends in purchase decisions, etc.

5.  Marketing takes discipline as part of administrating a practice.  Like everything in life, what you put into your marketing affects the outcome.  Like chiropractic treatment, the patient that stays consistent and follows your recommendations will have a positive outcome.  It is predictable, however, that the patient who doesn’t follow treatment doesn’t have a chance of a positive outcome.  They are the ones who will blame you and say “chiropractic doesn’t work.”  (We all know it is a discipline problem.)

6.  The Chiropractor who has been conditioned to expecting 20 new patient from the newest Want-to be marketing technique” has an expectation problem.  There is no question that I could personally get 80 new patients into your practice in a week. . .I have done this.  But it is too hard on the practice, and the doctor.  This isn’t information inundation, it is practice insanity!  What you want to see is a Marketing machine keeping your new-patient flow consistent without driving everyone in the practice crazy from over-load.   

In order to do this you need a program that works on referrals, and mainstreams chiropractic health care to the 90% outside of a chiropractic inclination.  The message has to have broad appeal to the basic human heart need that all people possess.

Now with all this in mind you need to have a plan.

1.  Plan out your marketing strategy for the year.  What are you going to be involved with that is a locally planned event that you can piggy-back onto.

2.  How much are you willing to spend.  Most businesses consider allocating a portion of their expenses to advertising just like you would expect to pay rent.  Then stick to it.  There is a saying that when the economy is good you need to advertise, but when the economy is bad you HAVE to advertise.  

3.  Know what your patients are really buying.  It isn’t an adjustment.  It is health, so skew your message to what is real. 

Article Copyright 2007 Educate for Health, LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.

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