Effective advertising communicates the unique benefits of your practice

No matter how you look at it, effective marketing is one of the most difficult tasks for any business to accomplish successfully. Chiropractic is no exception. Advertising is just one part of the marketing process. We went to chiropractic school to learn how to care for patients, not how to advertise. But if you don’t learn how to effectively advertise your practice, your potential patients may not know what differentiates you from the doctors across town and will have little reason to choose you over them. Spending extra time and effort on creating your ads or designing the sign outside of your building can make a difference in how many patients you see.

Health care advertising is tricky because its goal is to give you “top-of-the-mind awareness” so that people think of you first when they need the type of service you provide. It does not usually generate immediate results, the way advertising for a new product can.

The downside of advertising is that it is expensive, and no one can afford to do unlimited advertising. Therefore, it is crucial to make sure that your advertising is effective so you get a return on your investment. Look up “chiropractors” in the Yellow Pages, and you will notice that the majority of the ads mention back pain, neck pain, and headaches. One of the ads will be larger and more colorful because someone spent more money. But are these generic ads truly benefiting those chiropractors’ practices?

Making Your Ads More Effective
If your ad doesn’t differentiate your practice, it isn’t effective and you’re not getting your money’s worth. No one knows your practice better than you do, so even if you hire someone else to write and design your ad, it is important that you choose the ad’s message. Here are some tips to help you make sure that your ad will attract potential patients.

Communicate the unique benefits of your practice. Why should someone choose you over another chiropractor? If your ad doesn’t answer this question, it hasn’t done its job. Think about what you do better than other doctors and what you offer that they do not. Do you provide extra services such as acupuncture or massage therapy? Do you offer special adjunct products, such as custom-made orthotics, that patients might not be able to get anywhere else? Do you have evening and Saturday hours? Will you file insurance paperwork for your patients? These are the services that can help you stand out from the crowd.

A good way to test your ad’s effectiveness is to imagine if another chiropractor took your ad, crossed out the name of your practice and wrote in the name of his or her practice instead. Would everything in the ad still be true? If the chiropractor across town could use the exact same ad that you are using, your ad is not differentiating your practice and needs more work.

A good headline is a must and can make or break your ad. It grabs your reader’s interest and communicates one of your unique benefits. If you use the name of your practice as your headline, it will not entice potential patients to keep reading. A better headline would be, “We specialize in caring for kids!”, “Convenient evening hours”, or “We file insurance paperwork for you.” Since the headline is the first thing people read, it needs to attract attention and compel your audience to keep reading.

Tell them what they need to know. Your ad needs to make people feel confident about choosing you to be their chiropractor. It also should reflect your professionalism, so steer clear of outrageous stunts like using a photo of yourself in a clown costume. You don’t want to sacrifice your reputation to attract attention. The goal of any ad is to bring new patients into your office. Therefore, your ad needs to contain information—such as your qualifications, any special training that you have, and your office’s hours—that will help patients make that decision. Don’t forget about the little things such as your practice’s name, address, and phone number.

Consider having a specialty. It’s easier to differentiate your practice if you have a specific target audience. It’s hard to be everything to everybody. This is why direct-mail advertising typically has only a 1% response rate—it is not tuned in to what each individual wants. If you treat the general population, you will have a harder time finding a quality that all of them value. You could waste a lot of your time and money trying to appeal to every audience.

If you treat a specific population—such as athletes—you can dedicate all your time and money to trying to reach that audience. You can make sure that your ad’s message appeals to athletes, and only spend money advertising in publications that athletes will see. Populations that you could specialize in treating include: infants and children, the elderly, athletes, patients with work injuries, or patients with specific conditions such as arthritis. Having expertise with a specific patient population means that you will be able to provide them with better care and can differentiate your advertising.

Hiring the Right Ad Designer
Your ads will reflect more about your skills and your practice if you come up with the concept yourself. However, it is unlikely that you will have the tools to design the entire ad. An ad agency or a skilled graphic designer can help you fine-tune your ideas into a polished, professional advertisement.

When you’re looking for an ad agency or graphic designer, ask other chiropractors in the area for a recommendation. If you don’t know any other chiropractors in your area, ask other small-business owners. A large company has different advertising needs than you do, so it’s best to ask people with smaller businesses. Choosing an agency or designer who has been able to deliver good results for other businesses will work better than choosing one out of the phone book. You should also consider using students from a local design or art school. They can be in tune with the latest advertising trends and will likely work inexpensively for the experience.

Be hands-on in the development of your ad. Your ad agency or designer is an expert in advertising, but is not an expert in chiropractic or your practice. Don’t let advertising become an afterthought. If you are spending money on advertising, you should be willing to take time to ensure that the ad is effective.

A Good Sign
The sign outside of your building serves as an advertisement for your practice. If you’re just starting out with your practice or if you need a new sign, it’s best to begin by observing other business’ signs and deciding what you like. When it comes to signs, it’s important to know all the local regulations. Sometimes, signs have to be a certain level off the sidewalk or a certain distance from the street. You don’t want to spend $1,000 on a sign and then find out that you can’t put it up. Contact your local government to find out what the regulations are for your area.

Your sign is important because it can help you build name recognition in your community. If someone meets you at a health fair or a civic organization, you want them to recognize your name when they see your sign. At a minimum, your sign should have the name of your practice, your name, and your phone number. It can also include your practice’s address if it is not easily visible on the building. Adding a logo can help make the sign more attractive. Keep in mind that most people will see your sign as they are driving by, so you don’t want to make your sign unreadable by putting too much on it.

When you are looking for a sign company, it’s a good idea to ask other chiropractors and small-businesses owners for recommendations, just like when you’re looking for an ad agency. Most sign companies are willing to give you a quote without charging you anything. Choosing a good sign company can help ensure that your sign will be noticeable and memorable.

Marketing your practice is far too important to be put on the back burner. Devoting extra time and effort to advertising can help you attract new patients. If you become more involved in the creation of your ads, it will ensure that they are a true reflection of your practice. Effective marketing is just as important to building your practice as good patient care and successful management of your staff.

Mark N. Charrette, DC, is a 1980 summa cum laude graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. He has lectured on spinal and extremity adjusting throughout the United States, Europe, the Far East, and Australia. He can be reached at mncdc@aol.com.