It’s terrible, but many people still operate under a poor understanding of what chiropractors are and what they do. Unfortunately, the average person still views a chiropractor as a ‘quack’ who pops a joint back into place, puts them in a brace after a car accident, bills their insurance company, and sends them on their way. That sounds terrible, doesn’t it?
We all know there’s so much more to chiropractic, but the problem remains: If you’re going to build a lucrative practice, it’s important to promote a basic understanding of exactly what chiropractors can do for patients and, more particularly, what your chiropractic office does. chiropractic can do for them. It is important to alleviate your fears that chiropractic is not a real medical treatment and that it is more than just putting your joints back in place.
To get your ad campaign off the ground, the first thing you’ll probably do is saturate your market with flyers to make your presence known in the community. You’ll introduce your chiropractic office, make a few key points about what you have to offer, and set a benchmark on which to base further advertising. This is the beginning of the ‘branding’ of your practice. When people in your market hear the words “chiropractor” or “chiropractic,” you want them to immediately associate you with your practice. But that still may not get them out the door due to an innate fear that chiropractic is not a real “medical” treatment or therapy. This is where you can effectively use handouts to alleviate your fears in order to begin substantially developing your practice.
Advertising with a brochure is the necessary first step in your advertising campaign, but now that you’re ready to literally ‘flood’ your market, it’s essential to design an informational brochure that will allay any fears your target market may have regarding chiropractic. There are three main tools that can be used when using a brochure for this purpose:
1. Information
2. Graphics
3.References
When advertised with a chiropractic flyer space is limited, however brochures can include much more detail. There is a lot of room to be informative in a brochure so you can go into a lot more detail. Use graphics (photos) to show them the equipment you commonly use and what it is used for. Show them your office! When you get them in the door they will feel much more comfortable because it will be a familiar space. And by all means, provide them with online references where they can look up chiropractic information. If you don’t have a website set up with informative articles, just point them to sites like the American Chiropractic Association which has an entire area set up for patients to read and learn about chiropractic.
Because there is still a great deal of misunderstanding and fear of chiropractic in the community, it is essential that you provide enough information to combat those fears in order to promote a successful advertising campaign. Brochures can address those fears by providing information, showing prospective patients what to expect on their first visit, and providing research references so they have a better understanding of chiropractic in general. Brochures can be your ‘sign on the dotted line’ technique. Flyers introduce you and brochures seal the deal.