Reading time: 4 – 7 minutes
Captain John Rade, a legendary fisherman from Montauk, NY, is known for his amazing ability to out-fish every commercial fisherman in his area.
His secret contains a profound lesson for chiropractors.
Grasp this… Captain John’s secret… and there’s no doubt you’ll mutiply the number of new patients coming into your chiropractic practice every month.
Captain John is a commercial fisherman. He’s also known as a Pin Hooker, the rarest of all fisherman.
While other commercial fisherman are using big nets to bring in their daily catches, Captain John is out there with nothing more than a rod and reel.
He doesn’t use any of the tools the other commercial fisherman use.
No nets. No giant trollers. No crews of five or six fisherman.
He simply goes out on a little motorboat with a rod and reel… and out-catches every other fisherman by multiples.
In fact, on any given day, on the same exact body of water, Captain John will regularly catch more striped bass than 10 commercial fisherman COMBINED!
So, how does he do it you’re wondering?
Well, when asked exactly that by a local news reporter, he said something profound.
He said, “When most fisherman go out on the water they think like a fisherman. When I go out I think like a fish.”
WOW!
The implication of that answer for chiropractors is HUUUUUUGE.
Let me break it down for you:
When it comes to marketing and trying to attract prospective patients, most chiropractors think and market from a chiropractor’s perspective.
Most design their marketing materials from the perspective of a chiropractor and NOT from the perspective of a potential chiropractic patient.
In other words, most chiropractors are thinking about themselves and their practice when they advertise. They’re NOT thinking about what prospective patients are looking for, want, need, and desire.
You see, marketing chiropractic care is very similar to fishing.
You have to know your target and know what they’re looking for so you can use the correct bait to attract them.
When fishing, it’s not about what you want to use as bait. It’s completely about what your target fish is looking for. And then using THAT as bait.
This is why the most effective chiropractic marketing materials are totally focused on solving the prospective patient’s problem or need, and NOT… NOT… about the chiropractor.
In essence, the most effective chiropractic marketing materials are not even marketing chiropractic at all. They’re marketing the solution to a prospective patient’s problem. Period.
Why?
Because that’s what most prospective patient’s are looking for and want.
* They want their pain eliminated.
* They want their energy boosted.
* They want to decrease the liklihood of getting sick.
* They want to feel their best.
An overwhelming majority of prospective patients are NOT looking for a chiropractor. They’re looking for a solution to their problem.
If you try to advertise and market chiropractic care, you’re trying to attract them with the wrong bait.
Instead, market the solution to their problem.
Market natural back pain relief.
Market naturual headache relief.
Market natural energy boosting.
Market naturual immune support.
Marketing natural aid against Swine Flu.
And the best way to do this is with free information… like a free online video… that educates them on why chiropractic care is the best solution to their specific need.
(This is what we do for chiropractors with the Chiropractic Dashboard. Check it out here: http://thechiropracticdashboard.com)
The reason why this approach to chiropractic marketing works so well is threefold:
1. It allows you to use marketing materials that are totally and completely focused on the prospective patient. Remember, the average prospective patient is solely interested in finding and getting the best and most effective solution to their problem. They’re not interested in you or your office. At least not righ tnow. And, so you need to make sure your marketing focuses on them, exactly what THEY WANT, and answers the question of “What’s In It For Me”.
2. When you offer free educational videos tailored to the specific problem prospective patients want solved, you’re able to identify exactly who the interested prospective patients are, so you can do targeted, benefit-focused follow-up with them. Remember, when it comes to chiropractic marketing; the fortune is in the follow-up. (This is automated with the Chiropractic Dashboard. Check it out here: http://thechiropracticdashboard.com)
3. With free videos tailored to specific problems, you’re able to deliver a much more targeted message that highlights the specific benefits prospective patients want. In other words, if you have a video dedicated to educating people interested in natural energy boosting on the value of chiropractic care, you can hit on the exact benefits those people want. Whereas, in your video dedicated to educating people interested in natural back pain relief, you can highlight the specific benefits they’re interested in, and show how chiropractic care in your office is the best way to experience those benefits.
The point is just this:
The more you can get into the mind of the different groups of prospective patients, and better understand their needs and wants, the better you can tailor the bait to attract them into your office.
The effectiveness and power of your chiropractic marketing totally comes down to YOU offering the most sought-after bait prospective patients are hungry for.
As Captain John Rade would probably say… It’s all about thinking like a prospective patient.
what I got from this article is that people arent looking for a chiropractor, they are looking for a solution to their problem. Simple, simple
This concept is so fundamental. But we are so used to market things that make us feel important. The “me, I am great” type of marketing. That type of marketing is usually loved by one’s wife and mother, but so ineffective in attracting people. The first time I was introduced to the concept of “prospect-centered” marketing, my brain hurt. It was just like some old connections did not want to let go. Boy, is the ego strong. I now truly believe that the marketer how is able to talk to the client’s needs and wants has more empathy than the doctor who markets by putting himself / herself first.
Todd is right. People are concerned about their problems and whether your office can help them.
I agree that this is extremely important. I have been doing the old form of marketing (palmer grad, certified in blah, blah, blah) for quite a while with poor results. I am in the process of changing things to what the patients are actually looking for. Good info, thanks Todd.
Ive called your number from an email you sent several times and left a message…nobody ever called back…
Well said — old school marketing is a waste of time and money!
I don’t know if you articles are posted via RSS feed or not. But if you reading this , you might want to get to doctors questions fast before they go somewhere else. It is all about customer service no matter in what profession. Before and after sales. Thanks..
A book “From the Patients Point of View” is just what your message is about. Have you read it?
Hey Dr. Jeff… no I haven’t read it. Looks like it’s out of print. I’ll have to do a little digging. Thanks for the tip.