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Thought you might enjoy seeing an example of chiropractic marketing being done on Groupon.
Here are two screen-shots from a real Groupon offering.
![Chiropractic Marketing On Groupon [EXAMPLE]](http://morechiropatients.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/chiropractic-marketing-on-groupon.jpg "Chiropractic Marketing On Groupon [EXAMPLE]")
![Chiropractic Marketing On Groupon [EXAMPLE]](http://morechiropatients.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/chiropractic-marketing-on-groupon2.jpg "Chiropractic Marketing On Groupon [EXAMPLE]")
Let me know what you think of this offer… and if you’d be interested in learning more about using Groupon for your own chiropractic marketing (and other coupon/deal services like it).
Scott I have run chiropractic deals successfully with both Groupon and Living Social with over 140 purchased each run. Primarily they want you to include a massage component, so you need the capacity to do that. What I learned after the first deal was next time, try to break the offer into two visits. Provide the initial exam and consultation the first visit and any treatments the second visit. This helps, to some extent, to weed out people who are just interested in a brief one-time fling. It also gives you more time to prepare in order to provide a better report-of-findings the second visit, including the insurance verification. In general the two visit offering is converting better. Expect though, a generally younger demographic with a lower conversion rate and case value compared to some other forms of advertising.
I’d be really surprised if this doctor is profiting with this advertising. He may have had 100 buyers (most probably on the massage), but he’s probably barely breaking even (or possibly taking a loss) on each one, and unless he’s FAR better at selling than writing ad copy, I doubt he’s getting much return business from those buyers.
@Dr.Jeff – valuable insights. Thank you for sharing.
@Dr.George – thanks for sharing, as well.
I also received a bunch of email responses from docs.
Here are a couple of differing perspectives/experiences:
“I think “Barter Chiropractic” is the easiest and most effective way to Cheapen the respect, knowledge and value that we as “Doctors” can offer a patient!” – Dr. Richard
“I’ve done GROUPON twice now ( we offer massage) then convert the patients to care. It’s fantastic – we have 5 LMTs who deliver the massages and our receptionist converts them as they leave.” – Dr. Julie
“I tried to get on grouping and living social. They responded back that they were interested using my business. Both of said that.” – Dr. Steve
I am very interested in this kind of marketing to help give people who might not be open to chiropractic a chance to try it and decide for themselves if it is the right fit for them. I am a student now at CMCC and have heard many chiropractors using this marketing approach to bring in patients. My main concern is that the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO) have discussed taking action against those chiropractors who use groupon, etc. What would you recommend in this case…keep getting patients this way until getting caught or don’t do it in the first place. I am going to have a chat with a member of the CCO who is a friend of mine at school about this issue.
Hey Todd,
I would caution all chiropractors to check with their board. Oregon recently ruled that Groupon is fee splitting and of course a big no no and illegal. All Oregon chiropractors received a cease and desist order for all Groupon advertising given the current set up. I have contacted groupon and asked to have a different pay arrangement and have yet to hear back.
I was going to try it until the board had a special meeting regarding this type of advertising and sent out a notice.
I would encourage other chiropractors to be sure they are not violating their state laws on fee splitting.
Cordially,
Thad
Hi Todd
My instinct is that this type of campaign attracts low quality patients at best.
But as a marketing concept, I definitely believe in this loss-leader idea. “Give before you get”… that’s what modern consumers are looking for.
Thanks for sharing your insights so graciously.
Steve
Mark Dickson – check with the laws and see what Chiropractors can and can’t do for marketing in your area. If you can’t see anything that forbids the type of marketing that Groupon entails, then you should be ok. The CCO can’t do things retroactively or maliciously if the laws don’t support it.
I have sent in a request for Groupon and they replied that they are not interested in having a chiropractic ad at this time.
Dr Arnone
What……….no free toaster?
For one thing, you’ll run into insurance problems with this. For another, it just cheapens our whole profession. We had a guy in my town who ran these low cost ads for some time. He claimed everyone was a hardship case. Then one day the feds showed up. We dont see him anymore.
Todd, great to see the feedback from other chiro’s on this. Groupon and Living Social both said no to advertising chiro services in my area too.
I do have a commment of my own to add. I truly believe that any advertising the will open people to what chiropractic is, is well worth the effort. Now that being said, in my practice there are no “low Quality patients”, just ones that don’t get it yet (and may never lol). You put 100 people in my office and you now have 100 people that have heard the chiropractic message. Its my job to tell the story and let them decide whats important to them. I am not the best salesman, wish I was, but I truly believe that if we explain chiropractic in terms they understand, they will get it. Maybe not utilize it, but they will know WHAT chiropractic can do for them.
Thanks Todd for the emails and marketing insites and hope you continue to spread the word…
Linden
“Chiropractor for Everyone”
I have offered similar ads on Craigslist, but a $460 visit for just $39 dollars…I do agree with many of you, having a few more patients here the chiropractic message may be worth it, but it does seem to cheapen our “cultural authority”. Just my opinion. It seems like many of us do this type of advertising to stay ‘on top’, or ‘keep up with the Joneses’, I urge you to become a leader in your community, not a follower.
It’s fantastic to see so many different perspectives. All being shared to betterment of chiropractic. Todd =
I have run living solcial and am abou tto do groupon. This type of marketing is marketing to the 93% of the market that most chiropractors ignore. I sold 800 my first run and have a very good conversion rate. I make income up front on the deal because I negotiated a better percentage I pay the therapists hourly. This is the best form of marketing I have seen in a long time. For you doubters please keeping chasing the 7%
Great idea, bad copy. This type of advertising brings the profession to a much higher level in the public’s eye because they get to actually experience a chiropractor’s office. This in turn demolishes their misconceptions about our professions.
The ad copy here is pretty boring, mostly about the doctor and his credentials. Good copy tells the prospect how you can help them and why you are offering this discount.
Even considering this type of promotion, sadly, exemplifies a cry of desperation.
This whole contention is a perfect demonstration of the deteriorating position of the whole chiropractic profession in North America. This is an internal problem, more than a marketing problem.
Due to our compromised, mechanistic education/training as ersatz physical therapists, absence of gonadal leadership, oversupply of chiropractors, AND misunderstanding of effective marketing, we are being squeezed.
While other healing disciplines are finally embracing “energy medicine”, “functional medicine” and the like, we are churning out musculoskeletal “specialist” rummaging around in the medical garbage can for anything they can plug-in to the wall, or define under their license.
Harvey didn’t have a backache. Chiropractic is not a modality, it’s a system of healthcare, and the public has shown it’s willingness to embrace such “alternatives” if marketed correctly. But chiropractors, themselves, have to “buy it” before they can sell it.
We are in danger of becoming an historical curiosity, unless we can turn around this trend.
Let’s start with the schools . . . . . .
I think that many have tried to get these organizations to promote chiropractic, but they won’t promote what they don’t know. Chiropractic truly is man’s greatest gift to man, but you have to talk to the general public in terms they understand.
After utilizing three or four minor groupon like organizations, which sold next to nothing and pestered me to offer too much for too little, I finally worked with Living social. We sold 240 massages, 180 different clents, (people like massage) for $39 (yes I initially loose $10 per massage). We then offer them a complimentary consultation where I explain what we do. We charge a reasonable flat rate for an initial exam. Our conversion is about 25%. With the bargain minded young users that is not bad.
So to recap; My investment $0 up front, return +$5000 2-3 weeks post offer minus salary -$7200 spread over 3-4 months. Estimate of new patients 30-60 with return of $1200 per patient= $36000-72000. That is a 20-30 times ROI. You be the judge. And another 100+ people see that Chiropractors don’t have horns or practice the dark arts.
I cannot believe that as educated doctors you actually feel that you can say it is “valued at”. The Value in something is what people will actually pay for the service. Not what you think you may be able to get for the service. You can say an exam, history and first treatment is worth $1000.00, but if ASH is only willing to pay $50.00, then the value is actually only $50.00, and the $1000.00 is absolutely meaningless.
It just saddens me that after 26 years in practice, we continue to devalue our worth, our respect and our value to the general public and each other by offering “Barter Chiropractic” and being willing to compromise what really does work! Chiropractic is great, it has helped many people, over 150,000 patients that I personally am aware of. Not too mention those whom I have only heard of it helping.
Chiropractic is NOT SPELLED “Prostitution”. Stop cheapening the value of what you do, and start respecting the years of training, knowledge and time you have spent in becoming a DOCTOR!!! Our pathway may be Chiropractic, but damn it stand up for the fact that you are a DOCTOR.
Thank you.
Rick
When I had an office in MI I ran a Groupon last year for massage services (Groupon did not want to run a chiro ad). I had hundreds of buyers but the majority of the Groupon recipients are low quality, bargain hunting people who did not even want to take advantage of our follow-up offers which were still cheap, but cost more than the Groupon offer. I would never do it again.
Great, post thank you for sharing. I just came across your site, great stuff and looking forward to reading more. here is another great idea, would love if you get help share with your community. We have a Chiro. practice that is one of the services we offer– additional services include Acupuncture, Nutrition, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Message Therapy etc.
One of the ways we are promoting our services is through a Facebook contest.
Just by entering, every gets a $50 coupon towards any service PLUS they have a chance to win a $500 Gift Card to a local (and extremely popular/ famous) organic food market. Here is the Link to the Contest. Feel free to share this idea with the community and please like our page (we just liked yours).
http://www.facebook.com/AdvancedWellnessNJ?sk=app_121121694568521
Look forward to hearing your feedback and connecting!
Thanks,
Laura
Absolutely unbelievable as to what “Health Care” has become. We now offer gift cards, fortune cookies, coupons, groupons, living social, and anything else we can possibly think of to take away the “Respect”, “Value” and “Quality”, we offer people. I guess, it is about numbers and not the fact that we offer the most benign and yet best form of health care available to mankind!!! Way to go Entremanuers!!!!!
@Laura – thanks for sharing. Will definitely check out what you guys are doing. (Side note: I grew up in Manalapan. Small world.)
I too can attest that Groupon also denied my chiropractic services. I guess they have a lot of companies already lined up for the immediate future.
My wife recently purchased a pair of Groupons here in Portland (interestingly across the river in WA, I read above they are not allowed in OR) because I have been having some shoulder pain. The deal was an exam, x-rays if needed and a massage. We were bummed to find out it had to broken into two visits not because we are cheap but because it is a haul tonged over there. Visit went super ( I thought) until the whole “report of findings” appointment was broached. As a consumer I did not appreciate needing to make 3 trips and pay extra to find out anything about x-rays covered in the deal . . . We canceled the follow up appointments and Groupon refunded everything but what a waste of the afternoon. If I wanted that kind of experience I could go shop for a new car or dishwasher. I went in excited and left jaded . . . I’d proffer that you aren’t doing yourselves any favors with these things.
Thanks for sharing Ethan. It’s interesting to see such a diverse set of experiences amongst doctors.
Chiropractic is great, it has helped many people, over thousand patients that I personally am aware of. Not too mention those whom I have only heard of it helping (millions). Businesses do not make money on Groupon, but it is useful marketing tool for exposure. Unfortunately, the OR chiropractic board over stepped boundaries not allowing chiropractors to do online ads like Groupon.
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