May 2009

Are you marketing or gambling?

by John D. Lewis

Gambling, at its very core, is a game of chance. You might win. You might lose. You might break even. But the key point is that you really don't know in advance. You have no idea whether you're going to make money or lose money.

When it comes to marketing and advertising, many chiropractors are in the same situation. They don't know whether they're going to make money, lose money, or break even when it comes to the money they spend on marketing and advertising.

How about you?

Do you know the precise return you're getting on each of your marketing pieces and advertising dollars? Or, are you like the majority of practitioners who blindly throw their money at various advertising mediums and then hope for the best?

This is the equivalent of pulling the arm of the slot machine and waiting to see if you hit the jackpot. If you try it enough times, you may actually get lucky once or twice -- but the only sure winner in that scenario is the house (which would be the television station, magazines, radio stations, printer, or whatever other medium that charges you to run your ad).

Like gambling, marketing and advertising is a game of chance for most chiropractors. They have no system in place to attract patients in a consistent and predictable manner.

Why is everything hit or miss with traditional advertising? Because traditional advertising is a lot like allopathic medicine. While it certainly has its place, it's often thought of as the only alternative. As a result, people are sucking down pills and spending money hopelessly trying to alleviate various symptoms rather than fixing the source of the actual problem.

The singular focus you should have as it pertains to your marketing and advertising is the return it brings you. Anything else is just a symptom!

How well does your current marketing stack up? Are you gambling with your marketing money without even realizing it?

Here's a quick quiz to find out:

***  Do you have a system in place to measure the return of every marketing dollar you spend?

***  Do you have multiple methods in place to attract new leads and patients consistently and predictably?

***  Does each of your marketing pieces clearly define an action for your prospective patients to take -- along with a reason and deadline for taking the desired action?

***  Does your website encourage each visitor to leave you his or her contact information in order to gain access or receive something of value?

***  Do you have a system in place to educate and re-educate each one of your leads and patients on a weekly basis, from the first time they become aware of you and your practice?

***  Do you have a process for following up consistently with each of your patients to keep them informed and coming back for ongoing treatment?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, you're wasting some of your marketing money and leaving revenue on the table. It's that simple!

There is now available a most powerful, done-for-you marketing system built specifically for chiropractors. You can watch a video and get information about it by visiting www.chirowealth.com/marketing. (You may also call 800-564-5699. This program is restricted to qualified applicants and limited to a few select members.)

As a chiropractor, you're already fighting an uphill battle. You simply can't outspend the drug companies and allopathic medical industry. People need to be educated and shown the truth before they can accept it.

The only practical way to accomplish this is by putting a marketing system in place to continue to educate and re-educate your patients. Not only will that increase the number of patients who accept and continue treatment, but it will also cause your referrals to increase dramatically.

In addition, you'll become an educator and marketer instead of a gambler!

(Formerly a CPA specializing in designing, implementing, and automating accounting and operating systems, My Custom Video, Inc. Founder and President John D. Lewis has combined that experience and expertise with his true passion for direct response marketing. He's written and developed marketing products, videos, websites, software programs, and sales materials, which have generated millions of dollars of revenue for clients spanning a variety of industries. Mr. Lewis now teaches professionals how to enhance their lifestyle by learning to attract a steady stream of prospects and referrals through automated marketing techniques. Most recently, he developed a completely automated, done-for-you marketing system for the chiropractic profession that is offered through The Chiropractic Peak Performance Alliance.)