Hello, I am a chiropractor who specializes in pediatric and perinatal (before, during, and after pregnancy) care. I live in an area that is saturated with chiropractors. 6 months ago I had my second daughter and my chiropractic practice has taken a back seat. I need advice/ideas on how to market myself to the community (mom groups, daycare centers, pediatricians, OBGYNs, etc).
In chiropractic school and the time I have been in practice, I have been focusing on how to be the best doctor I can be. Now I need to figure out to spread the word of what I do. I am not a sales person. I am comfortable educating people about what I do, but I am not comfortable pressuring people to come see me.
Any advice would be great!
A good friend of mine is also a chiroprator. She works with a sales coach named Chuck Bauer. He has helped her put marketing strategies in place that are low/no cost that have helped her grow her business significantly. His website is www.chuckbauer.com. Or you can call Lynn Barrett who works with him to get invited to one of his upcoming free events. Her number is ###-###-####. Good luck!
You could volunteer to give educational talks for PTA's and preschool groups of parents. See if any groups are having health fairs, particularly women's health fairs or things aimed at families. You could also see if you could talk to school nurses in your district to explain what you do for children and why it is beneficial. Good luck /
meetup.com has a lot of groups you could make an offer to do an educational seminar with, just contact the groups organizers. There are also Moms Clubs and early child PTA groups in just about every city and each of those usually has a monthly meeting where they offer educational talks at as a requirement for their group. Also every Babies R Us offers educational talks through out the month by local business and they even have health fairs from time to time. I would also offer to write an article or an evaluation for the local child magazines (Dallas Child, FW Child, etc) A lot of cities have magazines that are produced like Allen Life that have articles not to mention meetings in the back which would be a resource for you to look through and see if you could offer talks to. Word of mouth is always the best so maybe you offer a discount for referrals. City Rec Centers, fitness clubs, stroller fitness classes, prenatal yoga classes and such might be interested in your talks as well. Depending on where you are located, we might be interested in seeing you because I currently drive a ways to see our chiropractor. good luck!
Just wanted to say I wish you live near me.
Good luck!
offer coupons for one free visit-- do you usually do free consultations anyways. do a mass mail out of everyone in your area
Before having my daughter I was in marketing and now I am a SAHM. So I can offer some advice. I have a chiropractor that I love and I am a walking advertisement for him and chiropractic care in general. So, first, understand a satisfied customer is a great advertisement. You need to buy ad space in local papers and give coupons like "Schedule a new patient evaluation and get your first adjustment free." Also, short basic facts/statistics about the benefits of chiropractic for pregnancy is helpful in an ad. Generally, you can create something simple with your logo. Paid advertising goes a long way, but it is a continual investment. You have to keep advertising to keep growing.
One idea that came to me is when I took the labor and delivery classes through the hospital before I had my baby, they had several people come in and talk about alternative medicines (aromatherapy, Reiki, massage therapy) for easing the pains of L&D. If I were you, I would call the hospital (maybe the education director) and ask if you could volunteer a small portion of time during each L&D class to educate pregnant women about the benefits of your services. Then you could pass out your business cards, and give them handouts and coupons to come into your office.
Also, look for opportunities to attend "health fairs," or baby products/services fairs. Sometimes they cost money to set up booths, but you can utilize your time to educate people.
In addition, I recommend attending church and participating in their activities and getting to know the congregation and letting them know you. Church is a great way to network and people often feel more comfortable coming to someone that believes like they do. Plus, people aren't afraid to recommend their friends to fellow church patrons. Plus, religious people have a reputation for producing babies. ;)
Just a couple ideas. I hope your business flourishes. We need more people doing what you are doing!!!
See if the local obs will put a flying in with their "pregnancy" packets.
Join your local chamber of commerce (and attend events) and join business networking groups like BNI. They make it easy to market your services because everyone there is in the same boat -- trying to gain new business.
You may want to invest in hiring a marketing firm or consultant to get the word out, too. This is their forte and for a small fee, you may get the professional tools to make a positive impression with all of your target markets.
Do what our chiropractor and dentist did. Advertise in a school's book. For Example, every year the drill team holds a spring show in April/May you can contact the school's drill team directors to get advertisement space in the programs. Jasper High School director Mrs. Jen Morrow, prices range from $50 to $250. Plano Senior High School has its spring show advertisements to sale. The recent play we went to at Plano Senior they sale space in the programs. So try these schools and/or schools in Frisco. Also, UTD holds plays and sales space in their ads.
A.,
I am a birth doula and am connected with other birth doulas and childbirth educators in the DFW area. Send your info on to me and I will circulate it with other doulas and educators in the area.
We OFTEN recommend chiropractors certified in pregnancy and infant care.
K. Voigtsberger, CD(DONA)
www.wholeheartbirth.com
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just checking answers from others
I was in health care marketing for several years until I had children. I would either make up a flier or a fact sheet about yourself and ask all of the daycare centers/preschools in the area to have them at the front desk. Maybe even set up a time to do a Q and A at some of the larger schools where people can meet you and ask questions. You could also do a mass mailing to the area you are in. Hope this helps!
A.
You can get great marketing advice by finding an online counselor at SCORE.org. Their time is free for as long as you need. I'm a counselor there myself!
I also teach a class online called: Small Business Marketing on a Shoestring. You can search for it at ed2go(.)com.
http://www.ed2go.com/CourseDetails.aspx?query=small+busin...
I know another Chiropractor who has had great success.. He also trains others on this.. Contact me and perhaps we can set up a meeting.
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I know another Chiropractor who has had great success.. He also trains others on this.. Contact me and perhaps we can set up a meeting.
