What is Value?
While there are plenty of definitions, for our purposes let’s define it as the worth in importance and usefulness of a product or service.
And what I want you to get from this post is that…
People are going to buy your services based on the ‘perceived value’ more often than based on the ‘price’ alone.
So whether their out of pocket cost is high or low, in most cases that is not the real deciding factor in seeking or paying for your care. Rather it is the value of that service for the price that will get them emotionally charged to use your services.
So the question naturally arises…How can you increase the perceived value that the local community – anyone in your target market – and existing patients have about your services so that they will choose you over local competitors and so they will stay and seldom stray.
Be Different: No matter how similar what you do is to the guys down the street, don’t position it as the same. Show potential and existing patients how you are 100% different from every other chiropractor in the area.
You’ve got to show that there is NOBODY doing what you do (or that there is nobody capable of doing what you do) – regardless of price. When people perceive that they can get, what is in their minds, exactly the same as you offer from a cheaper source, you are no longer a valuable commodity.
Whatever makes you different, you want to ensure your chiropractic marketing strategies highlight that aspect of you and your practice to potential and existing patients alike. Even if someone else down the street has the same uniqueness as you, if they don’t market it and you do then as far as the community knows you are the only one doing it.
– Are you the ‘safest’ or the ‘quickest?’
– Do you use a special technique such as non-force or acupressure?
– Add other services such as decompression, massage or physical therapy
– Get certified in something that will set you apart
The bottom line is don’t just promote yourself as the exact same ‘chiropractor’ that the other 5 guys down the street are also marketing themselves as. Think outside the branding box.
Build Social Proof: People instinctively are drawn toward ‘herd behavior’ which means that they will naturally do what they perceive others to be doing. It increases the likelihood that they are making the best decision.
– Get patients to give you reviews online to help promote your business. This is something that we spend a lot of time helping clients achieve and there are a lot of ethical and simple ways to get a ton of them such as special promotions and of course just asking
– Get celebrity endorsements from local TV personalities, athletes, political figures and anyone else that is ‘known’ in your community
– Cluster book patients so that existing and new patients entering your clinic are always reminded that your place is the place to be and they definitely made the right decision
– Get video and written (with a picture) testimonials to post on your website and to create a testimonials book for your office
Breed Scarcity: Make people do something more than just call your office in order to get your care. Take your clinic from a ‘we will take anyone’ to a ‘we only take a limited number of clients’ or ‘let me ask you a few questions before I schedule you to make sure you qualify’ type of practice.
I realize that when you are feeling the desperate need for more business this may sound like a tall order, but asking a patient even one qualifying question to make sure they are a ‘good fit’ for your practice family is a surefire way to gain more respect and boost the perceived value of your services very quickly.
That’s right…You are now interviewing them to see if you will allow them into your practice.
For me personally it is reminding patients that I ONLY take new patients that are referred from existing patients. Sure I’ll let patients I market to on the outside sneak through the cracks here and there but as a general rule everyone knows that if you weren’t referred by an existing patient then you must come to a new patient workshop before scheduling your first appointment; barring acute problems of course.
Part of marketing for chiropractors must include increasing perceived value in the community and maintaining that same high value perception within the clinic so that you are seen as the place to be.
The higher your perceived value, the more likely someone is to seek your services, stay with the prescribed treatment and pay for your care with few questions asked.
Have comments or like what you read on our blog?…Please leave feedback below. Thanks for reading! Dr. Daron
