Chiropractors: Why Are You Content With 4% Acceptance?

Most successful businesses / industries / professions strive for 100% acceptance rate among the general public. They may strive for it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to get it.

The fast food industry for example, may have an acceptance rate of 50% among Americans, while dentists have an acceptance rate of 95%; strip clubs may have an acceptance rate of 15%, while optometrists may be close to 98% – because after all, everyone needs their eyes to see, and teeth to chew.

So why is chiropractic’s acceptance only hovering around a dismal 4%? Even though everyone has a spine, why is it that only a fraction of people trust and value chiropractic enough to become life-long patients and refer their friends?

Chiropractors often blame everything and everyone, except for themselves. The medical establishment and the AMA could have painted chiropractic as an unreliable and untrustworthy profession, but chiropractors haven’t done ANYTHING to change the public’s perception. As a matter of fact, they are feeding into everyone’s low expectations.

4% is the most dismal statistic we could find – in any profession. We found more people who believe in UFO’s than in chiropractors. We found more people who value the work archaeologists do, than what chiropractors do. We found more people who trust the pharmaceutical industry – even with their long list of side-effects – than they do a chiropractic adjustment.

Some would argue that its all about EDUCATION. Yes, but people have to value you first, before they want to learn from you. Others argue its all about COMMUNICATION. True, but people have to trust you first and step foot into your office, in order to listen to you.

It all comes down to your image. Even before you open your mouth to educate someone, that person has already made up their mind on whether they should trust you, value you, or respect you. That very important first impression, can turn someone off to chiropractic forever, or invite them to step into your office and open up dialogue about a treatment plan.

But in order to build a reputable image, you have to be open to investing in a strong brand, effective website, and trustworthy marketing strategies. You have to be open to spending money on your office decor, your office location, uniforms / attire, and updating your equipment.

Why? Because people judge you with their eyes. They constantly compare you to other health care providers, and draw shallow conclusions. As a matter of fact, from the 5,000 potential patients we surveyed in the past four years, over 92% of them said that if chiropractors had a better image, they’d probably be open to receiving chiropractic care!

Unfortunately, most chiropractors put their own financial comfort ahead of what is good and descent for the advancement of the profession. Their scarcity mentality drives them to buy ineffective, uninspired, cookie-cutter websites or logos – that do nothing to improve the public’s perception of the profession.

If chiropractors don’t value their profession enough to improve its image, don’t be surprised if the profession ceases to exist in another 10 years.