Word of Mouth Is Not Enough! Five Reasons Why You Need A Solid Marketing Plan For Your Chiropractic Practice
Word of mouth has long been held up as the gold standard for getting new patients and growing a successful chiropractic practice. But, times have changed! For decades, it’s been a common belief that “word of mouth” is the best way to get patients for a chiropractic practice. Although it can be a great way to spread the word about your business, it’s absolutely not enough to guarantee success. In order to have a thriving practice, marketing is key. Here are the five reasons why you need more than just word of mouth in order to succeed.
#1. Reach More People:
Digital marketing strategies such as Google Ads and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will help you reach far more people than just relying on word-of-mouth alone. With digital marketing, you can target specific demographics and tailor your message to match this demographic’s needs and interests—it’s the perfect way to find your ideal patient. Additionally, digital marketing ensures that your message reaches those who are unable to hear about your services through word-of-mouth, which could be thousands of people.
Your existing patient base may be loyal, but it won’t grow unless you reach out to new patients with your message. Marketing lets you target potential patients who have never heard of your practice before – and can actually help you get more out of word-of-mouth referrals by giving them something tangible to refer friends or family to.
#2. Build Brand Awareness:
Digital marketing and your online/social media presence helps build brand recognition and awareness among potential customers. It allows you to create an image or persona for your business which ultimately leads to increased customer loyalty and trustworthiness. This is especially important when trying to stand out amongst other, similar practices in your area.
The chiropractic industry is highly competitive, and word-of-mouth alone isn’t enough to stay ahead of the competition. Digital marketing lets you target potential customers who may not be aware of other services available nearby, putting you in a better position to bring them into your office over competing chiropractors with larger marketing budgets.
#3. Track Performance:
With digital marketing strategies like email campaigns, pay-per-click ads and social media posts, you can track the effectiveness of your efforts by analyzing engagement metrics such as click-through rates, likes, shares, and comments. This data gives you valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t so that you can make informed decisions about where and how much money should be invested into marketing efforts moving forward, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Word-of-mouth is great for getting people talking about your business, but it’s hard (if not impossible) to measure the effectiveness of this type of marketing effort over time – which means it’s difficult to determine how much progress you’re making towards reaching new patients or increasing patient loyalty over time. With marketing efforts like SEO/SEM campaigns and email newsletters, however, it’s easy to track progress and make adjustments as needed for maximum impact with minimal effort and investment.
#4. Target Your Audience More Effectively:
Digital forms of marketing allow you to target specific audiences with greater accuracy than just relying on word-of-mouth alone. By using tools like Google Ads or Facebook Ads Manager, for example, you can set parameters such as age, range, or location so that only those who meet certain criteria see your advertisements—and are therefore more likely to convert into paying patients.
Word-of-mouth is great for getting people talking about your service, but if they don’t know who you are or what specific services and specialties they can get from you, they won’t be able to take advantage of it! A good marketing strategy will help build brand awareness so that potential patients know exactly what makes your practice unique and why they should choose you over others.
Remember: Just because someone has heard about your practice doesn’t mean they’re going to come see you right away—or ever. You need visibility in order for people to be able to find your office when they search online or look up local practices near them. Without visibility on search engines and social media platforms, potential customers won’t even know where to find you!
#5. Strengthen Your Presence Online:
Digital forms of marketing (such as SEO and content creation) also help strengthen your online presence by increasing traffic on both social media platforms and websites alike—ultimately helping increase overall visibility for your practice over time.
Word-of-mouth may have been enough for chiropractors in the past; but for chiropractors who want their practices to succeed today, digital marketing strategies are essential in order to attract new leads and convert them into loyal patients over time. By utilizing various methods such as Google ads, email campaigns, SEO optimization and content creation—chiropractors can ensure they reach their desired patients while also strengthening their online presence simultaneously—ultimately leading them toward success in the long run.
Word-of-mouth has been the go-to method for getting more patients since the dawn of time, but times have changed drastically since then – so don’t rely on it alone if you want a successful chiropractic practice in the modern world. Investing in a strong digital marketing plan is essential if you want more visibility, better brand recognition, increased patient loyalty, and ultimately more success overall: prioritize digital marketing if you want to keep up with, and surpass, your competition.