In-House and Out-House Advertising

Our collective intellect is showing! Yes, the collective intellect of any profession is revealed by how its practitioners present themselves to the public. Just page through the chiropractic section of the yellow pages in any major city telephone directory and you will see what I mean. The advertising is, as some would say, revolting; in more ways than one, it is "out-house advertising."

There are two basic ways to advertise your practice, in-house (with your own patients, within your own system) and out-house (advertising outside of your practice through the media). Out-house advertising does not have to be repulsive, but ours certainly is, and that's what I mean by our collective intellect is showing. Take a good square look at it, at yours! "Watch for the eight danger signals" or is it 10 or 12, or whatever. The redundancy is sickening, on and on the ads go -- free consultation, free examination, aches, pains, kinks, strains, ad nauseam -- preaching fear, the recognized tool of the medicine men.

I guess a person first must live long "enuf" to see the swing of the pendulum, and I have. At the turn of the century all "healers" hawked their wares, their cures were broadcast like leaves on the wind. They all quacked, quacked, quacked their wares. From the snake oil salesman to the legitimate doctor, to the Sears Roebuck catalogue, the out-house advertisements claimed their cures and solicited the public to partake in the cure; cures ranged from adenoids to athletes foot, the entire gamut of diseases. Then the reality of the propriety of such methods sunk into the professional consciousness and it was stopped.

When I first began practice in the '50s, stringent rules were placed upon professional advertising. Then again the pendulum swung and under the guise of public information, the supreme court ruled otherwise, and so you see it all again today. Medical ads for free blood tests, attorneys advising people to sue at the least provocation, dentists, chiropractors, the list could go on and on. One particular television ad in Wisconsin shows a considerably obese attorney standing on the end of a diving board. He dives in with a tremendous splash. The camera then shows his face and torso as he emerges at the edge of the pool. The words go something like this: "Don't take a bath in divorce court, consult Dily Daly and Delay for prompt and inexpensive attention to your needs."

Yes, the pendulum has swung again from the sublime to the ridiculous. But, if I can't convince you as to the absurdity of this zoo of public relations on the very face of the matter, then let's look at the so-called "bottom line," the economics of the matter. Just recently, William C. Lowell spoke before a group of medical physicians in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His message had some salient points good for all doctors:

"So many times doctors are spending money chasing for things that are right in front of them," Lowell said. "Your staff can work for you in your marketing efforts." He went on to say, "It is difficult for doctors to get involved in the marketing efforts because they are busy practicing. This is where your front-line staff has some advantages. For instance, a receptionist can suggest things to ask the doctor about. That can add to patient satisfaction and more income."

"It is five to seven times more expensive to market to get new patients than it is to market the ones you have."

To this last sentence, I echo a hearty amen! I have often said that once a DC sees 35 patients a week, they need never engage in such methods again. In my book, Are You the Doctor, Doctor? I use the words, "work your practice." And this is exactly what the above quoted article eludes to. This is "in-house advertising": ethical constructive patient information and education, designed to show the need and the broad spectrum of the value of chiropractic care; designed to bring the entire family in; and designed to make emissaries of the chiropractic message out of the patients who are pleased and satisfied with your services.

One of the best tools you have for this form of communication is patient brochures. We used to call them "disease tracts." From A to Z they give the chiropractic message. The chiropractic message of the "inside out" cause of disease, of the vertebral subluxation, and vertebral adjustment! But, remember, brochures do little good in the rack on the wall. Give them personally to a patient whenever a question on health problems arises. Have monthly health messages prepared for the patients on the front desk. Have the receptionist give them to patients as they leave the office. There are many suppliers of such material, but the personal touch of you handing it to the patient or personally mailing a message to the patient is the added touch such material needs. Work your practice doctors, "acres of diamonds and you tread on them." Try the in-house method, it is less odious than the alternative, plus you will find it more effective and far less expensive.

"Enuf said."

Next month: Greatest Tactical Error

Fred H. Barge, DC, PhC
La Crosse, Wisconsin