The making of a brand

When it comes to marketing, Warden doesn’t believe in doing things half-baked. “Most things we’ve done have worked,” Warden says. “We’ve been trying to brand ourselves as you would a product. We put ourselves on t-shirts and water bottles. People see our name everywhere. They see our signs and our pictures, and they know who we are.”

Branding is a buzzword in today’s advertising/public relations world. It’s not, however, a new concept. It simply takes old ideas and expands on them.

Warden's approach is an example of turning a somewhat intangible commodity into a tangible one. A health practice is not something you can buy on a shelf at the local super-store. It can, however, still be a brand name, one which the local consumers recognize by sight and sound.

“It’s just about getting your name out there so people know you,” Warden explains. “If we are consistent people start to recognize us as ‘You’re the chiropractors with the ads in the paper.’ We just kept doing it.”

Warden’s branding effort includes:

• Full- and half- page newspaper ads. “These larger ads are costly, but people might not see a little one column-by-three inch ad in the lower right-hand corner of a page as they flip through the paper. They can’t miss the larger ad. It also separates you from the others! We believe if we think 'big,' we will become big," says Warden.

The print ads include Warden’s picture, practice logo, and a list of the services the practice offers, including a complimentary consultation.

Warden started out by spending “most of our earnings in the beginning on advertising.” She has since cut that back to about 10 percent, which is more of a random (and round) number than anything. The point is, she is not afraid to spend on something so vital.

As the patient numbers increase, the spending on marketing decreases, depending on the time of year. “As you develop in an area there are certain advertising patterns that take place. The advertising doesn’t go away. It gets back to the branding issue,” she says.

“When we got to the point that we couldn’t see new patients for two weeks, we knew we didn’t need to advertise as much,” Warden says.

• Lectures. Talks at the YMCA and other gyms, businesses, and groups are essential. “These are exciting, and the results in most cases are immediate,” says Warden. “It gives us the opportunity to educate the public on the awesome benefits of chiropractic.”

• MD lunches. The staff takes lunches to medical offices and massage therapists, along with a message of why MDs should promote chiropractic. As relationships grow, says Warden, results come.

• Health fairs. They do health fairs with chair massages and constantly educate the masses. Everyone is offered a free in-clinic consultation and mini-massage.

• Bi-weekly e-mailings. Marketing and branding don’t start or finish with new patients. Existing patients are sent twice-monthly e-mails with topical newsletters.