Chiropractic and telling the story of your public health practice

A composite chiropractic story about patient success in your public health practice can be more tangible and motivating than descriptions of generic offerings

“So, what made you decide to go into practice as a chiropractor?” You’ve probably gotten this question dozens of times at neighborhood block parties, from other parents at your kid’s soccer games, or even during parent-teacher events. Obviously, these informal interactions are great opportunities to talk up your public health practice, and chiropractic in general. In many ways, such encounters are an easy sell. The other person is interested enough in what you have to say that they are, in essence, asking you to tell them a story – the story of your practice.

Personal storytelling marketing

However, trying to take that story to the next level, by incorporating it into your marketing plan, can often be more daunting. How do you take that story from its informal, conversational roots into an integral part of a formal, structured marketing plan to bring in more patients and increase referrals?

Using storytelling to market your practice is not as difficult as it may seem.

Transforming a clinical story into a marketing story

You are probably already using storytelling in your daily clinical practice, even if you don’t realize it. For example, think about a patient with a serious chronic condition, who must now change their lifestyle to help manage their symptoms. They will need to follow an entirely new diet, begin a regular exercise routine, and quit smoking.

Giving them a bullet list of what they should and shouldn’t do is likely to only increase their anxiety and make them less willing to comply. On the other hand, a composite story about similar patients (while maintaining patient confidentiality, of course) in your public health practice who have succeeded with their new lifestyles may be more tangible and motivating.

Likewise, that same type of story can be a potentially powerful motivator for prospective patients who are facing the same sort of changes in lifestyle, particularly if they are not happy with the support provided by their “conventional” public health practice. Your clinical story can be transformed into a practice story about how you can provide more positive alternatives and solutions than those offered by standard medicine.

The ’why’ of your public health practice

Did your first experience as a chiropractic patient motivate you to become a DC? If so, that’s a great story to use for your marketing strategy.

Remember, by the time a patient comes to see you for the first time, they likely have already been to more than one physician, undergone numerous tests and procedures, and been prescribed several different medications. They are frustrated and skeptical about the benefits of chiropractic care. Using your story of your journey from chiropractic patient to DC shows prospective patients that you understand their difficulty and have professionally dedicated yourself to helping them.

Even from early childhood, stories serve as a way for humans to connect to one another. Whether it is poems, nonfiction or marketing copy, stories allow us to share common experiences. By taking your own story of chiropractic and using it to engage with prospective patients, you are not only sharing information, but also forming connections and sharing common experiences. Use the ‘why’ of your public health practice to show patients why you do what you do and what it can do for them.