"What the heck does that mean", I thought to myself. "What are



they selling?" Luckily, I was able to catch a glimpse of the company

name also on the side of truck... "Tod's Air Conditioning"

As the truck pulled out in front of me, I sat there for a few minutes

thinking, "Hmmmm, maybe Trane is the type of air conditioner they

install. Maybe it's the certification company behind their staff.

Maybe it's the tools or machine they use to fix people's air

conditioner. Or, maybe it's the name of their parent company or

something." It wasn't until many hours later that I found out what

they meant by "Trane", when... like the computer nerd I am... I

went online and Google'd it.

Fact of the matter is, how many people who see that truck, do you

think actually take the time to find out what their tagline means by

going online and doing some research? What do you think...

uhhh.... maybe... NONE! (With the exception of the token person

like me who has an insane passion for marketing.)

So, what's that mean exactly to the company with the tagline?

Well,that unless someone's an air conditioning insider, they're not

going to have a clue what that tagline is supposed to mean to

them, so the company's hard-earned advertising dollars are

completely wasted.

It's a mistake soooo many companies and professionals make in

their marketing, chiropractors included. They make the mistake of

trying to be cute in their chiropractic marketing instead of trying to

be compelling.

Rule #1 with your chiropractic marketing: It's better to be

compelling and benefit-driven than it is just to be cute simply for

cuteness sake. Personally, I think this idea of crafting a memorable

tagline has it's roots in the brand advertising approach of many of

the Fortune 500 companies.

Therapists see the way lots of big companies have these neat little

cutesy taglines, and they follow in their footsteps with the creation

of a similar-style tagline for their practice.

Unfortunately, what most chiropractors don't understand is that

those big Fortune 500 companies have a different aim and

objective with their advertising than that of the typical

chiropractor.

While the average chiropractor wants a response from their

chiropractic marketing (i.e. new patients), the big companies are

using these taglines in their advertising, NOT because they want

response, but because they're after brand recognition.

Funny thing is, most of the time, marketing research shows that

even though we remember lots of taglines, we don't always

remember the company who it belongs to. Not only that, but, in

many marketing studies, results show that even on the occasion

that we do remember the company the tagline belongs to, we

don't necessairly purchase any of their products or services, and

certainly not MORE products or services because of the tagline.

So, when using a cute, memorable tagline, companies may get

some additional "recognition", but they don't necessarily generate

additional customers or sales. Meanwhile, that's the entire point of

your chiropractic marketing: to get new patients. Period.

Everything you include in your chiropractic marketing, should

increase the response you're aiming for (i.e. generate you more

leads, more new chiropractic patients, more referrals, etc.). So,

how do you do that with your tagline, if you're using one?

Well, for one, don't try to come up with a tagline that people will

remember. Instead, come up with a tagline for your practice that

conveys a big promise and desired benefit to your target market.

In other words, if you're going to use a tagline, use a tagline that

states the big unique benefit prospective patients are going to get

with you that they won't from any other chiropractor.

Give prospective patients a powerful reason, in your tagline, to

choose your chiropractic practice for their care. Be crystal clear in

what patients get with you that they don't elsewhere.

When in doubt, say it like it is. Again, it's always better to be clear

and concise, than it is to try and be cute, and lose the clarity of

your chiropractic marketing message. Always remember, your goal

when using a tagline is to make chiropractic WITH YOU more

enticing, more interesting, more beneficial, and more unique.

Returning, quickly, to our earlier example, here are three ways the

air conditioning company could have improved significantly on their

"Nothing Stops A Trane" tagline:

"The Only Air Conditioning Unit You Never Have To Worry About"

"An Air Conditioning Unit Designed To Continually Give You Cool Air

While Conserving Your Home's Energy!"

"The Only Air Conditioning Unit From One Of Fortune Magazines

List Of Most Admired Companies" Now, think about how you can

improve on your chiropractic practice's tagline.