"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.