Your ad rep is there to help you get the best rate with their newspaper. Yes they are in the advertising industry, but they are not there to tell you if your ad is a good advertisement to run. For one thing your ad is unique. It looks different, it’s formatted different and it reads different than most. They might tell you it’s not the typical ad they usually see and that it won’t get the response you would want, and that you will be wasting your money.
These chiropractic ads have post free ads been written by a chiropractor who is extensively trained to write and develop advertising and marketing for chiropractors. They are tested and proven to be effective ads. What does your rep know about your chiropractic practice, or for that matter, chiropractic marketing? The type of patient you see and the type of emotional words and copy that will draw the best response? You thought they were good enough to try. Trust that they will do what they are written to do.
Your staff is an important part of your practice. They are your office support and are there to help you run the front office. Meet and greet patients, answer phones, make appointments. Yes they are familiar with chiropractic, but you didn’t hire them to give their opinions on what they think about your ads. They are not trained to know what a good advertisement looks like. They most likely are not trained in marketing or advertising. They are probably not trained in advanced copywriting and lastly, they are not the patient that the ads were designed to target. It doesn’t matter if they think it’s too long, or that they wouldn’t read the whole advertisement.
It is apparent that your rep knows a lot about the newspaper that they work for and no one is disputing that, however when it comes to which section to place your ad; that is your decision to make. There are specific areas of a newspaper that typically see better results than others. Optimal positioning would be, Section A, a full page ad if your budget allows that, above the fold, for half page or quarter page ads, and right hand side of the page. Also, if you are looking at a quarter page ad, request an article next to your ad, not several other ads.
It will not look very good for you or your staff if you run chiropractic ads in the newspaper, the phones begin ringing with new patients ready to set their appointments and your staff doesn’t know what the caller is talking about. Schedule a meeting with your staff and explain to them what your advertisement will be about and when it will be running. If the ad includes an expiration date, let the staff know that. Also address the issue of people calling after the expiration date. Explain to your staff that this ad will be for a specific condition and will offer a discount. Give your staff specific instructions as to what the offer will include and how to schedule the follow up appointment when the new patient has been seen.
When your new patient comes for their appointment, have your staff remind the patient in a positive manner that they are coming in for a special evaluation. This sets the patient at ease knowing that you remember why they are there. Then you collect the necessary information or paperwork as you would for any new patient. Have a staff member escort them to the exam room and then proceed with the consultation, exam and x-ray. Thank the patient for coming in to see you, tell them when you need to see them again to go over your findings. Let them know your front desk will help them with scheduling. Have your front desk staff collect their fee for the visit and set the next appointment.
Performing extra services the first day only confuses the patient and leads to a drawn out appointment. Plus extra services were not included in the offer, therefore if you charged for extra services performed that would not reflect the quoted price in your offer.
Your new advertisements are going to generate a lot of business. By addressing these mistakes before you place your chiropractic ads, you will be more confident in your negotiations with your ad rep. You will avoid confusion by keeping your staff in the loop and your new patients will have a great attitude about their first appointment and a positive outlook about their future care in your office.