How to Tell if Your Website is Helping or Hurting Your Practice- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

How much do you spend on your website doc? Between hosting and design it is more than likely thousands of dollars over the lifespan of your site. The truth is that this is a small price to pay considering it is the first point of contact for nearly every patient that ends up in your office. The importance of a professional and well written page cannot be overstated. As a matter of fact, research shows that over 90% of people research their doctors online before making an appointment.

Chances are that you meticulously researched the design and functionality of your site; making sure the SEO was maximized, the content was placed appropriately, and a strong call to action was present.  Hopefully, you also use it as a place to provide true value for potential patients and community members. Wow, that sounds like a lot of hard work!

So after all this time, energy, and money; do you have any idea how are people interacting with your website!?!?!

Lets face it, user testing seems expensive and cumbersome (and in the past it was). However, just last week I discovered Peek UserTesting which is a completely free service that you should use immediately.  To use it you simply enter your email/website address and within a few hours you are emailed a link of a 5 minute video of a random person visiting your website and interacting with its content. 

Here is a personal example. I used the service just last week and discovered that one of my links was "dead". So everyone who had previously clicked this certain link was taken to the wrong page. Oops. Given that fact that my website receives hundreds of views per day this is very important!  

In short, people are interacting with your website each and every day. Many people are making healthcare decisions based upon their findings. Using a free service like Peek will give you a ton of insight on how you can clarify your message and improve your website; ultimately serving more people and better representing our wonderful profession. 

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

The Importance of Refining Your Product and Service- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Recently, I was listening to Jason Fried (co-founder of 37Signals/Basecamp) talk about pulling back the lens on product development. While not every chiropractor is developing products; we are certainly all in the service industry. In a practical sense, I think this can be applied to every Chiropractors blog. For instance, why did you choose this brand of a new chiropractic table? What goes into your decision to upgrade the copy/design on your website? I believe that the answers to these questions are important, not only to your patients, but also to other chiropractors struggling with the same questions.

In light on this I want to touch on the evolution of our MD Research Briefs. We did not choose the design out of the sky, but rather it has been a journey. The original design is a distance cousin of our current design. Originally, I had a multipage letter/newsletter hybrid as you can see below.

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The design was a bit cumbersome and lacked the elegance I had hoped to achieve. Additionally, one of the biggest challenges in reaching MD's is time. They are completely swamped in practice and probably don't have the time to read multiple pages of text (even if the layout is world class). 

This started the process of our transition to the current format; a single page PDF with a customized header/footer, clear indication of the highlighted study, short and direct analysis, beautiful graphics, and some direct quotes. We have found that this design really fires on all cylinders. 

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In 2015, we will continue to explore new design ideas which can improve our message. Simplicity, elegance, and efficiency are the hallmarks of good design. And truthfully, the bottom line is that good design solves problems. The problem we encounter is the inequity of referrals from other health care professionals. I believe we can solve this problem with hard work, persistence, a clear message, and perhaps a little bit of good design. 

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

Chiropractic Care and the NFL in USA Today

Recently, USA Today featured an article on chiropractic care in NFL. The piece highlights how and why the worlds greatest athletes are seeking alternative care for the treatment of their health concerns. Essentially, the athletes need to heal as quickly as possible and perform with the highest function (performance). I posted a link to this article on my Facebook page and it immediately exploded across the internet.

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The most important take away for me was that MD's and DC's are working together, in a very high stakes arena, for the benefit of the patient/athlete. Additionally, the article states that some athletes are seeking out the use of chiropractors as they hear about the results from their colleagues. While not all of us will have the opportunity to work on NFL players; we all can work towards better communication and cooperation with other physicians in our communities for the benefit of our patients. 

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

Free Chiropractic Marketing Calendar- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

"What gets measured gets managed."- Peter Drucker

I am sure we are all familiar with the above quote, but have you actually implemented it? Let me ask a simple question- do you like wasting money? I didn't think so.  Chiropractors that carefully track their marketing and outreach stand to make substantially more income than those who choose not to. When items are not tracked, results tend to be esoteric, and revenue slips out the door.

We have put together a complete MD Marketing Calendar and tracking sheet which is available for free right here. 

Use our Marketing Calendar to maximize your results and-

• -keep track of your targeted physicians
• -see the essential practice information at a glance
• -monitor your monthly "touches"

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.

How Poor Copyrighting Can Kill a Chiropractic Practice- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Copyrighting can be your best friend or your worst enemy. How you position and project yourself online, and offline, can literally make or break your practice. Today we are going to focus online. Unfortunately, many chiropractors get caught up in design rather than content. 

So what is copyrighting? Copyrighting is defined as, "writing copy for the purpose of advertising or marketing. The copy is meant to persuade someone to buy a product, or influence their beliefs".

The focus for many chiropractors when updating their website is design.  And I will not argue that good design not only solves problems, but certainly helps to position your practice. Here is typically process for most chiropractors. You type "chiropractic websites" into google and start checking out the results. Typically, you will find a company or two have website templates which resonate with you and you email them for a quote. They install and tweak the template, add the content, and viola (!), a new website is born. Does anyone see the potential pitfall with this scenario?

The problem is that the visual aspect was decided first, instead of the content. Content (i.e.- copy, copyrighting) is the most important aspect of your site. Its your message! Slick design with poor content does not serve your, or your potential patients, best interest. By focusing first on content you can then decide which visual representation best suits your message. 

Here are a few questions to consider:

1. When someone visits my website is the message clear? (what do I stand for? what can I help them with?)
2. Does my website design obscure or reinforce my copy/text?

Finally, we all know it can be tough to take a truly objective look at our own "stuff". If you are ready for a eye opening experience I suggest you visit Peek.  My friend TJ Mapes RIPT Apparel, recently turned me onto this service and I can't recommend it enough. It's a free service where you type in your website address and within a hour you will receive an email with a 5 minute video of someone interacting with your website. I can guarantee you will learn a few things; I certainly did! The bottom line is that the copy on your website is the most powerful tool you have to entice or repel patients whom are searching for your services. Choose wisely.

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor has assisted hundreds of chiropractors around the globe build interdisciplinary referral relationships.

Have you viewed our FREE Guides?  Download The MD Meeting and the 5 Secrets to MD Referrals today.