Stumped on how to grow your brand?

This checklist will help you get started

So, you just finished Chiropractic college. Or you’ve been working as an associate for a while. Lately, you’ve been playing with the idea of starting your own practice. And finally the time has come to take the leap. You talked to your coach, your business plan is written, and you’re ready to shine.

Here’s one thing a lot of coaches don’t know much about: branding. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

The Checklist begins with a few essentials that every chiropractor will need. Going down the list, there’s a wide range of features and ideas. Some of them will make more sense for certain offices than others. A lot depends on your budget, the type of practice you have, and the ways you prefer to keep in touch with your patients. Some ideas might seem impractical if you’re just starting out, but may prove very useful at some point down the road.

BTW, you can find a PDF version of this checklist inside my Brand Fusion for Chiros Community.

Now, without further ado, here’s my Branding Checklist for Chiropractors:

1. Practice Name & Custom Domain Name

Every business needs a website. When choosing your practice name, keep in mind that you will need a domain name as well. We use namecheap.com for purchasing custom domain names.

2. Logo

It’s pretty clear that you need a logo. It’s the heart of your brand. If you’re looking for a high-quality logo that tells YOUR story and conveys YOUR vision, I highly recommend hiring a professional designer to create a logo for you. There are more and more chiropractors competing for patients, so you need to stand out and let people know what makes you and your practice different. Check out the logos we have created for our clients.

3. Brand Master Guide

A style guide helps you sharpen your image. It helps you stay on brand in every interaction you have with your patients, be it in the office or online. It includes your brand colors, fonts and other information about your brand. Whenever you, a team member or a hired professional is creating new marketing material, you can reference the brand guide and make sure to use the same fonts and colors throughout ALL of your marketing materials. Consistency is key.

A step up from that is a Brand Master Guide. It’s what we create for our strategy clients and it contains EVERYTHING about your brand – its history, brand essence (purpose, vision, mission, core values, target audience description, competitive research, brand persona description, core messaging and storytelling frameworks, AND your brand style guide. Pretty much the whole enchilada.

You use this missing manual to train new team members, to create endless, strategic, and engaging content, to share with photographers and videographers, graphic designers, website developers and anybody else who needs to know about your brand. But most importantly, it’s an invaluable business asset for growing and scaling, and selling your brand,

We created a Chiropractic Manifesto, a brand strategy document for the entire profession, which can serve as a starting point for your own brand strategy. You can find a PDF of it in the Brand Fusion for Chiros Community (under Workbooks and more in the Classroom) or view the current version HERE.

You should also get the Brand Strategy Workbook there. It’s great for taking notes while you look through the Chiropractic Manifesto!

4. Social Media Accounts

Depending on your target market and your own personal preference, pick a couple social media platforms and create a business account to engage with your patients online. You don’t have to be everywhere. But make sure you’re consistent and responsive on the ones you are using.

5. Website

You might think you don’t really need a website starting out. Especially if you have a facebook page and other social media accounts. But fact is, having a professional website gives you credibility. And, let’s face it, there is no better way to control your content. Potential patients will want to learn more about you and your practice and the services you offer without having to call or visit in person.

A word of caution about pre-built chiropractic template websites like chiromatrix and others: They seem like a great idea. You get a somewhat professional looking website, content is provided for you, and you don’t need to pay a huge sum up front. What’s not to like?

Truth is, at least every other chiropractor that wants me to build a new website for their practice comes to me from one of those companies. They’re dissatisfied with the customization options. The website looks too canned and is hard to use. Having content is great, but it’s usually too much and overwhelming, especially to patients new to chiropractic. YOUR story and YOUR services and your WHY get lost. It’s worth investing the time and writing your own content. Depending on your budget and experience, find a designer or a local design studio to create a custom website for you.

We use bluehost.com for all our websites and highly recommend them. Each hosting comes with a free SSL certificate, which is essential in providing trust and a safe browsing experience for your website visitors.

6. Custom Email Address

Add credibility and professionalism by having a custom email address. Have you ever seen someone’s email address on a business card and looked up the website because you were curious? That doesn’t happen with free email addresses. But, if you use your domain in your email, you’re getting your brand in front of more eyeballs.
Setup a personal email address for each team member that needs one. Should they leave your company, you stay in control of the email account.

If you’re planning on getting hosting for your website, at least one free email account is usually included. If you buy your hosting through bluehost.com, you can setup unlimited email addresses for your team.

7. Business Cards

Having a booth at a local fair, going to a business luncheon or a conference? Make sure you have business cards handy that match the rest of your brand and contain all the information needed to find your office offline and online.

8. Office Setup

There’s nothing worse than walking into a sterile medical office. Make your patients feel welcome and like part of the family. Depending on your target market, your brand and your personal preferences, your office might have a different look and feel, but make sure it matches the rest of your brand. Be sure the waiting area is comfortable. You might choose to educate your patients there or give them ways to entertain themselves while waiting.

Follow our Pinterest board for more office inspiration. If you have a bigger budget, check out our friends over at crossfieldsdesign.com for some stunning office design!

9. Custom photos & headshots

Free stock photos are great but they can only get you so far. People visiting your website want to know about you and your practice. It might not be the first thing on your to-do list, but consider hiring a photographer to shadow you in your practice for a few hours. Besides head shots, you’ll get some great action shots of you in your element, interacting with your patients. High-quality photos will really take your brand to the next level.

Make sure you have patients sign a consent form before using photos of them on your website or social media accounts.

iStockphoto and other stock images sites have a ton of high-quality images. And Photoshop or online graphic design sites like Canva allow you to apply filters to give photos consistent look and feel to match your brand.

Next Steps

• Schedule a Discovery Call with Pacha
• Join our Balanced Brands Facebook Community