Why a bad logo is sometimes worse than no logo

In the competitive world of chiropractic practices and wellness centers, there’s a common misconception that every new chiropractor needs a logo right from the start. But here’s a thought that might surprise many chiropractic professionals: logos are overrated in chiropractic branding.

Well, let me clarify that: BAD logos are overrated.

In fact, for a chiropractor, it might be better to have no logo at all (and just start growing their personal brand) than to have a poor one. Let’s dive into why this is the case and explore the true value of logos in chiropractic branding.

The Backwards Approach to Branding a  Chiropractic Practice

When starting a chiropractic practice, many chiropractors follow this sequence:

1. Come up with a chiropractic practice name
2. Get a logo designed (often by an amateur unfamiliar with chiropractic)
3. Use some colors and fonts that you like

But this approach, although common, is completely backward. Your chiropractic logo, practice name, and tagline are pieces of a puzzle, and together they tell the story of your unique approach to chiropractic care.

Before diving into these elements, you should be clear on the story you’re telling about your chiropractic philosophy and patient care approach.

The Purpose of Brand Elements

Each part of your chiropractic brand serves a specific purpose:

Visual Identity

• Acts as bait, helping potential patients recognize your practice
• The more impactful, the higher the chance of recall in a crowded healthcare market

I always tell my clients that your audience should be able to recognize your brand WITHOUT seeing your name or logo. When scrolling through their feed, people don’t look at WHO posted what. They scroll, scroll, scroll, and stop if something catches their eye.

Over time, they will recognize your brand based on the colors, fonts, and images you use, and they will stop when they recognize it because you share content that speaks to their needs, fears, and desires.

Name and Tagline

• Serve as anchors, creating a bridge to past experiences with your chiropractic care
• The more memorable, the higher the likelihood of triggering positive associations with your practice

The experiences that your audience has with your brand are all stored in their memory, in the limbic system of their brain.

Some of those memories get lost easily, while others stay top of mind.

But the key is to be able to bridge the gap to their memory so they easily recall all of those instances that you have built in the past – those messages, those stories.

Building a Chiropractic Brand in the Patient’s Mind

Here’s what most people get wrong: 

They think they need to overcommunicate everything, that they need to get their audience to remember everything.

You don’t. 

They don’t need to remember everything.  They will store their experiences in their mind somewhere.

What you need to do is focus on bridging the gap for them to easily recall those memories. and that’s what the visual identity, name and tagline do.

If you can get them to remember the name or tagline, that bridges the gap to their memories so they can easily go back in and recall those memories.

And this is how you build a brand. We build a brand in the mind of our audience.

A logo is just one piece of your chiropractic brand puzzle. While it’s an important piece, it’s not worth rushing into or settling for a subpar design that doesn’t truly represent your chiropractic practice. Take the time to develop a comprehensive chiropractic brand strategy, and ensure that your logo—when you do create it—truly represents your practice’s essence and resonates with your target patients.

In the world of branding, quality always trumps quantity.

Next Steps

• Schedule a Discovery Call with Pacha
• Join our Brand Fusion for Chiros Community