The earlier post about a new practitioner asking about advertising for pain relief versus advertising for wellness prompted several public and private posts. Seems this issue may deserve further exploration.
How the public sees chiropractic will not be what visionary chiropractors say or claim chiropractic is. Perception is reality. If the public thinks chiropractors are “bad back doctors for pain relief only” then that’s what chiropractors are.
“Oh no, you’ve got us all wrong! We’re wellness doctors.”
If only simply declaring it made it so! As I observed previously, the city of Las Vegas attempted to change its image with a war chest in the millions. “Las Vegas is your family resort destintation.” It didn’t work. Saying it didn’t make it so. Wasn't believable.
If chiropractic is to be perceived as a wellness discipline, two things must happen:
1. The in-office actions of a majority of chiropractors must reflect a wellness perspective.
2. These actions must persist long enough so public perceptions can change.
In other words, chiropractors will first have to act as wellness practitioners and do so for some time, before market perceptions will change. Perhaps a better question is, do we even want to be linked to wellness? It appears that the word may be already tainted by the medical profession’s misuse of it. (Google “wellness” and you'll see what I mean.)
We may want a new word. Our own word. Like subluxation. Or adjustment. Or even chiropractic. Sorry to pick this scab, but any effort to successfully rebrand chiropractic must begin here. Too many within the chiropractic ranks deny subluxations exist, carelessly use manipulation and adjustment interchangeably and want to blur the distinction between chiropractic and medicine.
My vote is for the word natural. Medicine certainly can’t claim it and everybody knows what it means. It’s simple, authentic and believable. It appeals to the Baby Boomer who shunned polyester and is increasingly warming to the idea of organic produce. It honors the inborn healing capacity of each patient. It’s a big enough tent to contain the diversity of the profession. It may be just the right message for this high-stress, high-tech world of ours.