| Who needs competition?
How to do a competitive analysis |
 Long before you start into practice, you will hear the question asked, “Are there too many chiropractors?”
The answer is a resounding “NO!” Not until 100 percent of the population is being cared for by a chiropractor can we talk about there being too many chiropractors.
Although the market is far from saturated, you will still be faced with competition as you start your practice.
Many young DCs believe they have no competition. But your bankers and marketing people want to know about competition. It’s a standard business concept to find out about the competition and then to position yourself with your USP (unique selling proposition) so you can go against the competition. (See the articles in studentDC.com Issue 4 and this issue for more on USPs).
Here’s how to perform a competitive analysis:
1. Create a checklist of factors to use for comparison:
- Availability (office hours, new patients seen immediately)
- Location (convenient to many people)
- Visibility and accessibility (easily seen from road, accessible from freeway or on bus route)
- Technique
- USP (if you can’t tell, they don’t have one)
- Type of practice (sports, pediatrics, family)
- Male/female (this an advantage for you if you’re a woman)
2. Create a table similar to the one below to use for comparison purposes:
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My practice |
Competitor 1 |
Competitor 2 |
Technique |
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Location |
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Availability |
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Visibility |
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Male/Female |
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3. Gather information about other chiropractors in the area. To do this, you can:
• Look in the phone book. See how much of the information listed in your table you can find out from the Yellow Pages ads of other chiropractors.
• Look online. The easiest way to find other local chiropractors is to Google “chiropractor [city] [state]” or “chiropractor [city] [province].
For example: Google “chiropractor Colorado Springs Colorado.” Use Google Maps to locate the chiropractors in town. Look to see how many have Web pages, and use the Web pages to gather information.
After you have found all this information about the other chiropractors, what do you do with it? Note what services or conveniences are not being provided that you can use to attract patients.
For example: If none of the other chiropractors advertise that they see new patients immediately, you can advertise “New patients seen the same day.” If none of the other chiropractors specialize in pediatrics, and you have a pediatric practice, use this uniqueness to your advantage.
What if you see that another chiropractor is using the same technique or is advertising the same benefits as you? Don’t worry about it. You have other unique traits that you can turn into benefits.
For example: Being a female chiropractor is an advantage, because women buy chiropractic services more than men do, and women tend to trust other women.
Put your photo in your ads and talk about the benefits you can provide as a woman. Remember that you are creating a “package” of unique characteristics, benefits, and conveniences that combine into your USP. Even if someone else matches some of your characteristics, no one is just like you and your practice.
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