Web page or Yellow Pages ad - which comes first?

To answer the question of which you should do first - Yellow Pages ad or web page - I would have to say - it depends. (I know, you hate it when I say that.) It depends primarily on how soon you can get a Yellow Pages ad in the book. If you are able to get in the book quickly, do it. Take out a decent sized ad (up to a half page the first year) so you can make your presence known. Lots of doctors say they don’t need YP ads, but I have talked to several who depend on them for a steady stream of new patients. After the first year or two, you can cut down the size of your ad, but you will always need some kind of ad.

If you can’t get into “the book” quickly, put up a web site right away. The last time I saw any statistics, over 50% of the chiropractors responding to a poll said they had a web site. Especially if you are interested in finding younger people, who spend much time on the web, your web site will be helpful. Make the web site original, expressing your USP (your “brand”).

Take the time to find out if new patients saw your ad in the Yellow Pages or visited your web site. Then, after a year or two, you can decide what kind of advertising would work best for you.

For more information on this and other startup topics. read Planning for Practice Success.