Ok, so I think you understand that the internet connects people in ways never seen before, and as a result has dramatically changed the way small business owners, including chiropractors market their business.

In the old days, you could do a spinal screening at a health fair or hold a spinal care class in your office on a Thursday evening.  You explain the chiropractic model of health care, use visual aids like a plastic spine, stages of DJD model,  and posters you bought from a chiropractic seminar.  If you were a great communicator, you got your point across and signed up some patients on the spot.  Many chiropractors built their practices this way.

Fast forward to 2009:   your average American is now very familiar with the internet and spends a lot of time surfing the web.   He/she has an email account, a list of contacts; knows how to use Google to find information on any subject; probably has a FaceBook or MySpace account to connect with people across the country/world, and reads the news online.

So, Joe Prospect hurt his back the other day and wonders if chiropractic can help.  He knows to Google “chiropractic,” and here’s what he sees on his computer screen:

Screenshot of Google search for "chiropractic"

As you can see, the the Wikipedia entry for chiropractic and the American Chiropractic Association are at the number one and two spot, respectively– pretty good choice; thanks Google.  But look at the site that occupies the #3 position — it’s none other than Chirobase, the website created by Stephen Barrett, MD, long-time enemy of chiropractic.  Chances are good that Joe Prospect is going to read through both all three of these sites, and depending on what kind of person he is, he’s either going to side with the ACA site and try chiropractic, or he will side with the Chirobase site and never, ever consider going to a chiropractor.

So this is a basic illustration of how the internet impacts small businesses– it makes information of all stripes (some illegitimate) extremely accessible.

Next:  more ways the internet impacts your business and your bottom line– Stay Tuned!

Dan Perez, DC

Guerilla Chiropractor