This week’s blog is a continuation of a discussion around the marketing of Apple Computers and what it has to do with the marketing of chiropractic.
The conversation is based around an interview some 15 years ago with Apple’s product marketing vice president Phil Schiller, which was published in the “Australian” on 19th January 1999. I have drawn certain points and parallels to the chiropractic story and have highlighted the quoted conversation in Italics.
Looking at the history of Apple and its competitors, which is more important for computer companies to succeed: good marketing or good technology?
“You have to have great technology, because this is a technology business”.
This is an interesting question for chiropractic. What business are we in? Are we in the health care business? If one was to take the word ‘health’ literally rather than its current usage it is probably true but I think we are a ‘square peg in a round hole’ in the health care system. Personally I think that chiropractic is better suited to the human potential movement rather than health care.
Chiropractic is the study of normal. Medicine is the study of the abnormal. Chiropractic studies the logical relationship between structure and function.
In its field chiropractic’s technology has always been on the cutting edge. From the early days of the Palmer Clinic with its state of the art diagnostic setup to the world first Chirocentric research by Dr Heidi Haavik and her team at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic with collaborative laboratories around the world chiropractic has pushed the limits of contemporary understanding in this area.
Chiropractic has always focused on the person rather than the problem. This is a field of investigation, which is just starting to see the light of day. This is our ‘technology’ and we are great at it.
Chiropractors have been driven by results. Chiropractic as a profession has not established itself by the favor of others, be they governments or corporate friends in high places. Chiropractic has been built on its own results over the last 120 years.
Our challenge is to win in the marketplace. This is where results count. Your challenge is to be the best chiropractor that you can be. Constantly improve in all aspects of your delivery. Be willing to challenge your current methods.
Get the ‘runs’ on the board and keep investing in and improving your technology.
