The Power of Fellowship...

Ever wonder why all the auto dealerships tend to be clustered all together? Why Wendy's, Burger King and McDonald's all seem to be on the same street? You would think that one of these places would want the block all to its own, right?

Cut down the competition, remove themselves from the fray...

Do you know that they all do this on purpose? They cluster themselves together, not because they want to take customers away from their competitors, but because of the Law of Fellowship(Ries).

The Law of Fellowship essentially states that customers respond to choice. The more choices they have in any given area, the broader the market will become. If the company is alone in an area, the customer has these thoughts running through their mind: "the company must have some flaws," "their price is probably too high," or "who wants to spend money for that brand when there's nothing to compare it to."

Ries states "you seldom see a big, growing, dynamic market without several major brands." Think Coke and Pepsi, Home Depot and Lowe's, Office Depot, Office Max and Staples.

Perhaps we should stop being so competitive with each other in this profession and cluster our offices together? Marketing research proves that this will increase the market of consumers choosing to buy our services.

If it gets more people under care, enhancing their ability to live...then why not? If the large brand is Chiropractic, and we have groups of Chiropractors centered in similar locations throughout an area, the sub-brand becomes the individual office. Based on that, it's a Coke and Pepsi situation...if Coke appeals to older people and Pepsi to the younger crowd, the two brands get to stay focused while at the same time broadening the market.

Really, it's time we start pulling together for Chiropractic, and its a win-win to boot. More competition equals more market share, equals a bigger slice of the pie for you.

I like the sound of that, how about you?

(The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Ries)