Marketing Your Alternative Health Private Practice, Part I
Most private practice owners believe that if they are well educated and skilled in their particular field of therapy that clients will automatically flock to their practice when the doors are opened. This is simply not the case. A practitioner may have three doctorate degrees and twenty years of experience, but if that therapist is not successfully marketing his or her services, very few clients will appear. The marketing strategy in this dissertation focuses on two primary areas of private practice: (1) getting new clientele, and (2) training the mind for a successful practice. No matter how well qualified a therapist is, he or she cannot practice without clients. Successful marketing must come before successful practicing. The following strategy is a 100-day challenge, and should be the complete focus of the practitioner during that period.
Market and Niche
The first phase of successful marketing is determining the target market and the specific practitioner niche: in other words, the “who” and “what” focus of your private practice. Marketing alone is useless. Successful marketing must be focused marketing. The second phase of successful marketing is promoting “two-for-one” sessions. This strategy will significantly increase your client base rapidly. “Two-for-one” sessions is not necessarily to be taken literally. This strategy can include many ways to hook a potential client. The variety of ways to use this strategy will be discussed in detail a bit later. The third phase of successful marketing is to stay in action. Do not let one of the one hundred days pass without adhering to your strategy. Each day should bring new opportunities to implement the strategy. The fourth phase of successful marketing is to feel good about your future. The power of the mind plays a large role in how successful you will be. Chanting mantras and doing other focused activities will direct the power of your mind into the realization of a successful private practice.
Phase one in creating a successful private practice marketing strategy is defining your target market and your therapy niche. Your target market is those people who are most likely to already need your services, and are willing to pay for your services. Your therapy niche is the alternative modality you wish to practice the most (i.e. hypnotherapy, reiki, reflexology, etc). In determining these two factors, it is necessary to remember two important points: (1) People care more about their problems than they do about your treatments, and (2) most practitioners are not concrete enough in what modality they offer. It is absolutely imperative to put the client’s needs first and to be able to clearly define what it is you offer to the client. Vague marketing will bring scant results. If you take a look at very successful companies the world over, you will find one defining characteristic tying them together: they all have a crystal clear focus. They know what they offer, and they are clear in their marketing materials about their services and products. In marketing your service to your target audience, remember that passion sells better than expertise. If you love what you do, and others see that you love what you do, they are more likely to purchase whatever you are selling. Passion is contagious.
February 21 2011 | Physical Therapists Do Physical Therapists Like Their Jobs | Comments Off