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Dynamic Marketing - by Lisa Wallace
Attracting clients is something we all have to work at, whether you are just starting out or have been running a practice for years. Unlike other complementary therapies, where doing a good job means you can keep clients for years, we operate within the paradox that the better we do our job, the quicker our clients move on. Although we do go on to get referrals from our happy and satisfied clients, this will still only account for a proportion of the number we need to earn an income.
As any successful hypnotherapist will tell you, in order to generate the number of clients needed to sustain a practice, you will need to have multi-channel marketing. In the nutshell, this means that you need to look for as many ways as possible to introduce you and your services to potential clients. You also need to expand your client base to encompass as wide a demographic as possible. The fewer marketing channels you have or the narrower your client demographic, the fewer clients you will have. It is not a difficult concept to grasp, but it can be difficult to implement, especially for therapists who find the concept of “selling” their business difficult.
Many hypnotherpists that I have spoken to feel that their skills and abilities should be able to speak for themselves and as their reputation grows, so will their client base. Again, there is some truth in this, but how can you build a reputation if you don’t generate clients to begin with?
The easiest marketing channels are those that can be considered passive. This is where we put the information out there and wait for people to come to us. This can include print advertising in newspapers, magazines and the Yellow Pages, as well as advertising on the Internet. However, this is exactly where many hypnotherapists become stuck in terms of practice development. For many this is as much “selling” of their services as they feel comfortable engaging in.
But the reality is, this passive approach is not enough. The way then to expand on the potential audience is to also engage in a more dynamic form of marketing. Marketing takes you out to potential clients, possibly even before they know that they want or need your services. With this kind of marketing, you need to sell yourself and your services because ultimately that is what the customers are paying for. This is what differentiates you from other hypnotherapists in the mind of the client when they decide the time has come to make an appointment.
Clients are consumers and consumers, whether
they are buying services or a product, want to engage in a relationship with the
provider of that service or product.
Starting that relationship with the client before they even know that
they want one, allows you to achieve two things. Firstly, it creates the idea in their
mind that they might want the thing you are offering and secondly that you, as
opposed to your competitors, should be the person they choose to provide
it.
As with passive marketing, there are some types of dynamic marketing that are taught as standard on therapy courses. The two most widely used are giving talks to local groups and writing columns for local papers or magazines. This however, is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of possibilities.
When looking at opportunities for engaging in dynamic marketing, there are three key elements that you want to try and encompass whatever your plan is:
The first of these points is pretty self-explanatory. Look for events or publications which are well attended or have large readerships and which open themselves up to a range of people in terms of age, education and income level. The wider the audience the more successful it will be at generating clients.
The idea behind the second point is to introduce people to the idea that they need your services in ways that they had previously not understood. You do this by generating or illuminating a need that the client might have for your services but they were previously unaware of. Although most people will have heard of hypnotherapy, it is still incredible how limited that knowledge is as far as the diversity of areas that it can provide positive benefit. Some examples of creating this need are:
Use “national awareness” days to link into your practice. For instance on National Stress Awareness day in November, look for events in your area that you can take part in, and contact your local paper to write a column providing tips on how to deal with stress. People may not be aware that hypnotherapy can help with stress in a variety of ways so it is up to you to create this awareness as well as the service you can provide. For more information on “national awareness” days contact your local PCT or search on the Internet.
Look for other businesses that could be complemented by the services you offer and look for opportunities to tap into their client base. This might include
Contact local support groups or organisations that focus on issues that you can help with such as pain management or chronic fatigue syndrome. Offer to set up a stand at their next meeting to talk to people about how your services might benefit them. This can often be linked with a talk, but the key is to connect with people on an individual basis so that they can see how you can help their specific issue.
The last point is about looking for
opportunities to align you with causes or events that people already feel quite
positive about. This association
helps soften the barrier that people put up when confronted with something new
and allows you to get your message across with less resistance. These types of events can
include:
Health
and well-being fairs –
contact your local gym, leisure centre, PCTs as well as large local
employers. Ask about any events
they have coming up that focus on health and well-being that you could take part
in. People who attend these events
do so because they want to learn more about taking care of themselves. They will generally feel quite positive
about the organisation that has set up the event, as it shows that they care and
by association, so do you.
Charity events – events that are run by, or on behalf of, charities are a great way of introducing your services and helping with a good cause. One way to start is to contact a range of charities and ask for information on events being organised in your area so you can get involved. Think laterally and include charitable organisations like the PTA or animal rescue centres, which hold fairs at different times of the year and are always looking for stands that are different. Be open to the types of events that are being held and be creative as to the opportunities that exist for you to showcase you and your services.
If you can’t find an event linked to a charity that offers the opportunity to promote your business, then think about organising your own. Charities are well aware that you are using their name to connect with potential customers and accept this, as they are the ones who ultimately benefit from the money that you raise. The key here though is to live up to that association rather than to take advantage of it. If you are doing an event for a charity then you need to make sure that the benefit is not just in your direction and put in as much effort to raise money for them as you do in generating potential clients.
These are just a small sample of the possibilities that exist as far as dynamic marketing is concerned. Look around your catchment area to see what else might exist for you. Accept that in order to be a successful therapist you also need to be a businessperson and that this does not in any way diminish the work that you do with clients. The two aspects can and should go hand in hand, because without clients there is no opportunity to provide therapy. Therefore, it makes sense to see marketing, especially dynamic marketing, as an essential tool in helping people rather than something to be avoided or feared.
Lisa Wallace is an Ashbourne based
hypnotherapist and is a tutor on Practice Set-up and Development at CECCH in
Birmingham. Lisa has also written a
book on this topic that is coming out this year. If you would be interested in purchasing
an advanced copy or are interested in attending one of her courses, please
contact Lisa atlisa@hypnocentric.com or visit www.hypnocentric.com