Marketing is a key element in running a successful business. It turns the invisible to the visible. But some avoid it because they think it’s a bind, others wrestle with how to do their marketing and others just, well, overcomplicate it!
I’m a fan of keeping things simple. If I see a system which is cumbersome, I want to slash it until it is easy to run. Mind you, that hasn’t always gone down well in some companies I’ve worked for – they liked things to stay the same no matter the cost. In a former life, I probably would have been a ‘time and motion’ manager in a factory!
Marketing doesn’t need to be a struggle
When it comes to marketing, the key is simplicity. We are, hopefully, busy enough doing our actual job and therefore don’t want to be spending hours trying to expand the business with complicated or expensive marketing. Nevertheless, getting our message out there consistently is critical to maintaining a steady flow of customers and revenue.
Strangely, marketing is always the department which gets its budget cut when times get tough. But that’s the very area which is responsible for educating and informing its prospective customers and attracting their attention.
Personally, I prefer no cost/low cost marketing as a strategy and these days that is easily accomplished. Gone are the days of expensive telephone directory or newspaper adverts where it’s difficult to stand out from the crowd. Now we can be creative, innovative and cost effective yet still bring in the custom.
Here are some inexpensive marketing ideas to include in your arsenal:
- Give an offer/discount/free gift/thank you card occasionally to your most loyal patients and let them go and tell their friends how chuffed they are
- Make sure all your posts on social media are actually ‘social’ (no anatomical references allowed as non-medical people have no idea what on earth MSK, sacrum or visceral refer to!)
- Keep in regular touch by e-newsletter (monthly or bi-monthly is best) and continue to educate and inform about your services, who’s new, what’s new, advice, tips, simple stretches etc
- Record a simple video on your phone or laptop (get a friend to help but keep camera steady) and post to YouTube. Embed it in your website. Give friendly advice on desk ergonomics, warm up and cool down stretches, tips, hints and tricks to avoid injury etc.
All of the above create a buzz and cost next to nothing. It also begins the process of ‘know, like, trust’. Always assume you are invisible and think about how you can let your community know about how you can help them. Just bear in mind WHO you are talking to and reflect that tone. For example you would talk very differently to a self-employed builder than to a worried mum. If you have more than one Perfect Patient, as I call them, then give them a separate website page so that you can talk to and be heard by that specific audience.
Currently, I am putting the finishing touches to a new four week online course to take you step by step through these and many more ideas to get you noticed in your community, become better known for your extraordinary skills and build your business.
If you have particular challenges, then leave a comment below and let me know or email me at gilly@osteobiz.com and I’ll help you find the quickest way to being fully booked.
