Marketing seems to be the poor relation in business. People ignore it, hate to spend money on it and even refuse altogether to do it. In general business, when there is any kind of downturn, marketing is the first department to face radical surgery. I’ve never really understood that way of thinking.
You see, without some regular and consistent marketing to let your audience understand how you can help them with specific issues, many will struggle along in the dark without help. In a profession such as osteopathy, where large swathes of the general public have no clue what it is, marketing is the one tool which can so easily unlock a stream of new patients.
The message which I bang on about the most is this:
If your community do not understand what you do, they will NEVER come to see you.
It’s as simple as that. Now you’ll find this funny no doubt, but I don’t really understand what a Naturopath does! Of course I could go and look it up and find out much more in-depth information but so far I just haven’t. So even if a Naturopath could help me with a particular issue, I would still struggle along in ignorance.
So in my quest to spread the word about Osteopathy, I bore people senseless at gatherings when they start moaning that the baby is lying on a nerve or their migraines are getting them down. I swoop around in my Osteobiz cape and start tapping on my phone for the most suitable Osteopath I can find in their area. (And if your website is not a great shop window, I’m not recommending you!)
I do all in my power to explain Osteopathy to people and explain the benefits of treatment to them. And that’s all marketing is really. Getting the message out there so that people understand and take action to book an appointment.
Marketing doesn’t have to be boring!
Even though marketing is the thing most small businesses avoid, it is one of the most critical things you need to be engaging in every day. Even a few minutes a day spent scheduling some posts on Facebook can continually get your message out there.
Marketing can be fun if you’re just a little bit inventive! An Osteopath I know, who is a keen runner, holds a free monthly group for other runners who are training for the local 5K or 10K run. In giving them a little of his time, passion and expertise to help them achieve their goals, he is also gently marketing his skills as a therapist. No hard sell whatsoever.
And I strongly believe in the ‘give to get’ school of business. That’s why I give away free e-books, testimonial templates, blogging guides and even live classes. I get tons of emails from grateful Osteopaths who have found these things useful. They may never become Clients and that’s OK. But one day, if they decide to ramp up their business, they may decide to give the megaphone girl a whirl!
So what can you do right now to market yourself TODAY?
Putting off your marketing for another day, is putting off building your business too. Marketing takes time, it’s not a slot machine! Put your back into your marketing and watch the results begin to trickle in and then flow.
Here’s my No 1 tip – I always advocate using the word PAIN. It’s the simplest way to convey your services.
Whose pain are you helping? Which type of pain do you love to treat? What is the benefit to those people? What will treatment do for them? How can you explain this simply?
Make space in your diary every day to market your business. Even a ten minute slot every day will begin to bring results. But if you can book out a couple of half hours a week to concentrate on vigorously getting your message out to your community, you will be on the road to the success you deserve.
Pop over to my Osteobiz website for ways I can help you further with your marketing.
