People buy why you do what you do, not what you do’ Simon Sinek. Getting complete clarity and being able to articulate your ‘why’ can take time and effort, and therefore often gets brushed aside. (A project to look into when you have time…) It is seemingly far more important to get more patients through the door.
Cart Before the Horse
Just ‘doing’ marketing without getting your message right is like putting the cart before the horse. You might get somewhere but it will take a while or you’ll probably end up in completely the wrong direction (like when the horse pushes the cart into a ditch!)
Taking time to really define why you do what you do and how you want your patients’ journey to be will serve you well. I know there is often an urgency to get patients through the door BUT is it really worth getting the wrong patients coming in?
Get Clarity First
You might think having insurance patients (where the insurance company only pays you £35 per treatment, expects you to fill in additional paperwork AND has not raised your fees for 15 years…) or having patients who come because you have offered a huge discount for their first and follow up treatment, is better than not having patients come through the door BUT are they really?
All that happens is you feel undervalued and you’re under paid…
When you get your message right and are able to convey the benefits patients will enjoy coming to you, you will be able to start attracting more and more of your ideal patients. Slow down and put the building blocks in place. Make sure you articulate it on paper, not just in your head. It is surprising to realise that it’s not as easy an exercise as you might think.
We get out of bed every morning to help therapists enjoy their work and achieve their vision. We want you to feel as confident as business owners as you do therapists.
Why do you get out of bed every morning? (I can sense I have opened myself up to some strange replies but hopefully some thoughtful ones too!!) How do you serve your patients and how well do you articulate that?