gift box with red ribbon, glittery gold background
Is your therapy business available to everybody? In this blog post, I share why that might not be the greatest idea…
How many presents have you bought people over the years?
How did you choose what to buy?
When my son started school and was being invited to all those kids birthday parties (as they tend to do at that age), his idea of a great present to get for everyone was a Nerf gun! It didn’t matter if the party was for a girl or boy, in his eyes, the ideal present to buy was a Nerf gun.
Why was that?
Well at that time, my son thought Nerf gun’s were really cool and in his mind if he thought that, surely everyone else would think the same.
Of course, not everyone does think the same and while a Nerf gun might have been a good present for some of his friends, it certainly wasn’t right for them all. As my son grew to realise, everyone is different and we all have our own likes, wants and needs.
So with that in mind, who are you building your website for?
I ask because the vast majority of therapists, practitioners and coaches that build their own websites do so based on nothing more than what they personally like.
And guess what?
Just like a Nerf gun, that’s not going to suit everyone.
One size doesn’t fit all
When you start out in the therapy business (and this happens with experienced practitioners too) most therapists are keen to help anyone and everyone. You’ve learnt some great techniques that can be used to help all kinds of different problems and conditions and as long as your client is alive, you’re ready to help them.
Now that’s wonderful and I’d never stop you from helping anybody but if you’re running a business, there are some things you need to take into account. One of them is money!
Your training cost money, the computer or device your reading this on cost money and if you have a phone, email, website, therapy room, business cards etc. they’re going to cost you money too.
If you want a successful therapy business that allows you to pay your bills and hopefully enjoy a few little luxuries too (how little or large is up to you), then you’ll need to earn some money.
To earn money as a therapist you need clients who want your help and are willing pay for it.
How do you attract those clients? Through your MAKETING and website.
Now this brings me back to Nerf gun’s again because even though you can help everyone, marketing to everyone and a one size fits all approach just doesn’t work.
Here’s just one reason why:
If you charge a low fee in the hope of being affordable to everyone, you’ll be in for a surprise because even though it may be a low fee to you, some people still won’t be able to afford it or be able to justify the expense. In effect, you’re still too expensive.
On the other hand, people who can easily afford your charges can see this as cheap, low value and not worth it. (This can be an even worse scenario because people can perceive your abilities as low quality also.)
You’ll struggle to market to both types of clients (wealthy & not wealthy) with the same website because even if you hide your charges, the designs will need to be different to attract the different types of clients in the first place: More wealthy clients might expect more luxurious, prestigious and elaborate designs where less wealthy clients might be fine with more basic designs.
Take the designs of chocolates. I don’t know about you but I personally wouldn’t bother with chocolate that was presented as value. It might taste fine but it’s not the impression I get. If it looks cheap it might taste cheap and I can’t see the point in eating poor quality, cheap tasting chocolate.
In contrast, this chocolate might taste wonderful. I don’t know that for sure but it’s the impression I get by how it’s presented. Because it looks like a quality product I’m guessing that it will taste good and I’d be agreeable to trying one or two…maybe three.
In short, by knowing who your ideal clients are you can build a website that will attract and suit them.
So can you see why marketing to everyone, even on a basic level, won’t work?
Before you can create a website and marketing that will attract clients, you first need to know who your ideal clients are. Just like buying a present, you’ll need to think about what they’ll like and if possible, take it a step further into what they want and need.
In the business world, they call this building a buyer persona. Business leaders and marketers will create an imaginary person who would be an ideal customer and create their business, website, marketing, products and services around what they’d like, want and need.
So who is your ideal client?
- Are they male or female?
- How old are they?
- Where do they live?
- What’s their disposable income?
- Are they married?
- Do they have children?
- What computer devices do they use?
- Do they have any hobbies?
- What problem do they need solving?
By answering questions like this (and more) you can work out who you’re trying to attract and can create a business and website that appeals to them. In the same manner, you can shape your content in a way that speaks directly to your ideal clients and helps them to choose you over your competition.
Remember that a young female with muscle cramps will have different needs compared to an elderly male with a phobia. Knowing who your website is for is a must!
You can read more about targeting clients below with a blog post I wrote about pricing: http://holisticwebsites.net/2015/08/attract-ideal-therapy-clients/
And if you have any questions, comments or just want to say hello, leave a message below or get in touch via Facebook, twitter or the website.
Until next time,
Keep well.