Marketing: Methods of Marketing your Private Practice
by Kellen Von Houser, M.A.Marketing your therapy services is a very different enterprise than marketing other products or services. Since therapy is about the relationship you have with the client, what you are marketing is you, your skills, your knowledge, your reputation. It’s important not to rely solely on others for your marketing efforts. Your most effective marketing skills will be your personal interactions and contacts with current clients, potential clients, your colleagues, and other professionals who may refer clients to you.
The following is an overview of some of the major methods of marketing. No one will use all of them. Different therapists have success with different methods depending on their own ways of operating and their individual personality styles. In general, the more personal the method, the more effective it will be. But all of these methods work for some therapists and don’t work for others. You have to develop your own marketing style and do what feels comfortable for you. Your marketing style should feel authentic, like your counseling.
Referrals
It takes the average clinician three years to build a success private practice. Referrals are the backbone of these efforts. Therapists with full practices spend very little money on advertising with 90% of their business coming from word of mouth. If you specialize in working with the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender community, word of mouth referrals are even more effective. Because referrals are so crucial, the process involved in generating them is discussed more fully in my article, “Marketing: Getting Referrals for your Private Practice”.
There are several goals of a good referral process and they are determined by your overall marketing strategy. Some basic goals may be to build a base of clients, to build a network of therapists, and to build a network of other professionals.
Building a base of clients is important because current clients are one of your best sources for referrals. Establishing a network of therapeutic professionals is important to develop referrals from within your profession and to establish your professional reputation in your field. It is also important to network with other professionals who are working in the same are your expertise and can refer clients for your services. These three sources will the majority of your referral sources and the foundation of your private practice.
Paid advertising
The Yellow Pages are the main example of paid advertising and are discussed more fully later in this article. Other examples are church bulletins, newspapers, billboards, radio, and television. Paid advertising is typically the easiest way to market your practice. You don’t have to make any face to face encounters and therefore there is no risk of rejections. However, it also appears to be the least effective method of marketing for this same reason. How many professionals are going to refer a client to someone they don’t know?
With the exception of the Yellow Pages, Most therapists will tell you that advertising is not really effective. Some therapists have had luck with small print ads, but they usually only break even. Newspapers, radio and TV, and the internet are not usually successful.
There is one exception to this rule and it is therapists who work with the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender community. A print ad in publications printed specifically for this population can be very effective.
If you decide to utilize paid advertising, there are several concepts to keep in mind. Demographics, diversity, repetition, point of diminishing returns, and working in reverse all important concepts to consider when using paid advertising. Identify the Demographics It is important to identify the population with whom you wish to work. Determine their age, gender, sexual orientation, social economic status, issues, and any other factors which will contribute to their appropriateness for your services. Once you have identified the population you wish to reach, consider which forms of media would best to reach that audience.
Diversify
Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Try several different types of ads and different types of media to determine which ad in which medium is most effective. You should try testing several types of ads in several different media before investing heavily in a single form of paid advertising. This way you don’t waste hard earned advertising dollars on an ad that is not effective.
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Keep your ads running for as long as you can reasonably afford. Most people do not react to a single ad. They usually respond to something they’ve seen before. Also, people may not need your services when they first see the ad. Later, they may develop a need for therapy and remember seeing your ad, but not the details of the information. If it is still running in the same medium and in the same format, they can refer back to it and follow up on it.
Remember the Point of Diminishing Returns
There comes a saturation point where an ad has reached all of the people it’s going to and you see fewer and fewer returns on your advertising dollar. This is when it is important to be flexible and move to another medium or develop a different ad.
Work in Reverse
When thinking about placing ads, start with whom you want to reach and work backwards. Some questions you need to ask yourself include: Who do you want to reach? Where are they? What are they reading, watching, and listening to? What other professionals are working with them who might make referrals and how would you reach them?
Types of Paid Advertising
There are three major types of media: print, radio and television, and internet. It’s important to appreciate the pros and cons of each medium to be able to determine which would be most efficacious for your marketing efforts.
Print ads
The Yellow Pages are the most widely used form of print ad and typically the most effective. Using the Yellow Pages will allow you to build a practice over time, which is what you want. The most successful size is that of a business card or larger and should be designed by a professional. If you can’t afford a professional designer, do a lot of research to determine what kind of design will be most effective. Check out the designs of ads placed by other therapists. Be especially aware of ad designs of therapists you know are successful. Ask fellow therapists how well their ad is working. You can also ask them about ads which did not work. Knowing what does not work is sometimes as important as knowing what does work.
The Yellow Pages can work very well for you, but it’s important to be aware of some of their drawbacks. One of the biggest issues is categorization. In which category do you list online therapy or a private practice? Choosing the category and design are important, because your ad can’t be changed for an entire year. It is recommended that you use ads in two or three different areas at first to see which categories are more effective, but be careful about spending too much money for ads which may or may not work.
Note: Research has shown that color ink is more expensive and no more effective. Black ink is recommended.
Newspapers
Newspapers can be used to target a specific population for a more effective ad. Locate publications which serve the population you wish to reach. Run the ad at least 3-5 times. Consult with the newspaper’s representative to determine which days offer heavier circulation and which areas will reach the readers you wish to target.
Newspapers offer two types of ads; display ads and classified ads. Display ads are more expensive than classified and typically involve images and text. Good design is crucial when placing display ads. Classified ads are text only, so wording is crucial. They are typically less expensive than display ads, but need to run longer to be effective. An in column ad of two or three inches is most effective.
Magazines
Magazines are distributed locally, nationally and internationally. In general, the higher the circulation the higher the cost. You can also place display or classified ads in magazines, just as you do in newspapers.
Newsletters
Newsletters are unique in that they are designed for a much more specific audience than your typical magazine or newspaper. Since their audience is smaller, their circulation is smaller and therefore their price is more reasonable. This smaller audience is much more specific though, so you may be able to get much more “bang for your buck” than from a more general publication. Newsletters offer display or classified ads. Many nonprofit organizations are seeking sponsors for their newsletters in order to maintain production, so they may be much more willing to negotiate on the price of an ad than a larger medium.
If you are generating a newsletter yourself, they should only go to people who know you, your clients, your former clients, and current referral sources. There should also be an effective system in place to remove people from the mailing list should they request it. You don’t want to be perceived as a junk mailer.
Brochures
Brochures can be used in two different ways with varying efficacy. You can reach a broader audience and if you generate mailing lists and want to reach a national audience. Prices vary widely and professional design is crucial. As with any mailing, current postage rates must be taken into consideration. Brochures are most effective when combined with a personal or public appearance by the clinician.
There are two types of brochures, one designed for referral sources and one designed for clients. Most referral sources are not going to refer to someone they don’t know. But if you combine a cold call or an appointment with the referral souce and the brochure, this can be quite effective. You can also provide the referral source with brochures for them to hand to potential clients.
Business Cards
Business Cards are a necessity if you want to build a private practice. Everyone you contact regarding your practice should be given a card. You should keep them with you at all times and consider putting them in strategic places around town. Ask the owners of businesses you frequent if you can leave some cards. Many local coffee shops have a section where patrons can leave their cards. A brochure and a card can be effective if placed on a bulletin board too. Be sure to include electronic contact information (your website address and email address) as well as traditional contact information (phone number and address). Consider where the population you want to reach can be found and make sure your cards are available. You might also want to consider magnetic cards for your customers. Having your card stuck on the refrigerator at home makes you easier to find and invites questions from visitors.
Radio and Television
Repetition is required for either of these mediums to be effective since people cannot refer back to an ad for your information as they can with a print medium. Work with the station staff to determine which time slot would be most effective in reaching the population you are targeting and repeat your ads in that time slot. Placing your ads during a mental health or wellness show or offering to appear as a guest can be especially effective.
Internet Advertising
The internet offers two types of advertising: paid ads and free ads. Paid ads typically consist of ads on search engines, classified ads on websites and affiliate or associate programs such as that found at Amazon.com. Free ads can be placed within newsgroups, on message boards, and as part of an email campaign.
The web is highly touted as the latest, greatest, method of reaching people. This may be true if you are trying to reach computer geeks across the country or even internationally. However, since most therapists are trying to develop a private practice locally, spending a lot of money on web-based advertising may not benefit you as much as using more traditional marketing approaches. Traditional marketing (print, radio and television) is still the main method of reaching people.
Guerilla Marketing
Guerilla marketing is an unfortunate term for using more creative methods in your marketing efforts. Guerilla marketing is any form of unique marketing that is not traditional.
Sponsorships
Therapists can choose to endorse an activity or product. This links their reputation with that of the company or event being sponsored. It’s very important to know the integrity of the company or product before putting your reputation on the line.
Therapists can also provide sponsorships of an activity or event in order to split the advertising costs with the company providing them and in order to connect the reputation of the company with the therapist’s private practice. Again, it’s important to know the integrity of the company with whom you are partnering.
Support groups
Therapists can lead support groups in order to increase awareness of their skills and reputation. It is important to be sure the therapist’s private practice is potentially beneficial to the members of the support group. Therapists may also offer to speak to a support group in the area of their specialization; i.e. depression, divorce, etc. Be sure to bring brochures and business cards to provide to members.
Community groups
Speaking before a community group, i.e. Parents Without Partners, Thriving Around Chronic Illness (TACI), Survivors of Suicide Group, National Alliance of the Mentally Ill (NAMI), etc. Again, it is important to provide brochures and business cards and to determine beforehand that the therapist’s services are of value to the group.
Note: If you fear public speaking you might want to join a local Toastmasters group (http://www.toastmasters.org/) so you can practice speaking in front of a group.
Networking
Networking refers to meeting new people with the express purpose of building a referral system. Networking is one of the most effective methods of building a private practice and can be done in a variety of different ways.
Local therapists
Networking is most commonly done with other therapists. Successful clinicians who have more referrals than they can use will often refer them to another therapist. If you specialize in an area that other therapists usually avoid you can gather referrals even more quickly.
Local professionals
Consider networking not only with therapists, but with other area professionals who would be in a position to refer clients to you. If you specialize in working with troubled teens you may want to network with local school principals and school counselors. If you specialize in working with clients with chronic medical disorders you want to network with doctors who specialize in treating those disorders.
Organizations
Many organizations are actively looking for guest speakers. As always, be sure that the services you provide will be relevant to the group you are addressing. Also bring brochures and business cards.
Geographical outreach
If you determine there is a market for your services in a nearby area, make arrangements to appear there. You can also make your services available to people in small, neighboring communities. People in small towns often seek mental health services out of town to have more privacy, avoiding everyone in town knowing their business. This is especially true if you specialize in an area which people are sensitive about anyway.
Volunteering
Volunteering can be an effective method for networking and marketing, especially if you volunteer in an agency that works in the same field of specialization which you do. It adds credibility and experience to your resume and builds numerous contacts in your field of specialization.
Volunteering at professional organizations within your community or the Chamber of Commerce can also help you meet influential people in the community and in your profession who may serve as referral sources. You should plan on needing to volunteer for some period of time. People need to time to get to know you and to build rapport.
Public Speaking
Public speaking is about marketing you personally and therefore can be quite effective. It requires a slow and steady effort on the part of the therapist, but can be quite successful in making your services known to other practitioners and professionals in the community. Be sure to have business cards available and possibly brochures. You can usually generate one referral for every engagement at which you speak.
Press Releases and Public Service Announcements
Press releases and public service announcements are typically only used when you are a nonprofit organization and you are opening up a new program. They are a good idea in this instance because local newspapers, radio and television stations will often make these announcements for free. They are not generally available for “for profit” enterprises, such as a private practice.
Cold Calls
Cold Calling is telephoning a total stranger to discuss your practice and how your services would benefit them. It is usually done in the hopes of obtaining referrals. Most cold calls are placed to other professionals, either in the counseling field, or to professionals who work in complimentary fields who might refer clients to you (i.e. doctors, attorneys, etc.). This is probably the most difficult method to utilize since it involves putting yourself on the line and risking rejection. It is also the most effective method of generating referrals. Your current referral sources are already referring all the patients they are going to. If you want more clients you have to generate new referrals sources, and that requires contacting new people.
Combination Marketing
Combining your efforts with another clinician whose specialty complements yours can also be beneficial. This method can be especially effective if you choose the clinician carefully. Be aware of their reputation and carefully examine how you think your two specialties will co-exist and compliment each other. A therapist who specializes in working with teams can be a very effective “partner” if you specialize in working with families. Your combined efforts could be twice as effective since the two of you together offer twice the services.
A Note about Personal Mailings
Many, many therapists start a private practice by sending out a mass mailing announcing the opening of their practice to fellow clinicians and potential referral sources. Think about the last time you received one of these mailings. Where did it end up? What was your impression of the person sending it? Did you refer to them?
Most professionals in any field will not refer to someone they do not know. Again, it is crucial to establish a personal rapport with people if you want to be successful at obtaining referrals. Successful marketing requires that you determine a person’s needs, establish how you can meet those needs, and successfully communicate that to them. How can you determine the needs of someone to whom you have never spoken? Once again, the personal, face-to-face approach is best whenever possible to truly communicate who you are and the work you do.
Successful marketing of a private practice requires some work and thoughtful planning. But there are no shortcuts. You have to market you. And you are the only one who can truly do it. People who apply themselves 10% get 10% results and blame the process instead of the approach. If you truly want to succeed, you must give 110%. Try multiple approaches and remember to make yourself available. If done properly, with diligence and authenticity a successfully marketing strategy will pay off and you will have the thriving private practice you always wanted. Then you can make referrals to other people!
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