Podcast 46: Marketing Mistakes That Stop You Finding Clients

There is no one size fits all when it comes to marketing your holistic business.  There are some common mistakes many practitioners make that stop them from finding clients easily.

Here are 17 of the common marketing mistakes I see:

#1 Not doing any marketing

You may be amazing at what you do, but if you don’t market yourself, you’ll be the best-kept secret.  Clients won’t automatically find their way to their practice, you have to let them know how you can help them.

Marketing is often seen as some sort of dark art, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  Marketing is about connection and building relationships and can be done with integrity.

It is important to market yourself in a way that fits with you and your values rather than trying to fit into someone else’s blueprint or formula.  You get to decide on the activities that are ethical to you and that fit with your strengths. But you do need to be visible and let people know what you do if you want to thrive.

#2 Trying to appeal to everyone

We’ve all been there, trying to keep our options open and appeal to the widest audience possible.  Sadly, working as a generalist will make your marketing hard work.  It will be hard for you to appeal to people as it won’t talk directly to them and their struggles.  People won’t identify with you being able to help them and you’ll get lost amongst the noise.

#3 Not asking clients how they found you

The best way to know what marketing is working is to ask clients how they discovered you.  Make this a habit every time someone enquires about your services - it will pay dividends for your business.

#4 Not responding to clients

Whether it’s not answering the phone, returning calls or responding to emails quickly, people won’t wait around for you.  There are a lot of other practitioners out there, so you’re missing out if you don’t maintain good communications and response times.

#5 Not following up on enquiries

When someone inquires about your services, they’re interested in finding out how you can help them. You’re missing a trick if you don’t follow up on an enquiry to see if they need any more information.  People are busy and often just need reminding you’re there to help.

#6 Missing or bad profile photo

People buy people and your clients will want to see you before booking.  A great profile photo will help prospective clients connect with you and trust that you are the right practitioner for them.  Make sure your photo is current and represents you and your brand - don’t hide behind a logo.  Then use it on your website and everywhere you appear online.

#7 Holding back on your personality

Being you is the best way you can differentiate yourself from every other practitioner out there.  Not everyone will love you, but some will and they’re the people you want to work with.

I’m guilty of doing this myself. For years, I felt I’m boring – even my husband nicknamed me Captain Sensible.  I felt, especially working in marketing, people would want someone who’s extroverted.  But this wasn’t me and everything changed in my business when I owned ‘Captain Sensible’ – everything got so much easier including finding the right clients.

#8 Having a bad (or broken) website

A website isn’t always a necessity for a practitioner if you’re only looking for a few local clients a year and can find them through your network.

It is however recommended if you want to market yourself online.  And after the global pandemic, working online has become a way of life for many of us.

A bad or broken website can be worse than not having one if you’re building an online audience.  Having a simple and functional website is a great asset to your practice and will provide you with options for creating different income streams.

#9 Not having a marketing plan

Most practitioners don’t need a full-blown business plan unless they want to get funding. A simple plan to provide direction and focus your marketing efforts is all you need.  It’ll help you make good decisions, be consistent with your marketing activities and ultimately find clients.

#10 Doing the wrong marketing activities

You could be busy marketing yourself but if you aren’t working on the right activities, they won’t help you find clients.  Be strategic about the marketing you do and make sure you know why you are doing every activity.

Different marketing activities will take different amounts of time to achieve results.  You need a mixture of activities that are designed to find clients quickly and those that set up clients for the future.

#11 Not focusing on your core marketing activities

I often hear practitioners’ comment that they’ve tried every type of marketing and nothing works.  They jump around from one to another, trying lots of different things but nothing works, and they’re left overwhelmed and deflated.

Most marketing is a long- game and you’re better picking a couple of core activities that work to your strengths and available resources.  Then focussing on these to the best of your ability rather than trying to do everything and be everywhere.  You will get better at that activity and will build up an audience in one or two places rather than everywhere.

#12 Not being consistent

As with anything, consistency is key to getting things to stick.  It works with habits, exercise, diets, treatment plans and it also works with your marketing.  If you do different marketing activities in an ad-hoc way, you’re not giving anything a chance to work.  Marketing is a long-term game and you need to give it a chance to work.  Most activities especially online can take months or even years to reach their potential.

#13 Not emailing your list

Your email list is a huge asset to your business, are you sending out regular emails to yours?  People don’t give away their email address easily and will only give you permission to contact them if they are interested in what you have to offer.  If you’re not taking advantage of emailing your list regularly, you are wasting a huge opportunity.

#14 Paying for advertising with no strategy

Advertisers just want you to use their services and will try to convince you to pay on a promise it will bring clients to your door.  Whilst advertising is a good way to market your practice, you need to be strategic about it.  If not, it can be a very expensive lesson with no, or few results.

#15 Not being active in your community

This is especially important if you are running a local practice, you need to get known in your local area.  The more you raise your profile, the more likely you’re likely to be recommended for your services.  Your local community and the relationships you build will help you to build a sustainable practice.

#16 Trying to do everything yourself

You are one person and running a business, you have to wear lots of different hats.  Trying to do everything yourself is a problem as you will soon run out of steam.  Be selective over what you do and then find help for the things you hate doing or are not good at.  Again, it comes down to making sure you are efficient with your time and it’s not always worth it trying to do something it will take a professional a fraction of the time to do.

#17 Not investing in marketing

If you’re a medical herbalist, your clients come to you instead of going to the local health food shop because you are an expert and can help them.  If you’re an osteopath, they come to you rather than buying a shiatsu massage cushion because you’ll be able to help them directly.  Why then would you try and do all your marketing instead of employing an expert to do it?  You’re not a graphic designer; web designer or marketer so get professional help where you can as soon as you can afford it.

The new year is a great time to start afresh and that includes your business.  Take some time to reflect on what you’re doing and work out a plan of action for what needs to change.

If you need help doing this, contact me for a free discovery call to find out how I can help you get your marketing working.

Podcast 46 show notes:

• (01:31) #1 Not doing any marketing
• (02:34) #2 Trying to appeal to everyone
• (03:23) #3 Not asking clients how they found you
• (03:53) #4 Not responding to clients
• (04:28) #5 Not following up on enquiries
• (05:47) #6 Missing or bad profile photo
• (06:46) #7 Holding back on your personality
• (08:09) #8 Having a bad (or broken) website
• (09:10) #9 Not having a marketing plan
• (09:54) #10 Doing the wrong marketing activities
• (11:03) #11 Not focusing on your core marketing activities
• (12:00) #12 Not being consistent
• (12:50) #13 Not emailing your list
• (13:30) #14 Paying for advertising without a strategy
• (14:09) #15 Not being active in your community
• (14:50) #16 Trying to do everything yourself
• (15:36) #17 Not investing in marketing

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