How to Create a Marketing Train for Your Natural Therapy Business By Margaret Gill

In order to create a rewarding, profitable and successful natural therapy business you MUST have an effective long-term marketing system in place.

Say goodbye to random, “what you feel like doing today” marketing. And say hello to a well planned, tested and executed system, designed specifically to funnel prospective clients into your Two for One Sessions.

I like to call it building a “Marketing Train.”

And just like a regular train, there are three main components of the Marketing Train: the engine, the cars and the guards van/caboose. Go ahead, draw a train right now. A “picture speaks a thousand words.” Don’t let the simplicity here fool you. This is a powerful metaphor!  So have you drawn your train? Great!

Let’s talk about the different parts of the Marketing Train...

1. THE ENGINE

Would you agree that the engine is the most essential and powerful component of a train?  Well, the same is true in the Marketing Train. 

“Engine” marketing activities are the ACTIVE marketing strategies that drive your business forward. Examples of “Engine Activities” are speaking engagements, conducting workshops or teleclasses, forming Strategic Alliances, networking, using direct mail, writing articles, doing a radio interview, sending out a grassroots marketing letter, etc. (If you don't understand some of that terminology it's explained in detail in the *fr*ee* 90 Day Challenge)

In general, active marketing activities are things that enable people to experience you. These are the marketing activities that “work.”   I strongly recommend that you pick 1-3 ACTIVE Engine Activities and focus on doing those over and over again. Consistency and repetition are key! Many therapists try to do too many things and never go “deep” enough for any of them to be really effective.

In addition, if you don’t yet have a full practice, I recommend you spend 60-90% of your time on the 1-3 Engine Activities you choose. The number of new clients you get, for the most part, is directly related to how much you focus on your Engine Activities. Just like the speed of a train is determined by the power of the Engine!

Think about your current marketing activities and pick 1-3 active marketing strategies to focus on. Do them consistently, do them well and allow them to “drive and pull” your business forward!

2. THE CARS

The cars on your train represent passive marketing strategies. Would a bunch of cars on a train track go anywhere without an engine? Of course not! The same is true with passive marketing strategies. They are important, but do little on their own. The challenge for so many of us is that we often really like these! In fact therapists LOVE car activities because it means they don’t have to get in front of people. It also means they aren’t as effective and it means your practice won’t grow as quickly as you desire.

We sometimes spend more time working on passive marketing than the crucial active strategies. That is because they are typically “safer” and don’t require that we go out, be bold and take real action! Passive marketing are things like designing a logo, building a website, creating brochures, creating clever business cards, using an email signature. These things in and of themselves don’t bring you business. It is what you do with them (the active stuff!) that makes the passive work! 

Even a highly interactive website requires getting people to the site, right? The website is passive and what you do to get them to visit (by sending a letter to your database for example) is active. Passive is important, but NOT at the risk of being active!

3. THE GUARDS VAN OR CABOOSE

At the end of a train you find a guards van/caboose. So on the Marketing Train your guards van/caboose activities are the things you do so people don’t “fall off” your train.

Often called “keep in touch” strategies or relationship marketing, guards van/caboose activities are things like having an ezine, sending quarterly newsletters or simply making phone calls to previous clients.  Having an electronic newsletter can be one of the best guards van/caboose strategies, especially when combined with other follow-up as needed.

Your goal should be to funnel as many people as possible to your newsletter list. This is ridiculously important. Quite simply, the person with the biggest database wins! The more people you have on your newsletter list, the bigger your practice will be.

Why? Because you want to SERVE people. Every month you have an opportunity to teach, enlighten, share knowledge, and give value through your free newsletter. The more you give, the more you will receive. Many times, people need to hear from you 5-10 times before they buy. Having a newsletter gives you the opportunity to communicate in a non-threatening, giving, loving way. And as long as you follow the 80/20 rule (if 80% of the newsletter provides value, the other 20% can promote your business) you’ll do great!

So, start building your database! Shoot for 80% of the people you reach actively and passively to register for your newsletter. If they do not become a client right away, there is a good likelihood they may later, especially if you have served them for a while with your newsletter!

Building YOUR Marketing Train

I love the concept of the Marketing train and hope that this simple, yet powerful metaphor, will help you build a long-term marketing system. Remember, if your Marketing Train is moving forward (i.e.: you are focusing on ACTIVE marketing strategies) you will get clients. Want more clients? Spend more time focusing on your Engine Activities. Do them again and again. Get better at them! The speed of your Marketing Train determines the number of new clients you attract. Then it becomes a simple numbers game. Want more clients? Speed up your Marketing Train!

THANKS for reading and keep on chugging!

-oOo-

Margaret Gill of Abundant Private Practices is a business coach and mentor to health and wellbeing practitioners.  Her Full Practice Building System has helped many passionate natural therapists get more clients, help more people and grow the natural therapy practice they deserve and desire.

margaret@margaretgill.com

www.Abundant-Private-Practices.com

This article orginally appeared on Samantha Richardson's fabulous Empowering Women Website

© 2008 Margaret Gill