Guest Blog Kevin Nudd Head of Marketing and Business Development Cambodia Asia Pacific

Top ten tips for marketing your OT practice.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling biscuits, books or building services, EVERY product or offering can benefit from effective marketing. As someone who has worked in marketing law firms for the last 25 years, one of the most common questions I get asked is ‘How on earth do you market a law firm – if someone needs a lawyer, surely they just find one?’. That is true, but the bigger question is why should they choose one law firm over another.

How does this relate to Occupational Therapy? Surely you can’t apply marketing techniques to OT? Not true – of course you can. In fact, I would go further. Applying some simple marketing and business develop disciplines will significantly help you develop your practice. So here are some top tips that might help you gain a competitive advantage. Every one of them applies to how I help market law firms; they will work for you also.

1) Remember – you’re in business!

While you might love what you do and became an OT to help people, you must always remember one critical fact. You’re in business. It might sound shabby, sordid and commercial but at the end of the day you need to make money to continue doing what you love: helping other people. Being in business means treating your practice like a business, and businesses need to be marketed if they are to survive and thrive.

2) You are the product.

When people engage your services, they are engaging you. They are not buying something impersonal like a tv set or a holiday. They are buying you and what they believe you can do to help them or their patients. Everything you do or say, the way you interact with people, your demeanour, the way you communicate – it ALL reflects on your brand and marketability.

3) To specialise or generalise?

Every service provider – and you ARE a service provider – needs to decide. Are you a jack of all trades, or a master of one? In other words, will you provide wide-ranging OT services to all kinds of patients, or will you specialise in one or two core areas? The answer to this will depend on your training, interests and, of course, the market. In a rural setting, you will likely get more work as a generalist. In a big city with lots of competition, it might be better to be known for one or two key specialisms.

4) Aim to be famous.

Potential clients can’t engage you, if they don’t know who you are or what you do. Being famous doesn’t mean Kim Kardashian shameless self-promotion for the sake of it. It means finding ways to promote yourself and your experience to those that matter – your potential clients. What that will be depends on your skills and interests. Do you have strong opinions or insights on OT topics that would be of interest to other OTs for example? If so, write about them in OT publications or social media. Which brings us to. . .. .

5) Engage social media.

It’s not enough to have a website. A website is no more than an online brochure. You need to direct traffic to that site. Use Facebook or Twitter to help direct traffic to your site. Twitter is especially useful in this regard. Set up an account, link to relevant accounts or news feeds of interest and tweet your comments away, while all the time link to your site. And make sure your comments relate to your business. Build it, and they will come!

6) Keep it professional.

On the subject of websites and brochures, keep them professional. You are OTs, not writers. Get a copy-writer or marketing professional to give your site the once over to make sure there are no mistakes or grammatical errors. Ask them how to improve the site. Make sure your business card oozes professionalism. It’s the small things that count.

7) Network network network.

Think about who is able to give you work and get out there to meet them. Join relevant associations, attend conferences and press the flesh. The more people who know who you are, the more potential work you can get. When you get business cards, create a small database and keep in touch with them regularly. A simple, ‘nice to meet you the other day, let’s stay in touch’ works wonders. And do it regularly.

8) Love your clients to death.

Once you have secured a client – be it a patient or an organisation that refers clients – love them to death. Stay in touch regularly. Learn a bit about them and their interests and engage with them regularly. Even something as simple as knowing their birthdays and sending an email greeting helps keep you top of mind. Remember, it is MUCH easier to get extra work from an existing client than it is to secure a new client.

9) Testimonials are fantastic marketing tools.

When you’ve done a piece of work, ask your client to send you an email giving their view of what you did. Keep the best ones and use them on your website or in your promotional material. It’s one thing you telling potential clients how good you are; it’s MUCH better coming from someone else!

10) Ask for work!

Sounds stupid, right? Perhaps, but you’d be surprised how many service providers spend a lot of time marketing, and then fail to do the obvious: ask for the assignment. There is no need to be coy – the more enthusiastic and keen you seem, the more positive impression you make. Nothing sells better than enthusiasm. Don’t leave that meeting about a potential project without absolutely convincing the person you want their business.