Have you ever walked into a favorite coffee shop or lunch spot and instantly felt at home?
You know what I mean. The atmosphere is just what you need right now, the food is great and the service is top of the line.
It feels SO good to find just what you want, and need, doesn't it?
That's the power of a crystal-clear message, one that says "We know what you need and we're here to provide it."
And that's a concept every private practice needs to master in their marketing.
But it’s really easy to miss the mark. In this episode, using my own experience in looking for a therapist, I'll share seven of the most common marketing mistakes I've seen among those promoting their services.
Clarity is key, y'all, and when I can't tell what you do, how you help, or who you help, you're just another face in a whole sea of profiles that all run together, and I probably won't be calling you.
But we can fix that.
With just a few simple tweaks, you can make YOUR practice stand out in a way that the clients you love, and want to serve, can see themselves in your message. And when they do? They'll be calling.
Check it out.
~Wendy xoxo
P.S. Which one of these mistakes do you think you might be making? Send me a note and let me know. You can reach me at wendy@wendypittsreeves.com. I love hearing from you guys! _______________ MENTIONS:
Episode 99: Beyond the Headshot: How a Brand Photo Shoot Can Fuel Business Growth with Sandra Costello
Episode 100:Celebrating 100 Episodes: A Deep Dive into our Most Popular Topic - Intentional Growth
_______________ FREE RESOURCE: A Guide to Better Cash Flow in your Private Practice
Are you cramming client hours into a packed day? Working hard but feel like you're still not making any money? With decades of experience, I’ve found a LOT of ways to boost your bottom line, and I’ve pulled some of my favorites together into a free guide for you.
Download this today, check out what’s inside, then tell me which one you’ll try first. :)
Have you ever walked into a favorite coffee shop or lunch spot and instantly felt at home?
You know what I mean. The atmosphere is just what you need right now, the food is great and the service is top of the line.
It feels SO good to find just what you want, and need, doesn't it?
That's the power of a crystal-clear message, one that says "We know what you need and we're here to provide it."
And that's a concept every private practice needs to master in their marketing.
But it’s really easy to miss the mark. In this episode, using my own experience in looking for a therapist, I'll share seven of the most common marketing mistakes I've seen among those promoting their services.
Clarity is key, y'all, and when I can't tell what you do, how you help, or who you help, you're just another face in a whole sea of profiles that all run together, and I probably won't be calling you.
But we can fix that.
With just a few simple tweaks, you can make YOUR practice stand out in a way that the clients you love, and want to serve, can see themselves in your message. And when they do? They'll be calling.
Check it out.
~Wendy xoxo
P.S. Which one of these mistakes do you think you might be making? Send me a note and let me know. You can reach me at wendy@wendypittsreeves.com. I love hearing from you guys! _______________ MENTIONS:
Episode 99: Beyond the Headshot: How a Brand Photo Shoot Can Fuel Business Growth with Sandra Costello
Episode 100:Celebrating 100 Episodes: A Deep Dive into our Most Popular Topic - Intentional Growth
_______________ FREE RESOURCE: A Guide to Better Cash Flow in your Private Practice
Are you cramming client hours into a packed day? Working hard but feel like you're still not making any money? With decades of experience, I’ve found a LOT of ways to boost your bottom line, and I’ve pulled some of my favorites together into a free guide for you.
Download this today, check out what’s inside, then tell me which one you’ll try first. :)
You're listening to Ideal Practice episode number 101, 101. And today, guys, we're going to be talking about seven marketing mistakes that you really don't want to make. So stay tuned. Hi. I'm Wendy Pitts-Reeves and, with over two decades of experience in the private practice world, I've built my six-figure business while learning a lot of lessons the hard way. This is the first podcast that shows you how to apply the principles of energy alignment and strategy to build a practice that is profit-centered but people-forward. This is the Ideal Practice Podcast. Hey guys, and welcome back to another episode of Ideal Practice. Thank you so much for tuning in. This is your host, wendy.
Speaker 1:
Wendy Pitts-Reeves, and I'm so happy to be here with you today. It's a beautiful day, as I am recording this, and it feels good to be back here. I have been traveling a lot in the month of April. I've been kind of all over the map and you know there's something just sort of comforting, isn't it About returning to your routine, getting back to my desk, being in my space, doing what I love doing, which is hanging out with you guys? So did you all hear last week's episode number 100? I sure hope you did. I hope you tuned into that, because that was a really special episode. We were celebrating that oh so important milestone our 100th episode and there were all kinds of juicy tidbits in that episode. Go back and listen to that, because we pulled segments from the most popular episodes we've had to date and, golly, it's really rich. Be sure and go back and check that out. What I really want to celebrate, if I could, is just what it takes to make this happen.
Speaker 1:
I want to just give a quick shout out to my team. Many of you have met Queenie Verhoeven, my right hand woman of all things. She is amazing. She is my started off as a simple VA. She's so much more than that. Queenie basically keeps things running in the background over here and I couldn't do anything that I do without her. But we have also added a couple of new members to the team that you may or may not have met yet. Shara Burak many of you have met her. Those of you who have been interviewed have dealt with her because she is my podcast assistant who is handling a lot of the guest work that's involved in reaching out to connecting, setting up our guest interviews. Shara has been a tremendous addition to the team. She's super organized, really great at systems and has been just what I needed in that department. And then, just lately, kirsten McGuire has joined us. Shara is all the way over in the Philippines, kirsten is in Australia and Kirsten McGuire has joined us. Shara is all the way over in the Philippines, kirsten is in Australia and Kirsten is a content extraordinaire that woman. She does lots of things, but she has been incredibly helpful at helping me with the overall planning that it takes to put something like this together.
Speaker 1:
When you start a project like this, you often are the one wearing all the hats, and that's who I've been, but that's changing and I love that. I'm just going to say I love that, and we wouldn't be at 100 episodes or now 101, without the phenomenon that is the Ideal Practice Team behind the scenes. So thank you and kudos to all of them for sticking with me, because I love them and I love this and I love you. So let's talk about what I want to share with you.
Speaker 1:
Today. We're going to be talking about seven marketing mistakes that are subtle. Guys. Some of these things are subtle and I wanted to talk about this because a few weeks ago, you met Sandra Costello. She was the photographer in Boston not Boston, I'm sorry, cape Cod, who had so much to share about what it means to do a brand photo shoot a photo shoot that highlights the brand of who you are in your practice and in your business and I felt like it would be great to follow up that conversation with talking about what not to do. So, if you go back and listen to that, that was episode 99. Sandra shared a lot of things about the energy that we bring to our marketing. That is so much more important than a lot of us realize, and the energy you bring to your marketing is critical in how effective it is and how it is received by others Y'all.
Speaker 1:
There's a saying in the business world which is a confused mind never buys. A confused mind never buys. Well, that long standing bit of business wisdom is true, and if you're not sure what I mean by that, think about this. Let's use this as an example to study this for a moment. What is your favorite restaurant for business or lunch? Think about a place that you go back to over and, over and over again. All right, it might be a fast food joint, it might be a local coffee shop. The odds are it's a place you have visited so often that you've just about memorized the menu. Hey, I already know what I want. I want one of your spinach artichoke souffles. Have you got any left? I hope? Oh good, yay, thank you, that's what I say. You know what that is. Can y'all recognize that spot? If you know exactly where that comes from, because it's a national site tell me that in the comments below.
Speaker 1:
I want to ask you when you think about your favorite place, why do you keep going back? It could be that the environment suits you. It could be that their food suits you. It could be that their schedule works for you. Perhaps environmentally, it's just the kind of place that others and people like you really like. Maybe it's nice and quiet. It's really good for conversation. Maybe it's bustling and busy and you kind of like the energy of that. Maybe it's kind of country cozy, a little rustic, a little rough around the edges. Maybe it's really sleek and minimalist and very urban. Whatever it is, it fits your personal style in a way that you value, and it suits what you need, what you're looking for in that moment. As far as the food goes, maybe it's organic with lots of vegan and gluten-free options, or maybe it's country fried Southern comfort, I don't know. But again, whatever it is, it fits your personal tastes in a way that feels good or it suits what you need in that moment.
Speaker 1:
If it's the schedule that works, maybe you're in a hurry and it's where you hit up for the place. You hit up for a smoothie after your early morning workout or a quick bite for an on the go lunch. I'll tell you the group practice that I used to run. Our favorite place to go for if we were going to do any kind of a group lunch out of the office was our local Mexican restaurant that we loved for all kinds of reasons. It's just a really great place. Shout out, for those of you who are local to me, to Los Amigos in Maryville, tennessee. Yes, indeed, we love Los Amigos, but the main reason we went there as a group was because, no matter how busy they were, we knew that they could get us in and out in an hour, even if there were six or seven of us at the table. So do you see a pattern here?
Speaker 1:
Effective marketing makes it easy for you as the customer, as the buyer, to recognize, understand, relate to, use, appreciate and buy the products that are right for you. Now, when I talk about product, that could be lots of things. Your product might be one-on-one psychotherapy. Your product might be a parenting course. Your product might be an hour on a massage table. Your product might be a six-week course on how to get your newborn to sleep. Your product might be a support group for kids on the spectrum. Whatever it is. If you have a product that isn't selling a program that nobody's coming to, or content maybe you're writing things that nobody's reading it might be because your marketing isn't so clear. And your audience, that is, your potential customers and clients your prospects are confused, and remember what I said a confused mind never buys. So I'm going to speak to you as if I was one of your clients or a potential client.
Speaker 1:
Let's say, I am looking for help with a specific problem and I'm going to let me think about how I want to set this up. I'll tell you what. I'll use a live example. So about three, four years ago now, I was at a point where I felt like it was probably time to go back into therapy myself. Um, had lots of stuff going on. I could feel a lot of really big, important life changes that were coming my way. Um, things were were coming my way. Things were happening with my business, things were happening in my personal life. It was kind of like a lot all at once and I hadn't done any of that kind of work in a long time and I thought you know what, maybe I should go talk to somebody. So I'm a therapist who started looking for a therapist, all right. So think about that scenario and I'm going to describe, I'm going to use that as my framework because that's real, and I'm going to talk through these mistakes. But this and they apply y'all in to all businesses but this will help you understand this.
Speaker 1:
So the mistake number one is I don't know who you're talking to. When I go and look at your Psych Today profiles, or I've looked at a bunch of your websites, or I've seen what you've posted on Facebook or on Instagram, I don't know who is your intended audience and who isn't. When I read what you've got online that talks about what you do, how do I know that you're talking to me? And how would I know if you weren't? How do I know that you were talking, in this case, to a woman in midlife who is making a lot of midlife decisions and coping with a lot of midlife transitions. I mean, how do I know who you are and if you are a good fit for me? Because I could not tell who you were talking to. It sounded like you were talking to everybody. I have absolutely no idea if you were talking to me.
Speaker 1:
Mistake number two I can't tell what you actually do Like. What kind of problems do you help solve and how would you help me? What kind of results would I expect to get from working with you? Like, if I was, like, really confused because I had a lot of decisions to make? Are you good at helping people make decisions? Confused because I had a lot of decisions to make? Are you good at helping people make decisions? If I was facing big life transitions, could you help me navigate those transitions? If I was anticipating grief, could you help me prepare for that grief? I don't really know. What kind of problems do you help solve and how do I know that you can help me with mine? Because mine are unique to me. Of course, we all think they are right.
Speaker 1:
Mistake number three I don't really know you. What do you stand for? How do you think? What kind of personality do you have and why should I trust you Like. How do I know that you know what you're doing? For one thing, is it your experience? Can I tell them the stories that you tell? How am I going to know that you relate to me or even might be able to relate to me? How how do I know that you get me and where I'm coming from?
Speaker 1:
I may not know that until I meet you, but it would be sure nice to get a sense of you, your personality, just from being able to read online, because you know I'm looking at a lot of folks. Your personality just from being able to read online, because you know I'm looking at a lot of folks. And how do I know that you? How do you stand out from all the rest? Because they all sound the same. And if you've, if I've looked at a lot of people, after a while I forget who I've looked at. Right? Do you offer something? Maybe a little different or unique or unusual? Maybe there's something about you that's a little edgy or funny or more human that is really appealing to me. Maybe I'm just looking for somebody who is a dog owner and will understand that I like my dog who knows? But I don't feel like I really know you and I can't tell anything about you.
Speaker 1:
Your stuff online is very formal or very generic and I just don't have a sense of you as a person. I have looked at so many sites. Honestly, I'm getting you all mixed up and I don't know when I'm seeing your clinic, your service, from all the rest of them. Like when I see a Golden Arches, I know that's McDonald's. I at least know who that is, because I recognize that spot, I recognize that color, I recognize that shape, I recognize those words. But, man, I get you guys all mixed up because I can't really tell your visual brand that, oh, this is that place, this is that person. Your colors, your fonts, your taglines, your titles they keep changing and it gets a little confusing to me. Now, that might not be something that I, as a member of the general public, notice, because I don't think that way. That's something that I, wendy, notice because I'm a business coach and a business owner, but I, as a member of the general public, what it means is I will just forget you because I don't recognize your brand. There's nothing that makes me see, oh, that's that person.
Speaker 1:
Mistake number five I almost forgot who you were. For many of you, if you are doing any kind of email marketing at all, if you are sending out emails to a list of people who are interested in your service, or if you're just posting online list of people who are interested in your service, or if you're just posting online like, let's say, you post tips online for parenting or you post ideas for how to take vacations with your kids and survive it and actually enjoy it. Whatever, your thing is that you teach people, that you help people with. If I haven't heard from you in a long time, I forget who you are, and you might send me an article today, but I haven't heard from you in six months. I don't even remember what you do anymore. I've forgotten about this. This actually happened to me today, literally in real life. This happened to me today.
Speaker 1:
I got an email out of the blue from someone I don't know that. The subject line was something like we're so excited about our new service or our new program or something, and I thought what new service? What is this? And it sounded like something I should have known. So I thought it was somebody that I was familiar with. Wasn't really sure, but something about it made me think I should know what it was.
Speaker 1:
I opened it, read the email. It was a long email from some company in Texas announcing that they were starting a new program and that they were grieving the loss and closure of a former program that they only referred to by its initials. I have no idea who those people were, couldn't tell you what they did, didn't recognize the company name, didn't recognize the initials of whatever it was that closed that they were all sad about, couldn't tell you what the service was. It was a beautiful email about we're going to continue the work and we are committed and we are coming back together under this new umbrella and I'm like yay, for you have no idea who you are. So you know what I did.
Speaker 1:
I unsubscribed, of course. Well, if you are, so you know what I did. I unsubscribed, of course. Well, if you are marketing let's say the situation I was talking about earlier if you're a therapist that I follow online, maybe I signed up for something that you did six months ago or a year ago, but I haven't heard from you since. Well, I don't remember that. I've forgotten that.
Speaker 1:
So tell me again who are you and what exactly do you do, because I've forgotten that. So tell me again who are you and what exactly do you do? Because I've forgotten that's mistake number five. Mistake number six you haven't told me why I should care. Remember? I told you I'm looking for help. I've looked all and what do we do today? Y'all we don't pick up the phone and call people. We might ask our friends, we might ask our doctor, we might ask a colleague, we might ask like we ask around, who do you know? But most of what we do is we do a Google search, right? Well, I've looked at a lot of your stuff and you seem like a nice person and I'm sure you're good at what you do. If I understood exactly what that was. But I'm pretty busy and I get hundreds of emails every day. So remind me again why I should care about what you do in particular and what your offer is.
Speaker 1:
And the last thing, the probably one of the more confusing things is even when, let's say, you and I like somehow, somehow or another online, you got my attention, there was something about you that did stand out. You did share a little bit more about yourself and I did kind of like what you had to say. It resonated with me. I did actually feel like maybe you would get me because of something you said. You got my attention, I'm listening, I'm curious, but now what do I do? Should I call somebody? Well, what's your phone number? And I can't find it on here. Am I supposed to click on here somewhere? And if I do like, what happens next? I can't really tell from what I found about you online, or I can't tell from the email you sent me, and on and on and on it goes.
Speaker 1:
Essentially, what I'm talking to you all about in these mistakes is a tendency to be generic and vague. So let me talk through these same seven mistakes and what they would look like, done well, how to be effective, how to be impactful, how to make sure that the people you know you are best suited to serve will get it, will recognize you and will pick your name out of the hat that has 100 names in it, okay, so when I said mistake number one, I don't know who you're talking to. The way to correct that be very specific about your audience. I myself work with women leaders at midlife who are often in the middle of a mid-career or family transition, who have a lot on their plate, who are kind of tired of just getting by and are ready to shake things up and do things better. That's who I work with in my counseling practice, in my coaching practice I work with in my counseling practice, in my coaching practice, I work with private practice owners who are also tired of settling for what's good enough and are ready for something better. But I tend to focus on women leaders at midlife and I say that who do you talk to?
Speaker 1:
Mistake number two I can't tell what you do. Don't just say that you do EMDR. I don't know what that means. Tell me what it is, how it helps and how it's going to specifically apply to my problem. In other words, do you help people get over an accident they had 10 years ago that makes it where they can't drive on the interstate? Do you help veterans cope with holdover trauma from serving in the military? Do you help mothers who are dealing with birth trauma? Specifically? What is that technique that you use? Why should I care? Remember that part and how's it going to help me when I don't say I don't really know you for mistake?
Speaker 1:
Number three a little personality helps. Maybe you're known for being a straight shooter. Maybe you're known for your sense of humor. Maybe you're always a little late and they just have to know that and put up with that. Maybe you're an adoptive mom who can help with all sides of the triad because you've been there yourself, right? See what I mean.
Speaker 1:
Mistake number four I don't recognize you. What that? I'm really talking about your visual brand there, to make sure that every time I see your stuff, I know that oh, that's those people. That's really helpful. That was one of the things. That doesn't seem as important on the surface, but it helps you stand out because people begin to recognize, every time they see your stuff, your logo. It's not the only thing that matters, and a lot of people think this is the most important thing. It is not All. The rest of this matters more, but it helps if I can recognize you when I see your stuff. Mistake number five I almost forgot who you are.
Speaker 1:
One of the best things you can do y'all is to stay in touch with your audience and your audience. If you are a therapist who works with families with young children, your audience are daycare workers, obgyns, primary care doctors who work with full families, elementary school teachers. Your audience are all of those. Talk to them, write to them, get them on a mailing list. Send them out emails and don't do it every three months because they will forget you even exist. Stay in touch. That's how you nurture a relationship.
Speaker 1:
Mistake number six you haven't told me why I should care. That's all about standing out. It's how you're different from all the rest. I am coaching a therapist who, after a good amount of time, she's really worked on this and what is evolving for her is she is a spiritually focused person personally, not something she talks about so much, and I don't mean from an organized religion point of view. I mean that she has a lot of tools that she uses personally that help her stay personally grounded, and she is beginning to recognize that she is a holistic therapist who has actually all kinds of tools that help people go deeper and connect in a deeper way, and once she's beginning to own that, she's going to start. She's not going to start. She is talking about that. So, in terms of you haven't told me why I should care. Oh, when she speaks, it's going to speak to that part of me that is hungry for a spiritual grounding, a spiritual connection that I didn't even realize I was missing and that's going to stand out from the dozens of others who sound just like her in her community.
Speaker 1:
And the last one I don't know what you want me to do next. Please tell people what to do. Call this number and let's set up a 10-minute consult. Click on this link and send me an email, and I'll reach right back out to you within 48 hours. Link and send me an email and I'll reach right back out to you within 48 hours. Fill out this simple three part just simple three questions that will help me understand, help me figure out if I'm the right person for you, and I'll get back to you on this little form, whatever it is, make it really obvious, easy to follow, easy to take action on. Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:
So essentially, what I'm saying to you all here is, when you're writing any kind of content for your business a website, a launch, an email to your list look at it from the point of view of the person on the other end and imagine that they know nothing about who you are or what you offer. Are you answering the questions in their heads? You know what? Just a quick tip for you. Another way to understand this if you're still with me, I hope you have stuck with me.
Speaker 1:
Another way to understand this is to learn by studying. Look at the marketing that's popping up in your own email inbox this week. Open a few of them and use this list to evaluate what you see there. What do you notice? How are they doing? Are they telling you who they serve and who they don't, how they help, what problems they solve? Do you understand what you're reading about? Or is it a bunch of really pretty stuff that tells you nothing? Whatever it is, I don't know.
Speaker 1:
Notice the ones that you click with that resonate for you, the ones that make you kind of lean in. Notice the emails that you get that make you go oh, what is this? Huh, I might like to know more about this. What is it about that email that caught you, that got your attention, because attention is everything. What is it about that email that you resonated with, and why? Because that's the experience you are trying to provide for those who are on the other side of your stuff as well your emails, your website, your Psych Today profile, your social media posts.
Speaker 1:
All right, all right, good. You can learn so much from that. So go back and use the seven things that I just laid out for you today. Go back and look at your own stuff and see how you think you're doing on each one of those and see if it might need a little sharpening, a little more specificity, a little more clarity, because that's going to serve your audience, your prospective clients, and it's going to serve you. That's a win-win for everybody, right? Yes, it is, and with that, everybody. That's what I got for you today. I hope this gets you thinking. I hope this gives you some specific, specific, foundational skills that you can apply to learning how to become a better marketer, because that, too, is part of growing an ideal practice. All right, everybody with that, have a great week. Let me know what you think about this. Talk to me in the comments, post a review, reach out to me personally. I would love to hear from you and I hope you have an awesome week and I will see you next time right here on Ideal Practice.
Speaker 1:
Bye now, hey guys, real quick before you take off, how are you doing in your practice? Could you use a little bit of a cash infusion, or are you just feeling a little bit stale? Whatever it is, I've got a solution for you. If you're looking for creative ways to add to your income, I want you to check out the fun, free little ebook that I've put together for you. It's called get this 31 Practical Ways to Increase Cash Flow in your Private Practice without becoming salesy or sleazy or someone you don't even like. In this little ebook, you will find 31 ways that I have done this in my own practice.
Speaker 1:
Now, some of them are things that you have to clean up. Sometimes it's about plugging in the leaks and stopping losing money. Sometimes it's about stepping into a whole new way of offering your services or packaging your services. Every single thing you'll read in this little book is something that I have used successfully in my own practice, and there might be something in there. In fact, I know there's something in there you could actually implement as soon as tonight, easy peasy. And then there are other things that you're going to have to work on and prepare for. That takes some time. I can guarantee you. You're going to see a couple of things that are just right for you, and you can get your free copy over at wendypittsreevescom. Forward slash cashflow. Wendypittsreevescom. Forward slash cashflow. Wendypittsreevescom. Forward slash cashflow. Download your free copy. Pick out one or two that you want to try right off the bat and let me know which one they are, and I will support your success and cheer for you along the way. Have a great week, everybody, and I will see you next time. Bye now.