EXCERPT: Originally
published in Massage Today, June, 2005, Volume 05, Issue 06
Practice Management 101: Better Than Word-of-Mouth
Marketing
Colleen (Steigerwald) Holloway, LMT
When it comes to marketing your business, or any service-oriented
business for that matter, word-of-mouth marketing consistently is believed
to be the most effective means of getting referrals. After all, it's free
marketing because zero advertising dollars are needed. And, the rate of return
on your investment begins at 100 percent, and can only go up. It's risk-free
advertising. Surprisingly, however, if you want a thriving bodywork business,
word-of-mouth marketing is really not a good way of attracting new clientele.
Now, if your head is shaking with disagreement, let me explain why.
People who have a bad
experience with a service will tell between six to 10 people. Bad news travels
quickly, and people love to complain and receive sympathy. If you don't
believe me, turn on the news and count the number of good and bad stories
in one 30-minute segment. The bad stories will always grossly outweigh the
good stories. Conversely, people who have a good experience with a service
will tell only one or two people, and often only when it happens to come
up in conversation. Therefore, although it's good when it happens, word-of-mouth
marketing is really not a reliable means of marketing your business - not
if you are serious about building your clientele. Many bodyworkers rely
on word-of-mouth marketing solely to build business. If that's your current
game plan, you can look forward to a long, slow journey toward a full appointment
book. Now that I've depressed you with bad news, let me share with you the
easiest, most highly effective, cost-efficient way to market your business.
This marketing strategy will reach a larger, captive audience with a personal
testimonial about your business, prompting the audience to pick up the telephone
right away. What's even more exciting is that it won't eat up your advertising
dollars. It's called a joint marketing venture (JMV). A JMV is created by
partnering with another service-oriented business and endorsing each others'
businesses with testimonial letters. This marketing strategy works well
because it's a direct referral from a satisfied client to people who know
and trust the client. Essentially, it's word-of-mouth marketing with a call
to action offer.
Finding a JMV Partner
The optimal people for
this joint marketing venture are your current clients who own a service-oriented
small business and have an established clientele. Make a list of your clients
who are also business owners such as attorneys, accountants, doctors, financial
planners, plumbers, restaurant owners, dry cleaner owners, and so forth.
Your most satisfied, loyal clients will be at the top of our list. If you
are fairly new in the business and just establishing clientele, make a list
of your relatives, neighbors and friends who operate their own businesses.
Establishing Your Endorsement
Letter
Your endorsement letter
needs to be a brief but strong endorsement for your JMV partner. Here are
the three essential components:Paragraph One: Explain the problem you are
having. For example, if you are writing an endorsement letter for your chiropractor
(JMV partner), begin the letter by stating the problem you've been experiencing
such as, "I don't normally sit down and write a letter to all of my
clients; however, I have had this ongoing chronic disc problem...I've tried
everything...nothing came close to alleviating the pain until I met Dr.
Jones." Paragraph Two: Write a strong testament attributing the chiropractor's
care as the solution to your problem such as, "After three years of
living with chronic back pain and limited range of motion I can now say
I'm pain-free and working on my golf game thanks to Dr. Jones."Paragraph
Three: Add a call to action offer such as, "Dr. Jones is such a terrific
chiropractor that when I told him I was going to spread the word about him
to all of my clients, he offered to give each of my clients a free initial
examination. That's a $60 value! Did I mention that he's also very generous?
If you're in need of some pain relief you would benefit from Dr. Jones's
magical hands. Call him today at (555) 555-1212, and tell him I sent you." When
your endorsement letter is complete, type it on plain white paper to be
copied onto your business stationery.
Implementing Your Joint
Marketing Venture
Have your JMV partner
write an equally compelling endorsement letter praising you and your business
(including a compelling call to action offer), and copy it onto his or her
business stationery. The final step is to choose an equal amount of clients
to send the letters to - 100? 200? 500? At an investment of $.37 per client,
in my opinion, there is no better strategy than a joint marketing venture
for marketing your business and gaining clientele. Once your endorsement
letter is complete, you can repeat this marketing strategy using your list
of JMV partners. Hence, you don't have to keep reinventing the wheel when
it comes to creating a marketing plan for your business.
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