They are looking for you: How to attract highly motivated clients
Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash
Do you ever think about the ways your patients search for you?
I know that our conversations here typically focus on the things you can do to reach your clients. But do you actually know what your ideal client is looking for when they are looking for you?
As it happens, looking for a therapist is not a low involvement process. In fact, the Beginner's guide to finding a therapist describes the process of finding the right therapist as a high consideration journey. To illustrate my point I am attaching an infographic that shows what this process looks like.
As you can see, there is a whole lot of work that you need to do before your client finds you and shows any interest. Apart from defining who your ideal therapy client is, you need to know what specific issues they are trying to resolve and what pains motivate them to look for help. When you understand that, you can tailor your message in a way that will make them truly consider your service.
According to the American Psychological Association research, 20 percent of clients leave therapy prematurely. Clients' unmet expectations are the main reason for this phenomenon. So imagine if you could manage those expectations ahead of time by communicating your message clearly and attracting the clients who are in your niche. If you can meet your clients half way, by offering the help and service that they are searching for, you can considerably speed up their buyer's journey.
That said, you will need to put the relevant information out there. Simply listing your expertise and specialties on your website won't do. You will need to answer a series of questions to understand your potential client's state of mind. Here is what you can start with:
Who is my ideal client? You can download the Ideal Client's Profile worksheet from the Free Resource Library. Answering this question will give you an idea of who you are talking to. If you are addressing an invisible and undefined audience, the chances of connecting with someone are very low, practically non-existent. But if you know who that person or a group of people is, you message becomes more emotional and attractive.
What is motivating them to look for a therapist? Imagine what made this person sit down and look for a therapist. You probably know that it's not always an easy decision to start looking for help. So what triggered your ideal client to do that? Is it a sudden problem or an ongoing one? Knowing what pain your client is experiencing can help you frame your service offer better.
How do they go about looking for a therapist? There are several ways that a person can look for mental health help. They can ask friends, get referrals from other doctors they trust, search on google or go through their insurance. You can target your ideal client in a strategic way if you understand how they would go about looking for you. If you know that your client will be looking online, you need to make sure that your reputation is well managed (the reviews are positive and addressed) and the content on your website is relevant to what they want to know.
What kind of keywords are they using when they do a Google search? This is an important piece of the puzzle. Knowing what kind of words and phrases your ideal client is using to find help is important to the content of your website. Chances are, the person who's looking for a therapist is not looking for a description of your expertise, but a description of a problem they are experiencing. Doing your research will help you attract the person who needs you to your website.
You, more than any other provider, can understand and connect to the needs of your patients while you are treating them. In marketing, you need to understand the need and connect with it before they agree to be treated by you. But if you establish this connection, you will be able to attract and retain the clients whom you can truly help.
If you need help mapping out your client's journey, schedule a Discovery Call today.
