As you know I am a fan of marketing to a specific specialty, because a specialty gives you credibility with your prospects. And as we have discussed a great way to pick a niche is to pick either a person (actors) or problem (single and doesn’t want to be) or person with a problem (men whose family thinks they have a problem with anger.)

Is this too narrow? I want to remind you of the Halo effect. If people think you are an expert in one specialty - they will assume you are an expert in another. I know it doesn’t make logical sense but somehow that always seems to happen.

Now consider this…

An even better way to pick a niche market is to identify a specialty market where the people hang out together.

For example, parents without partners, stepfamilies, or Christian people who are divorced or separated.

These niches have groups of people who meet together. Perhaps they have local groups - or even better - a national association.

Think about how this might help you attract more clients. You could visit the group. You could be a presenter at a group event or conference. You could offer a Q&A night for the group where they could “Ask the Expert” questions. You could create a newsletter for the members of the group (or contribute to their newsletter). Then as new members come in, they can read about you and get a taste (pink spoon) of the wisdom you offer.

These groups or associations may have a website where you could post an article and a link to your website.

Better still - as you get a client from the group, they will often share their experience with others who will then become your clients.

For those of you considering adding products to your menu of services next year and creating multiple streams of psychotherapy income, the more your “niche” hangs out together, the more effective your marketing efforts (and ultimately sales) can be.

Just some (no calorie) food for thought…

Did you see the Harley Davidson sign that said “Your wife just called and she said “Yes!”

Someone told me about it and it sure made me giggle.

But you know what? I read recently that women make 85% of all consumer purchases including new homes, new computers, and - get this - healthcare.

And most of us know that often it is the woman who calls for the counseling appointment - not always but often.

What does this mean to you? Your marketing - your website copy, your tag line, or any other marketing you do should be directed at building trust with women. This is true even if you market to their husbands or boyfriends - as you know the women will Google you to see who her mate is seeing.

What do women want to see then in your marketing language? (Please note the items listed below are generalities and do not allow for individual differences. And I know a lot of these traits apply to men as well. If this isn’t true for you - then please follow what is true for you. )

Women often base their opinion first on relationships. How do you build a great relationship with them?

• Consider writing your web copy or marketing materials from a conversational, storytelling perspective. I don’t mean telling stories about your clients. I mean connecting with those reading your marketing materials as if they were trusted colleagues or people you really like. Let your personality come through.
• You want your marketing language to evoke a sense of community.This is why it is really important to talk in language that your ideal client would use. Show how you understand - show why the web visitor (aka Prospective Client) is not alone.
• Use cosmetics in your marketing material.No, I don’t mean eyeliner or lip gloss. But make sure to break up your marketing text with splashes of color or images that tell a story. This will help her connect with you. I see too many websites and marketing materials that have phenomenal text but are filled with a lot of gray or black words. Now please, I am not suggesting you use colored backgrounds or colored fonts. I am suggesting that you break up that gray text with splashes of quick color graphics.
• Use short sentencesLong sentences may boost credibility in professional journals but in marketing copy, we want snappy, quick, present tense sentences.
• Show your love for this work without saying how “compassionate” you are.The way you do this is by connecting with her pain with crystal clarity. Then move into your “call to action”: “You aren’t alone. Please call me xxx.xxx.xxxx and let’s see if I can help.”
• Provide excellent customer service.Women are very loyal. If you do great things for her, she will tell everyone. Same goes if you don’t. So make sure you start your sessions on time and return phone calls the same day. After the first session, consider writing a hand-written note telling her you are looking forward to working with her. Be the best ‘you’ you can be and your practice will be filled with her referrals.

I so adore working with women and it is fun to write marketing language for them as well.

I invite you to take another look at your marketing materials and see them through the eyes of your ideal client. Are they really good? Could they use some tweaking to be more appealing?

Please let us know what you think in the comment section below.

As always, to your success,

Casey

For years people have been asking me what niche markets are the best. And I tell them that it is more important to consider what you love doing - rather than the latest trend.

Yet there are some interesting developments in our culture that could lead to fun niches - if you love working with these populations.

1) Pets are the new “children” and some people (including the affluent) are giving their pets the same love and attention as children. Don’t get me wrong - I love dogs and cats. (Don’t tell anyone but I used to be the “cat lady” in my neighborhood.) But I am talking about prolonged divorce and mediation due to pet custody issues. Or even couples arguing over how the pets should be “raised.” This could be an interesting niche: “pet conflict.”

2) Gen-Y-ers. These are the children of the Baby Boomers and are very different than their parents or the Gen-X’ers. There can be a market for helping employers (and families) learn how to manage these highly connected, supremely tech-savvy young people.

These are just a couple of interesting niches we have come across lately. But again, I highly encourage you to pick a niche based on what you love (and of course what will make you money) rather than what is “trendy.”

But I am curious, what trends do you see in psychotherapy and how we deliver our services?

I expect we will be going to variable-length sessions when many start adding e-therapy to their mix of services. I envision that those working with executives will be doing shorter sessions via web-cams so the executive doesn’t have to leave the home or office.

Maybe we will be doing marital therapy in private web-chat rooms for couples who are separated by distance such as those in the military. I love the idea of working via technology for those who have disabilities and can’t easily get to a therapist’s office - or for the homesick college student who wants to “check in” with the same therapist she saw over the summer. Therapy over technology could be a Godsend for for those in very rural areas.

I also expect that we could truly offer more to our clients if we developed even better relationships with allied professionals such as attorneys, financial planners and life coaches. A good example of this is the Collaborative Divorce movement.

What do you see as trends in psychotherapy? Do you see new techniques emerging? Do you think we will continue to move toward more “outcome-oriented” therapy? Or maybe you see a return of more psychoanalytic work? And do you agree with me that we will be adding more technological ways of dealing with clients to our mix of services?

Please let me know what you think!

Happy practice building!
Casey