Marketing Voc Rehab Services in Changing Times
Saturday, July 3, 2004 | 0
When your customer-base changes, it's time
to review your marketing approaches. In voc rehab,
I think it would be an understatement to say
that our customer-base is changing. Soon-to-be gone
are the days when you could rely on referrals
from attorneys (if you are a counselor) and
counselors (if you are a school). Over the next
one to two years, the phone will ring less and less
with a familiar voice saying, "I have a client for
you."
In this short article, I hope to share some ideas
from some pretty savvy marketing people. My
hope is that as you transition to new business
opportunities and/or a new customer-base, this
article will provide you with a couple of ideas that
will help you grow your business more rapidly
and much more profitably.
Identify Your Target Market
This is an excellent time in our industry to
choose with whom you want to spend your life.
Let's face it. Most of us see more of our clients
than we do of our families. With the retooling
that is taking place, this is an excellent time to
identify with whom you want to spend your
precious commodities of time and effort. In the
marketing jargon, this is known as identifying
your target market.
Richard Cruz, an outstanding trumpet player
and music instructor, once told me to spend my
time doing what I really wanted to do. He said,
"If you follow your heart, the money will come.
If you go for the money alone, you may destroy
your heart."
If you are a vocational counselor, you have
many paths to pursue. You can be an expert witness,
you can be a guidance counselor for at-risk
youth, you can transition to marriage and family
counseling, you can be an ergonomics consultant,
and the list goes on and on.
The same goes for school
personnel. Each path has its
ups and downs. You get to
choose whichever path or
paths that most appeal to
you.
The next step in identifying
your target market requires
you to get more specific. Who is your
ideal client in your chosen area? Do you like
working with youth, women, men, immigrants,
etc. Remember, you will be having to look at
these clients day in and day out, so be as specific
as possible about who you would like to
work with. List the demographics (age, salary,
sex, education etc.) for your newly-intended client-
base. Next, list the psychographics of that
client-base. This includes their concerns, culture,
values, social issues, etc.
Identify Your Competitors
Once you've decided what to do, ask yourself,
who are my competitors? What do they charge?
How many are there of them? What can I do to
differentiate myself in the marketplace? (In other
words, what can I do better than them?)
In identifying your competitors, find out where
and how they get their clients. How do they advertise?
Do they use newspaper ads, free introductory
workshops, yellow page listings, TV ads,
person-to-person, referrals, mailings, chamber
meetings, leads groups, internet, coupons, radio,
etc.? In school, this was called cheating. In
business, this is called benchmarking and it can
save you hours and hours of effort and thousands
of dollars by telling you what to do and
what not to do.
Determine a Marketing Mix
Generally, two or three of the aforementioned
marketing approaches will be the best combination
for you. At this time, you may wish to consult
with a marketing agency to help you to design
ads, brochures, etc. Your materials should be professional
looking and they should make it easy
for your potential clients to find you and know
why they would want to find you.
You should have a lot of say in how your marketing
materials look, but don't get caught up in
developing them yourself, unless you are experienced
in developing those materials. Your time
can be better spent elsewhere, like calling referral
sources, polishing free workshop presentations,
etc.
Implement and Follow-up
Once you are ready to go, GO! Keep track of
leads from referral sources, potential clients, and
important information about them as if they are
gold, because they are. Get to know your referral
sources as individuals with individual needs
and desires. Each contact is a chance for you to
help them get something they want, so really find
out what they want and why they want it.
Use a contact management database such as
Act! or Goldmine. These are specialized programs
that track appointments, contact information
(address, phone, birthdate, favorite food,
spouse's and children's names, etc.). Harvey
McKay, author of Swimming with the Sharks,
says you should know at least 44 different facts
about your customers, if you want to be truly at
the top of your game and ahead of your competitors.
These databases can also greatly reduce time
and costs of mass mailings and e-mail as they
greatly automate those processes.
Follow-up also means keeping track of which
of your marketing mix items are working best
for you. If you or an assistant always asks new
clients, "How did you hear about us?" you will
find which approaches are effective and on which
you can stop spending money.
Conclusion
Marketing works, especially when a holistic approach
is taken. There is more to communicate
about marketing than can be shared in a lifetime
of CARRP articles, so go to free or low cost
seminars hosted by your Chambers of Commerce
or the SBA. Browse your favorite bookstores
for marketing books. Or, better yet, come
to the CARRP Statewide Convention in San
Francisco from October 15-17 and attend the
Business Development Workshops. We have a
great marketing session planned to help you
grow your future.
Article by Thomas H.
Gilmore, President, California Association of Rehabilitation & Reemployment Professionals.
Reprinted with permission from the California Association of Rehabilitation & Reemployment Professionals, Keeping California Working since 1975!
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The views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of workcompcentral.com, its editors or management.
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