When you have taken the time to set up your business, gone through all the compliance of business name registration, getting your ABN, setting up your business bank accounts and social media, the last thing you expect is to have any trouble or delay in attracting clients and getting started with service delivery. You know you are good to go, have all the right skills and attitudes, but how do you connect with people so they get it as well?
It's hard when you are starting out, as when you don't have clients, you can't give examples of how amazing your business is, so there's no foundation you can rely on. So, this is where you need to construct a business foundation of what you do have control over.
To grow your client base, you need to go back a few steps and create a marketing plan that contains all the elements that will give you the foundation to go to the market with. There are five key elements, which include:
Do market research to know what the current trends, issues and challenges are in the market - reflect and have responses to these that you can share. This will help to build your profile
Know what your Unique Selling Proposition is - why should people choose you? This can take time to work out and people usually look at how other service providers describe themselves, write out what you can do especially well, getting feedback from past clients and people you trust about how your services are particularly good.
Decide on who you really want to serve and why. This is called creating your Avatar or Ideal Client. By understanding what their specific desires, needs, pain points and challenges are, you can then decide which areas of need you want to focus on.
Map out who is in the industry in your local area (competitors, allied health professionals and other stakeholders).
Create marketing collateral.
Now create your plan of action on steps you can take to attract people to your business. There's hundreds of ways of standing out in the market place. Some ideas are:
Research first and then contact Support Coordinators (and others in the sector) by phone and email outlining what you do, where you are located and how you can help. Take the time and effort to get to know them, as people want to feel heard and valued. They could possibly give you referrals.
Volunteer in an association that has your target market,
Attend or have a stand at a Health/Disability Expo (try Ready, Set, Connect Events),
Get to know other like-minded and supportive fellow NDIS providers who don't compete with you and build a referral network.
Conduct free (or paid) events and activities to help consumers get a taste for how you can help them. This builds your list of prospective clients.
Network to build supportive working relationships with other businesses. Help others and they help you also.
These are just a few of the activities to help build awareness, attract new clients and get you on the journey to becoming a well-known and trusted provider.
I hope this helps get you started! If you'd like help and ideas on how you can get more traction, please get in touch. I am offering a NEW self-paced "Find New Clients Now -Marketing Starter Program" If you'd like to know more, please check the website for updates or get in touch by email info@nurturingndis.com.au. The first 3 people to enquire will get it for free in return for providing some feedback.
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