Written by John Immel, Asheville, NC Clinicians address the needs of a wide variety of clients but they should still have a
primary audience, also known as a 'target market' or 'market segment'.
Your primary audience should be an existing community that you can focus on reaching and invest in.
This target audience will also give your brand a unique feeling.
Having identified this target audience, you can study how best to
serve this audience,
improve clinical outcomes for them,
and create effective sales and marketing campaigns.
Let's see it in action:
- Andrea's mom manages the schedule of nurses at a nearby hospital.
She knows the unique stressors of this community and the long hours they are working - and put together a custom plan to help them with these issues.
- Working with her mother, Andrea drafted a marketing plan specific to this group.
Her mother identified several nurses she could interview about her plan.
- Within a year, she developed a reputation because of her good clinical outcomes and success stories.
Within 5 years, she had acquired a vast knowledge and experience about this demographic.
- Hospital directors began contacting her to run health & wellness programs for nurses at their facilities,
and Andrea was able to show them how this would improve quality of patient care and profitability for the hospital.
She now runs a team of 15 clinicians serving nurses...
Examples of Target Markets
Your target market should be a unique group of people or businesses that share common interests and characteristics.
They should be an existing word-of-mouth community of people that enjoys talking to each other, so they will talk about you and promote you via word of mouth.
As a rule of thumb a target market should be less than 5% of the population.
- Many clinicians want to serve women going through menopause, for example, but this is not a group with strong shared interests - they only share a common health problem or time of life.
- Public school teachers, police officers, lawyers, athletes of a specific sport, nurses, chefs, hair stylists, and musicians , etc all groups of people with common interests that talk to each other.
- We recommend you pick a target market outside of the alternative health & wellness community - groups typically underserved by alternative health & wellness professionals.
Because they are ignored by others, these groups are easier opportunities for growth and development of your clinic.
Selecting Your Target Audience
Here are some questions that can help you find a target audience.
- What are areas of particular interest to you?
Am I only interested because it's trendy?
Do I want to learn more in this area?
Who experiences/needs care in this area?
- What groups can benefit from my clinical speciality?
Will they speak to each other?
Are they underserved?
- What groups do I have a special connection to?
Do I have immediate access to this group?
Can I join groups they're part of?
Where do they spend time/converse?
Do I know an influential person in this group?
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About the Author
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with
Ayurveda biocharacteristics.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs Joyful Belly's
School of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's interest in Ayurveda and specialization in digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel,
as well as public service work in South Asia.
John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem.
His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion.
John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing.
In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots,
and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church.
Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick.
That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well.
Outside of work, John enjoys spending time with his wife and 6 kids, and pursuing his love of theology, philosophy, and language.
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