Debbie and Mike sat in my office looking both fatigued and defeated. Having given up full time employment nearly three years ago to launch their holistic therapy business, the pair had found that rather than living their dream – they were now living their nightmare.

While both were passionate about the therapies they practised – a sentiment shared by their happy clients who’d written a number of glowing testimonials – they were becoming increasingly disillusioned by the sheer grind of trying to build a business. As with many micro-businesses, it was clear that the couple’s focus – and interest – had been on perfecting their products and services. However, the couple needed to shift their attention to marketing their products and services.

As Joe Polish and Tim Paulson say in their marketing development programme ‘Piranha Marketing’, “There’s no relationship between being good and getting paid. But there’s a huge relationship between being good, being a good marketer, and getting paid.”

Until our meeting, Debbie and Mike had been relying on word of mouth to bring in more business. However, the couple had not implemented any marketing systems – and without a substantial client base, word of mouth was simply too slow. More people needed to hear about Debbie and Mike – and fast, if the couple were to hang on to the last of their savings.

I asked the couple if they could answer “yes” to the following questions:

Do you know the lifetime value of your existing clients?

Do you know where your best clients come from?

Do you have a trackable marketing system?

Do you have a marketing procedure for generating leads?

Do you know how much it costs to acquire a new customer?

As the couple began to shake their heads, it became increasingly clear to all of us why their business had not yet lived up to expectations. As homework before our next session, I asked the couple to consider not only their “unique selling proposition” but also their marketing message.

Debbie had told me that when the couple had first launched their business, they’d advertised within the local press. Disappointed with the response, the couple had erroneously concluded that all advertising was ineffective. However, when they showed me their promotional literature, it was evident that it wasn’t the media that was at fault – rather it was their weak message that had produced no clients!

While the couple had listed the features and offerings of their holistic therapy practice in their promotional literature, they hadn’t addressed the benefits to the customer - let alone the emotional “wants” of potential clients.

Asking me to describe what I meant, I gave an example. “What you’re saying at the moment is, ‘Using our holistic therapies, we can help you become more relaxed’ – which while it may be true, isn’t really promoting the real benefits that you offer. "Why not try saying something like, ‘When you have a treatment with us, you’re guaranteed to be more relaxed which means that you’ll not only sleep better, but you’ll have loads more energy for all the things you want to do during day!”

“The message,” I told the pair, “is key. “After all, the only difference between a one pound note and a fifty pound note is…the message!”

Understand that your clients expect your products and services to be first class – it’s the quality of your marketing message which will grab their attention. Know that while word of mouth is good, it’s not necessarily the fastest way to build your appointments book. Advertising, public relations and a powerful marketing message must be combined if you want to stay in business. Always test your marketing activities. Discover what works and what doesn’t by tracking what you’re doing and measuring its effectiveness.

Make sure that you “sell the sizzle and not the sausage”. Clients want to know what you can do for them – not how you do it. Ensure that within every marketing message, you explain the benefits. Bear in mind the term “which means that...”