For many Allied Health Business Owners, word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing has been the cornerstone of attracting new clients. Its effectiveness is rooted in trust—after all, a recommendation from a fan, friend or family member carries weight. However, as the healthcare landscape becomes more competitive and digital avenues expand, relying solely on WOM can place your business at a significant disadvantage. We continue to hear that referrals have slowed down, referrer patterns are changing and waitlists are dissolving. Now is when a marketing re-think to expand from traditional WOM dependency is urgently required. This blog will explore the inherent risks of over-dependence on WOM marketing and provide actionable insights for adopting a more comprehensive marketing strategy.
Unpredictability and Inconsistency
Word-of-mouth marketing is inherently unpredictable. You cannot control when, or even if, satisfied clients will recommend your services. This unpredictability can lead to inconsistent client flow, making it difficult to forecast revenue and plan for growth. Nor can you manage the nuances of the message, for example “one clinician is better than another” or “this program is better than that one” resulting in fragmented and divisive messaging. Such uncertainty is especially challenging in sectors like Allied Health, where consistent client intake can significantly impact service and staffing requirements.
Limited Reach and Scalability
The most glaring limitation of WOM marketing is its reach. By nature, WOM is organic and unpredictable, making it difficult to scale, especially if your business aims to expand strategically and rapidly. Unlike digital marketing campaigns that can target a large audience across diverse demographics, WOM is confined to existing networks and often fails to reach beyond them. Further is people leave your network their recommendations go with them.
Lack of Control and Measurability
With WOM, you relinquish control over the narrative surrounding your business. The message shared between clients may not always align with your brand’s values or intended messaging. Furthermore, WOM is notoriously difficult to track and measure. Without concrete metrics, assessing the effectiveness of WOM campaigns and making informed decisions about marketing investments becomes challenging.
Slower Response to Market Changes
In dynamic sectors like healthcare, market conditions can shift rapidly. WOM can generate high-quality leads, but it is often inconsistent. Your business may experience feast or famine periods, which can lead to cash flow issues and hinder long-term planning and growth. Relying on WOM means your business might not adapt quickly enough to changes in consumer behaviour or emerging trends. This delay can result in lost opportunities and can allow competitors who utilize more agile and sophisticated marketing strategies to gain a foothold.
Developing a Smarter Approach to Marketing
Smarter Marketing doesn’t need to break the bank or the clock. It does however require deep thought and potentially specialist advise. However, once the blueprint is in place it should become ‘Business as Usual’ for you week on week, perhaps even enjoyable! To mitigate the risks associated with WOM dependency and strengthening your business for the time, money and joy you deserve consider these five top tips:
- Diversify Your Marketing Channels
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Incorporate a mix of digital marketing strategies such as SEO, content marketing, and social media advertising. These tools not only increase your reach but also allow you to target specific demographics more effectively.
- Implement Tracking and Analytics
Use tools like Google Analytics and social media insights to track the performance of your marketing campaigns. Understanding what works and what doesn’t will enable you to allocate your budget more effectively and tweak your strategies for better results and that steady flow of ideal clients that you team and business need.
- Engage with Online Reviews
While WOM is hard to measure, online reviews are its digital counterparts. Actively encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews of the experience they have had with your business on platforms like Google and Facebook. We are not requesting testimonials here, we know to avoid that in Allied Health. Consider inviting delighted clients to help spread the word online, those online communities are powerful. Monitor these platforms regularly if you can and respond to feedback to maintain your reputation and enhance visibility.
- Develop a Strong Online Presence
Your website and social media profiles are often the first point of contact with potential clients. Ensure they are professional, informative, and reflective of your brand’s values. Work with your advisors to plan, develop and schedule social content, blogs, newsletters etc…ideally weeks in advance. Posting across social channels with backlinks to our website helps build your website SEO. Ensure your website is contemporary and current, is engaging and loads fast will help keep visitors on the site and improve SEO as well. There is so much we could write here!
- Continuous Improvement and Adaptation
Stay informed about the latest marketing trends and technologies. Attend workshops, webinars, and courses to keep your marketing skills sharp. Adapt your strategies based on data-driven insights and evolving market conditions. Prepare to be bold industry leaders with your marketing activities to help your brand and business stand out for all the best competitive reasons.
Marketing with More than WOM
While word-of-mouth will always be a valuable part of any marketing strategy, it should not be the sole method for client acquisition. Those days are long gone. By understanding its limitations and integrating more robust, measurable marketing tactics, your Allied Health Business can achieve greater stability and growth, ensuring you remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.
We deeply understand market trends and strive to support our members to strengthen their marketing knowledge, strategy, implementation and most importantly their results. The need for a sophisticated marketing strategy is needed like never before, “Please help us, we have never had to market formally before but now we have ZERO people on our waitlist, tell us what to do”. We hope this blog gives you a high level view and a few tips, ultimately you may well need the comprehensive support that we offer. Your “Marketing Mojo” is a phone call away, time to book that Power Call for a chat.
