In my past couple of blogs on how to build a hypnotherapy business, I discussed what “branding” is and the first two steps to establishing your brand as a professional hypnotist. Today I will touch on the next two steps – evaluating your processes and developing your physical branding. These last two steps offer you a well-rounded approach to evolving your brand, though they aren’t an exhaustive list.
Evaluate Your Processes
I mentioned in my previous article that your brand doesn’t need to be set in stone from day one. You are allowed a certain amount of flexibility in developing your brand as long as your core values stay the same. In fact, it is your duty as a business owner to keep circling back and evaluating your existing processes to ensure they meet your needs. Are your current processes achieving what you want? What are you willing to sacrifice to reach a larger goal?
For example, two of your core values might be cleanliness and punctuality. In trying to keep your core values at the forefront of your business, you initially scheduled a 15-minute buffer between appointments. That allowed you to tidy up the office, clear off your desk, sanitize any equipment you use, like chairs or headphones, and get yourself mentally ready for your next client, all while being punctual.
When you analyze this process, you realize that when you book hour-long appointments with each client, you lose out on one full client’s worth of revenue for every four paying clients because of the 15-minute buffer. Is that cost worth it to you based on your core values? If not, you need to reevaluate your scheduling. If yes, is there anything you can do differently to decrease the cost of that buffer?
In business, this process is often called The Feedback Loop. It means you keep an open mind to create new processes–and improve on existing ones–based on feedback from your financial accounts, employees, and clientele.
For another example, after going through various hypnosis lessons and getting your hypnosis certification, you might prefer some types of clientele over others. Different techniques work better for different personal challenges, and you might gravitate toward one or another.
You might want to focus on a specific group of people (ex: people trying to quit smoking or people struggling with the symptoms of PTSD, weight loss hypnosis, or issues with anxiety), but you have to recognize that you have to accept all kinds of people – at least until your brand is big enough and defined enough. Once word spreads about your expertise in your preferred area, you can start being more selective. Even though that might take a while, you can still set that goal initially and keep revisiting your processes until you’re ready to start being more selective.
Physical Branding
You’re at the last big step of developing your brand! Whew! You’ve made it! That said, this step has arguably the most legwork of any other steps – even though it’s at the bottom of the list. Developing your physical branding is crucial because it’s part of your business that your current and potential clients see, hear, smell, and touch. Because your physical branding comes in contact with so many senses, you need to be deliberate with how you approach it.
Your physical branding has many different aspects you need to develop to be successful. Some of those parts include:
Website:
Your website needs to be optimized for peak performance on both a desktop and a mobile device. More people than ever are forgoing traditional computers and opting for handheld devices, so you must ensure that your website can handle the difference.
Keep your website color scheme consistent with any other paper literature (brochures, business cards, mailers, etc.) so that people recognize your brand, whether it’s in a paper or digital format.
Make sure that your website is informational and easy to navigate. People will trust you better and sooner if you give them a reason to trust you. That means you post honest reviews on your site, have an attractive layout and thorough “About Me” section, and have well-written informational content in your blog section. Not only do these things help your Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but they also make you appear credible and serious about your profession.
Social Media:
Even though it’s a pretty new marketing tool, social media is not going away. There are many ways to capitalize on the power of social media, but they require consistency and effort. Making easy-to-share reels and infographics helps get your brand out to people who might not see it otherwise. Additionally, posting on social media is a great way to interact with your current clients and disseminate information to them on a consistent schedule. If you’re new to social media, don’t worry about hitting them all at once. It can be more effective to focus on posting really good content to a few social media platforms rather than doing a poor job trying to post to all of them.
Packaging:
You can convey a lot of information to your current and potential clients based on the materials you use in your packaging. Remember the Purple Cow metaphor where everyone gravitates to the purple cow over the usual brown, tan, and black ones? You need to provide remarkable service in remarkable packaging.
That means you need to consider all of the products you use inside and outside of your physical or online office. Plain white paper or cardstock? Glossy or satin photos? Three-ply or one-ply toilet paper? A paper towel roll on the counter or a paper towel dispenser? Seriously. It’s the little things that can make people remember you. For years, I would stock the Ricola brand of cough drops in my office, and people would always comment on them. All of these things make a statement about you and your business, so it’s up to you to decide what that statement will be. That’s not to say that all your packaging needs to be top-of-the-line, but it does mean that you need to figure out what’s important to your brand and move forward from there.
Physical Office Space:
How your workspace appears will greatly impact your clients. Things that can affect their perception of you include:
- The color scheme – is it vibrant? Is it calming? Is it neutral? Does it feel inviting or sterile?
- The furniture – Is its bare bones? Is it very comfortable? Do you have sofas, or will you use individual chairs? Side tables?
- The décor – Do you have live plants? Fake ones? No plants? Is it minimalist or maximalist decor? Do you have a theme? What kind of artwork (if any)?
- The ambiance – Do you have a scent in the office? Is there a water feature? Will you have music playing? Will you offer a water bottle on arrival or departure?
There isn’t a right or wrong way to decorate your physical office, but you must ensure that whatever you do, it fits within your brand. Few things are more jarring than entering a space for the first time that is significantly different than what you were anticipating.
While the phrase “on brand” is a newcomer to the business world, it is a vital aspect of your business success. So take your time defining and developing who you are as a hypnotist. Really think about what you stand for and what you want from your experience as a professional hypnotist. Becoming a recognizable brand that offers consistent service will earn you loyal clients and frequent referrals.
