I started medical school in 2008.

17 years later, I can’t recall a single lecture on marketing.

This is a missed opportunity in healthcare.

Let’s say, Person A has a certain set of skills. Person B has the exact same set of skills, but they also understand the fundamentals of marketing.

Who do you think will reach more people and make more money?

As a LM practitioner looking to start and grow a business, you will realise one thing.

Marketing is non-negotiable.

• Without marketing, no-one knows what Lifestyle Medicine is.
• Without marketing, no-one knows who you are or what you do.
• Without marketing, you are the world’s best kept secret.
• Without marketing, you can’t make the difference you were born to make.
• Without marketing, you will make (much) less money.

Business is about Income and Impact.

It’s a force for good in our own lives, and the lives of others. Marketing makes it possible. The problem is, we weren’t taught what it is and how to do it. It can all seem a bit daunting.

Does this sound familiar?

• It seems too complicated and you don’t know where to start.
• The learning curve seems too steep.
• You don’t enjoy it (or don’t think you will).
• Even if you know what you need to do, you can’t seem to get yourself to do it.
• You struggle with putting yourself out there.
• You don’t want to become part of the noise.
• You don’t want to fail (in public).
• You have a negative image of what marketing is, and you don’t want to anything to do with it.

If it feels like I am in your head, it’s because I am (sort of…not really)! I know what it’s like because this is everything that I have had to grapple with over the last 10 years.

We are technicians at heart. We prefer to see patients, design programs, and gain further qualifications. If we wanted to learn about business, we would have done commerce or an MBA.

The bad news?  If you want to start a LM business, you can’t ignore the business stuff.

The good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be fun. I won’t say it’s easy though.

Let’s try to simplify marketing.

We shouldn’t start with answers. “Do this, do that”.

We should start with questions. Here are 4 that will get you thinking about the right things when it comes to marketing.

1. WHO do I help?
2. WHERE do they hang out?
3. HOW can I get in front of them (over and over)?
4. Now WHAT?
    

1. WHO do I help?

You can’t have marketing without a market.

The market is who you help. The problem with marketing Lifestyle Medicine is that everyone can benefit from it. One of the LM practitioners I am working with, after one of her workshops, was told that “everyone should know this”. This person was right. Here’s the paradox – if you market to everyone, you will end up marketing to no one. We are exposed to 1000s of marketing messages everyday. How can you stand out in this noise? The answer comes in a funny sounding word – niche. A niche represents a specific type of person with a specific problem, that you can be a hero to.

Here a few examples of niches from the LM practitioners I am working with.

• Women who are newly retired, looking to age healthy without pain and loss of function.
• Menopausal women who are struggling with insomnia.

WHO is your target market? (Feel free to REPLY to this email with your answer for accountability)
 

2. WHERE do they hang out?

Wherever your market hangs out, could you hang out there too?

The world we live in allows us to ‘hang out’ both in physical and digital places. Specific groups of people generally hang out in certain places.

• First time Mums hang out with other Mums, attend playgroups, go to story time at the library and attend cafes. They are also on Instagram and online parenting forums.
• Doctors hang out at conferences or CPD dinners.
• Retirees play golf, attend country clubs, frequent cafes, and volunteer on boards. Some of these retirees are more tech savvy than me so who knows what they are doing online!

WHERE does your target market hang out? (Feel free to REPLY to this email with your answer for accountability)
 

3. HOW can I get in front of them (over and over)?

“Marketing is telling people what you do, over and over.” – C.J Hayden

Once you know who you help, and where they hang out, you need to get in front of them and tell them what you do, over and over. In her book, Get Clients Now!, C.J Hayden describes 6 ways if getting in front of people. In order of effectiveness, they are

1. Direct contact and follow up e.g. coffee with someone in your target market
2. Networking and referral building e.g. coffee with someone who could refer clients to you
3. Public speaking e.g. speak at someone else’s event
4. Writing and publicity e.g. newsletters, posting on social media
5. Promotional events e.g. speak at your own event
6. Advertising e.g. paid ads

Some of this is inappropriate to do as health professionals. For example, it’s not cool to directly contact your patients. The AHPRA guidelines are pretty strict. Please don’t go to jail 🙂 It’s still a useful framework to get you thinking about how you can get in front of your niche.

Once you figure this out, don’t forget the most important bit – you need to tell them what you do over and over.

HOW can you get in front of your target market? (Feel free to REPLY to this email with your answer for accountability)
 

4. Now WHAT?

This is the fun bit.

If you have followed each of the steps, you are now physically or virtually in front of a target market you can help. Now what?

People don’t buy stuff. They buy into the people that sell the stuff.

No-one will buy from you until they know, like and trust you.

Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Whatever you do, always have the intention to make their lives better.
• Show that you care about their dreams and why it matters to them.
• Show that you understand their problems and why they are so painful.
• Show that you are familiar with the roadblocks they are likely to encounter on their journey.
• Share your knowledge and wisdom (generously). Make your free stuff worth paying for.
• Share your story in a way that they can see themselves in it. (This is powerful if your niche is the person you once were – more on this in the future).

If you do the above, your target market will have a sense of “you get me”. This alone, to be seen, heard, and understood, is a gift. At this point, you have earnt the right to get paid to help them.

This is why I love marketing. It’s an exercise in empathy.

I hope these 4 questions help you simplify the complex (and beautiful) topic of marketing.

–> WHO do I help?

–> WHERE do they hang out?

–> HOW can I get in front of them (over and over)?

–> Now WHAT?
 

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

If you LOVED it, SHARE it with another LM practitioner that you care about.

Much love to you and of course, myself.

Dr G

**

At the moment, I am helping 3 LM humans with their business. The plan is to do 1 on 1 coaching until I have around 8(ish) humans (i.e. full capacity). Then, I will switch to group sessions.

REPLY ‘8’ if you want to be one of the first 8

Previous articles
#1 The mathematics of a Lifestyle Medicine movement
#2 7 steps to build a Lifestyle Medicine business
#3 Everything you need to get started in 2025
#4 1000 true fans
#5 2024 End of Year Report – LM edition