Scaling Your Business With Digital Integrations
Practitioners today employ many different models of care. But increasingly, many of those models include at least some technological elements.
Because technology is advancing at a rapid pace, keeping up with the newest high-tech features is one way for integrative healthcare professionals to enjoy ongoing success in their practices.
That is why we outline digital integrations that are focused specifically on increasing your practice’s revenue, which is discussed in detail below.
Scaling through digital
Service-based business owners have traditionally relied on a time-for-money model, in which the business gets paid for its time helping clients or patients overcome problems. But more and more entrepreneurs are now delivering their services on a more massive scale through the power of the internet.
Photographers who once relied on a steady stream of individual photo shoots for their revenue are now using online platforms to teach people how to take their own professional photos. Marketing experts are offering online courses that reach thousands rather than dozens of business owners. Yoga instructors, personal trainers, chefs, nutritionists, and doctors are all tapping into digital strategies to reach more clients in less time.
Let’s look at two digital integrations that allow you to reach more people through automation, help you scale your business, and open the possibilities for exponential growth in revenue.
Webinar platforms. Webinars give you the opportunity to connect face to face with your potential clients or patients via video. When people see your face and hear your voice, the connection is more intimate than when they merely read words on your website.
Webinars are similar to public talks, except that you can reach more people over a broader geographical area. They’re an excellent tool for sharing your knowledge and perspectives with a statewide, national, or even international audience of people who might benefit from your services.
Most entrepreneurs and business owners deliver webinars for free. The webinars are a part of an overall marketing strategy to grow a larger audience, educate the public about their services, and establish them as experts.
When choosing a webinar platform, the most important decision to make is whether you want to air your webinars live or automatically replay them.
Automated webinar platforms like EverWebinar, Demio, and Webinars OnAir allow you to record a webinar and then schedule it to replay on automation as often as you like. Viewers can register to watch the webinar at a specific time, and the software aims to recreate a live viewing experience for attendees.
Live webinar platforms include WebinarJam (which integrates EverWebinar for automation), GoToMeeting, ClickMeeting, and Zoom. Most traditional webinar platforms are set up for live delivery, but don’t offer automated replays. However, the webinars can be recorded and downloaded to share later.
Membership sites. These websites (or specific pages on a website) can only be accessed with a login. There are multiple ways you can use a membership site as part of your practice model, including:
Delivering supplemental content to your current patients. For example, you might want to educate all of your patients in the same way on changing their diet. You could have handouts, recipes, menu plans, and videos posted to a membership site. Once the content is posted, educating your patients becomes as simple as giving them login information to the site.
Delivering a hybrid program that combines in-office visits and online videos. If you always approach blood-sugar management in the same way, for example, you might create a program for blood-sugar management that includes monthly office check-ins and online education.
Delivering educational programs exclusively online. Once you create the content for this type of program, you can bridge geographical barriers and sell that program to hundreds or even thousands of participants. But as with all things in business, make sure to follow legal and ethical guidelines according to your licensure or certification. Consult with a lawyer to be sure that any service or education you provide online is consistent with applicable laws and regulations.
There are several options for membership sites. If your current website is designed using WordPress, you can add a plugin like MemberPress or LifterLMS. More robust membership sites can be built with software like Wild Apricot, Kajabi, or Kartra.