Client Care and Marketing
Jun. 8th, 2004 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
percivalLots of people think that marketing is a way of extracting money from others by all ethical and unethical means. I'm glad that I've been reading books lately that emphasise another side of marketing: If you want to be successful, first and foremost live your professional ethics. Make sure that client care is the first item on your agenda.
I'm seeing that over and over again in my experience with therapists. My Shiatsu therapist is very professional and efficient, yet very caring and considerate. She knows me well. My herbalist is fantastic. She supports me in every way, is incredibly patient, and very generous with her time.
Now, I've been attracted to Structural Integration for a long time. I was dyspraxic as a child and walk with a slight waddle. I also have a somewhat concave lower spine. I've been interested in good posture for a long time, and I'm fascinated by what Structural Integration is said to achieve. I've been looking for a practitioner on and off for a while now, and I was pleased to find a practitioner of Hellerwork in the town where I live. I e-mailed her on Saturday to ask about an appointment. I described who I was, what I wanted from the treatment, and then proceeded to ask a number of detailed questions about her: background, her motivation for doing Hellerwork, etc.
See, all I know about this person is her e-mail and her phone numbers, and release of deep-seated tension is a very personal process that can kick off all sorts of psychological release. It's important to be with somebody you trust when you start this kind of work.
I e-mailed on Saturday and still haven't got an answer by today. (Did I mention that I'm terribly phone shy?)
For all I know, she might be on vacation, or just too busy to answer an e-mail. Still, the silence is a wee bit disconcerting, to say the least.
Now, what will I do? Will I e-mail or phone the Hellerworker again?
You bet I won't - at least not right now. I'm phone shy, and I'd like to give her another 2-3 weeks to respond, to allow for holiday time.
But what I will do right now is e-mail a practitioner down in the South of England, Brighton, to be precise. That's six hours on the train down from where I live. One of my potential long-term goals would be to train in the school of Structural Integration that this woman was trained in, and I'd like to check out what these people do. If she responds more quickly, and if I find I can work with her, guess who's going to get me as a client ... if only with long distances between sessions.
I'm seeing that over and over again in my experience with therapists. My Shiatsu therapist is very professional and efficient, yet very caring and considerate. She knows me well. My herbalist is fantastic. She supports me in every way, is incredibly patient, and very generous with her time.
Now, I've been attracted to Structural Integration for a long time. I was dyspraxic as a child and walk with a slight waddle. I also have a somewhat concave lower spine. I've been interested in good posture for a long time, and I'm fascinated by what Structural Integration is said to achieve. I've been looking for a practitioner on and off for a while now, and I was pleased to find a practitioner of Hellerwork in the town where I live. I e-mailed her on Saturday to ask about an appointment. I described who I was, what I wanted from the treatment, and then proceeded to ask a number of detailed questions about her: background, her motivation for doing Hellerwork, etc.
See, all I know about this person is her e-mail and her phone numbers, and release of deep-seated tension is a very personal process that can kick off all sorts of psychological release. It's important to be with somebody you trust when you start this kind of work.
I e-mailed on Saturday and still haven't got an answer by today. (Did I mention that I'm terribly phone shy?)
For all I know, she might be on vacation, or just too busy to answer an e-mail. Still, the silence is a wee bit disconcerting, to say the least.
Now, what will I do? Will I e-mail or phone the Hellerworker again?
You bet I won't - at least not right now. I'm phone shy, and I'd like to give her another 2-3 weeks to respond, to allow for holiday time.
But what I will do right now is e-mail a practitioner down in the South of England, Brighton, to be precise. That's six hours on the train down from where I live. One of my potential long-term goals would be to train in the school of Structural Integration that this woman was trained in, and I'd like to check out what these people do. If she responds more quickly, and if I find I can work with her, guess who's going to get me as a client ... if only with long distances between sessions.
