Would you rather eat at a local gourmet brewery or Applebee’s?
Would you rather buy from the local bakery or Panera?
Would you rather get your hair cut at the local barber/hairdresser or Great Clips?
Say money is no object.
Because the megachains have one big thing going for them: they’re cheap.
But what about your business?
Are you cheap?
Then you shouldn’t be focusing on the same things or advertising in the same way the chains.
What advantage do all those local business like you have?
Quality, personality, accountability, care.
People prefer local business not because they are inherently better (though often they are), but because it feels like you know them and trust them.
Because you can know the founder and imagine they care about the product or service instead of making as much money as possible.
Because they live in the community rather than a distant headquarters.
Because you know you won’t deal with a faceless bureaucracy when you have a problem.
Notice a common theme?
It’s about the company’s (and the founder’s) story.
It’s about who they are, what motivates them, and what they care about.
If you’re running a local small business that selling quality, personal attention, and special care, your story matters.
The more people feel like they know you, the more they will trust you, the more they will see your value over a big chain clinic that’s predictable and cheap.
You may not think it matters why you went to PT school or why you chose your specialty or why you started a clinic.
Maybe it shouldn’t.
But it does.
It’s what you are actually selling.
This week, give it some thought.
How well do your potential patients know you?
How can you let them know you better?