Attracting clients — and keeping the ones you have

Most marketing advice for therapists obsesses over winning new clients and ignores the cheaper win in plain sight: not losing the ones you already have. Both matter. But a practice that holds onto people needs far less of the exhausting churn the first half demands.

Be clear about who you’re for

Vague marketing reaches no one in particular. “I help people feel better” says nothing a worried person can hold onto. “I work with adults dealing with anxiety and burnout” tells the right person they’re in the right place. Specifics do the filtering for you.

Lower the cost of the first step

A free fifteen-minute call removes most of the risk a new client feels. It isn’t a sales pitch — it’s a chance for someone to hear your voice and decide you’re safe to talk to. For a lot of people, that one barrier is the entire reason they haven’t booked yet.

Be where people already look

Counselling Directory and the BACP’s “find a therapist” register exist precisely because that’s where people search when they’re ready. A listing reaches people who are actively looking, which is worth far more than broad visibility to people who aren’t. A clear, calm website to send them to does the rest.

Referrals, gently

Happy clients and local professionals — GPs, other therapists, wellbeing services — are the steadiest source of well-matched enquiries. You don’t need a referral scheme. You need to do good work and stay easy to refer to. One caution on testimonials: use them only with explicit, documented consent, and keep them to the person’s own experience rather than any promise of results. That’s both an ethical line and an advertising rule worth respecting.

Keep the clients you have

Retention isn’t a tactic; it’s the work done well. The edges still help, though — turning up consistently, a booking process that isn’t a chore, the occasional useful follow-up. People stay with someone who makes the relationship easy as well as valuable.

Track where your enquiries actually come from for a few months. Most practices are surprised — and once you know which channel is doing the real work, you can stop spreading yourself thin across the rest.