MHM#52 The Nuances of Therapy Marketing

Back at university, when I was studying marketing, most of what we learned focused on fast-moving consumer goods, things like shampoo, tea, soft drinks, and toothpaste. These are products people buy regularly, often use daily, and make quick decisions about. There’s not much emotional investment in choosing toothpaste, but for marketers, it’s a goldmine of data. The short sales cycles and high purchase frequency mean there’s plenty of information to analyse, helping marketers build predictive models and refine their strategies.

I loved marketing from the start. It brought together everything I enjoyed: strategy, creativity, psychology, and data. It let me switch between logic and imagination, blending both sides of the brain.

Back then, more than 20 years ago, marketing had a bit of a bad reputation, one it hasn’t entirely shaken off today. Many people saw it as manipulative or based more on gut feel than on evidence. But I was lucky to study at a university that challenged that idea. They had a Marketing Science Centre that viewed marketing as a science, one where decisions are backed by data, not just instinct. That evidence-based approach has guided my work ever since.

The core principle I took away was simple: use marketing strategies that are proven to work. If there’s industry-specific data available, use that. If not, borrow from other industries, test it, and refine based on what you learn.

When I began working in private healthcare marketing, I realised that while many of those same principles applied, there were some important nuances. Healthcare decisions are not like buying toothpaste. They carry weight. There’s more risk, more emotion, and much higher stakes if someone chooses the wrong provider. Connection, trust, and relationships play a far bigger role, especially in therapy.

And unlike toothpaste, the goal in therapy isn’t repeat purchases. The goal is healing. Ideally, clients come to therapy, get the support they need, and leave with the tools to manage their wellbeing.

Another major difference is that therapists care who is buying their service. A toothpaste company might target different audiences (children, sensitive, whitening etc), but ultimately they don’t really care who buys it as long as someone buys it and buys it often. In therapy, it matters a lot. You want to work with the clients you’re best equipped to help, the people you genuinely enjoy working with. That’s why connection and trust are the essence of therapy marketing.

Marketing and sales have both earned a bad reputation, and sometimes for good reason. But therapy marketing shouldn’t involve pushy tactics, hard closes, or “selling yourself.” Selling, in this context, simply means helping people feel safe enough to take the next step toward support.

Ethical therapy marketing is about creating a genuine connection, building trust, and showing your ideal clients that you understand them and have experience helping people like them.

Connection creates safety.

Safety builds trust.

Trust leads to action: enquiries, consultations, and appointments.

So rather than worrying about being salesy, focus on being yourself. Speak directly to your ideal client. Let them see who you are, your personality, your values, and what it might feel like to work with you.

When you approach marketing this way, it stops feeling like “selling” and starts feeling like what it really is: building connections that help people find the support they need.