22. 5 Steps of the Awareness Ladder with Stephanie Hofhenke

September 19, 2023

In the crowded landscape of health and wellness, being a talented dietitian is simply not enough. You’ve got the knowledge and the skills, but unless people know about you—and trust you—your practice may struggle to grow.

Branding isn’t just about a catchy logo or a professional website. It’s about crafting a story and establishing a reputation that aligns with your professional values. It’s about distinguishing yourself in a way that resonates with your target audience and builds trust.

Similarly, marketing is more than just promotion. It’s an ongoing strategy to create relationships that allow you to attract, serve, and retain your ideal clients. Proper marketing funnels people toward your services, converts them into paying clients, and ideally turns them into brand advocates. For private practice nutrition professionals and health practitioners, mastering the art and science of branding and marketing is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. And it’s not something we typically learn in our education.

However, even the most qualified practitioners might find themselves lost in the shuffle without effective strategies.

Today I have a very special guest with me: Stephanie Hofhenke of STRING Marketing. We talk about the Awareness Ladder – a critical marketing strategy and how to apply it to the creation of content in your practice.

We’ll cover:

The Awareness Scale
Tailoring Strategies to Different Levels of Awareness
How to Guide Clients up the Ladder

In this Episode:

[9:54] Understanding Your Target Audience – Episode #1: Are You Feeding Your Starving Audience?

Identifying your ideal client
How audience research feeds into branding and marketing

[10:00] Defining Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) – Episode #5: Authenticity Will Trump a Sales Pitch Every Single Time

What sets you apart?
Crafting a UVP that resonates with your target audience

[17:14] Visual Identity and Branding

Importance of logo, color scheme, and typography
Consistency across digital and physical platforms

[23:53] Content Marketing – Episode #10: Private Practice Content “Must-Haves”

Types of content (blogs, ebooks, handouts, videos)
Tips for creating high-quality, relevant content

[26:38] The Awareness Scale

The Awareness Scale is a conceptual framework that helps you understand where your potential clients are in their journey toward using your services. The scale consists of five levels:

Unaware: At this stage, individuals may not even realize they have a problem that needs solving. They are not looking for solutions because they don’t know there’s something to solve.
Problem-Aware: Here, individuals are aware they have an issue but haven’t yet explored solutions. They may know they need to improve their nutrition but have yet to look into seeing a dietitian.
Solution-Aware: At this stage, potential clients are actively seeking solutions. They’re looking into different diets, maybe considering supplements, or even exploring the possibility of consulting a dietitian.
Product-Aware: Now, they know you exist and what you offer. They’re considering whether your services could be the solution to their problem.
Most Aware – Preference Aware: These are your ideal clients. They understand their problem, know about the solutions, are aware of what you offer, and are ready to engage because they believe you are “their practitioner” to support them.

[38:06] Tailoring Strategies to Different Levels of Awareness

For the Unaware: Educational content is vital. You can use blog posts, podcasts, or short video clips to help people understand the value of good nutrition without immediately pushing your services. Episode #11: Edu-taining Content: No Dancing Required
For the Problem-Aware: Offer lead magnets like a free initial consultation, tips, guides, myth-busting, or an ebook discussing solutions to common dietary issues.
For the Solution-Aware: Use comparison content. Show them why your approach or methodology is superior to other common solutions. Free trials or discount codes can help here.
For the Product-Aware: This group may benefit from more personalized engagement, like one-on-one consultations or tailored meal plans, to understand the direct benefits they’ll get from your services.
For the Most Aware: At this point, it’s all about closing the deal. Employ scarcity tactics like limited-time offers or highlighting the unique advantages they’ll get if they choose you right now (like a free first session, or a bonus health checkup).

[43:51] How to Guide Clients up the Ladder

Guiding a potential client up this ladder is all about delivering the right message at the right time. Here’s how:

From Unaware to Problem-Aware: Utilize content that highlights common issues they may not be aware they have. Use social media to share infographics about how poor nutrition can lead to various health issues, for instance.
From Problem-Aware to Solution-Aware: Offer valuable content that discusses solutions to the problems you’ve highlighted. Webinars, ebooks, and blog posts about the importance of proper nutrition can be effective.
From Solution-Aware to Product-Aware: This is where your direct marketing comes into play. Use targeted advertising, testimonials, and case studies to show that your services have successfully solved similar problems for others.
From Product-Aware to Most Aware: Keep these potential clients engaged with special offers, email newsletters, or exclusive content. Give them that final push they need to make a decision.

Understanding the Awareness Scale and Ladder not only allows you to tailor your marketing and branding strategies but also helps in better client retention. It ensures you’re not just throwing information blindly but targeting potential clients at their stage, making your practice more efficient and effective.

[1:13:33] Your Content Cure for This Week

Your Content Cure for this week consists of a content bundle that Stephanie and I have put together for you that will guide you in applying the Awareness Scale to content creation.

>> DOWNLOAD YOUR RESOURCES HERE<<

About Stephanie Hofhenke

Stephanie Hofhenke is a Marketing and Growth Strategist, and the Founder of STRING Marketing.

She founded STRING Marketing in 2010 to build on her passion for helping private practitioners impact the lives of patients and consumers across North America.

Stephanie came to develop a deep knowledge of the unique challenges practitioners face — and as a result, she has built a remarkably effective toolkit that helps you take those challenges on.