As a health and wellness practitioner, your most important mission is to help your clients achieve their goals. With that in mind, you’re probably always looking for ways to create the best outcomes and deliver transformational results. There is a lot that goes into supporting your clients in meeting their goals, from the strategies you deploy to help them heal and grow, to how you keep them engaged and accountable.
If you were used to working with clients in-person, then you likely had an arsenal of tools that worked really well in that format. Have you been able to transition to working with clients virtually?
When working with clients online, you can go beyond simply offering one-on-one or group coaching sessions to create amazing outcomes. In fact, you can do just as much, if not more, with clients virtually as you can in person! There are many creative ways to support your clients and provide the resources and engagement they need to succeed.
It’s especially important to keep various learning styles in mind when creating your online content, as engagement becomes even more important when you aren’t seeing your client in person. It can be helpful to use a variety of mediums to cater to different needs and to create resources that allow the client to interact with you in different ways.
Here are 10 simple and creative ways to support your clients online, beyond a typical one-on-one session:
Adding in a customized meal plan to your client’s protocol can be a great way to support them virtually. It gives them structure and a clear guide to follow, which helps with accountability and follow-through.
A curated recipe book is a multi-purpose resource that can be used with a variety of clients online. It will provide your client with a little extra inspiration and motivation in the kitchen, which helps with engagement. Even though the recipes won’t be customized to each client, you can choose a theme that corresponds with your niche.
Consider offering virtual cooking classes. This can be done one-on-one or with groups and is a nice way to boost interaction and engagement. This will also support better client outcomes, as it will ensure your clients have the practical cooking experience needed to be successful with their nutrition protocols.
Lab testing is a great way to go even deeper with your client and can easily be done when working together virtually. Many lab companies will send the testing kit right to your client’s doorstep and provide them with the postage to easily mail it back for results.
If it’s part of your scope of practice, providing supplement recommendations to your clients is a great way to add depth to their protocol. This can easily be facilitated as part of their protocol online, especially when using Practice Better’s supplement dispensary integrations with Fullscript and Wellevate.
Consider offering short check-in calls to provide your clients with a little boost of accountability and support in between your regular sessions. These could be 10-15 minutes via phone or video chat (using Practice Better’s Telehealth feature).
Another way to support your clients in between sessions is to consider providing them with access to you via a messaging platform, such as Practice Better’s Secure Messaging. Keep in mind that you'll want to create boundaries such as the number of questions you take per month or the hours in which you are available to reply.
Put together a library of resources that your clients can access on their own time, in between sessions. This will allow you to provide them with the foundational knowledge they need to succeed, yet save time in your sessions to dive beyond the basics. Your resource library could include content like recipes, videos, audios, worksheets, handouts, etc.
Sending voice notes back and forth with your client really adds a personal touch and allows you to communicate efficiently. Did you know that the Better by Practice Better mobile app allows you to easily share voice recordings with your clients?
Asking your client to complete a virtual journal is a great way to keep them accountable online. This could be done for food and nutrition, or for lifestyle aspects such as sleep or exercise. To enhance the journaling experience, have your client take photos of their food using the mobile app, or integrate their Fitbit!
If you do decide to add additional resources or offerings into your services, programs, or packages, we recommend building in enough margin into the price to account for your time and energy. This will ensure that you continue to feel properly compensated for your efforts, and mitigate burnout or any feelings of resentment or bitterness.
Since engagement is the key to success when supporting your clients online, choosing a variety of delivery methods is a great strategy as it helps to keep things fresh and exciting. As we’ve highlighted, there are many simple and creative ways to provide this support, that goes beyond a typical one-on-one session.
Practice Better is the complete practice management platform for nutritionists, dietitians, and wellness professionals. Sign up for free today. Streamline your practice and begin your 14-day free trial today.
