How to Build Your Ergonomics Business: The Complete Marketing Guide for Consultants
Jan 22, 2026
Whether you're just starting out, thinking about making the leap from your nine-to-five, or wondering why your current marketing isn't producing results—this guide covers everything you need to know about building a thriving ergonomics consulting business.
The Decision Most Ergonomics Consultants Miss
Before we dive into marketing tactics and strategies, there's one critical decision you need to make—and it's the one most ergonomics consultants completely skip.
Are you building a B2B (business-to-business) or B2C (business-to-consumer) practice?
Now, you might be thinking, "I'm not going to turn away business—if someone wants to pay me, I'm taking it." And that's completely fair. But we're not talking about turning away business. We're talking about where you focus your marketing.
Everything else in your business flows from this one decision: your messaging, your content, your pricing, your value ladder, where you show up online, even the language you use. If you try to market to everyone, you end up connecting with no one.
If you're B2B, you're targeting organizations. You're talking to HR managers, safety directors, and operations managers. Your messaging centers on reducing workers' comp claims, improving productivity, decreasing absenteeism, and ensuring OSHA compliance. You're positioning yourself as a business solution that affects the bottom line.
If you're B2C, you're talking directly to individuals—remote workers experiencing pain, people wanting to set up their home office properly. Your messaging is personal: reducing their pain, improving their quality of life, being able to pick up their kids without wincing.
The platforms are different. The price points are different. The sales cycle is completely different. Make this decision before you do anything else.
The Catch-22 Every Ergonomics Consultant Faces
Here's the frustrating paradox: You want to drive business to your services and gain experience, so you reach out to potential clients. But they won't hire you without a portfolio of success stories. You need experience to get clients, but you need clients to get experience.
But here's what you need to understand: there's a massive gap between where we are as consultants and the opportunity that's out there. Do a quick Google search for ergonomics consultants in your area. You'll probably find one or two people. The demand is high; the supply is low.
And here's the hard truth: It's not the most qualified person who gets clients—it's the person who markets themselves the best. Your potential clients don't understand the difference between certifications. They just want their problem solved.
The 5-Part Process to Break Through the Catch-22
1. Define Your Ideal Client Avatar
Not everyone is your ideal customer. Get 5-10 ideal client avatars on the phone and ask them about their professional limiting beliefs, fears, needs, wants, and desires. What keeps them up at night? If you can get those answers, you'll know exactly how to position your services.
2. Produce Content Consistently
Marketing is a lifestyle. Ask yourself what type of content you love creating and what connects best with your audience. Your content should create desire for your services while demonstrating your expertise.
3. Engage Where Your Ideal Client Hangs Out
Creating content isn't enough if no one sees it. Find out where your ideal clients spend their time online—LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, industry forums—and track your engagement. Where do you get the most traction?
4. Focus on ONE Marketing Channel
This is where most consultants go wrong. They spread themselves too thin across every platform. Pick one channel and go all-in. Post content, engage with your audience, follow up with people, and build relationships—without trying to sell right away.
5. Build Your Email List
You don't need a fancy website for this. Use a free tool like MailChimp or ConvertKit to create a landing page with a freebie or newsletter signup. Once people are on your list, you can nurture the relationship, highlight your expertise, and make offers.
Remember the three C's: Content, Consistency, and Connection. Master these, and you'll break through the Catch-22.
The Value Ladder Strategy
If you've never heard the term "value ladder," you're leaving significant opportunity on the table.
A value ladder maps out your services from lowest-value offers (used as hooks to demonstrate your expertise) to your highest-priced premium services. Picture a triangle: broad at the base with freebies and low-cost items, narrower in the middle with moderately priced services, and pointed at the top with your premium offers.
The problem with depending on "unicorn clients"—those huge contracts that make your whole year—is that they're rare. If your business model depends on landing unicorns, you'll experience feast-or-famine cycles.
The value ladder lets you build relationships with clients who don't fit the unicorn description. I'd rather get a client into my business with a lower-priced service to build a long-term relationship than wait around for the perfect contract.
Level 1 — The Lead Magnet: Free training, downloadable content, infographics, lunch-and-learn presentations. The goal is to start a conversation and demonstrate your value.
Level 2 — Mid-Range Offers: Discomfort surveys, return-to-work assistance, hybrid packages combining consultation, assessment, and training. This tier will likely serve the majority of your clients.
Level 3 — Premium Offers: On-site ergonomist arrangements, comprehensive return-to-work procedure development, direct access to your expertise. High-ticket, high-impact.
Identifying Your Ideal Clients
Before pursuing clients, ask yourself: What do they stand for? Do they invest in their employees? Do they have return-to-work programs or health spending accounts? Do they already do ergonomic assessments?
Think about clients on two axes: profitability and joy of work. Your goal is to fill your calendar with high-profit, high-joy clients—organizations that are respectful, organized, and recognize the importance of what you do.
When you're starting out, you might need to take clients that aren't ideal. That's okay—bills need to be paid. But as you progress, intentionally add more clients you love working with, clients who pay you what your services are worth.
5 Tips to Start Marketing Your Ergonomics Business Today
- Start before you're ready. If you're still working a nine-to-five, start planting seeds now. It can take 3-6 months of consistent marketing before you see results. Attend networking events and build your LinkedIn presence—you're not selling yet, just developing relationships.
- Combine patience with a system. The most effective consultants have both. Patience means understanding that long-term efforts don't produce overnight results. A system means having a marketing machine that generates leads 24/7.
- Consider part-time opportunities. Take the pressure off by reducing financial risk while you build your consulting business.
- Focus on benefits, not features. Most of what we do is jargon to the end user. Use the "so that" trick: "This assessment is 30 minutes long" becomes "This assessment is 30 minutes long, so that your employees can get back to work quickly with immediate, actionable recommendations."
- Be systematic and track everything. Build marketing into your daily routine. Track your quarterly impact by both income and influence to see what's working.
Use Promotions Strategically
Promotions are powerful because they have urgency and scarcity built in. Urgency pushes people to act quickly; scarcity triggers anxiety about losing an exceptional offer.
If you keep your offers open indefinitely with no call to action, people will put off taking action—which usually means they won't take action at all. Sprinkle promotions throughout your year and tie them to your value ladder.
Putting It All Together
Building a successful ergonomics consulting business comes down to this:
First, make the foundational B2B vs. B2C decision—everything else flows from there.
Second, use the 5-part process to break through the Catch-22: define your ideal client, produce content consistently, engage where they hang out, focus on one channel, and build your email list.
Third, build a value ladder so you're not dependent on unicorn clients.
Fourth, start marketing before you think you're ready, combine patience with a system, and translate your features into benefits.
Content, Consistency, Connection. Those three C's will carry you further than any certification ever will.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you want to build a solid foundation in ergonomic assessments, check out the Ergonomics Blueprint. And if you're ready to scale your business with modern marketing strategies, the Accelerate: The Business of Ergonomics program will show you how to get in front of prospects, maintain a steady stream of work, and generate more revenue for your business.