Effective physical therapy marketing begins even before the patients starts his / her treatment. Nitin Chhoda shares some important strategies about effective marketing to patients before, during and even after their treatment.
Owners of a physical therapy practice will soon learn that marketing takes up a significant portion of their clinic time. The business of physical therapy marketing never stops.
Clinicians must market their business to attract patients, find ways to promote themselves to clients in the office, and develop follow up methods to keep the clinic in the forefront of clients’ minds.
Patients can pick and choose the therapist they see and practice owners must market to ensure those clients are selecting them. Physical therapy marketing can be viewed as a dating game where therapists court new patients, woo them from other sources and keep the romance alive with ongoing strategies.
Good Physical Therapy Marketing
Building a good patient-therapist relationship takes time and effort, but if clinicians are giving clients what they want, or perceive they want, it can be the beginning of a long and profitable relationship.
Successful physical therapy marketing strategies begin with a clinic standing out from its competitors. Practice owners can utilize a variety of techniques that take advantage of referrals, word-of-mouth advertising and free information.
Social media, search engine marketing, patient newsletters and discounts for patients that pay cash can all be utilized to build a reputation as the preferred go-to therapist. Physical therapy patients want to feel better or mitigate their pain and practice owners need to demonstrate to prospective clients how they can accomplish those goals.
Clients want to feel cared for and clinicians that make each patient feel as if they’re the clinic’s only priority are guaranteed return business, an effective physical therapy marketing technique. Clinicians who achieve that are building a team of cheerleaders for the practice that will have far-reaching effects.
Promoting a physical therapy practice doesn’t have to be expensive. Some of the best strategies utilize simple but low-cost methods. The most effective physical therapy marketing strategies use a combination of techniques and can include any of the following.
- Patient newsletter (a very effective physical therapy marketing strategy);
- Hold a customer appreciation day;
- Establish a VIP club with discounts for those who pay cash or pay their balance by a specific time and give away free trial memberships;
- Write a column for the local newspaper, do regular radio spots and make the clinic’s expertise available to TV stations;
- Submit press releases online to announce new products, methods, techniques and services;
- Network with other healthcare professionals for referrals;
- Send patients a note, email, voice mail or text message thanking them for their visit, inquire about their health or offer an incentive for discharged patients to return;
- Give a community presentation on injury prevention or the benefits of exercise;
- Create and distribute an audio CD or short DVD about the practice, its services or the benefits of physical therapy;
- Develop a product or treatment method specific to the clinic;
- Provide free information on the business website;
- Utilize social media to connect with clients;
- Offer a core service and two or three specialized services such as massage or acupuncture;
- Create a blog;
- Write a book;
- Seek staff input.
The best therapists,with the help of above physical therapy marketing techniques, are with the most patients. They are clinicians that are warm, sincere and provide a superior patient experience.
They are not afraid to display a sense of humor if appropriate. A good bedside manner is essential and humanizes therapists to their clients.
In the office, even little niceties like free coffee and juice creates a friendly ambiance that makes patients feel welcome, cared for and promotes a practice they eagerly return to for all their physical therapy marketing needs.
