Web Dorian
Marketing any business is a challenge, but it is particularly difficult to market a medical business. This is especially true when it comes to physical therapy practices, as many physical therapists are often not trained in the area of marketing. However, they need to be aware that marketing is the lifeblood of any private practice’s success. Marketing in this sense is a challenge mostly because most areas already have physical therapy practices within the area, and an upstart physical therapy practice needs to differentiate itself from the competition in order to succeed. With that in mind, here are several ways in which a physical therapy practice can effectively market themselves to new clients, and also retain existing ones.
Branding
While it’s not realistic to be the next Nike and Apple, these are brands that you can learn from in terms of how they built their recognition. While a physical therapy practice is inherently limited by its location, its branding does not have to be. Branding in this sense includes everything from your logo to how you appeal to your customers. You should also turn your loyal customers into spokespersons for your physical therapy practice by offering incentives and discounts. Additionally, you can use patient self-assessment questionnaires to better refine your branding and reflect the positive aspects of your business.
Internal and External Marketing
Both internal and external marketing play key roles in marketing a physical therapy practice. External marketing refers to any type of marketing that you undertake to new clients. This can include promotional mailers, which are a great way to introduce yourself to a local community as a physical therapy practice. However, keep in mind that there are certain best practices you need to follow so that your physical therapy practice does not come off as sloppy or indecisive. Finally, when using external marketing tactics, you need to make sure that you ultimately drive efforts to focus your traffic online, as digital advertising is both more efficient and more cost-effective than direct mailing.
Once you have new customers in your system, you can advertise to them through what is called internal marketing. This includes the aforementioned patient self-assessment questionnaires as well as providing an excellent patient experience. This will encourage these patients to go online and write rave reviews about your physical therapy practice, which are extremely important for local SEO and overall digital discovery for your business. Additionally, you can tout these reviews on your website and social media accounts for additional exposure.
Marketing a physical therapy practice is no easy task – but if you follow the above tips, then you’ll be able to gain traction in no time. Aside for focusing on marketing efforts, you’ll also want to assess the competition and make sure that your marketing efforts surpass what they have to offer. Oftentimes, particularly in smaller areas, there is no room for multiple physical therapy practices just based on the population and patient needs, so if you are going to create an upstart physical therapy practice, you need to double down on your marketing efforts and promote yourself in a unique and compelling way to the local population. Only then will you be successful in establishing your physical therapy practice.