When learning any new skill (or mastering one you’re already great at), checking in with professionals is usually the first stop. However, with physical therapy marketing, only a handful of PTs unlock their full outreach potential. The ones that learn how to implement targeted marketing strategies tend to book out their services more often and strengthen their brand image in the local community.
So how are the pros handling their physical therapy marketing? And what advice can they give to edge out the competition?
It’s crucial to understand a patient’s happiness level during and after treatment. But does a zero to ten Net Promoter Score (NPS) tell the whole truth? Probably not, but they’re touted by professionals as valuable tools for PTs to determine who’s advocating or detracting from your practice
The NPS score is all about timing and simplicity if you want the best results. Asking patients, “How likely are you to recommend our practice to family or a friend?” is one of the most impactful ways to gain valuable insight. Deciding how to present your NPS survey to patients is another important factor. Some professionals survey patients in person; others will send an email follow-up. Here are some considerations to make when choosing your method of delivery:
It’s best to email all patients, regardless of if they’ve completed treatment, as it will give you more transparent, actionable results.
Enhancing the NPS with a comments section can unlock the good (and bad) feedback you need to improve your practice. Approaching customers with a simple NPS survey will help them feel their opinion is valued, provide insight, and help PTs solve problems to encourage better loyalty.
While most physicians have a basic understanding of physical therapy, it’s probably biased towards specific use cases like recovering from an injury or surgical rehabilitation. And while those are important topics to touch on, many PTs offer a wide variety of services—some of which physicians haven’t considered—that can enhance a patient’s quality of life. Education is the first step in bridging the knowledge gap and attracting more patients to your practice. You can use webinars, newsletters, pamphlets, and other marketing material to boost awareness and help physicians see the many use cases of physical therapy.
Professionals will often take marketing their practice a step further and share patient feedback with their referring physician. Nothing says “good job” better than seeing a satisfied patient testimonial. It makes the referring physician look excellent and promotes cohesion between professionals—hopefully incentivizing future referrals.
According to Transaction’s eCommerce statistics, 81% of shoppers research their products online before purchasing. And if people are researching which chairs to buy on Amazon, they’re likely to investigate their physical therapist.
Your website is the first impression patients receive of your practice, and if it’s not up to speed—they’ll look elsewhere. Here are some pro tips on how to get your website in great shape:
When writing each website section, ask yourself, “what’s in it for the patient?” Every line you write should be purposeful. Many PTs make the mistake of focusing on what their practice does rather than how physical therapy can make a patient’s life easier.
Creating a blog on your website boosts organic search engine optimization, builds authority, and gives you an outlet to establish yourself as an industry leader.
Many professional physical therapy websites leverage the power of patient testimonials on their main page. You can use these testimonials to establish trust and attract new business.
Advanced digital marketing techniques like email and social media are difference-makers in your marketing strategy. For example, professional marketers collect email addresses via their website by creating a newsletter sign-up section or pop-up.
You can collect or send emails using platforms like Mailchimp or AWeber. However, PTs should limit their communications with patients and only send out valuable information, like invitations to webinars and links to physical therapy blog articles—anything the patient will perceive as helpful, actionable information.
Physical therapists who are active on social media have a megaphone to connect and engage with the public about physical therapy. LinkedIn is arguably one of the most important marketing tools for practice owners because of the potential to connect with future patients and providers. On social media, you can educate your patients, establish yourself as an industry leader, and connect with hundreds of industry professionals likely to give you an excellent recommendation if you cultivate a business relationship.
Start slow and choose the platform best suited to your target audience. This research paper published by Pew Research breaks down the biggest demographics across social networks so you can pinpoint the most effective solutions.
Once you choose a platform, master it before adding another to the mix. Getting your profile, messaging and content stream right on five different platforms is a tall order. Use one and build your digital presence over time.
Marketing ideas are constantly circulating, telling you how to increase new patient acquisitions and current patient loyalty. Of course, as a practice owner, you can’t be expected to implement every solution, but using patient-centric marketing in every communication can significantly increase your success rate. Pair this with specific digital marketing efforts such as email, social media and an excellent website for enhanced results.
Furthermore, patient testimonials help to provide a better experience for future patients and can be used to build relationships with physicians. And while using all these methods seems overwhelming, the pros didn’t get there overnight either. Implementing one new messaging channel (such as LinkedIn) every few months can help you ease into a winning digital marketing routine.
If you’re simply too busy to handle your own marketing, you might benefit from a more streamlined practice management solution. With MWTherapy’s all-in-one software, you can seamlessly handle scheduling, EMR, billing, communications and more all on a single platform. With MWTherapy, you can free up time in other areas so you can give time to those that matter most. See for yourself and try a completely free demo of our product.
