Who spreads the word about your practice? This is a question that any physical therapy business owner wanting to grow their private practice should be able to answer. Once defined, It is good advice to tap onto this resource to increase the revenue that you currently have.
There are certainly a myriad of options that one can utilize in marketing physical therapy services. Here are two primary methods in which potential patients can find out about your practice.
- Patient to patient marketing – When a patient tells another individual about their satisfaction over your brand of physical therapy, you stand to gain referrals.
- Referral generation – This method is focused on physicians. Both patients and physicians are in the position to tell tens or maybe even hundreds of patients.
As we all know these are only two sources of referrals. Others include a physical therapy business website, ads in the local newspaper, local businesses, books, newsletters and other information tools that can passively build the recognition your practice needs.
The key question is: Which of these sources are the most powerful, and are you in a position to identify the individuals creating the biggest momentum for your practice? More importantly, are you communicating with them on a regular basis and nurturing them to take your practice to new heights?
The number one mistake that most physical therapy business owners make is to focus time and energy on marketing ideas that are untested and unproven.
For your private practice to truly grow, you must identify the ‘trigger individuals’ and treat them in a special way. The smart physical therapy private practice owner does not treat everyone the same (from a marketing standpoint). But one thing will remain constant, and that is constant patient communication plays a vital role in effectively marketing a private practice.
The best value for your time as a business owner is spent identifying your target market, recognizing the triggers that motivate them to refer and communicating with them in a relevant and timely manner.
This is the difference between a stagnant practice and an explosive one.