July 24, 2023
Strategies for Growing Your Physical Therapy Practice
Whether you've just kicked off your private PT practice or been rocking it for a while, there's never a wrong time to brainstorm ways to get more clients for your clinic. Why? Because growing your therapy practice ensures your business stays profitable, allowing you to provide quality patient care.
This begs the question. What strategies can you actively try today to bring in more PT clients?
So stretch those business muscles and learn how to scale your PT practice!
1. Physical therapy marketing
It's the necessary evil that businesses have put themselves through to get in front of their target audience. Marketing can be rewarding as it is challenging.
Digital marketing is the ultimate way to get your clinic and grow your brand. But it's not just about creating a social profile. To truly connect with your potential patients, you must have a plan that speaks directly to their needs. Harness the power of online advertising and local media outlets. Even with a limited budget, strategic implementation can yield a favorable return on investment and effectively spread the word within the community by actively engaging with local media channels.
Practical Tips for PT Marketing 101
Utilize online promotion and local media outlets: Harness the power of online advertising and local media outlets. Even with a limited budget, strategic implementation can yield a favorable return on investment and effectively spread the word within the community by actively engaging with local media channels.
1. List your clinic on online directories such as Google My Business, Yelp, and Healthgrades. These directories often rank highly in search engines and can drive traffic to your website.
2. Host webinars and workshops on relevant health topics to attract new clients and build your reputation as an expert. You can possibly partner with other health providers so you both can benefit!
3. Contact local newspapers, magazines, and radio stations to promote your clinic. Offer to provide expert commentary on health topics or offer a free consultation for readers.
Build a following through social media: An active online presence is a great way to engage with your audience and discover what content speaks to them.
1. Identify your target audience by determining your ideal patient; you should have your buyer persona defined by demographics, interests, and behaviors. This information will help you tailor your social media content to their needs and preferences.
2. Encourage user-generated content by letting patients share their experiences on social media and tag your clinic in their posts. This will help build social proof and credibility for your clinic. (You can incentivize this by offering a discount on their next visit!)
3. Leverage visual content by sharing photos and videos that showcase your clinic and highlight your services. Visual content is more engaging and shareable than text-based content.
Developing a strong brand identity: Have your clinic stand out by establishing your business and how it differs from your competitors.
2. Differentiate yourself from competitors by understanding who your competitors are and how you can differentiate yourself from them. Consider what unique services or expertise your practice offers that others don't.
3. Create a memorable logo that's easily recognizable and communicates the essence of your practice. Choose colors, typography, and imagery that reflect your brand values and resonate with your target audience. (Who says marketing can't be fun and colorful?)
2. Focus on Offering Exceptional Patient Care
A big part of your practices' success depends on what customers or clients feel about your service. They can become advocates by sharing their satisfaction with their experience or choosing to come back as returning clients.
How to give the ultimate patient experience
Build strong relationships with patients: Undoubtedly, you exemplify excellence as a PT, demonstrating genuine concern for the well-being of your clients. However, it's important to recognize that your connection with them extends beyond the confines of a scheduled appointment. Patient engagement is an ongoing endeavor, and here are some effective strategies to foster and enhance it.
1. Encourage happy patients to share positive reviews online so that you can respond to them. This demonstrates your commitment to checking on their experience and boosts your online visibility to attract new clients.
2. Building trust with your patients is key to ensuring their return. Make sure to provide personalized appointments and programs at your clinic. When they feel valued by your care, customer retention will soar! Tip: PtEverywhere helps you track patient data and access everything you need on one dashboard!
3. It is crucial to educate your patients about their condition, treatment options, and what to expect during therapy sessions. It helps build trust and can lead to improved patient outcomes.
Provide individualized care that addresses the patient's specific needs: By tailoring treatment plans to each patient's unique needs and goals, physical therapists can improve patient satisfaction, retention, and communication, while also differentiating themselves from competitors and building a successful practice. Success in this area is a big win for your PT clinic! Here are some areas to optimize:
1. Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of every patient to assess their physical abilities, limitations, and goals. This will help them develop an individualized treatment plan addressing the patient's needs. (Tip: PtEverywhere has a HEP feature that can help create helpful videos, guides, and how-tos or design interactive home exercise programs)
2. Based on the patient's evaluation, develop measurable goals that are tailored to the patient's specific needs. These goals should be achievable, specific, and time-bound. (You can communicate your PT plan with your client through PtEverywhere's patient portal)
3. Monitoring the patient's progress throughout the treatment process and adjusting the treatment plan as needed. This can help ensure that the patient is progressing towards their goals and receiving the care they need.
By expanding your marketing and improving patient care, your clinic grows
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, physical therapist jobs will grow 17% from 2021 to 2031. That means more competition and reasons to find innovative ways to grow your clinic. Instead of getting overwhelmed with various solutions, just focus on some key objectives like marketing and keeping patients engaged. By improving these areas, you're already on the right track to expanding your local practice.
Remember, having the right practice management system in place allows you to streamline your operations and spend less time on administrative tasks. This opens up more time and energy to focus on attracting new clients.
PtEverywhere helps you create an exceptional patient experience with its comprehensive practice management platform. Empower PTs to deliver top-quality care and boost customer satisfaction.
To learn more about PtEverywhere for 2023, book a demo or check out our media center for more therapy tips and tricks!