Physical Therapy Marketing Secrets
James Ko
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 05:13:59 -0500 (CDT)
Physical Therapy Marketing Secrets
Physical Therapy Marketing Secrets
Physical therapy marketing secrets and step-by-step instruction to achieving independence and freedom through private practice success. Generating new business for your practice is the single-most important aspect of your practice. Everything else can be figured out as you go as long as you have paying patients coming in through your door. You might be the best clinician with the greatest manual skills but without enough business you will eventually close your doors. It's sad but I've seen this happen. You might know everything there is to know about billing and collections but without enough business you will go out of business.
What is the secret to generating new business and PT marketing? First it's knowing that no one wants to buy "physical therapy". What they want to buy is the ability to sleep again painfree, to pick up and hold their child painfree, to work painfree, etc. Second is to offer this service in a very appealing package and deliver it to your entire community.
Let me also say that this is a full-time job. You, the owner, the PT, cannot do it all. The amount that's involved in running a physical therapy business, even a small one, is great. All the way from treating to cleaning, to accounting to billing, to training to advertising, to hiring to bookkeeping, you can NOT do it all. It literally takes a minimum of four people to adequately do all the things necessary to effectively run a private practice successfully. If you don't have enough funds or business to hire more people than you have to start with the tasks that are most important. Here is a quick list of the most important tasks for a private practice.
1. Have something exciting to say. And it can't be "I'm good with my hands." It's not exciting. Every therapist is good with their hands. Create a special technique, name it and build a reputation with it. Develop a special program specific for elbow injuries, name it and create a demand with it. Once you have done this visit us at www.IndeFree.com and we'll help you to the next level.
2. Advertise it. There are many affordable ways to accomplish physical therapy advertising that have a high return on the money spent. Let us know if you need assistance.
3. Promote it. Create a brochure that details your special message and start a class or "Open Clinic" that gives your community a taste of it, then ask them to give your brochures to friends, family and physicians. This spreads more quickly than you think.
4. Sell it. Charge a one-fee, all inclusive price to gain access to it. Do NOT charge per treatment but per goal met such as a 60-day program for $599 and at the end of care they will walk away being able to sleep through the night painfree, run painfree, etc. Make it a fee-for-service program. If they wish to use insurance they can attempt to get reimbursement on their own (you give codes).
Let other tasks wait or let others do them. The tasks above are the $1,000/hour tasks that NEED to be done. And when done, generating business will be easy to automate. If you have a good product like one mentioned above you can eventually automate new business flow. The alternative is to wait for physicians to "send" you patients...which may take time. Less than 5% of people who would benefit from physical therapy services actually get referred for it by physicians. You can tap into this market if you wish, if you have something exciting to offer. Remember that to someone who can't play golf due to their elbow pain, a program that alleviates elbow pain quickly is EXCITING!
James Ko, MPT, Senior Advisor of the IndeFree Association and Elite therapist at the IF Center of Excellence. Go to http://www.IndeFree.com for more information and more secrets to achieving independence and freedom through private practice success.
Private Practice Course http://indefree.com
Billing Secrets http://physicaltherapybilling.com
Private Practice News http://privatepracticenews.com
Onine reports to physicians http://indefax.com