Figuring out how to market your rehab practice can be a daunting task—especially for clinicians who went to school to become exercise experts rather than marketing gurus. Luckily, we have several PTs who are well versed in the marketing world – Heidi Jannenga, Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer, WebPT, PT, DPT, ATC, PT, DPT, ATC, and Brian Gallagher, Founder and President, Business Management, MEG, PT – Discuss marketing best practices during our latest webinar. (If you didn’t catch it, you can check it out here.)
As you may know, there is a 15 minute Q&A session at the end of each webinar; however, we had more questions than we could solve in our allotted time (which seemed to fit our brand very well) . So we’ve collated the unanswered questions in this helpful FAQ.
digital marketing
How can we stop Google from showing search results that contain old pages from providers we no longer work with?
Fortunately, it’s a fairly easy fix! You can start by updating your website to reflect any changes in your staff or practices, including removing or archiving old, outdated pages. If you do this and Google is still showing these inaccurate results, you can ask Google to remove your search results by following these instructions.
What kind of organic content should our clinics be posting while we wait for our ad spend to start converting patients?
Creating organic content from your wheelhouse is a great place to start. If you have an expert certification, or are a local expert on things like running or endurance training, start there. You have the expertise potential patients want, and publishing your insights will only increase your reach and engagement.
If you need specific advice on posting on social media, check out our recent interview with Julie Wiebe, MD, PT, DPT, President and Clinical Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Michigan-Flint.
How does ZocDoc manage to consistently rank in the top three of Google’s organic search results?
Because so many people go to ZocDoc to search for suppliers in their area, its reputation as a trusted source of information gets a boost from Google’s algorithm. It also helps that vendors also link to their ZocDoc profiles on social media or on their website. It certainly doesn’t hurt that their website has countless clinicians across the country in a variety of specialties, so when patients are looking for a healthcare provider, they’ll show up in a ton of keyword searches. In short, what’s been a popular site easily continues to be a popular site. Still, that doesn’t mean your practice can’t land in the top three local search results with some savvy SEO tactics.
Where can I find the rules for Physiotherapists PPC ads on Google and YouTube, Facebook and Instagram?
For physical therapy, APTA has developed guidelines for advertising for physical therapists. If you’re looking for rules and restrictions from social media or search platforms, you can check out Google’s Advertising Policies or Meta’s Advertising Standards.
Patient Reviews and Surveys
What strategies can you employ to encourage your patients to write Google reviews?
Sometimes the best place to start is a simple question. When a patient is in the clinic and you’re having a conversation about their care and progress, use this as an opportunity to ask them if they’d like to write a review on Google. You can even take it a step further and add a QR code to a business card or smartphone for patients to scan and submit their review on the spot.
If you need a little help soliciting patient reviews—or are looking for creative ideas—engage your staff in fun, motivating activities for clinicians and patients. A great example we’ve seen practice adopt is encouraging patients to leave a comment and vote for their favorite therapist – who are then rewarded with a pie in the face. Or, if you oversee more than one practice, motivate staff with a practice-to-clinic competition to see who can get the most Google reviews, with the winning practice receiving a gift card or other small prize.
Should we have patients complete quarterly satisfaction surveys instead of reassessments every six months?
The frequency of surveys depends largely on your customer base and how you want to utilize your NPS score. In some cases, the clinic sends an NPS survey after each assessment, a two-week follow-up survey, and a survey at discharge.
Obtaining NPS scores at each reassessment is of course a good idea as pediatric cases are often taken over a longer period of time, but conducting another survey between the initial assessment and six months can provide more data and insight into your patient experience .
Referral marketing
How Often Should You Contact Top Referral Providers?
As we mentioned in this blog post, referral marketing is a lot like dating — in any relationship, communication is key. With this in mind, reach out to your top referral sources as often as needed to learn about their patients. In some cases, having a direct phone number with a referral source can be useful for a quick check-in text message.
If direct contact is not feasible, sending a progress note with your patient for their next appointment is the next best thing. Or, if you want to take relationship building to the next level, ask your patients and referral sources if they can follow up with the next follow-up—an idea Gallagher came up with during the webinar.
What are some email marketing strategies for referral providers?
To echo what Gallagher said during the webinar, referral relationships are best built in person through meaningful in-person conversations. That said, if you do want to try email marketing with a provider, you should follow the same guidelines as you would in their office – highlight patient testimonials and outcome data. Referring physicians want to refer their patients to the clinician who can provide the best care and maximize patient satisfaction – and it’s up to you to prove you’re the right person for the job.
marketing indicators
What are the best practices for measuring conversion rates?
In order to measure your conversion rate as accurately as possible, you need to track all the traffic your practice receives. That means every visit, every click to your website, landing page or social media post, and every interaction with an ad campaign you’re running (often with the help of Google Analytics). From there, it’s a relatively simple calculation: divide the total pageviews or visits by the number of patients you’re attracting from those sources. According to this Wordsteam article, the average conversion rate for most businesses is between 2% and 5%, although top performers are closer to 10%.
Marketing Best Practices
What approaches are available for specific patient groups such as police officers, teachers or construction workers?
Often the best place to start is the source. Local unions for police officers and teachers can prove to be a great resource, and building relationships with these specific professions can be a source of internal referrals.
One example we know of comes from a Chicago-area clinic that created a police program. After successfully treating several police officers and implementing a value-driven workers’ compensation program, the clinic was outfitted with a portion of the space to simulate active-duty law enforcement officers. The result was more referrals and even contracts with local departments for job medicals related to law enforcement applications.
What are your tips for a successful October is Physical Therapy Month campaign?
If you want to build a marketing campaign around PT month, check out successful national campaigns and create smaller ones that work for your company. For example, APTA advertised its ChoosePT event well in October to help raise awareness; why not try something similar in your area?
Making October a PT provides a great opportunity to market your practice through social media and other digital marketing mediums. Use this national campaign as a call to action (CTA) to get patients to get active, get out, and visit local PTs for a variety of services your clinic offers.
You can also plan some community outreach, such as offering injury screenings, health counseling, or other free services that highlight what your clinic has to offer. Or, if you’re looking for something bigger, you could try Gallagher, his clinic’s version of the fall festival, with games and activities in one of his clinic’s parking lots. No matter what option you choose, use community outreach to build your brand with those near you.
Of course, it is impossible to cover every issue that may arise when marketing your practice to patients and other providers. Your business and customers are unlike anyone else, and bringing in new business requires an approach that fits your needs. But luckily, you have no lingering questions and are more confident in how to create a marketing plan that works for you.
If you feel you could provide more guidance to your marketing practice, Gallagher is offering webinar attendees Free Practice Assessment and Save $1,000 Instantly Their most popular Platinum program at MEG Academy! Just contact info@megbusiness.com for more information or to get started.
