Technology is Changing Medical Marketing Strategies
Medical practice marketing has changed more than any other industry in the last decade.
The changes in technology, how patients find doctors, and the overall increase in competition has made it necessary for physical therapists to adapt their marketing strategies.
If you’re a physical therapist, you know that medical practice marketing plan is essential to growing your practice. But where do you start? There are many options and figuring out what will work best for you can be overwhelming.
Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. This guide will cover two critical pillars of effective marketing for physical therapists: targeting your audience and digital marketing.
By focusing on these vital areas, you’ll be well on your way to growing your practice and staying ahead of the curve.
Audience Targeting
You likely already have a good idea of who can benefit most from your physical therapy services. Now is an excellent time to learn who your potential clients are.
Your marketing efforts will be more effective with a highly targeted audience. A targeted audience includes age, income level, gender, interests, and types of reading material that your potential clients read.
Research the common traits your clients share and then ask yourself questions like these:
- How does my audience learn about my physical therapy services?
- Why does my audience need physical therapy from me?
- What or who influences my audience’s purchasing choices?
- What drives my audience to seek my services?
Another way to further target your audience is to look for competitors near you.
Think beyond just physical therapy, but other similar services as well. Then ask yourself how your services are different or better. Identify what sets you apart.
Once you’ve got your answers to these questions, it’s time to get creative with your marketing strategy and target the specific needs of your potential clients.
It’s also good to realize that a happy client will likely refer others to your physical therapy clinic and bring in more clients.
Knowing our target audience is where effective client nurturing comes in.
Client Nurturing
Do you know that feeling when you walk into your favorite cafe, and the barista greets you by name with a warm smile?
Or when you open your mailbox to find a personalized note from your neighbor thanking you for keeping up with the landscaping?
Those are what we like to call “the warm fuzzies.” And creating them should be a priority for any business – especially in the healthcare industry.
At their core, the warm fuzzies are all about creating a positive customer experience. They’re the little things that make a big difference in how someone feels about you, your brand, and your services.
And when it comes to healthcare, patients with positive experiences are more likely to stick with their care plan, recommend you to others, and give you higher satisfaction ratings.
So how do you create warm fuzzies?
It’s about paying attention to the little details and going above and beyond for your patients.
It could be as simple as sending a handwritten thank-you note after their appointment or stocking the waiting room with healthy snacks and magazines. Or maybe it’s something bigger, like hosting a patient appreciation event or starting a loyalty program.
No matter what you do, remember that the goal is to make your patients feel good about you and your practice – so they keep coming back, again and again, and they refer their friends to you.
Client referrals can result in life-long clients that will stay with you for years.
Digital Marketing
Traditional marketing efforts have expanded with online marketing. The internet is omnipresent, making it a way to extend your reach exponentially.
It all starts with having a presence for your business on the internet.
Now is an excellent start if you still need to create an online presence for your physical therapy business.
Build a Business Website
Suppose a potential client can’t find you when they search online. In that case, it can make your business appear less legitimate. That is not a message a professional massage therapist wants to give.
In today’s age, people expect that if you have a business, you also have a business website. If you don’t have one, it’s easy to get one. DigiBIZ can help you build a great website.
Here are some essential points to consider with a website:
- Make it a simple and clean layout
- Have content easy to find and organized
- Ensure that it is easy to navigate
- Have your name, address, phone number, and service information readily available
- Make it easy for visitors to book an appointment
Have a Website Blog
The best way to keep your website updated with intriguing content is to start a blog.
In addition, blogging is an excellent way to boost your rankings in search engines.
Caring for clients doesn’t cease with the bell. Investing in continuing education is key to creating deep, meaningful connections that last beyond a session and ensure quality healthcare.
To keep your patient’s wellness journey going, equip them with health and prevention insights on your blog. This is a great way to build trust in you as an expert while putting more eyes on your brand.
Your advice is not only helpful to your patients but can also foster trust and loyalty. This will help you build a positive brand that stands out in the healthcare industry.
As a result, the very next moment they seek physical therapy, they’ll remember you as a reliable source of information—which is good for business.
Here are some blog pointers to consider:
- Publish to your blog consistently. Once per week is ideal, but once a month would enough if you can keep to it.
- Post relevant content. Knowing your target audience is an asset in coming up with topics that would be helpful to them.
- Promote your blog posts on your social media channels.
- Be sure to always respond to comments.
- Exercise your creativity to keep it fresh, exciting, and professional.
Utilize Online Directories
Most everyone searches for what they need online, and directories are like the online yellow pages.
If you’re not listed, they may not know you exist.
The most extensive guide is Google, where more than 100 billion searches are happening monthly.
If you haven’t, the first thing to do is to get your business listed with Google My Business.
Other places to list your business include:
- Yelp
- Bing Local
- Yahoo Local
- CitySearch
- Foursquare
- YellowPages
- SuperPages
One super important thing to remember is to keep your information the same in all directories. Make sure you list the same name, address, and phone number (NAP) in each one.
Your website and social media channels should also have the same NAP listed. This action makes your business appear more legitimate to search engines and can increase your rankings.
CONCLUSION
As a physical therapy business owner, you may feel like you are constantly juggling a million different tasks.
Yet, despite your challenges, you can still give valuable care to your patients.
The key is to focus on two pillars:
- Targeting your audience and
- Digital marketing
By doing so, you will be able to grow your business. Choose one or two strategies to work on this month. You will be developing your physical therapy business by taking these small steps.
