How to Market Physical Therapy

Would you agree that Physical Therapy can help a person about a hundred times more than most people know? And that if you were to ask the general public what Physical Therapy is, you would get blank stares in many cases?

You would say, “But what does that have to do with Marketing?” Exactly! If marketing creates a want for something, have you ever wanted something that you didn’t know existed or how it was used? Probably not!

This is why, before you even start to think about Marketing, you need to think about the groundwork necessary to get there:  Public Relations.

This is a differentiation that has been confused for some time in our business environment. Marketing and Public Relations are two words that have even been used euphemistically for “Sales.” So you get sales reps handing you business cards that say ‘Joe Blow – Public Relations Representative’, or ‘Marketing Specialist’.

Getting back to how you can make what do known to the public, this requires a lot of grassroots work that may or may not result in new patients that are clearly traceable back to the Public Relations work. It requires patience and dedication on your part, but it will pay off.

Some of the actions I am talking about are community activities such as marathons, fairs, free lectures for specific audiences, screenings in community events, etc. As you get visibility while in action, the public will start to realize what you do.

Actions like the above most likely result in opportunities for further activities with specific groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce, adult day care centers, large corporations, private clubs, etc. Again, while these actions are not targeted to get you reaches, they might, and the opportunity should be offered to the attendees.

With this kind of visibility, prospective patients will realize they need your services and will seek you out, via a referring physician or directly. We have helped hundreds of clients through a very organized program that includes (among others) these actions and the results described above have been obtained. So, I am speaking from experience on this one.