Marketing for Physical Therapists

Anyone who has any experience in the physical therapy profession knows that marketing can be somewhat of a different animal. Why? The main reason is the particular predicament the profession is in.

There are many specialties and professions for whom getting referrals is quite important, such as any highly specialized physician or dentist. But to depend on referrals almost exclusively is an interesting place to be in, as many of you may agree.

I have had many clients who have started a cash practice and worked very hard at it, some of them successfully getting away from the yoke of having to have referrals from physicians. But hard work is the key here.

The medical industry operates on traditions. Medicine is one of the oldest professions, rightfully so, as Man was always interested in staying healthy and pain-free. So, the medical profession has a few hundred years of advantage over other newcomers who now have to depend on being referred patients to them. And this tradition is hard to break. But it can be broken. I have had many clients say near the end of the Referral Program that now they have doctors (yes, you heard it right) ask them for advice and help to develop their practice, as they were very impressed with the client’s visibility and prestige in the community. Now, that turns things around, does it not?

The first thing to understand is that your profession is one of the most effective in the medical industry as it gets the result of a healthy patient or a patient returned to health and normal activity. So, shouldn’t you be the one referring other professionals? Think about it!

The next thing to do is to learn how to develop professional relationships that make the playing field level.

The third thing to do is to maintain the level of quality so high that the results speak for themselves.

Is this a long process? Maybe. But there is light at the end of the tunnel!