In 2021, you need to make a few moves if you want to stay relevant to the market and your patients. Keeping the stream of clients incessant regardless of the social circumstances might be hard but not if you succeed at building brand confidence.
Your private practice cannot breathe without the implementation of reliable marketing tactics. We’re not talking here about any fishy ways to get your random people to sign up to your newsletter. We’re talking about legit practices that take your potential patients from knowing nothing about your clinic to suggesting it to their friends.
Creating a trustworthy brand your patients can rely on means paying close attention to every detail that has the power to deliver a message and boost awareness. This is not only what patients see on the outside, but what happens within your staff too.
Chances are that you have a favorite place where you eat almost always. If you’re going there consistently, that’s a successful business and we can learn so much by analyzing it. You keep frequenting the place most likely because the food quality is unchanged. People love consistency and only by keeping your standards up will you get to succeed.
Revealing your brand values not only when promoting your services, but simply to boost the awareness of your audience it’s essential. Patients want to feel confident with their choices. When you’re able to consistently deliver value and establish that connection between your brand and them, your practice will gain new clients with ease, build on feedback and enhance the service quality.
Here are the main points we think you should focus to establish a reputation for your brand:
Think about it: what would be Apple without, well, the bitten apple? What would be McDonald’s’ without the Golden Arches? What would Nike be without its famous Swoosh? These brands are known worldwide thanks to the great branding tactics. Your logo is the very first thing your customers see. Every business needs a stylish logo that stands for the values of your brand.
How do you go about creating an excellent logo that represents your clinic the best way? Finding a skilled logo designer is a step, but you need to provide him with the right instructions for a good outcome. We’ll go back to your patients because they have all the answers. Ask them whether they indeed think about your current logo (if you have one), what it represents, its uniqueness, and identifying power? Your logo tells much about business standards and its credibility. Don’t neglect it.
Everyone has heard Bill Gates’ famous quote: “If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.” Your physical therapy website is a crucial component of your online presence besides your social media channels. Unless you’re truly sure your audience hangs out entirely in social media, you need to have a website.
Everyone with an internet connection can open a Twitter or Instagram account, but setting up a website is a bit more complicated. Therefore, having a website boosts your credibility. Hard to believe? Don’t trust us, trust the statistics. More than 80% of people head over to the internet for answers for health-related issues. And when they find your website, rest assured they are looking to jump into action if you present a reasonable solution.
The aesthetics part of a website tells a lot about the investment made by its owner. A website gives you the chance to present to your potential patients what you offer, in the most impressive way possible. The way you organize information has the power to immediately convert, and if not, to raise awareness. Next time your potential patients see you on social media, it’s like recognizing an old friend. You already know so much about them, and creating trust in them is pretty easier.
Being found on the internet is all about keywords, and having a blog gives you the chance to drive both organic and paid traffic to your site. Blogging is about value. The more in-depth answers you can provide to your patients, the more your readers trust you.
Your website may have an excellent homepage where you promote your services in the most attractive way possible, but it’s still not enough to differentiate you from the competition. Value is what makes the difference, and free value says a lot about you.
You were waiting to hear this, no doubt, but what can we say about this topic that is not generic stuff you can find on the first page of Google. We suggest you cross-promote your social media through your website and vice-versa.
You must make sure that at the end of each blog post is attached a link to your Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook account. Each platform has its advantages and handicaps. For instance, Facebook is great for creating your own community by using Facebook groups, but the audience that frequents Facebook nowadays is made mostly of inactive average age or old audience that prefers to read the news and never engage with posts. You’re less likely to find athletes and youngsters.
But, at the end of the day, you can always coordinate your content to reach an audience that cares about your content for real. Target different ages, by adapting to the demographics in each platform, and don’t be afraid to experiment. The biggest mistake you can make is to think a platform has nothing to offer (okay, if we’re talking about TikTok, it may not, but at the end of the day, that’s a way way to put your brand in other people’s faces too!) With a little bit of imagination and persistence, you can yield great results. The best part is that you don’t have to think too hard about doing social media yourself because we can take that time spent out of your hands, letting you create more of what matters more: growing yourself as a therapist and growing your business.
Regardless of how good your staff is, if there is a lack of connection, collaboration, and set standards within it, keeping the quality pace of your services is challenging. Grades and experience may turn into a hurdle if you don’t create some kind of equity. Sessions with patients turn into mechanical action, and patients can spot the lack of energy around.
Fuel your staff with the empowerment they need to resonate positive energy and collaborate effectively. Start by establishing a business mindset they’ll embrace and engrain into their routine. If you invest in creating this kind of relationship within your staff members, you’re investing in patient satisfaction. A few things you can start with:
Similar to famous slogans you’ve heard, having a mission statement gets everyone on the same boat feeling united. Your mission statement should speak to the unison of your staff to provide value to patients. It should be well-tailored and connect to the public.
Simply being on one platform doesn’t let you connect with all of your patients. Some people have no Facebook or Instagram, but love reading newsletters and the opposite. You need diversity, but this doesn’t mean being all over the place with less-than-average content. Forcing your message through the wrong platform may hurt your reputation if done wrong. Still, a deep studying of the market is needed for a fair evaluation of whether or not a platform is for you.
Oh, we all know the excitement of the first social media post, article, or Ad running. The thing is that everything hits a tipping point where you cannot handle it, and things become challenging. Posting every day is no more fun and as the algorithm starts to dislike your presence you feel as if ditching everything.
Hence, there is a reason why you must find skilled individuals who have the patience and creativity to keep the frequency up and never put your audience to sleep. Sharing stories of successful treatments regularly and getting to know what your audience wants, is something we know how to do and do it well, even though you can do it yourself too and see how effective it is. The question is: how do you maintain excellence as a physical therapist without being cocky or boring? We have a few tips for you:
The positive feedback you get from a single customer has the power to transform your brand. Make your patients feel important and you will receive not simply good words, but valuable testimonials you can use to attract, and convince other patients.
Don’t expect your therapy to be flooded with visits when you are aware of your capabilities and you know how bad a previous feedback has been. Bring the convenience of getting in touch, facilitate payment processes, and have a responsive customer service who takes notes of patients' feedback rightfully.
It’s all about quality. We get it. Doing all yourself lets you provide that first-hand experience with every single patient, but as the stream of patients goes up you will have to delegate work. Not doing this will result in lower quality work and loss of patients and reputation.
Branding is the real key to succeeding in physical therapy and almost every kind of business. Your brand is either going to make or break your reputation. Marketing is essential, but without value upfront, you can’t go too far. As a private practice owner, you’ll quickly see instant growth after implementing what we’ve spoken above. Your brand represents the very heart of your business, team, and purpose. Dedicate it the required attention, because a confident brand, means a confident staff and a thriving private practice! Feel free to hover your mouse over this word here, for more help for us.
Do you want to supercharge your physical therapy marketing? Download our Free Evergreen Marketing Blueprint for Physical Therapists and start creating long-term assets that generate new patient bookings for years to come.