Many private practices have expanded their services beyond physical therapy and into complimentary fields, such as personal training, massage therapy, or exercise classes. These services often align with PT’s core mission of improving personal health and wellness in a holistic manner. But, some clinics struggle with the initial promotion and routine marketing campaigns of these services. It can be challenging to introduce a new service without having it compete against the main physical therapy treatments in terms of resources, budget, and time.
Examples of health and wellness services:
- Personal training
- Group training
- Exercise clinics or classes
- Gym memberships
- Massage therapy
- Yoga
- Wellness Coaching
All of the above can easily help patients transition into and out of PT, while keeping them engaged and active members of your practice. Fitness services (ie. training, exercise classes, workshops, and gym memberships) can be a great resource to offer patients as they are ready to discharge. Many patients, especially those suffering from isolated injuries or rehabilitation, can benefit from continuing their fitness and recovery at your clinic. Similarly, participation in auxiliary programs can help potential patients identify physical impediments or conditions that could be treated through PT. But how can you market these services without taking away from your main clinic?
Wellness Program Marketing and Strategies
- Feature one program each month in your practice newsletter. Include a write up of the program, photos of the services “in action”, and a participant testimonial.
- Include dedicated pages for each program on your website. Having the program’s name, such as Personal Training, in the page title, URL, and content will optimize that term for SEO and generate more traffic to your website.
- Insert a brochure or flyer about the programs in the discharge packet. Have your PTs counsel the patient about what program would be the best fit to support their recovery. Offer a discount (2 free weeks) to incentivize the program.
- Run bi-monthly or quarterly postcard campaigns that promote the programs and provide an incentive.
- Have a weekly post about your programs on social media or include a monthly blog post that highlights the benefits of a specific service.
As a practice owner or marketing manager, it is a delicate balancing act to support multiple services and programs. Your business plan should include monthly analysis of the marketing’s results and the program’s statistics (number of participants, number of new sign ups etc.). If you are seeing a growth trend, keep marketing and consider new channels to promote your program.
If you are seeing a decrease in response and participation, dive deeper into the possible causes. You could be marketing to the same audience and have reached all the interested participants. Or the market could have changed—did a new gym open, is another clinic offering the same service, or does your program need to be revamped? If there is an increase in local competition, try to differentiate your program from the rest. Gym’s often do not have PTs on hand to help with injuries and treatments, and some might not require certifications for their trainers or group exercise instructors. If your staff is certified, do a staff spotlight to show their training and expertise. Other PT clinics might be stiffer competition, but do they offer classes at the same times or as often? See if there is a gap in class offerings (early morning, after work etc.) and market your program’s variety of class times and days.
Breaking into a new program and marketing it successfully can be intimidating, but it will ultimately help to grow your practice. For more expert advice on marketing your physical therapy practice and services, contact us today!
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