Just back from my family trip to “Dubai” and checking in on the PT Entrepreneur message board.
Word for word, here’s a great comment I found that I wanted to share with you:
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“Let this encourage you for when it seems like things are not working like you had planned…just got this from my Harrisburg office receptionist:
New patient, was referred to us by Facebook. She saw your post about the workshop a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t make it.
So she decided to make an appointment with us instead.
She will also be coming to next workshop in a week and a half :)”
– Dean Volk, Volk PT. Harrisburg (NC)
Let me break this down for you…
…because it’s so vitally important to understand that Marketing directly to a consumer is now about one single thing:
“Snagging their attention”.
It’s not always about the initial “ROI” that you get from running an ad in the newspaper, or on Facebook, or even from a postcard…
Because if you’re targeting the right group of people… with the right message… and talking to them in their words, talking about their problems and offering real, tangible solutions to those problems…
…then you WILL get their attention!
And eventually, their business!
What “Dean Volk” is pointing to in his comment above is the fact that he ran a “Facebook” ad offering a seat at a back pain workshop some weeks back…
This one lady SAW IT – didn’t book a seat at the workshop directly from the ad…
But because her attention was “snagged” by the promise of some REAL HELP from a company that seems to know how to help HER…
…she rang up a few weeks later and booked an appointment instead.
“Hey Presto!”
The magic of communicating about THEIR problems (…and not how great a PT service you might have!).
Anyhow…
The bad news is that it’s getting harder and harder to get any initial response from ANY ad you might run…
…which is why I NEVER encourage a one-time stand alone ad – it’s just too hard to make work and it can very easily discourage you from running any more (ads).
There always has to be a strategic plan involving multiple media – with multiple runs tested for different offers and headlines!
These days instead of worrying about “one ad”, I spend almost all of my time at my own clinic working out a plan that involves new ways to “BUY” the attention of prospective patients I want to work with…
Which over time, leads to HIGHER response.
I’ve picked my perfect patient…
…worked out what problems they are living with daily…
…and repeatedly communicate with them using different media to prove to them that we – at the “Paul Gough Physio Rooms” – are the perfect provider of choice for them.
Is this contray to what most marketing guru’s and text books are telling you that it’s all about the “ROI” of the one single ad???
“You bet it is”!
That’s because it’s a long ball strategy…
And not every PT wants to play long ball…
They want to run the ad today, hear the phone ring tomorrow, cash the cheque on Friday – and eat on Saturday.
That was fine back in the last decade when “attention” was easy to come by…
Now-a-days it takes a lot more than a random Newsletter or a “one-off” Workshop to build a successful PT clinic that lasts.
Anyhoo…
Want some help to get going with this type of marketing plan at your practice?
Sincerely,
Paul Gough
- Violating Social Norms and Outdated Levels of Thinking - 22nd October 2020
- MORE from LESS: The Go To Strategy During A Financial Downturn (Like here in 2020) - 15th October 2020
- How To Confidently Sell Your Physical Therapy Services - 29th April 2020
- Telehealth: What Does The Future of PT Look Like? - 17th April 2020
- How To Get More Buy-In From Patients - 16th April 2020
- Telehealth: Have You Already Done It Without Realizing? - 16th April 2020
- Telehealth: What Is the Most Important Thing You Can Sell Right Now? - 15th April 2020
- Telehealth: Is A Marketing Funnel Needed Right Now? - 14th April 2020
- Telehealth: What Happens To Discovery Visits? - 13th April 2020
- Telehealth: How Will I Compete With “Big Box” Insurance Companies? - 10th April 2020
