A well-rounded physical therapy marketing strategy should include a great website, an executable plan for your inbound digital marketing, and even some well-placed paid ads. However, if you’re not harnessing the powerful benefits of word-of-mouth advertising, you may be missing out on one of the best opportunities to grow your business.
The Best Physician Referrals Are Past the Front Desk
As a practicing PT, physical therapy referrals are a major pillar of your business. That said, getting to the source of these referrals is often a challenge. Before you can meet with a doctor, you often have to make it past their desk staff or assistants.
Still, getting the referrals your practice needs to grow doesn’t have to be an impossible task! Here’s how to get past the front desk and get face time with the doctor, ultimately resulting in increased referrals.
Getting Your Foot in the Door – And Out of Your Mouth
There’s an important element of successfully getting physical therapy referrals that you need to know: The front desk staff is not your enemy. Rather, they can become one of your greatest launching points.
Similar to your own staff environment, the front desk often sets the tone for a doctor’s entire day! Taking the time to learn some names and treating these professionals with respect and dignity can often pave the way to the executive decision maker.
Keep these tips in mind when dealing with the physician’s front desk:
- Confidence and keeping your cool are half the battle here.
- Understand the preferences of that office (ex. next day appointments requested; preferred forms of communication, etc)
- Get to know the front desk staff on a personal level and use their first name and interested in every conversation
Once you establish a relationship with the front desk, you can learn about their pain points – and position yourself to be the best person to solve them. Sometimes, this may even require a little additional research into “the face behind the phone.”
Seeing practitioners’ assistants as people also fuels another benefit: building your “fanbase” free of charge. This is what inbound physical therapy marketing is all about!
Involve Your Network to Grow Physical Therapy Referrals
Do you have a common connection with the physician you’re trying to build a rapport with? For example, sharing a mutual patient’s testimonial can be a serious advantage when forging new partnerships!
- It’s key to continue exuding that same confidence we mentioned earlier.
- The decision maker behind your physical therapy referrals ultimately wants to feel like they’re connected to your practice.
- They need to know that they’ve made the right decision to send their patients to you. Sharing patient results can help reinforce this!
Getting – And Keeping – Physical Therapy Referrals Extends Beyond the Office
While referrals from practitioners are a tremendous driver for your business as a PT, they’re not the only way clients find your services! You’ll need to optimize your digital marketing strategies and build a high-performing physical therapy website that redirects patients to what you have to offer.
A great way to separate yourself from the competition is to get started by exploring our website design and redesign services! We work specifically with physical therapy practice owners – so we understand your unique needs and audience.
