You guys asked and I listened… I’ve finally come around to answering one of the most asked questions in Private Practice PT.
… in some way or another, I get this question a lot and it is becoming increasingly important as the general population continues to age…
The question: How do I attract seniors to my practice for physical therapy?
First off, I think this can be a really loaded question, but I am going to break it down for you using a very simple principle that you can use in marketing your private practice going forward.
Whether you want Direct Access, Out-of-Network or Cash Pay, whatever that may be relative to seniors, this is how you want to look at it…
The first thing that we are going to do is take a look at is something that I’ve blogged about in the past…
Dan Kennedy’s triangle of Market-Message-Media Match.
We need to define the market, then we need to craft the message to that market. Finally, we need to deliver that message using the correct media for that particular market.
Step 1: Define The Market (Seniors)
When you are talking about “seniors,” it is kind of a vague term. So we need a way to define who the market is… the way that we break this down here at Madden Physical Therapy is as follows:
- Category 1 – You have 45 to 54 year olds.
- Category 2 – You have 55 to 64.
- Then Category 3 – You have 65+.
By the way, if you go to Facebook or most other places where you are dealing with demographics, they will break it down in the same exact way.
We know what the market is… It is 45 to 54-year-olds, or 55 to 64, or 65 and above.
Step 2: Determine The Best Media For Seniors
Now, this is what you want to do…
Use the triangle and go back and you think, “Ok, what type of media do 45 to 54-year-olds utilize and what do they respond to?”
We have found, just through testing, that it is a very specific, local niched newspaper. They will respond to print ads and this group will also respond to Facebook.
Pretty simple.
There is not Twitter for 45 to 54-year-olds . There is no other social media, Snapchat, Instagram or anything like that. They respond to print ads and Facebook, at least from our rigorous testing.
Again, this is specific to us in Central Pennsylvania. You are going to want to test this same exact thing.
But now…let’s move on to the 55 to 64-year-olds… Guess what?
Same exact thing.
Pretty simple game, print ads and they will respond to Facebook as well.
But this is where things get interesting…
When we get to 65 and above, it is really print ads and direct mail that gets the most responses…
So we will do print ads for them
There are two very specific niche newspaper that seniors in my area respond to. The Paxton Herald and 50+ Senior Living. We get the greatest pull of 65+ year-olds using print ads in those newspapers.
Obviously, those newspapers are specific to the Central PA area. You will have to find the appropriate local newspapers for your area.
Seniors also respond well to direct mail. In fact, they will respond to mail a little bit better than some others. It is just what they are used to, so we usually send them a postcard.
Now that we have the market and we know the media, then we craft the message for each group.
Step 3: Craft The Message
So we have the market and the media. Now we need to talk about message… and this is the most important part…
I took a survey of private practice owners all over the country… I asked them: What is the biggest mistake they’ve made in their marketing?
Everybody talked about media. Nobody talked about their market and nobody talked about their message. The message has to be focused on the biggest pain or desire for each specific market.
So think about this… if you are 45 to 54, is there a different message that you are going to respond to versus if you were 65 and above?
A 77-year-old may be afraid of falling or losing independence. Certainly they want to feel younger again, but the pull is more towards being embarrassed that they have to rely on other people. So it is a very specific message to this group….
It is mainly focused on independence or embarrassment.
When we are crafting a message for somebody who is in that 45 to 54, it is more about feeling young again. For 55 to 64, it is staying active.
A little more sophisticated than your average marketing campaign, but if you really want to figure this out…
- 45 to 54, what is it that they are looking for? Feeling young again.
- 55 to 64? Staying active.
- And 65 and above? Independence and also the emotion there is feeling embarrassed that they have to rely on other people.
So you are going to use that as you are crafting your marketing message.
Then what you will find… and especially with something as easy to manage as Facebook… is you can go through and you can test different headlines and you can see what niche, what target market, what Facebook group, what Facebook campaign is working the best for each market.
Really, really simple concept, but it helps you be very scientific in your marketing.
That is how you apply the Market-Message-Media Match when you are talking about how you attract seniors.
This is only a small piece…one specific marketing strategy… of a much bigger pie. However, this concept will revolutionize the effectiveness of your marketing if executed correctly.
Deadline Approaching
If you are interested in learning more of these strategies and you’re serious about taking your practice to the next level then read on…
We are closing up registrations for our Killer Direct Access Marketing Class this week and we only have a couple spots left…
The next class doesn’t start until June, so if you want REAL RESULTS and are motivated to TAKE ACTION in your practice then this is your chance…
In the class, we share exactly what we’re doing to succeed in Private Practice…
- How to Attract Direct Access Patients and Not Rely on Physician Referrals
- Facebook and Google Ad Words Advertising
- How to Build a Complete Patient Experience Funnel
- How to Survive Hospital Systems Buying Up Referral Sources
- How to Get Referrals from POPTS Physicians
If you are in private practice…and you’re interested…then you’ll need to apply to join the group.
If you’re serious about taking your practice to the next level and think you’re a good candidate for the next class go to https://breakthroughptmarketing.com/direct-access-marketing-course/
Complete the application.
You’ll schedule a call with one of the Coaches I work with to make sure you’re a good fit for the program…
Once in I’ll be happy to show you how to build direct response marketing systems in your practice…
To your success,
Chad
PS — The featured image of this blog post was taken from our Killer Marketing Member Facebook Group. The member, Arlan Alburo, signed up 18 Full Plans of Care in his VERY FIRST workshop. Huge shout out to Arlan! Join him and over 300 other members when you apply for Physical Therapy Marketing Training.
