Here we are, folks. The level of success we all aspire to reach; all-star and even hall of fame Physical Therapy practice ownership. You’ve branched out on your own, created a successful business, and designed a life that allows you the freedom you’ve always wanted. Well done!!
Months or years of hard work have paid off, and you’re finally in the clear from silly mistakes, right?… Wrong.
Even at the peak of PT ownership, there are still potential pitfalls you may run into. Let’s discuss the most common PT marketing mistakes made at these levels so you can avoid them and enjoy your thriving business!
All-Star Pitfalls
At this level of ownership, there are PT marketing strategies and systems in place, steady financial return and processes set up, so you don’t have to oversee every little detail! What kind of trouble could you possibly run into?
Ignoring metrics…especially advanced metrics
Just because your company is a well-oiled machine now, doesn’t mean you can ignore what the numbers are telling you. Metrics such as new patients, overall visits, or visits per new patient should always be considered. They give you a lot of information about the overall health of your business!
For instance, let’s say you’re bringing in 200 new PT patients a month, but only have five treating therapists. That is 10 new patients per week per physical therapist which may leave your therapists feeling a little overwhelmed. Ultimately, this leads to a low number of visits per new patient because your employees are overstressed and getting sloppy.
The influx of new patients is great, but if you don’t have the workforce to treat them appropriately your business isn’t a healthy one.
Keeping an eye on metrics will help you maintain a good balance and catch problems before they get out of control!
Stifling testing
No matter how successful you become, a portion of your marketing budget should ALWAYS be designated for testing. Even if your current systems are doing great, you never know when a small tweak could make a huge difference in the number of referrals you receive or maintain.
Remember, the market is constantly changing. Testing can help you stay on top of what works best for you at the present moment.
Lacking meeting rhythm and accountability
Regularly scheduled, transparent, communication among team members is critical to the success of your company. This keeps everyone focused on a common goal and creates accountability for each member to play their appropriate part.
Clarifying individual responsibilities fosters stability in the company and shines a light on negative outliers who may not be contributing like they should.
We’ve had good success with weekly meetings to check in on progress and promote accountability for everyone involved.
Freedom within boundaries
The systems you’ve put in place have helped create more freedom in your schedule. This is a good thing, but All-Star owners often fall into the trap of using too much of this time for things that aren’t related to their business.
For instance, using those four extra hours a day to work with a trainer or pick up a new hobby. While it’s perfectly okay to spend some of this new free time on personal endeavors, it’s crucial to set boundaries for how often you do this!
You got to this level by putting hard work into your business, so make sure to allocate some of this time to protect the valuable asset you’ve created.
Hall of Fame Pitfalls
We’ve finally rounded third and are coming in at home! The pinnacle of PT private practice ownership is the hall of fame. Owners at this level have successful marketing systems working for them around the clock and have mastered transparent team communication. They focus on advocacy for their profession and leaving a legacy for the next generation of PTs after them. How could they possibly still have anything to learn?!
Failure to see trends, implement change, or rock the boat
Hall of Famers are often resistant to change because they feel they’ve found something that works and don’t want to risk upsetting the balance. While it’s good to do more of what works, being closed off to new ideas often leads to a failure to see major trends in marketing until it’s too late.
Following new trends doesn’t mean completely abandoning what has worked for you in the past. However, if you ignore new trends for too long, your current marketing system will become outdated or obsolete, leaving you at a risk for loss.
Always been this way
This group of Physical Therapy owners have been in the game longer than most and thus are used to the PT profession itself operating in a certain way.
For example: Not so long ago, it was common to receive the majority of referrals from independent physicians.
Fast forward a few years, and hospitals are buying out independent referral sources leaving us with the need to market directly to the consumer himself.
If you continue to try doing things the way they’ve always been done, you’ll quickly find yourself struggling to find referrals wasting money on outdated PT marketing strategies and processes.
Keep an eye on what’s happening in the profession now, and don’t be afraid to dip your toes into new waters if you find your old methods are no longer serving you!
Post Game Wrap Up
It’s been a long game, and we’ve covered A LOT of information regarding the marketing mistakes PT practice owners most commonly make.
We hope this series will serve as a guide for PT owners from day 1, to help create and maintain thriving businesses!
If you’re hungry for more knowledge on this subject, The resources used to create this series will be listed below. They each come HIGHLY recommended for practice owners wanting to understand marketing principles and implement systems into their own business.
Keep working hard, guys! You’re doing great!
To Learn More About Our Proven Physical Therapy Marketing Services and Courses Please Click Here.
Resources:
Any Book by Ryan Holiday
Principles by Ray Dalio
Work the System by Sam Carpenter
The Transition Curve
