You already know it costs more to attract a new patient than it does to keep existing ones. But do you know exactly how much? According to the Harvard Business Review, replacing a client can cost up to 25 times more than it does to keep an existing client.
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You already know it costs more to attract a new patient than it does to keep existing ones. But do you know exactly how much? According to the Harvard Business Review, replacing a client can cost up to 25 times more than it does to keep an existing client. Fortunately, sending out direct mail pieces, like postcards and newsletters can be just the tools you need to bring past patients back into your clinic. The right direct mail piece can also motivate more doctors to send clients your way. All in all, it’s a good marketing method for your practice to adopt. 1 CREATE YOUR DIRECT MAIL OFFER When you’re creating a new direct mail offer, it’s best to come up with an icebreaker of sorts. That is, you need a reason to be reaching out to new doctors or to your past clients, particularly if you haven’t spoken to them in a while. While it’s perfectly acceptable to send “just because” direct mail postcards to your past clients, you really want to go into this campaign with a purpose in mind. Ask yourself what you want your past clients to DO as a result of your campaign. For example, do you want your rehab therapy direct mail piece to encourage them to come in for a free screening? Or would you like to get more doctors to refer patients to you?
2 ASSEMBLE A LIST FOR YOUR DIRECT MAIL Once you’ve decided on the purpose of your physical therapy direct mail campaign, it’s time to assemble a list of people that you’ll send the piece to. That’s why it’s critical to decide ahead of time what you want your campaign to be about. If you know what the goals of your campaign are, then you also know which audience would appreciate your offer. Here’s an example. Let’s say that your physical therapy practice offers a vegan cooking class once or twice a month. (It’s part of a complimentary healthy lifestyle series you have in conjunction with your other services.) Let’s also say that your physiotherapy direct mail campaign is directed at getting more people to attend this class. 3 WRITE + DESIGN YOUR DIRECT MAIL ITEM The human brain is made for images, much more than any other kind of sensory input. According to Social Media Today, the human brain will process visual stimuli 60K times faster than it will text alone. Studies have also proven that adding relevant images to your brochures, websites, social media posts, etc. allows people to retain at least 65% of the information in the campaign.
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In other words, you need visual imagery in your direct mail pieces to create the kind of impact that you want. For this, it’s best to hire a graphic designer if you don’t already have one in-house. Don’t underestimate how important this is. 5 Key Tips To Electrify Direct Mail For Your Practice
Did you know you could be missing out on an extra $25,000?
4 PRINT AND MAIL YOUR POSTCARDS
Once your direct mail piece is designed, it’s time to look for a printer. Businesses like Mail.com, ITI, and Vistaprint all offer printing services as do we. You’ll need to instruct your graphic designers to submit files for printing. Many printing services prefer PDFs or PNG files. For the least hassle, it’s best to have your graphic designer communicate directly with the printer. Eventually, you should get a proof back from the printer. A proof is a sample that allows you to see what the final product will look like. So, if you’ve ordered a postcard, then you’ll get a sample postcard with your design on it. Check for any misspellings and mistakes. You also want to check to see how the design looks. If you have changes to make to the design, make them and then send the new digital files to the printer. Repeat the process until you get a proof you like. Once you decide on a final proof, order your postcards and mail them out.
5 MEASURE THE RESULTS OF YOUR DIRECT MAIL PIECE
Creating and sending out your direct mail represents only one side of the coin. You need to know if it is an effective marketing piece. In order to determine this, you’ll need to add something to the piece to allow you to measure its effectiveness. In other words, are people contacting you because they received your direct mail piece? Or is there another reason why so many people are calling your physical or occupational therapy business? A couple of methods work to reveal the nature of the calls you’re receiving. First, you can create a special phone number and put it on your direct mail pieces. The only people who have that phone number should be the people who received your direct mail piece. Track the number of calls you get on that phone number. Another alternative to this is to put a special code on the mailer. When people call in, you can ask them how they heard about you. If they give you the code, then you know they’re responding to the direct mailer. The same holds true if the call-to-action on your mailer asks people to bring the postcard to the office with them. Second, if you get an uptick in reactivated patient numbers or doctor referrals after you send out the physiotherapy direct mail piece, then there’s a good chance these are coming from your mailer campaign. Third, compare your original list of recipients with the names of the responders. You should see a strong correlation between the list and the people who responded to the offer.
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How to Overcome “Scroogy” Patient Cancellations During the Holidays
The #1 way to make sure your PTs’ schedules are full this holiday season is by having an effective PT marketing plan. But what do you do when a patient calls to cancel an appointment? Neil interviewed Dee Bills, Front Office Guru and Founder of Fix Your Front Desk , about how to overcome patient objections during the holiday season. Here’s how Dee took her clinic from a 75% show-up rate to a 95% show-up rate! 1 BE PREVENTATIVE AND PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE “There’s a perception of ‘busy-ness’ or stress around the holidays. You have people who are getting better who think ‘maybe I don’t need this.’ So how do you handle that objection? Don’t be pushy. Any time you induce force into something, people push back. We need to guide patients where we want them to go. When you become the guide, they are more likely to follow you.” A final word: “When you’re being reactive, something bad has already happened, and now you’re trying to regain control. When you’re proactive, you can guide patients where you want them to go. So, you need to script things around prevention.”
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CONTROL THE SCHEDULE
When A Patient Calls to Cancel...
“Your Front Office team has to understand that their sole role in the practice is controlling the schedule. We don’t want 10 same-day cancellations. That makes the front office less efficient. Now they’re scrambling to call around and get patients to take spots. If one can prevent a same-day cancellation and get 24 hours’ notice, then they can help someone else get in for care.
DON’T SAY...
If you cancel on the same day, I’m going to charge a $50 fee.
If you say this, the fee becomes a threat. Then the patient will say “Bring it on! I’ll fight you!”
CALL YOUR FRONT OFFICE TEAM “PATIENT CARE COORDINATORS.”
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What does a ‘Front Office Rep’ even mean? Calling them ‘Patient Care Coordinators’ really describes what I want my team to do. They are Patient Care Coordinators; their job is to manage patients so Physical Therapists can actually treat them. “When the front office doesn’t understand their role, there’s more frustration. The PTs step in where they shouldn’t, which makes them inefficient as providers. There’s confusion, and reactiveness kicks in. When Patient Care Coordinators see their valuable role in the practice, they will take control of the patient experience instead of just answering calls. That helps them as humans, too.”
DO SAY...
Hey— I know it’s crazy busy for you this week. I know you’re probably doing some last- minute Christmas shopping, but it’s really important to help you not fall behind on your progress to schedule an appointment for next week. Let’s make sure you can attend.
The key here is explaining the benefits and the purpose of scheduling an appointment.
Listen to Neil + Dee’s full conversation on “Overcoming Holiday Cancellations” on the PT MARKETING POWER HOUR podcast, wherever podcasts are found.
INNOVATIONS UPDATE
PhysicalTherapyMarketing.com
Get certified training from PT industry leaders, clinic owners, and physical therapy marketing experts! PhysicalTherapyMarketing.com is here to help you with free resources like training courses, marketing plan templates, and email campaigns to get you more new patients. These resources are designed specifically with getting your clinic more new patients! Intro courses are now being published!
Throughout 2022, we are on the mission to hire the right people to continue bringing you the best possible service. Welcome to a few of our newest rockstars, Aisha Borden and Landon Ward.
Meet Landon! Google Ads PPC Specialist
Meet Aisha! Onboarding Specialist
I am so thrilled to be part of Practice Promotions. It’s been so refreshing to be around so many creative people all at once! I’ve felt my life change while taking advantage of physical therapy over the past year and I am amped to bring that passion to my work so we can help others get the help they need to move, feel and live better every day! Outside of work my husband, Tony, and I run an e-commerce business within health and wellness by giving people access to high-quality vitamins, vegan skincare, and botanical- based cleaning products. I also hope to one day start a podcast and reconnect with local bands and musicians I worked with as a radio DJ and Local Music Director! A perfect day for me is watching Star Trek while eating Chinese food between Tomb Raider missions.
I joined Practice Promotions in August 2022, and while I’m new here, I’ve been working with PPC for almost four years. Most of this time was spent managing digital marketing for a full-service advertising agency specializing in senior living, where I built, managed, and reported on all aspects of digital marketing and website analytics for my clients. I have been very excited to be here at Practice Promotions and working with professionals across North America to market their practices. My favorite parts of my job are the nuances of consumer behavior and engaging with my clients on strategies to promote them and their brands. I like staying active and connecting with others to balance work from home. I enjoy competing in disc golf tournaments, climbing at local gyms, and having game nights with friends.
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