Case History: Turnaround Despite Deep Recession (PT)
As a solo physical therapist in the St. Louis area, Mary Openlander, PT, had experienced years of lackluster growth. By the time she relocated her practice in 2008, the deepest recession in 80 years had gripped the nation. Mary was virtually starting over at the worst possible time.
Knowing she had to do something to put her Physical Therapy Innovations practice, which was perhaps the best kept secret in her area, back on the map, Openlander turned to Practice Builders for help. Earlier in her career, she had enjoyed a brief positive experience with Practice Builders, and she believed they could help her again.
Her goals were simple and straightforward:
- Increase her practice revenue 20%
- Attract new patients for cash-based services
- Step out of her comfort zone and become her own practice rep until she could afford to hire one
- Gain synergy with her husband's behavioral psychology practice
- Position the practice as a unique, boutique-style, alternative PT practice, with a one-patient-at-a-time treatment philosophy and a soothing, calming, relaxing loft environment.
Mary faced several obstacles. Her new practice was in an abandoned cinema building in a competitive marketplace (St. Louis). She was doing very little marketing, and the patients she wanted to attract were completely unaware of her. Mary also had no support staff.
But she found one at Practice Builders. Practice Builders developed a comprehensive Strategic Marketing Plan to achieve Openlander's goals, focusing on four areas:
Brand Identity
Market research showed that Openlander's practice was located in a neighborhood of young urban professionals. These prospects, who are more interested in elective procedures and receiving personalized care than in finding the lowest priced care, were just the kind of prospects Openlander wanted to attract. It was simply a matter of telling her unique practice story and motivating them to come in.
A new promotional practice brochure, (branding tagline: "relieving pain and restoring life • one person at a time"), a new marketing resume for Mary, new letterhead and business cards, a presentation folder, a pass-along special-offer invitation and a new branded website all worked to show ideal prospects the unique benefits of seeing Mary (a certified Trager practitioner).
Internal Marketing
Practice Builders taught Mary how to track the source of every inquiry phone call into her practice. Practice Builders developed scripts to help Mary maximize appointment bookings and conversions.
A welcome letter was sent to all new patients along with the practice presentation folder, new brochure and a marketing-style resume. These instilled high confidence and a sense of hope in new patients and established an emotional connection between patients and Openlander.
All callers to the practice were directed to the new website for future consideration, even callers who did not make appointments. The practice's new website was registered with search engines, local Chamber of Commerce and various associations. The domain name was prominently featured on all marketing materials.
Mary also began to ask patients for referrals. This is one of the most effective internal marketing strategies for any practice — and it cost Mary nothing! Practice Builders trained her to listen for certain positive feedback statements from patients that would allow her to ask for referrals in a completely natural, confident way. Mary also used her new pass-along special offer invitation to facilitate the patient referral process.
Practice Representative Training
Practice Builders developed a 2-day on-site Practice Representative training program that was completely customized for Mary herself, as she had no support staff. This included advanced phone skills training and real-world practice rep training experiences with her trainer at her side. These experiences gave Mary confidence in her ability to step outside her personal comfort zone and act as her own practice rep. It also gave her the knowledge she would later need to train someone else for that position.
Results
In July, 2009, Mary had her highest grossing month since August of 2001! She also enjoyed her second highest grossing third quarter ever in 2009, nearly doubling her gross income from the third quarter of 2008.
Mary's practice followed a steady upward trend in terms of gross income and client contact hours from February through July of 2009. Amazingly, this occurred while the United States was experiencing its worst recession in 80 years! Mary was also able to hire a new practice rep. This allowed her to focus all of her time on patient care.
"I've gained a new level of skill and knowledge about practice marketing," said Mary. "I love the support I receive from Practice Builders."
What was the key to Mary Openlander's success? She listened to her %%PRACTICEBUILDERS%% marketing team and followed a custom-designed strategic plan created to achieve her own specific goals. That became the foundation for her success.
%%PRACTICEBUILDERS%% can create a strategic marketing plan for your practice, targeted to achieve your goals, meet your needs and build the kind of practice you have always dreamed of. We did it for Mary Openlander, PT. We can do it for you, too.
Call us toll-free at 800.679.1262 now to discuss how %%PRACTICEBUILDERS%% proven marketing methods can achieve success for your practice in any economic climate.