Marketing

[mackenziephysio]

Can anyone tell me how they initially got clients into their private practice, I am based in the UK, and am in the process of setting up my own practice, i have set up a website and am in the yellow pages but would like some advice about how to increase my client base.
Thanks

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[alophysio]

Hi!

Get people better and FAST. Then tell them to tell their friends and family how good you are (and don't forget to get them to tell their doctor as well).

By far, most of my patients come by word of mouth. Yellow pages is only there as a break even - the money i spend on it = money i get from it. If it ever goes below that, i pull out!

Track your referrals and implement strategies to maximise the client base you want - of course, you hve to know what you want!

Lastly, whatever you do (and it seems like you *lurve* Mackenzie!!), do it well. You must believe you have something to offer otherwise you wouldn't have set up on your own, right? Just remember, there is more to manual therapy than just Mackenzie! Follow his rules and classification system and you should be fine - I see too many people purport to be Mackenzie treatment providers who give everyone extension exercises - obviously not what Mackenzie advocated!

Good luck! Don't be afraid to sell yourself. No one wants to see a therapist who is unsure of themselves!

[mackenziephysio]

hi
thanks fot the reply, I am a neuro physio (Mackenzie is actually my name!)
that is why i am finding it a bit harder to find clients, lots of people have contacted me re sports inuries but as you say reputation is the most important thing and as its not my specialtiy and a number of years since i did outpatients i have avoided treating those people.
Any other ideas on how to make the first contact? Word of mouth is ok once you get a few people in.
Thanks

[alophysio]

Hi,

Sorry about the name thing!

A simple response would be for you to consider doing 2 things:
1. Learn Musculoskeletal Physio
2. Change the name of your practice to indicate your speciality so you don't get calls where you disappoint people.

If you want to practice in neuro only, then i suggest you set up strategic alliances with the physios around you.

What this means is that you go there and tell them that you ONLY want to do neuro and if they refer all their neuro patients, you will refer the patients who call to their practice. To be fair, it would be by geographical map. If there are 2 or more practices in the same map area, the patient will get all 3 names in a random order.

You then do the same to the local doctors - tell them that you are only interested in dealing with neurological cases and not interfering with the other physios. If the doctors already know you have a strategic alliance set up with them, they may feel like they are not betraying their physio contacts.

I would then pound the pavement and go to all the nursing homes, hospitals (both public and private) and give educational talks and information sessions. Try to get the hospitals to recommend that people see you upon discharge.

Personally, i think it would just be easier to see the musculoskeletal patients!!

I would get maybe 1 person/year who needs neuro physio in my practice. Most of them are taken care of thru the hospital outpatients. Maybe the lack of patients that are coming to see you is just because it is a small subgroup of patients.

Also, a lot of people who have strokes or neurological disorders don't have the money to spend on private treatment whereas people who can afford to play sport can often afford treatment.

I hope this helps!

BTW, you can always run a FREE week for your client speciality then half-price for the rest of the month to try get people thru the door but make sure you convert them to your line of thinking so they come back!

Thanks