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Writer's pictureMorgan Meese, PT

The Wrong Way to Market for Your Telehealth Practice

If you’re a physical therapist or other healthcare professional looking to lauch your telehealth practice, marketing your practice is going to be critical for your business to thrive. 


I’ll be the first to admit that there are an overwhelming number of strategies for marketing a telehealth practice and oftentimes I see new practice owners suffer from “analysis paralysis.” They don’t know where to start or what it is they need to be marketing, or how to go about it. 


Of course, as with anything, there are good and bad ways to go about a process. Marketing your telehealth practice is no different. During this post, we’re going to focus on the worst ways to market a telehealth practice, along with the solutions to ensure you’ll be on your way to a successful practice!



Don't Keep It a Secret

For starters, not telling people about your cash based telehealth practice is the number one mistake I see most practice owners make. This sounds simple, but when new practice owners are getting started, I often witness they feel this sense of intimidation or imposter syndrome that prevents them from speaking out. 


Learn more about how to ditch imposter syndrome in the blog post here.


It could be that they’re afraid to fail or worried what others will think of their decision to start a practice. No matter the reasoning, this is the number one marketing tactic that has to be corrected to land your first paying client. Afterall, how will people know you’re open for business if you don’t tell them?


When I first started my cash based practice, I struggled with this same problem. It was challenging to say confidently “I own a physical therapy practice and I help people with this.” To ease my nerves, I first started with telling family and friends about the practice. This helped me gain confidence in what I was saying and how I would answer questions. Gradually, these conversations got easier and telling complete strangers became a lot less intimidating.


Avoid Vague Advertising

The next mistake I’ve seen is new practice owners trying to sell physical therapy. Again, this may seem simple, but in all honesty the majority of the general population doesn’t know what physical therapy is. Even worse, they may have a different perception of what physical therapy is as compared to the services you offer, resulting in poor leads if you happen to get any.


Instead of focusing on selling physical therapy, I would encourage you to focus on marketing the problem or problems that you solve for a specific population of individuals. This is what I call niche marketing. As we’ve talked about in the past, establishing a niche is critical for developing a solid marketing strategy and ensuring the people interested in working with you are the right fit.


An example of specific marketing would be developing a unique selling point such as “We offer online physical therapy to help women exercise without peeing their pants.” As you can see, this foundational marketing message clearly targets a specific problem for a specific group of people. Potential clients are more likely to reach out if they see you offer a solution to their problem rather than a vague service, not to mention it will help your sales process go much smoother.


Learn how to effectively sell physical therapy for cash in the blog post here.


Don’t Rely Solely on Being Online

This last mistake is another very common one and honestly the time of being able to market that you offer online services that actually get patients interested in working with you is long-gone.


One of the positives that came with the pandemic was a boom in the telehealth and online healthcare service options. Not to mention, that these services are much more accepted from a patient and insurance standpoint.


With that being said, the pandemic was over 4 years ago and the concept of receiving healthcare services online isn’t new anymore. Yes, it’s still convenient and some patients prefer it, but it can’t be what you hang your hat on when marketing a telehealth physical therapy practice.


If you’re hoping to emphasize the convenience of offering online services, here’s an example of a unique selling point that incorporates it: “We help busy postpartum moms get back to exercise pelvic and low back pain through convenient online services so that they can be seen in the comfort of their own home.” Once again, you’re offering a solution to a problem but making sure that your telehealth services are also highlighted for potential clients to consider.

Creating a Strong Marketing Message

An extra tip to better summarize what is needed to ensure you’re creating a strong marketing message, include these three key points:


  1. Specify the Problem You Solve: Clearly state the problem(s) your client faces.

  2. Highlight Your Solutions: Explain how your services can solve these problems.

  3. Target a Specific Group: Focus on a particular audience that needs your help with these problems.


By focusing on these three key points when it comes to your marketing message, you’ll ensure your digital marketing and offline marketing efforts will reap the best benefits possible.

Learn why every PT should be doing content marketing in the blog post here.

Conclusion

To sum up the worst ways that a practice owner can market their telehealth practice and solutions to these mistakes, remember these three key tips:


  1. Avoid Not Telling Anyone About Your Practice: Get the word out! Tell friends, family, and use social media to let people know you’re open for business.

  2. Refrain from Vague Advertising: Be specific about the problems you solve and the solutions you offer. 

  3. Stop Relying Solely on Being Online: Don’t assume that the online aspect of your services is enough to attract clients. Emphasize the specific benefits and solutions you provide.


As intimidating as marketing for your telehealth practice may seem, it’s actually very straightforward. We need to make sure you are explicitly communicated what population you work with, the problems you solve, and how to get started working with you. 


But if you are still on the fence about how to get started and want to make sure you're on the right path, I would be happy to assist you in this process. Schedule a free discovery call with me here and we can discuss your practice, goals, and the best options for marketing your practice.


Or if you’re in a spot where 1:1 individualized guidance for starting a practice and running a business sounds like something that would better suit your needs, you can learn more about our DPT to CEO Business Coaching program here.


Listen to this episode on my podcast!

DPT to CEO the podcast

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