The day my new patients dried up

I've realised through the building phase of my 'Profits' program that I don't spend nearly enough time talking about marketing.

There are a lot of 'experts' in the field who sell their (somewhat sleazy...) marketing strategies.

And this was never a space I wanted to compete in.

But, for all that, I once again discover a self-limiting belief of mine.

I'm actually pretty good at marketing.

For one reason, and one reason alone.

I've had to learn the hard way.

My market of none

My clinic actually took off quite quickly back in 2018.

The first quarter we opened we had double digit new patients just about every week!

Our location, our signage strategy and our core brand carried a lot of this traffic.

But then something happened.

We returned after the summer and all those new patients had dried up.

Nothing in our strategy had changed but for one thing...

There was a MASSIVE carpark renovation happening at our shopping centre.

And it was right at our front entrance.

Nothing kills foot traffic like a construction site.

We went from 12+ new patients per week, to less than 5.

This happened after I hired my first physio, a new graduate.

All of a sudden, I had some hustling to do.

I was way behind the eight-ball.

Consequently, we hit a pretty big lull.

In fact, it probably took 6 months, if not more, to get back on track.

If you're not ahead, you're a step behind.

Having started with such a bang, I hadn't actually done a lot of marketing beyond our launch.

I didn't have time, I was too busy treating.

And so when we hit this blip, I really hadn't done much more than send out a few GP letters.

I lie, I was a machine with writing letters, and I'd personally dropped these off at those clinics.

But GP marketing doesn't really deliver much.

We ran regular lunches and hustled up some Medicare patients...

But that didn't exactly move the needle on profits.

Luckily, I was adept at building relationships too.

Something I'd learnt from my time in London.

Marketing that actually works

The only form of marketing that actually works is that done consistently.

Marketing done slowly, methodically, with a clear outcome in mind.

Something you can measure, tweak and change as needed.

The truth is, a lot of the best marketing strategies are slow burn.

They work, and work really well.

But they take time to implement.

Hence why everyone sells quick fixes...

"50% off your next consult if you book in the next 24 hours..."

Rather than go down this route...

I suggest to my private clients to BUILD referrer networks.

Make friends

The idea is pretty straightforward.

You find people who sit in your niche market.

They already see YOUR patients.

Eg. Orthopaedics, radiologists, or other allied health professionals.

And you work together to create a multidisciplinary team.

A mentor of mine always says, "the people at the top are collaborating".

The idea makes a lot of sense but for many of you, it falls over.

The execution often leaves a lot to be desired.

Everyone makes the same mistake.

They go out there guns blazing, get knocked down... and they don't go again.

Boom!!!... and then bust.

The power of persistence

The most important thing in referrer marketing is buoyancy.

Being able to bounce back after getting knocked over.

When we build that resilience, that grit.

The world becomes a lot more manageable.

We realise that most people are just BUSY.

They do want to work with us,

We just need to get in front of them.

PS. Keen to learn how to get in front of more potential referrers?

The best place to start is building that referrer engine...

Create Diverse Physio Practices

Shane Guna | Physio Business Coach | Founder Gun Physio Academy