Any tips for advertising a new gait clinic?

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Hi,

I am opening new clinic and emphasing the lower limb biomechanics analysis/orthotic prescription.
I have a low budget for advertising (as have spent all my money on equipment)!!

Any tips for cost effective ways of advertising?

I plan to do lots of leaflet dropping with introductory offers and also an advert in local free paper over the next year.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

Get good at doing what you do, don't rip people off, then your patients will advertise it for you.

Before you open and advertise a specialist clinic, ask yourself this: have you got the experience, talent and ability to open such a clinic? If not don't bother. You can buy all the equipment you want, it doesn't substitute for your own skills and knowledge.

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

You need to get the local medical people to know 1 who you are 2 what you can provide for their patients and 3 overtime have constant results.

Adverts maybe a good place to let the community know your there but they wont bring in as many patient as word of mouth will.

So I would find as many physio, chiro etc in your area get a presentation together get a lunch time info meeting set up and go and discuss what you do how you do it etc. You will then begin a relationship which a letter in the post cannot.

Spend the time while you don´t have as many patients to meet face to face, will cost you less money and I beleive have better results, but make sure your presentation is good, to the point and give the people listening something to think about. ie Not so much about you, but maybe a small amount 5 min and then the rest on a few important biomechanical topics such as SALRE or FPI I tend to make in somewhat practicle if you can so they see what your explaining.

Hope that helps.

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

Leaflet drops, free papers? you know where they end up??!!

Don't waste your money, approach local physio's, orthopods etc. Get them in, show them what u do and all this fancy new gear you've got. Its cost you nothing and will help get you known. Like the others have said, its goin to take time, it's a word of mouth game. If your good, u'll get busy in time.

Good luck.

 

If you are confident in your ability things will work out and word of mouth is always best. Trust me if your services are great your patients will tell their family, friends, etc. Internet always works too try a free site like Craigslist and offer an Internet special. Good luck!

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

Foot Steps:

I second Dr. Spooner's opinion.

You can have the most expensive gait examination equipment in the world, but, at the end of the day, if you can't produce therapeutic results for your patients that are better than your colleagues, then this expensive equipment will be useless.

As for me, my technological equipment in my office consists of the following:

a 24 year-old grinder.

And my practice is as busy and as lucrative as ever. I wonder why I am so busy and others in my area that do have the technology are not as busy???

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

I couldn't agree more Dr Kirby.

I'm yet to see any foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon use these "toys". I think they must quietly giggle when they see patients who turn up for an opinion with reams of printouts following a podiatrists' fancy gait analysis assessment...but NO DIAGNOSIS. God knows I see this all the time.

I will always argue that good knowledge, a pair of eyes and a sensate index finger are all that need to diagnose and treat the majority lower extremity complaints. And when in doubt some lab studies, a Doppler and some imaging will help on the tricky ones.


LL

 

footsteps may I inquire what type of provider you are? What type of equipment do you have and how does that interface with what you provide? What method of casting are you using (pop, foam, optics etc)?

I've owned/used some fairly fancy technological equipment in the past but it has all been sold off in favor of very old school methods. Honestly I get better results after dispensing with the technology and opening my mind to learning, much of which was right off of this board.

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

Thanks for the replies. I don't have the fanciest equipment in the world and has purchased an ex demo with very little use. It is the same equipment that I used when working for someone else and it produced really good results for me.

I am not one for print outs and fancy charts etc and use the pressure plate and scanning equipment only as a tool for orthotics. The prescription does not come from looking at complicated analytical info but from showing the patient how they walk, explaining what is abnormal in the gait cycle, explaining how the orthotics will function.
Patients like to see something visual. I still do a Biomechanical examination and would never reply on a foot scan.

I have purchased the equipment as I was very happy with the orthotic lab (EVA full length orthos), their knowledge was comprehensive and their back up service great...plus only 3 years after qualifying I only had 1 patient who was unhappy with them, out of 30-40 a month.

I am not an expert, I am still learning and have a lot to learn. The practice I previously worked at were very much into selling orthotics and not so much into the biomechanical assessment. The bosses attitude was "orthotics will help anyone with foot pain" so it became a sales job, hence why I took the difficult (and financially insane) decision to start up on my own. I also worked autonomously at the clinic without any real back up. I won't be specialising in Biomechanics, it will also be a palliative care clinic but I think if you can't offer orthotic prescription nowadays then people will just go elsewhere. The biomechanical side of things is in a converted part of may garage which is attached to my general clinic.....so for those that think I have set up a very expensive system, it is not so.

I will not be relying on computers to diagnose, I like to watch patients walking, standing, do ROM examinations etc...it's what we do isn't it.

For those who think I am not experienced enough to have a clinic, just how long should I wait? I am confident with the examinations I used to do, and the results were positive, otherwise I wouldn't contemplate it.

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

Could it be that you are so busy because you are recognised as an expert in your field, and have been for quite some time and are a respected lecturer at the best Biomechanical training facility in Australia? We all have to start somewhere, unfortunately I did not get the Biomechanics training I had hoped for with my first employment in Australia, I pretty much learnt as I went along and from reading of this forum and a post grad course aswell as my own research...and what worked well previously..

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

footsteps

Dr Kirby probably is busy because he has a good reputation...but clearly not because he has spent thousands of dollars on toys.

BTW - you might note he is in California - not Australia.

LL

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

What gives everyone the impression I have spent thousands of dollars on toys?!!

 

footsteps 2,
I'm not a specialist in this area but I know it is a very competitive field. You may be really good at what you do, but is there a market for it in your area and what is your unique selling point that will put you ahead of the competition? This is what you need to promote IMO.

I agree that leaflet drops and ads in "freebie" papers are a waste of time with little more than a 2% takeup rate if that.

I think you would be far better spending the budget informing other health professionals of your existance and developing links with GP practices.

Good luck!

Dido

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

Just an assumption from the other thread you started:

Maybe we misinterpreted you?

LL

 

Hi Footsteps..

Network, network, network.. get out and meet people, give talks, do your thing, let them know you are there.

You will always come up against other practitioners who say you don't have enough experience, that you should get more experience.. But sometimes you don't have that luxury and you need to back yourself.

Know you limits and when to refer.. learn on the job. With a firm grasp of tissue stress many pure MSK injuries you can work out, even if you haven't seen them before.

Best of luck to you, and know that you have a wonderful resource here that will answer most of your questions.

Regards,

Sam

 

Re: ANY TIPS FOR ADVERTISING NEW GAIT CLINIC?

Point taken! I got the system as a demo price (new price $12,000 and I got for $5000).

I bought it as have used previously and was very happy with the results and do not have the confidence to make my own orthos from scratch..also the rthos they produce work really well with few complaints or adjustments.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound defensive.

 

Thanks Sam,

Leaflet drops are hard work and time consuming but I do have the time at the moment!! I have 20 home visit clients from a weeks leaflet dropping which I am really happy with.

Yes, there is competition where I live (the main one being my last employer). I live in a city (but not a huge one like Brisbane,Sydney etc) and there are other Podiatrists (3 who have clinics full time and 3 who do home visits etc). This is quite a lot for the area but moving is not an option at the moment as my partner loves their job and neither of us want to move out of the area!!

I am therefore doing what I can to get the business goingand have set up from home with minimum outlay to convert to a clinic.

I have spent the morning visiting doctors, physios and chiropracters in the area.

Many thanks for your reply.

There is a demand in the area but there are also 3 other Podiatrists providing the same service..allbeit with different methods and only one other with EVA orthotics through a lab (using same system I have bought).

Thete isn't an option to work for another Podiatrist in this area and I felt I wasn't learning anymore where I was (unless I researched myself). It was a sales job at the end of the day with a real push on seling orthotics rather than spending time trying to sort out the problem and diagnose before offering orthotics...does that make sense!

 

Footsteps,

I echo previous comments regarding putting on evening talks - get a group of Physios and Osteopaths together, give them some free nibbles and wine and give them some presentations on topics you know will interest them (i.e something which may change their clinical practice). It isn't about getting them in a room and saying you are the foot expert and they should refer x,y and z to you - this will probably just irritate them. Just give them free food, free CPD, talk with a complete understanding of the subject matter and your knowledge will be subtlety evident without you having to obviously 'promote' yourself. Then whenever they see something they aren't quite sure of (as we all do) they will remember the knowledgeable Podiatrist down the road. You will find this form of networking not only gets you strong referral pathways - but also often professional friendships.

Remember to keep talks practical - Physios and Osteopaths are generally much more tactile and practical in their thinking than us as Podiatrists. So as an example don't sit them down for an hour and talk about planal dominance and lever arms et al or you will lose them. Better to do a brief 10 min powerpoint presentation (with lots of pics) on STJ axis deviation and its clinical relevance, and then get someone from the audience up and demonstrate on them to everyone how to estimate it - then they can split up into groups of 2 and try it themselves with you walking round checking things/answering questions. Come their next clinic they all have a skill they can use immediately - they will remember you much more for this.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that in my experience the best way to network is to make sure those you are targeting actually get something out of it, and to try to make it look like you are not just promoting yourself. Another way to do this is to offer them all a free gait analysis/consultation. This way you effectively take them through the entire patient journey - an experience they can recount if one of their patients they are about to refer to you asks them what it is you actually do. You never know some of them may end up in your orthoses - cure a Physio of their symptoms (they often have them too) and you are in business.

The final thing you may want to consider is a website/webpage. These can be very inexpensive and many 'build your own' options are available now and are very easy to use if you don't fancy taking an evening class in HTML coding. I'm not sure what its like in your neck of the woods, but here in the south of the UK if someone wants to look for a particular service then the free paper/leaflet that came through the door is pretty far down the list. Get yourself on page 1 of a google search and watch the patients stream in.

And Simon, Kevin, LL etc are right - a successful practice will be built on your reputation and not how many gizmos you have. Consider this when marketing - try not to come across as a clinic which has 'all the gear but no idea'.

Best of luck

Ian

 

I know exactly where you are at. I use some basic 2D motion analysis equipment and it is primarily for the benefit of patients in order that they have a visual representation of what I am verbally explaining to them. I still go through all the biomechanics and full assessment procedure and my prescriptions are derived from that.

I would concur with everyone and say that networking is a great way to advertise/market your business - set up seminars and workshops. Interested professionals are the people you want referring. However, if you are looking to target members of the general public, a good way of using your equipment is by doing demonstrations at local fetes, shows and events - even sporting events.

People are always amazed by the ways in which good biomechanics can help and by doing free demionstrations/mini consultations and showing people your skills, you can collect a valuable databases of people who may be interested in your help at some point. If not, then they will always be able to tell friends.

Good luck. I know it is hard to go alone but well worth it.

Robin P

 

I agree with Robin, relationships matter. Simon Spooner once mentioned that he pops down his local running shop to see what the latest shoes offer, if they know who he is and what he does then he would networking as well as gleaning information.

Gyms - spot checks, gyms like to offer their customers additional services, most would gladly adverstise the time and date foc.

Once you have got going, a simple web holding page with your contact details and services cost very little indeed. Certainly if i didn't know of any pod locally I would search google using 'Podiatrist' and my 'location' in the search field.

Obviously those with good business had to start somewhere.

I'll agree with Dido - leaflets are a waste unless you are offering 2 of 1 Pizza

The best form of marketing is word of mouth and I am affraid you will have to start telling people what you do.

Good luck -

 

Your mistake has been asking this forum for expert advice on advertising.

None of them are experts in this field. Seek your answers elsewhere because you are up against a rock solid wall.

The belief structure of this group seems to be "if you are good and respect the status quo the patients will come".

The contrary approach would be "if everybody is doing this then I should do the exact opposite because the patients will at least be able to differentiate".

Patients don't know you are good until they are in your door.

To get them in the door:

Make an offer.
Guarantee your service because you believe in it.
If you are bright give each offer a time line.

Once they are in the door make sure you are good and deal with each patient with trust and honesty.

:bash:

 

Footseps,

Get involved with a physio in a sports injury clinic and at your local rugby club etc, provide your time free, charge for your orthotics though and you will soon get known.

I have found advertising very expensive over the years and have cut back to the minumum but find the internet and a good website the most important. I had my web site done for a pair of orthotics over 10 years ago but needs updating now as very dated.

Good Luck
Jude

 

Many thanks for all of the relies.

I have started approaching doctors/physios etc and doing OK and getting some interest.

I do not charge for follow up appointments for orthotics as I found where I worked previously, people expected the price of the orthotics to include follow up appointments so I just charge one price which includes orthotics, fitting and a follow up appointment.

Another member also mentioned fetes etc. I did a stall at a large health festival last year and that worked well and produced a fair bit of short term business but I also gave out 150 business cards and offered a free raffle where the winner won a free assessment/treatment. That seemed to get peoples interest and break the ice.

I have no patients next week so am on a mission to visit every local doctors surgery, physio, chiropracter, sports injury clinic and sports club.

I will update you with the results......

Many thanks for all the advice so far.

 

Foot Steps:

Here is another idea that has worked very well for me over the last two decades of practice and has also worked for other podiatrists who have taken my advice to also do so in their respective communities. While this idea will not make or break a practice, it definitely will, over time, produce a steady stream of referrals for your clinic, if done properly.

Start doing "free-screening clinics" at your local running shoe store once a month. It doesn't cost me a cent, the running shoe stores love it since it adds more credibility to their store, only requires about 3 hours of my time once a month, produces a steady source of new patients, lets a number of people get to meet me and experience my level of knowledge compared to their other podiatrists/health care providers and also makes me more aware of the current running and walking shoes on the market.

Here is what I have been doing here in Sacramento at the main Fleet Feet Running Shoe Store, which is probably the best running shoe store in all of Northern California. Every first Saturday of the month, from 11 AM to 1 PM, the store advertises for a few weeks, with a sign on their front door, that I will be there to do "free podiatry screening exams" on the scheduled Saturday. We have customers take numbers written on pieces of paper when they arrive and we only allow 17 people to take numbers since this is the maximum I can see in 2 hours. I give people a 5-7 minute "free visit" where I talk to them about their feet, their gait, their shoes and their problem to offer simple solutions and advice on how best to treat their conditions. It is very casual and I actually have had a lot of fun doing it over the years since this store is the "happenin' place" for the Sacramento running community, which I have been a part of for the past 40 years.

Alternatively, you could do something similar at a shopping mall, another type of shoe store, or anywhere where people will be able to meet you, talk to you about their problems and see that you know and care about their own personal foot issues more than anyone else ever has. Continual exposure to the public is the key. After a few years, you will be come to be the podiatrist that everyone must see for their foot problems in your community.

By the way, don't trust individuals who suggest that they are the only ones who are experts on advertising among a group of widely diverse individuals, most of whom they have never met. These individuals have an agenda.

 

Thank you so much for that advice. I have a week free to work out how to promote the business and this is a great suggestion, in fact, I am straight onto it today.

I respectfully apologise for also getting you muddled with another veteran poster on here that I follow from Australia. I think this was in my other recent post. many apologies, you both offer much wisdom and I love reading your posts.

What a great source of information this site is. I have made a promise to myself to spend at least 2 hours a week on here as part of my ongoing education, although I am becoming somewhat addicted and think the 2 hours may turn into a daily ritual!

I also agree with your last comment.
Leaflet dropping has worked well for me but only for a targeted group, and that is those requiring home visits. I am not complaining as that to me is my bread and butter, along with my high care residential contracts. They pay my mortgage.
The biomechanical and orthotics side will allow me to learn and earn some "fun" money!!!

I guess the same strategy may also work at walking/hiking shops.

 

There is a lot of great ideas in this thread. If you are at some of these events, try offering a free consultation, as some have alluded to. Write on the back of a business card "free consult" and hand it to potential patients, even engaging them in conversation, and give it a limit as to how long that would last. I find 17 days to be a good number for that, because it would put the onus on the potential patient to take advantage of your offer (but that doesn't necessarily mean that you would reject them otherwise if they waited too long). 17 days covers any potential holidays or weekends and such. This should be a good start for a patient-client relationship, especially considering you're opening a new clinic and trying to build a client base.

 

I'm not sure what professional regulators say around the world, but here in Ontario, Chiropodists/Podiatrists are not permitted to advertise Free Consultations. IMHO it does not reflect well on a profession. If I choose not to charge a client when they attend for an assessment, for whatever reason, that is my choice.

We need to respect ourselves, re: Fees, and the clients will hopefully respect us.

Regards

 

Absolutely, I am certainly not advocating anything illegal or unethical here. Perhaps I can phrase this better and be more clear. If you're at an event, and you're talking to someone who may need some assistance, then you could give them a card with that on there. You wouldn't be passing them out blindly to just anyone, just to those you think you would be able to help and speak with one-on-one. Invite them to the office, just to discuss the problem or situation and figure out if you're even able to help them first. A full examination certainly would not be in order, but of course check out and be aware of your own laws as well. Certainly, you should be able to just chat about it at your office, without going through a full evaluation and treatment. Afterward, maybe they would set up an appointment with you and/or become a new patient.

I hope this is more clear.

 

See if you can promote yourself/clinic with your local "Little athletics" club and a footy club or two.
l saw one footballer then most of the club followed.

 

Pop into local gp practices and introduce yourself. If you have any spare pennies put a small add on yell.com