Finding the right marketer for your PT practice can be exhausting. Many marketing professionals have years of experience building brands for companies outside the world of healthcare. Marketing to physical therapy patients can be challenging, but the premise is the same.So, what factors should you consider when trying to hire the best marketer for your practice?In this article, you'll learn how to quickly identify which candidates are best suited for physical therapy marketing and how to spot them throughout the application process.
If you were to summarize your practice's culture in a few brief sentences, what would you say? Company values and getting an idea of each candidate's vibe are the keys to hiring for longevity.Start by Identifying your company culture using your practice's core values. APTA does an excellent job highlighting the most important virtues every PT and PT assistant should exhibit. And while your focus should be on hiring the best marketer for your practice—his or her main job is to build your brand and convey the practice's message to prospective patients.When you're interviewing candidates, formulate questions ahead of time with these values in mind. Write down responses and determine whether they align with the companies' values. While raw talent and experience are desirable, long-term success often comes when candidates align with the company's vision.
A bulleted list of soft skills is typical but not ideal for a marketing position. How can you possibly know if your interviewee can multitask well? Practice owners hiring a marketer will find better candidates if they gently request people to "Prove it." Ask your candidate for quantifiable results using social media, websites, blogs, and other marketing mediums.Probe them using questions like,"What do you think the biggest SEO challenge marketers face in 2021?"Take notes on their response and research the information later if you aren't well-versed in marketing. Other hard skills to vet candidates include formatting, blogging, website copywriting, email marketing, and data analysis. Additionally, these skills will require a host of software solutions. Programs like Google Analytics, SEMrush, and Mailchimp are integral to your business's success.Even if your physical therapy marketing campaigns don't currently use any of these tools, ensure your candidate is familiar with marketing software.
Interviewing a candidate with industry knowledge is a huge bonus but not a dealbreaker. Marketers with experience in physical therapy or healthcare, in general, are rare—which makes adaptability essential. When a marketer is tasked with a project concerning physical therapy to patients and other physicians, they'll quickly discover it's entirely different than marketing products to consumers.How can you tell if your interviewee is up to the challenge?Vet candidates by giving them a marketing task—such as creating a small amount of website copy. Trial tasks will provide you with a solid idea of a candidate's marketing chops before bringing them in for the interview. If your practice is smaller, it will separate those genuinely interested in marketing for a physical therapy practice and those who simply want a job.
Physical therapists hiring a marketer are probably looking for a candidate who can do a little bit of everything. Rarely do PTs need an entire team to execute their marketing initiatives. Finding someone skilled at everything seems obvious, but many marketers have worked for larger companies—specializing in one marketing proficiency.One effective way to screen candidates is to ask them about projects they've worked on in the past. If the projects fall within the same scope (social media campaigns, website copywriting, blogging, etc.), your candidate is likely trained in one role. Specialization isn't a reason to send the applicant packing because having skills more often than not is excellent. However, think about what exposure you need and decide if the candidate can grow into that role.
Every employer should ask for references and actually call them before making a hiring decision. Speaking with the people who previously worked with your candidate is an excellent way to determine if they're a culture fit. Even if references fudge the truth a little bit, knowing some people will go to bat for their coworkers is a huge step in the right direction.Don't be afraid to ask questions like:
Listen carefully for hesitancy, confidence, and any other verbal cues that will prove helpful in your character assessment. Match both the candidate's and reference's responses to get a clearer picture.
Some candidates are hungrier than others—regardless of prior experience. Look for the person who shows up fifteen minutes early with every hair in place, a complete portfolio, and a freshly ironed shirt. The details are what matters here. If you can feel their excitement (or nervousness in some cases) pouring out during the interview, you might have struck gold. Mix this "gut feeling" you have with some marketing expertise, and you could have your next employee.Everyone should put their best foot forward during the interview process. If your candidate is lackadaisical or unenthused about physical therapy marketing, they might not be a fit. Sometimes a tight resume doesn't account for our human idiosyncrasies.Prioritize driven marketers, the ones who are brimming with enthusiasm.
Hiring takes time, especially when you're trying to find a marketer interested in physical therapy. The ideal candidate should be driven, adaptable, highly recommended, and prepared to speak on their hard skills and past projects. Don't get hung up on an applicant's PT industry knowledge. Instead, check to see if the candidate matches your company culture and possesses the skills required to do the job.Finding the right marketer might require you to learn the language of marketing, interview multiple candidates, call references, and manage their efforts for the first 90 days. And while it doesn't seem like much, the process can be overwhelming—especially for a busy practice owner.If you've ever wondered how to streamline other pieces of your operation, consider employing MWTherapy's all-in-one practice management software. MwTherapy's PT software is built by physical therapists for physical therapists, offering solutions for billing, compliance, EMR, telehealth, and much much more. Check it out today and start your free demo!
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