How effective are business cards for a physical therapy business in the digital age, really? Given the proliferation of other types of marketing tools, promoting your physiotherapy business via business cards probably feels a little like taking a horse and buggy to work. Sure, you’ll arrive at your destination, but who knows how long it’ll take? If this is your attitude about getting some physiotherapy business cards printed up, we’d like to try to change your mind.
Why Get Physical Therapy Business Cards in the Digital Age?
Here’s the thing. Many, if not most, physical therapists choose the profession because it allows them to work directly and personally with certain populations, like athletes, oncology patients, and more.
In other words, you chose to become a physical therapist because you wanted work that allowed you to work meaningfully and personally with people…
To really find out about them…
To directly and personally help with their healing during the most difficult circumstances of their lives…
To play a pivotal role in their well-being.
Your forte is up close and personal. That’s the nature of physical therapy, after all. That being the case, then, at least some of your marketing tools should be, too.
When you exchange your contact information with someone by inputting their number into your cell, chances are, you don’t look at them. They don’t look at you. You’re both staring down at your phones during the process.
That isn’t the case when you hand someone your business card.
The Big Advantage of Physical Therapy Business Cards for Your Practice
Now, think about your last physical therapy appointment. Maybe it was with an athlete you’re working with. She’s recovering from a soccer injury, and she sees you a couple of times a week. She’s about done with her physical therapy but she’s worried that her injury might flare up again.
What do you do? You naturally offer her a couple of your business cards, telling her to contact you anytime. On the back of you, you jot down a couple of self-care instructions.
You also point out the QR code on the back, reminding her that she can use it to access your business’s app, which regularly notifies your clients of updates to your blog. It also lets your clients know about any specials you’re offering for other wellness services your business offers, like reiki, acupuncture, and massage.
By using the QR code on the back of your physical therapy business cards, she can get a discount for those new services. So can her friends if she chooses to give your business cards to her soccer teammates.
Now, think about how personal all of this was. It was a conversation you would have had with a client, anyway.
It happened because, despite living in the Internet Age, we’re still accustomed to offering up a business card. People still like the personal touch of the business card.
Even asking her for referrals was a natural part of the conversation. Nothing was forced. Having physiotherapy business cards on hand kept things friendly and personal, just like your physical therapy business.
Not Convinced? How About Some Business Card Statistics?
Here are just a few:
- Seven out of 10 people still find business cards to be an impactful way to do business (via Moo.com)
- 77% of all individuals have yet to use their digital business card apps (Moo.com)
- There is a 2.5% increase in a company’s sales for every 2K business cards handed out (Adobe)
- Or you could see a $5K increase in your sales for every 100 business cards you pass out (Moo.com)
The takeaway for you as a business owner? Physical therapy business cards can still play a vital role in the success of your business marketing plan.
Designing Gorgeous & Effective Physical Therapy Business Cards
For all the good statistics surrounding the use of business cards, there are a few eye-opening ones you should also know about.
- Nearly 40% of people refuse to do business with people who have cheap-looking business cards (W.A.M. Strategies)
- Business cards that aren’t unique in some way get thrown out (Adobe)
The following tips are designed to ensure that people keep your physiotherapy business cards and pass them on to others who might need your physical therapy services.
Don’t Skimp on Design
Poorly-designed business cards count among the top reasons why people throw business cards out. If your business cards are hard to read or are printed on skimpy paper, you might as well throw them out yourself rather than waiting for a potential client to do it.
Here are some tips for ensuring that people keep your physical therapy business cards and more importantly, feel good about passing them along.
First, go with a colored background if you want people to keep your card.
Snap reports that people are 10 times less likely to throw out a business card if it’s printed on a colored background. Certainly, you want to align your business card’s colors with your brand, but if you’re inclined to go with an all-white business card, you may want to rethink this plan. Choose a colored card stock instead.
Second, make sure your business card is readable.
Most traditionally-designed business cards feature fonts like Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial. While it’s a good idea to introduce some non-traditional design elements to your physical therapy business cards, like cursive fonts, you do want people to be able to read them. Those three fonts get featured a lot because they’re easy to read.
And speaking of being readable, make sure that all of your contact information is featured prominently and is easy to read. If you must include a fancier font, limit it to just one element on your card and mix it in with “straight” fonts like the ones above.
Third, choose some feature that makes your card stand out in some way.
For example, standard-sized business cards measure 3.5 by 2 inches. Instead of this size, maybe you should choose a square-shaped card so that it stands out in a wallet. Or make a foldable business card that is like a mini-brochure. It still measures 3.5 by 2 inches but it has more than one page to it. This allows people to fit it into their wallets but it stands out because it offers them more. (See the tip below.)
Fourth, make your card useful in some way.
Maybe you create a business card that stretches, reminding clients they should do their stretches. If you create a brochure-style physical therapy business card, then perhaps you print some easy stretches or physical therapy tips on them for your clients to refer back to.
Useful physiotherapy business cards are kept business cards. The longer people keep your business cards, the more likely they are to look you up or pass your card on.
Fifth, use QR codes.
We already alluded to this earlier, but it’s worth repeating. QR codes connect your business’s online presence with your brick-and-mortar business. Despite being big fans of business cards, we would never tell you not to use modern digital tools in your business.
Rather, we would suggest that you take steps in the marketing of your physical therapy business that creates synergy between all the parts, online and offline. For example, adding a QR code offers you a very real way to expand the information on your business card.
You can design the code to send people back to a specific webpage where they can learn more about you or sign up for appointments. Your physical business card is small. The QR code makes it bigger by extending it into the digital world. And that’s just one use for it.
Finally, use your physical therapy business cards to make referrals easy.
Most business owners get business cards because they want to attract more business to their brick-and-mortar businesses. If that’s the case with you – and we assume that it is – then make it easy for people to use your business card as a referral tool.
You can add a “referred by” feature to your card. Doing this allows you to offer the giver – the soccer player in the earlier example – an incentive for passing your card on.
Maybe the incentive you provide is a discount for an upcoming visit or even some sort of swag, like a branded sweatshirt or yoga mat. Getting physical therapy business cards printed up for your business with a referral feature means you always have a way to encourage your clients to refer business to you.
Final Words on Creating Gorgeous Physiotherapy Business Cards
While digital marketing tools like blogs and social media sites have their place in modern marketing strategies, you shouldn’t overlook the power of the simple business card.
Your physical therapy business cards allow you to make personal connections with people, something that you do each day in your physical therapy practice. It stands to reason, then, that you’d choose a marketing tool that mimics why you got into physical therapy in the first place: to create a personal connection with people you want to help.
Ready to get started? Kickstart your order of physical therapy business cards right now by starting a custom quote!