Jayne Snyder, PT, MA, emphasizes face-to-face promotional strategies that propel her clinictoward success.

Snyder Physical Therapy, Lincoln, Neb, has become a recognized and respected member of its community because Jayne Snyder, PT, MA, has worked hard to keep her name and her face in front of the community. Some might call this “external marketing,” but Snyder likes to think of it as merely giving of herself to a greater cause. If, by chance, the people she meets while volunteering at a local school function or a community fund-raiser talk to her about treatment of a specific injury, then she’s managed to do good on a host of levels.

“I’ve been in practice for 34 years now, and I’ve spent most of my time trying to establish a reputation in the kind of care that this clinic gives and that I give,” explains Snyder, whose practice treats an average of 300 patients per week. “So most of the marketing I’ve done has been with physicians in the community as related to me and the quality of care we provide. It’s also very important that I continue to see patients, and to communicate with physicians through personal visits, written communications, or phone calls. We’ve created an image that has been established in the community, and we’ve been able to back up that image with quality care.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Snyder’s name within the American physical therapy community is equally as impressive as her local credentials. She is past vice president of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and past president of the Foundation for Physical Therapy. Those positions have allowed Snyder to remain at the forefront of changes in her profession.

“We have a large number of physical therapy researchers now that are asking and answering questions that we had for many years,” she says. “Physicians have always had the advantage of a lot of research by the drug companies. Physical therapists [PTs] are just coming into an era of research for the treatment of patients.”

Snyder insists, however, that it doesn’t take years of research study to know what attracts a patient. Snyder notes that the key to success is promoting the business, which, in this case, is Snyder Physical Therapy. As a past member of the board of directors of the Private Practice Section of the APTA, Snyder compares her marketing strategies with other PTs. But, she says, there’s nothing like face-to-face contact with prospective patients.

Community Matters

Snyder has discovered that simply showing you care about your community may be the best marketing strategy of all. With that in mind, she has lent her time, support, know-how, and, in some cases, financial backing to a host of programs that are benefiting Lincoln families in the short run—and Snyder Physical Therapy in the long run.

“It never hurts when people see you out there,” notes Snyder. “It’s like if you know somebody and you have a problem, that’s who you usually go to.”

Snyder has reached hundreds of local children and adults through a variety of community-based programs that promote the health and well-being of its citizens. Those programs include: “Get Moving America,” “Girls Can Jump Too,” and the “Anterior Knee Pain Program.”

Working in conjunction with Walk for Life, a pedometer company, Snyder helped purchase 70 pedometers for children who attend Lincoln’s Roper Elementary School. “The surgeon general says that all of us need to be moving an hour and a half per day, and that means if you have a pedometer on, you need to move for 90 minutes at any time,” Snyder says, noting that the pedometers carry the Snyder Physical Therapy logo.

In partnership with Jo Anne Owens-Nausler, PhD, who works for Walk for Life, Snyder has enlisted the help of the school’s principal, physical education teachers, and nurses to reduce obesity and increase the awareness of physical fitness.

“I am meeting with the school on an ongoing basis to see what I can do to support them financially and with my expertise,” she reports. “I’ve also purchased time on a (Walk for Life) computer program, where 100 children can log in and record their pedometer times.”

The marketing money, Snyder says, would have been spent on newspaper advertising, but it was put to better use for the city’s children. “It’s been just wonderful,” she reports. “I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from families, parents, and kids.”

At one of the elementary school’s family nights recently, Snyder and her staff discussed fitness with 1,200 children and their families. In the end, it served as a good opportunity to reach a new group of prospective clients.

“There’s a lot of physical therapy needs for families, moms or dads, and grandmas and grandpas,” she relates.

Another program close to her heart is called the “Knee Pain Program,” which focuses on reducing knee pain in as little as 14 weeks. Using research conducted by Christopher Powers, PT, PhD, from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Snyder has helped patients, especially young girls who have had knee pain for as long as 9 years, become pain-free by strengthening the hip to control the knee. Another part of this program involves using a DVD video camera to film patients at the initial stages of the Knee Pain Program. The DVD record documents a patient’s improvement over the 14 weeks as he or she is are filmed doing 6-inch step-downs on a block.

“I do serial tapings over the 14 weeks; the patient can see their reduction in pain and improved quality of movement,” she notes. “Then, I take it to the doctor’s office and use it as marketing so they can see their patients and the kind of improvement they’ve made.”

One program benefiting female athletes is called “Girls Can Jump Too.” Noting that the incidence of injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament in female athletes is greater than that of their male counterparts, Snyder is putting female high-school basketball players through 6- and 8-week programs designed to prevent major knee injuries.

“It started as a marketing project within our community,” Snyder relates. “We took girls [from each local high school] that were on the varsity basketball team, and we put them through the program so we could learn about it. Now, it has developed, and it has become deep-seeded within the rehab program at our clinic.”

According to Snyder, research indicates that girls jump differently than boys. “They don’t have control of their core like boys,” she adds. “Of all the girls that came into the program, not one could jump correctly. This is one marketing program that has had a great influence on our referrals.”

Empowered Through Tragedy

Before starting her practice, Snyder felt she had it all, from a career perspective. She had a great job teaching physical education at a junior high school—in her hometown of Lincoln, no less—and she was able to use her college degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb, to help young kids realize the physical and emotional benefits of becoming physically active. Everything she ever wanted was at her feet—until a family tragedy made her stop and re-evaluate her life.

Snyder’s brother, Bill, was 26 when he perished in an airplane crash. While flying a routine training mission with Nebraska’s Air National Guard, Bill’s fighter jet went down right outside the capital city. Jayne was 22 when Bill died, but she remembers him talking about how he dreamed of a career in physical therapy. He wanted to open a physical therapy clinic with his friend, Frank Solich, who would later become head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. (He coaches football at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, today.)

Soon after her brother’s death, Snyder realized she shared Bill’s career dream of becoming a PT. “My brother wanted to go to Stanford [University] to become a PT,” Snyder relates. “I had always been interested in the medical field, and my brother was my inspiration for me going back to school.”

Within a year of her brother’s accident, Snyder had quit teaching and was studying chemistry and physics at Stanford, Palo Alto, Calif, where she later received a master’s degree in physical therapy. “My brother’s death pushed me toward what I really wanted to do,” she says.

Snyder returned to Nebraska, and for the next 3 years she taught in the physical therapy department at the University of Nebraska–Omaha College of Medicine. While she enjoyed the teaching end of things, she still felt something was missing. That “something” was the kind of hands-on healing and comfort for which PTs earn their reputations. 

After returning to Lincoln, Snyder began performing a variety of private contract work with local hospitals and nursing homes. She also became a PT for the athletic department at the University of Nebraska.

“I did home health care, skilled nursing care. I did a variety of work so I could set myself up to open a clinic and have a private practice,” she relates. Her dream became a reality in 1990 when Snyder Physical Therapy was born. Today, she is the owner of the nearly 6,000-square-foot facility, which celebrated its 15th anniversary last August. Her staff of 15 includes four full-time PTs, two full-time aides, and seven part-time aides, most of whom are college students who want to attend either physical therapy or medical school. Two front-office staff members complete the Snyder workforce.

The years have passed since her brother’s death, but her goal has remained the same.

“We have always been an orthopedic outpatient facility; and from the beginning, our philosophy was to treat mostly orthopedic patients, orthopedic injuries, and to make sure every patient who came through the door had an exercise home-care program that was part of their rehabilitation,” Snyder relates. “We don’t see a lot of University of Nebraska athletes, but we see a lot of junior-college and high-school athletes. We also see people that are older and more mature that want to remain athletic.”

Although she no longer teaches physical education, Snyder feels she is having a direct and positive impact on the physical health of her Nebraska community.

“I do like working with patients, and physical education is very related because you work with a collection of movements,” she relates. “And physical-education majors make really good PTs, because they have a solid background in anatomy and motor skills.”

Snyder will never be happy about the road that took her to physical therapy, but she is doing her best to make the journey as pleasurable and as meaningful as possible. Her brother would have been proud.

Quality Equals Quantity

“If you get a good outcome with your patients and they had a good experience, they’re more likely not only to return to your facility, but also to tell a friend or a family member—you have got to have that,” insists Snyder. “You’ve got to have good quality, too. You want patients to be positive about their experience and in the outcome.”

Internal marketing goes a long way toward maintaining a solid client base and generating continued referrals, Snyder insists. She adds that her internal marketing plans always include three key components: name recognition, total image, and a bona fide treatment plan.

“I’ve worked very hard to become known in the community,” she explains. “And I’ve also worked to create and maintain a positive energy at the clinic. This is related to patient satisfaction. In other words, did you explain to them the diagnosis and suggest some type of treatment plan, something they can do to make themselves feel better? The PTs at our clinic always give the patient homework, something they can work on at home to make them feel better. PTs really fit in nicely to provide a quality experience.”

Snyder, who is a volunteer track official with the University of Nebraska track and field team, makes sure her patients—both existing and new—leave Snyder Physical Therapy feeling better about themselves.

“When they enter our facility, we have to ensure that they will have a good outcome in recovery from the diagnosis,” she admits. “Throughout the experience, they are treated with respect. Because we have a lot of younger people—especially college people—coming to our clinic, we have a lot of energy that is built into the total experience here.”

Snyder’s clinic includes a main gym area where most of the physical therapy takes place. Side rooms are also available if patients must remove some of their clothing to receive treatment.

“The experience begins when they walk through the door and includes how they’re treated by the front office, how they are received, how clean the front office is, and how well-kept the facility is. We really try to make the experience of rehabilitation fun for the patients,” she adds. “But we’re also very careful to base our treatment on evidence; the clinic skills of my therapists are very important.”

Reaching out to the community, whether as a volunteer worker or a working PT, reaps rewards that can only be measured in patient numbers.

“I think the real meaning of marketing is to be integrated in the community, both the medical community and the civic community,” explains Snyder, who has helped raise millions for Lincoln community projects. “You need to build the image of what your business is all about. We have patients who have been coming back here because of the positive experience they’ve had all these years. It’s not necessarily me, but rather the image of our clinic and the quality of care that’s delivered here.”

Dave Cater is a contributing writer for Physical Therapy Products.

Five Marketing Secrets

1) Be Active in the Community

Face and name recognition will lead prospective clients right to your door

2) Volunteer Your Time

Donating your physical therapy skills to local high-school or junior-college athletic teams will pay dividends when they come to you for treatment solutions.

3) Build Your Image

Contact your local media outlets and let them know what you offer. Free publicity often leads to lucrative contacts.

4) Plan Some Face Time With Patients

Even though you’re running a busy physical therapy facility, new patients are comforted in seeing you personally giving treatments.

5) Word of Mouth Spreads Fast

From the greeting receptionist to the treating physical therapist, there’s always someone watching and evaluating your performance.

—DC