Category: Blog

When a patient reaches out to your clinic with a question, they expect immediate attention and prompt responses. Every patient inquiry is important in its own right. In a perfect world, every request received by support staff would be answered immediately and solved efficiently. While you can’t wave a magic wand and fix every problem right away, you can continue to provide the best service possible by treating each request with the attention and concern that it deserves. Learn the tricks. (And remember, our marketing solutions offer teams to ensure every review and external query is managed right away!)

Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald’s, once said, “If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and always put the customer first, success will be yours.” Interestingly, most companies have the policy “the customer is always right” but rarely adhere to this customer-first strategy.

It’s common to receive poor customer service and feel like a company doesn’t prioritize its clients. They are the last part of their equation. But what does putting the customer first mean? More importantly, why is it crucial for the success of any business, and how can a company put customers first? replica hublot king power watches

Put the customer first

Putting the customer first means running a company that makes customers feel special. Think of it as a business mindset that promotes a positive customer experience at every step of the customer journey. Every time you make a business decision, consider how it will affect your customers. With this mindset, customers aren’t beyond or above the company. Instead, they are the centerpiece of the puzzle.

Understand the customer journey

The idea of putting the customer first means that you have to understand what your client’s goals and needs are. In other words, put yourself in their shoes. What do they want? How do they want to shop for their products? You must experience the customer journey—from product marketing to decision making, to purchase and use, and after-sales services. Understanding the customer journey will help you pinpoint areas that need improvement.

Putting the customer first also entails knowing that customers have specific demands at every stage of their lifecycle. You must meet the varying needs at each phase of the customer lifecycle accordingly. Taking care of your customers during the purchase stage but neglecting to help them when your product fails to solve their problem will only make your brand suffer.

Define company culture around the customer

A company’s culture is its perspectives, values and goals. Every employee or member of the organization adds something to the culture. However, leaders set the standards for how people should adhere to it.

To put the customers first, define the company’s culture around the customer. This means seeing customers as people who allow the organization to exist. They are the ones keeping the company going. With this perception, a company will treat its customers with the utmost respect.

Know your customers

You need to know what your customers want and their goals. A business should strive to understand customers’ emotions and challenges. Creating personas and working hand in hand with clients is an effective strategy to put customers top of mind throughout the company.

Partnering with customers makes it easier to find practical solutions for service issues. Inviting them to design the customer experience proactively helps you understand the customer journey. Lastly, integrating customer feedback can help you better address their concerns.

Improve the customer experience

A business should devise innovative ways to enhance its customer experience. After introducing a product or service to the market, you must up your game and keep innovating.

Customers will want to settle for innovative products that meet their needs and expectations. Sure, you might have one of the best products or services in the market, but if it needs to be more innovative, people will turn to alternative products. To counter competition from your rivals, you must be creative.

Introducing innovative products and services signals to customers that you’re well aware of their demands and that you can anticipate their needs in advance. Your innovativeness is also a sign of commitment to finding new ways to improve your products and services. Do this and you’ll keep your clients coming back.

Equip your team

Putting the customer first doesn’t mean you should neglect your team. The reality is that employees are the lifeline of any business. Provide your team with the resources required to deliver exceptional services. Equip them with the necessary customer service training tools and content. A conducive environment will allow your team to focus on customer satisfaction.

Taking good care of your employees isn’t just about making them happy. Customers can easily tell when your team is happy. Happy employees exude confidence and positivity, which in turn helps foster positive customer relationships. So, taking care of your team is vital since it creates a good image for your company.

Personalized experiences

Customers love to feel special, and one way to do this is by creating personalized experiences. Such experiences give customers the impression that you care about them. It shows your team is willing to go the extra mile to ensure they are happy with your products or service.

Personalized experiences lead to customer satisfaction, which also contributes to higher retention rates. Another massive benefit of personalization is that it justifies the price of your product or service. Most customers are willing to pay more for exceptional customer experience.

What your customers want

The easiest way to deliver and meet your customer’s expectations is by asking what they want. Technology has made getting in touch with customers more effortless and most are more than willing to give insight into what they want. Take advantage of social networks and customer interactions to ask the right questions. Knowing exactly what it takes to make a customer feel special can assist your business in staying ahead of the game.

Prioritizing customers benefits the bottom line

Without customers, your business wouldn’t exist. It’s essential to put customers first. The more time you spend listening to your customers and delivering accordingly, the higher the retention rates, the happier your employees are and the higher your revenue. But remember, prioritizing your customers takes time.

Be patient while implementing these recommended strategies to take your business to the next level. Remember, the success of your business hinges on how you treat your customers. Treat them well and they will return the favor through their loyalty.

Is your practice preparing for the future? We know PT — and we can help to make sure your business flourishes for the years to come. Let our experts in physical therapy marketing services take all of the guesswork of promoting and building your business. Visit our Facebook page or give us a call at (833) 764-0178.

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Reference: [https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/01/10/tips-on-running-a-successful-business-and-putting-the-customer-first/?sh=34c0fb831bac]

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2023 is right around the corner! We know full well that every new year brings new challenges to physical therapy marketing. We need to be open to change and learn new skills to crush our goals. Here are 3 business skills entrepreneurs can develop or improve this year. Better yet — you can hire our team. Regardless, it’s important to understand why they are so important — and what they are and actually accomplish! Bring us your questions! With a little help from our experts: from consulting, to billing to marketing — we can get your practice to the next level.

Ready to level up in your business this year? You have a fresh start so aside from setting goals and determining your focus you need to take action. You can do this by developing new skills that will help your business succeed.

If you’re a digital entrepreneur, you know that the online business work is always changing. It’s crucial that you focus on continuing your education and gaining new skills to help your business evolve.

Here are 3 business skills digital entrepreneurs can develop or improve this year.

1. Managing Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads aren’t going away any time soon so you might as well learn how to master them. Sure, you can hire a Facebook ads expert or consultant, but it’s best that you know at least the basics yourself.

Investing in the ads themselves can be expensive. Add in the extra expense of paying someone to create the copy, set up the campaign, and manage them for you and you could be left with dwindling profits.

Instead, you can take a course or hire a Facebook ads coach so you can learn the basics first and perhaps even master one of these stages to save yourself some money. Once you understand Facebook ads, you can also develop a solid strategy and test things out more effectively.

2. SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a hot commodity in the online space. If you run a website or blog, it’s important that you understand SEO and keep up with all of Google’s updates.

Again, you can hire someone to do SEO research and execute a strategy, but it often stands to have some SEO skills of your own to start. You can always delegate keyword research but you do need to be involved in some of the SEO strategy to get the best results.

Luckily, you can enroll in SEO workshops or trainings online hosted by trusted experts in the field. I like taking advice from Mike Pearson from Stupid Simple SEO who is a proven SEO expert and has a ton of great nuggets to offer.

3. Sales

If you’re in business for yourself, you have to know how to sell whether that’s hard selling or soft selling. You can’t just expect to be the brains behind a valuable product or service, you also need to know how to sell it.

This is especially true if you’re a solopreneur. Start by getting clear on your target market and what their needs are. Then create a sales funnel for your solutions that will help them.

You can sell online with integrity in a variety of ways via your email list, social media, webinars, and courses.

Summary

Don’t slack on your skills next year. You don’t have to go back to school or get a new business certification in most cases. You can learn things quickly and without much effort — thanks to the internet.

Focus on constantly learning to master new skill sets so you can run and market your business better.

Is your practice preparing for the future? We know PT — and we can help to make sure your business flourishes for 2023 and the years to come. Let our experts in physical therapy marketing services take all of the guesswork out of promoting and building your business.  Visit our Facebook page or give us a call at (833) 764-0178.

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Reference: [https://smallbiztrends.com/2019/01/digital-skills-for-2019.html]

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It is that time of year — when the bombardment of ads encourages everyone to review their Medicare coverage — and includes considering the Medicare Advantage plan. But buyers beware. The window of open enrolment can mean that clients and patients may look to healthcare practitioners for advice, opinions, or clarification. Depending on the profession and circumstances, there can be vast differences in the responses — especially with physical therapy.  

This insightful article outlines some broad reasons why the Medicare Advantage plan may not, in truth, be advantageous. 

Along with leaves changing colour and the omnipresence of pumpkin spice comes the avalanche of ads, commercials and telephone calls, entreating us to believe that Medicare Advantage is the best thing since the invention of the Internet. With open enrollment season upon us, it’s critical to examine that claim. In traditional Medicare, the government pays doctors and hospitals directly. Recipients usually pay premiums and must meet deductibles, and many choose a supplemental “Medigap” plan to help with out-of-pocket costs. Medicare Advantage was designed about 20 years ago as an alternative to traditional Medicare, meant to provide innovative ways of delivering care at a lower cost. It pays insurers — middlemen — a monthly fee per patient to manage their care. Premiums are often lower than traditional Medicare and can offer perks such as gym memberships or limited dental or vision care.

However, while traditional Medicare gives access to any participating provider, Medicare Advantage plans limit care to doctors and hospitals in their networks. They are also more likely to deny needed care by requiring prior authorizations for tests or procedures.

Earlier this year, the federal government reported that 13% of denials in Medicare Advantage would not have been refused under traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans are also increasingly ending nursing home and rehabilitation care before providers consider patients ready to go home. While medical professionals make those decisions under traditional Medicare, in Medicare Advantage the insurer decides. So instead of innovating care, Medicare Advantage seems to mainly withhold it. It has also proven to be costly. Because such plans get higher government payouts for sicker patients, insurers have the incentive to exaggerate the sickness of enrollees. According to federal audits, 8 of 10 of the largest companies have submitted inflated bills, and 4 of 5 of the very largest have faced federal lawsuits accusing them of fraud. In 2020 alone, these exaggerated risk scores generated $12 billion in excess payments. Because of this and other factors, the government spends 4% more for Medicare Advantage enrollees than traditional Medicare.

Despite all this, the low premiums and perks may still be attractive to seniors who are not (yet) sick. The situation often changes when they develop an illness. They may find a specialist or hospital they wish to see is out of network. They may experience delays or denials of care due to administrative barriers. Their out-of-pocket costs will often be higher. A little-known fact about Medicare is that when patients are enrolled in Medicare Advantage for over 12 months but want to change to traditional Medicare, Medigap plans are no longer obligated to take them without underwriting, which involves passing a health screen. In other words, if you get cancer and want to go to a cancer centre not covered by your Medicare Advantage plan, you may be stuck. Surely this program should be called Medicare Disadvantage. When a middleman makes profits from “managing” your healthcare, they inevitably do so by limiting the care you get. Medicare recipients, beware! And as citizens and taxpayers, we should all demand that Congress take Medicare out of the hands of corporations, freeing billions of dollars in savings to deliver actual health care.

Navigating the challenges (and endless information!) of owning a physical therapy clinic can feel overwhelming — which is why we are here! Perform Practice Solutions can help you optimize your practice — significantly. Visit our Facebook page or call us at (833) 764-0178.

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Reference: [https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article267774792.html]

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At Perform Practice Solutions, we are always looking for ways to improve your practice revenue. CMS has finally done something right and is reimbursing for RTM codes. Below you will find a guide on what CMS’s new final rule is and how to apply it to your practice.

This can add up to $100 extra per case for each of your Medicare patients. This compounded on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis will increase your bottom line by possible leaps and bounds.

Whether you are currently offering these services and not billing, OR want to figure out how to enhance your practice with these services AND build your bottom line — we can help. Just book a free consultation with Kevin Rausch and he will get all your questions answered — www.calendly.com/kevinrausch.

What is Remote Therapeutic Monitoring

1. CMS approved the final rule starting in January 2022. It is the use of patient-engagement technologies to remotely monitor and communicate with patients outside the walls of the clinic between the PT visits

2. These are designed to be billed separately from clinic visits however currently insurance is accepting these in addition to normal codes

What is Being Monitored

3. A Patient’s Musculoskeletal System (MSK) Status.

How are Data Points Tracked?

4. An app. This is data that is self-reported by patients and analyzed by the PT to improve care. Medbridge is a common app you can use.

Benefits for the PT

5. It is a way to monitor:
a) HEP Compliance
b) Patient’s response to PT
c) Patient pain levels
d) PTs can modify the POC before seeing the patient again

Key Points:

6. Take-away

1. Patients should log in daily to the app to track their progress
2. This will help progress the patient faster and get them better results
3. This will develop the best possible POC
4. This goes above and beyond regular PT office visits
5. Supports the patient outside the clinic

RTM CODES

98975 RTM – Setup/ Education $26.99 Billed ONLY Once per Episode of Care

1. Initial set-up includes downloading the app on the patient’s phone
2. Educating patients on the process and what is expected of them
3. Reviewing the prescribed exercises on their HEP
4. Having the patient demonstrate and confirm the understanding of expectations
5. Requires 16 days of monitoring within a 30-day period

98977 RTM – Device Supply $68.51 Billed Once each 30-day Period

1. Billed once every 30 days
2. The cost of the app for patients
3. Requires 16 days of monitoring in a 30-day period

98980 RTM – Management-1 st 20 minutes/month $59.77 Billed Once per Calendar Month

1. Management of data and communication with the patient
2. First 20 minutes of monitoring and managing each calendar month
3. Must contain at least 1 minute of interactive communication with the patient

98981 RTM – Management-2nd 20 minute/month $49.08 Billed Multiple Times per Calendar Month

1. PT analysis of the data
2. Modifying HEP

You don’t need to do everything on your own. From billing to marketing, including credentialing and patient eligibility verification, Perform Practice Solutions can help. Give us a call today at (833) 764-0178, book your free consultation with Kevin Rausch — www.calendly.com/kevinrausch — and join our Facebook community for more physical therapy billing solutions and ideas.

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Many businesses are adopting growth marketing as a strategy. For that, it’s key to define what it takes to be successful with this approach. Here are four ways to meet your growth marketing goals — and remember, we offer free consultations to see how marketing your practice will benefit you and get all your questions answered. 

Whether you’ve been implementing growth marketing for a while or are new to the practice, you want to succeed. No one likes to miss a goal post. In business, the stakes are high. Not meeting your targets could lead to disappointed stakeholders, future resignations and financial losses. But to achieve success with growth marketing, you must be willing to learn from failure.

Unlike traditional marketing, there’s some experimentation involved. Growth marketers approach their strategies and tactics like scientists. Data and observation fuel a hypothesis, which gets tested to determine what holds water and what doesn’t. Nevertheless, growth marketing does offer tried-and-true tactics to help businesses thrive. Here are four ways to meet—and even crush—your growth marketing goals.

1. Use More Than One Channel

The marketing landscape is more dynamic than ever. TV, radio, and print are still around, but companies also reach consumers through social media and guerilla marketing tactics. Novel approaches such as native advertising are emerging to target audiences in unexpected ways. To exceed growth expectations, marketers should expand the number of channels or media types they use.

Attempting to reach leads and customers through various forms of media is known as cross-channel marketing. While most businesses do this to some degree, growth marketing strategies hyperfocus on finding the right combination. Even more so, marketers aim to discover which channels work best at each stage of the buyer’s journey or marketing funnel.

Maybe blog posts, podcasts and online events are highly effective for generating awareness and qualifying leads. However, personalized emails, direct mail and targeted online ads convert more leads into sales. Leveraging cross-channel marketing opportunities helps your business get its message across in ways that prospects and clients can appreciate. Using multiple media types also ensures you’re exercising the most appropriate tool for your audience at the right time.

2. Learn From A/B Testing Results

Remember that bit about testing hypotheses? A/B or split testing is where you get to do that. You start with an educated guess about your audience and run a test to determine whether it’s true. For example, you might conclude your clients respond better to promotions emphasizing limited-time savings. You reached this conclusion based on customer survey data.

So you test this hypothesis by sending two versions of an email. Both highlight your latest product sale, but only one includes language that encourages readers to act quickly. The test results show more conversions came from the email that stressed urgency. In this case, the results confirm the original hypothesis. Now you know to continue using this language to drive more sales with that audience.

Successful growth marketers also use A/B testing to discover who their consumers are. They may not have enough reliable data yet or want to see whether various customer segments respond differently. For instance, distinct landing page versions might reveal that certain age groups engage more with specific design features. Growth marketers can then use those test results to refine the page so it will resonate with their targeted demographic.

3. Concentrate on the Entire Buyer’s Journey

Traditional advertising usually focuses on the early stages of the buyer’s journey. The goal of a TV spot is to make consumers aware that a product, service or brand exists. Often, the hope is people will remember the business’s or product’s name when they’re ready to buy. But conventional marketing doesn’t typically address other stages of the buyer’s journey or funnel.

A complete marketing funnel consists of six different stages. Awareness represents the top of the funnel. However, the remaining stages are acquisition, activation, retention, revenue and referral. Many people might be aware your product exists. A smaller percentage will visit your website or store for more information. From there, some will fill out a form, subscribe to your email list or make a purchase.

Once leads become customers, you want them to stay. Ideally, you want them to make repeat purchases or add more services. Hopefully, those clients are so satisfied and enthusiastic about your brand that they refer others. Growth marketers who meet or exceed their goals realize that generating awareness is only the beginning. Revenue opportunities exist throughout the entire funnel, and customer relationships require nurturing to drive sales.

4. Rely on Real-Time Data

Effective growth marketers realize data from a few months ago may not be reliable. Consumer behaviors and lifestyles can sometimes change drastically. A looming economic recession and supply chain disruptions might lead to behavior changes that impact your business. If consumer confidence is low, your customers might be less willing to add on new services.

Alternatively, real-time data from website analytics and surveys may reveal a growing interest in replacing aging products or equipment. Perhaps current feedback indicates more of your customer base is responsive to promotions. They’re willing to act and recommit when they can get a deal. At the same time, customers want reassurance they can get the savings on the product they want.

Growth marketers see all of this data as an opportunity to personalize the customer experience. Current inventory and client data could help craft marketing messages targeting customers with aged equipment. Those communications would likely highlight current promos on newer models from the same brand or manufacturer. Personalized emails could also show online and local inventory numbers to motivate clients.

Conquering Growth Marketing Objectives

It takes grit and a willingness to learn and adapt to become successful at growth marketing. Strategies and tactics that drive results with one customer segment may not move the needle with another. Implementing diverse initiatives and juggling simultaneous experiments are par for the course. That said, a commitment to cross-channel marketing, A/B testing, relationship building, and real-time data can help you realize the outcomes you want to see.

You don’t need to do everything on your own. Perform Practice Solutions is your Physical Therapy Digital Marketing company. We can help you with marketing strategies to help you achieve your clients. Contact us today at (833) 764-0178 and join our Facebook community for more perform physical therapy solutions and ideas.

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Reference: [https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2022/07/24/4-ways-to-crush-your-growth-marketing-goals/?sh=516cef46184a]

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You should always look for ways to improve your practice, but there is such a thing as pushing in too many directions or growing too quickly. There’s no formula for instant success, but we’d like to help you boost your practice’s growth with some tips. Here’s how to take it to the next level. For customized solutions for your PT practice, we are here — with decades of experience in billing, credentialing, marketing, consulting, sales — and more. Let’s talk!

Growing a small business isn’t easy. It is one of the toughest challenges many face when they are looking to get out of the 9 – 5 daily grind.

The success of your small business depends on your efforts to grow profits using various methods. From employee training to marketing, every aspect of your business deserves attention.

Rapid growth doesn’t happen overnight, but there are several steps you must take to keep your business moving forward. It takes time and effort. However, when you start reaping the benefits, you will see that your effort is worth it. Here are some tips to consider if you wish to see your business grow.

How to Grow Your Small Business

Understand Your Customers

You can only develop products and services that will be a huge hit if you are attentive to the needs of your customers and prospects. One way to understand exactly what your customers want is through research and surveys.

You should be constantly inviting them to provide honest, even brutal feedback. Reviews and surveys are the best ways to get inside the minds of your customers. This makes it easier for you to develop products and services that are suitable to the current demands of the market. Moreover, it helps you understand the areas in which your company needs to improve.

Improve Customer Service

If you don’t provide quality customer service, it will be difficult to satisfy your customers even if you have a superior product or service. This aspect of the business is about taking the extra step to make them feel special.

Let your customers know that they are valued. If they have problems, make sure you address them right away. If they have questions, take time to answer them. They should not feel like things are difficult for them if they raise certain issues. Social media is a great way to understand your customers by listening to them. If they find the customer service satisfactory, they might even recommend others to also buy from your business.

Establish Loyalty

It takes time to encourage customers to come and buy what you have to offer. But it’s not enough to just get them to buy. You need to encourage loyalty. Considering that there are other competitors who could offer them better, you want them to remain loyal to you. Don’t feel complacent just because you already have a lot of loyal customers. They can be easily attracted to other options and they might leave you.

Provide loyalty rewards. If there are discounts and promotions, let these most loyal customers be the first ones to know. You must sure your customers know they are appreciated.

Maximize Social Media

Without a doubt, social media is a very powerful tool. It reaches out to hundreds upon thousands of people at once. Make sure your business is engaged in social media. This helps you stay relevant. Listening to people and reading their comments will give you an idea on how to make them feel more satisfied. You will also understand their behaviors and find ways to meet their demands. The best part is that you won’t have to spend a lot of money just to attract new customers. You don’t need to engage in comment wars though. Just keep it positive and make everyone feel that they are heard.

Focus on Professional Development

The success of your business also depends on the quality of employees that you hire. Building an effective team is the key to ensuring that your business prospers.

One of the best ways to have motivated employees who work hard is to give them a sense of purpose. They should not just feel like they have to work for the sake of working.

They want to belong to something bigger than themselves. They must understand the bigger goals. This is where branding comes in. Many mistakenly believe that branding is something you do to attract customers. However, a powerful brand will also help you draw quality workers to your business.

Your employees should also feel that they are heard. There are team-building activities that could help them perform well as individual employees and through collaborative tasks. You should also send them to training sessions and seminars so that they can improve on the current bank of knowledge that they already have.

Spend Time Attending Networking Events

If given the chance to join these events, take it. This is the opportunity to extend your networks. This is highly important – but it is something many entrepreneurs neglect. You must build relationships with other people.

Networking is a great way to connect with people who can help you build your business. You can find employees, more customers, and even investors.

Focus on Corporate Social Responsibility

Your business must have something it is passionate about. This helps in improving the image of your business. People will patronize you because they know that the money they are spending goes to the right causes.

It is important that you ensure your business exists for more than just making money. Nowadays, people want to feel emotionally connected to the companies with whom they do business. This is why it’s important to craft a unique brand perspective for your company. Is there are cause you wish to support? Is there something in the world you want to change? Let that be one of your company’s missions.

Don’t Hesitate to Get Loans

If you are starting out as an entrepreneur, you need money to help fund it. The same thing is true for those who have been around for some time and have decided to take things to another level. If you need small business loans to make your plans happen, get them.

Make sure you partner with the right banks or lending firms. You need to fill out the application forms and provide all the requirements. It is also important to ensure that your credit is in good standing so your application is easily approved.

There are other ways to get loans if you are denied. One of them is to look for another party to serve as your guarantor. This is how SBA loan program works. The SBA will guarantee the loan you take from a bank. If you default, the SBA will reduce the risk of the lender. Of course, they won’t just do it without anything in return. You need to understand their requirements. You should also read the terms and conditions before getting started.

Find Out What Works

Ultimately, you will know which of the approaches you’ve used worked well. Take note of these tactics and use them again. Those strategies that failed must be eliminated to help your business move forward. The goal is to remain relevant. Refine the approach and focus more on those that bring satisfactory results.

In the end, you will see your business improve. You just have to be patient. You also need to work really hard and not let obstacles prevent you from doing better. Soon, you will see the positive results you have always hoped for.

There are few things more important than your physical therapist’s credentials. We can help keep the money flowing to you and ensure that your therapists stay in-network. We take care of every detail. This is one of the many areas of expertise we can offer your own PT practice. Contact us today at (833) 764-0178 and join our Facebook community for more perform physical therapy solutions and ideas.

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Reference: [https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/04/how-to-grow-your-small-business.html]

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