Jeremy on Marketing Podcast

3 Big Takeaways From PT Biz: AI, CRMs, and the Future of Physical Therapy

The physical therapy clinics that win over the next few years won't necessarily be the ones working the hardest.

They'll be the ones building better systems behind the scenes so their clinicians can focus on delivering better care.

In this episode, Jeremy shares his three biggest takeaways from the recent PT Biz event in Denver, including how clinic owners are adopting AI, why CRMs are becoming essential to clinic growth, and how physical therapists can position themselves as the quarterbacks of their patients' healthcare.

Episode Topics

• Why clinic owners are becoming more comfortable using AI
• How AI phone agents and automated follow-up prevent lost opportunities
• Why having a CRM isn't the same as actually using one
• How AI can simplify SOP creation and clinic operations
• Kelly Starrett's vision of the PT as the quarterback of healthcare
• Why the future of physical therapy extends beyond treating an injury

1. AI Is Becoming a Normal Part of Running a Clinic

A few years ago, conversations about AI made many clinic owners uncomfortable.

At this year's PT Biz event, Jeremy noticed a major shift. Owners weren't asking whether they should use AI anymore. They were asking how to implement it.

They're recognizing that missed calls, unanswered inquiries, and inconsistent follow-up are costing them opportunities.

AI can help by answering incoming calls, responding to leads, following up with potential patients, and keeping conversations moving when the clinic is busy.

Jeremy's point is simple: your marketing is only as effective as the system that follows up with the people it generates.

Even the best Google or Meta ad won't produce a new patient if nobody responds when that person reaches out.

2. Your CRM Needs to Do More Than Store Contacts

The second major shift Jeremy noticed was how clinic owners are approaching their CRMs.

Instead of asking whether they need a CRM, they're asking how to make their existing system more effective.

When Jeremy ran Ripple, his CRM helped him track every inquiry, organize follow-up, and identify the people who needed another conversation.

That approach played an important role in growing the clinic to two locations and seven physical therapists before he sold the business.

But simply having a CRM isn't enough.

A useful CRM should:

• Track where leads come from and what happens after they inquire
• Identify missed opportunities and patients who need follow-up
• Connect with the clinic's EMR and other patient systems
• Support personalized communication instead of generic templates
• Provide the foundation for AI-powered workflows and automation

Jeremy also explains how AI makes documenting processes easier than ever. Instead of spending weeks writing SOPs manually, clinic owners can record themselves explaining a workflow and use AI to turn it into a structured process for their team.

The CRM provides the foundation. AI helps execute the system built on top of it.

3. Physical Therapists Should Be the Quarterbacks of Healthcare

Jeremy's favorite takeaway from the event came from Kelly Starrett.

Starrett emphasized the idea that physical therapists should position themselves as the quarterbacks of their patients' healthcare.

That means thinking beyond a short plan of care focused on resolving one injury.

Patients are increasingly interested in improving their overall health, performance, longevity, and quality of life.

They're exploring strength training, nutrition, sleep, recovery, preventative care, and other ways to stay healthy.

Jeremy believes physical therapists are uniquely positioned to help guide those conversations, coordinate with other qualified healthcare professionals, and become trusted long-term resources for their patients.

Instead of simply treating knee pain for a few visits and sending someone on their way, clinics can build lasting relationships centered around movement, performance, and continued care.

Systems in the Back. Better Coaching in the Front.

These three takeaways are closely connected.

If clinic owners are overwhelmed by missed calls, manual follow-up, administrative work, and disconnected systems, they have less time to focus on the patient experience.

AI and CRM automation can remove much of that operational friction.

That gives physical therapists more room to become the trusted coaches and healthcare guides their patients need.

The Takeaway

Jeremy challenges clinic owners to focus on three priorities:

• Fix your phone and follow-up: Make sure new patient opportunities aren't being lost because nobody responds.
• Make your CRM your own: Connect your systems, personalize your communication, and build workflows around how your clinic actually operates.
• Expand your role in patient care: Become a trusted resource who helps patients think beyond the immediate injury.

The clinics that succeed won't just use more technology.

They'll use technology to create more time for meaningful patient relationships.

See How Patch Can Help

Patch helps physical therapy clinics build AI phone agents, automated follow-up, CRM systems, and marketing workflows that keep patient acquisition moving without requiring the owner to manage every step.

Schedule a Free Call With Patch

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on AI, patient acquisition, follow-up, and clinic growth.

• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic
• Free Patient Follow-Up Guide

The Next 70 Days: How PT Clinic Owners Can Finish 2026 Strong

Most physical therapy clinic owners are getting ready to slow down for the holidays.

Jeremy thinks that's a mistake.

In this episode, Jeremy explains why the final 70 days of 2026 could be your biggest opportunity to get ahead of competing clinics, how to organize the rest of the year into three focused marketing sprints, and why building systems now matters more than waiting for a fresh start in January.

Episode Topics

• Why the holiday slowdown mindset can hurt clinic growth
• What Jeremy is seeing in physical therapy search demand and advertising competition
• The three marketing sprints to finish 2026 strong
• How open enrollment and holiday gift cards can generate year-end revenue
• Why CRM automation, follow-up, and AI systems matter more than willpower
• How to get a head start on your 2027 goals

Stop Assuming the Holidays Have to Be Slow

Every year, clinic owners start telling themselves the same story: patients are busy, nobody is looking for physical therapy, and marketing can wait until January.

But Jeremy argues that those assumptions aren't necessarily supported by what is happening in the market.

He shares that September brought the highest physical therapy search volume he's seen, along with increased competition and higher costs per click in Google Ads.

That means clinics continuing to market themselves are competing for patients while other owners are considering pulling back.

The opportunity isn't necessarily disappearing. Some clinic owners are simply choosing to stop pursuing it.

Build Systems Instead of Relying on Willpower

One of the biggest lessons Jeremy learned while growing Ripple was that a clinic cannot depend entirely on the owner remembering to do everything.

Instead of relying on manual effort, he built systems around missed calls, new patient inquiries, pricing objections, evaluations that didn't convert, and former patients who stopped coming in.

Those systems kept follow-up happening even when he wasn't personally managing every conversation.

Today, AI makes creating and implementing those processes significantly easier.

Clinic owners can use AI to document workflows, create SOPs, organize follow-up, and support their front desk without spending weeks building everything manually.

Sprint 1: Open Enrollment

Now through mid-November

The first priority is open enrollment.

Reach out to current patients, former patients, and warm leads. Promote the offer across email, social media, and personal conversations. Build cash flow before the holiday season.

Jeremy recommends using this campaign to help patients commit to future care while taking advantage of the open enrollment offer before holiday spending takes over.

The key is preparation and consistent personal follow-up, not simply sending a few promotional emails.

Sprint 2: The Holiday Gift Card Campaign

Mid-November through mid-December

Once open enrollment wraps up, Jeremy recommends shifting directly into a holiday gift card campaign.

The strategy involves offering a discounted evaluation as a gift card, creating an opportunity to generate revenue while introducing new patients to the clinic.

It's a way to build an evaluation pipeline during a period when traditional organic search demand may begin to soften.

Rather than inventing an entirely new promotion, Jeremy recommends following a campaign structure that has already worked.

Sprint 3: Fill January Before January Arrives

Mid-December through the new year

The final sprint focuses on getting ahead of 2027.

Reach out to patients who may want to use remaining benefits before the year ends, reconnect with people who have fallen out of care, and start scheduling January appointments before the holidays are over.

Instead of waiting until January to rebuild your schedule, use December to create momentum for the new year.

Pick One System and Build It This Week

Beyond the three marketing campaigns, Jeremy challenges clinic owners to identify one process that needs to work better.

That might be:

• New patient lead follow-up
• Missed call response
• Holiday gift card follow-up
• Reaching out to canceled appointments
• Reactivating former patients

Use AI to document the process, create a clear SOP, and give your team a system they can actually follow.

You don't need to rebuild your entire business this week. Start with one system that removes a recurring problem.

The Takeaway

The final stretch of 2026 isn't the time to coast.

It's an opportunity to build cash flow, fill future appointments, strengthen your operations, and enter 2027 with momentum.

Break the remaining weeks into focused sprints. Execute the campaigns that already work. Build systems that don't depend on your constant attention.

Don't wait until January to start working on next year's growth.

Get the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

Prepare for the first sprint with Jeremy's Open Enrollment Playbook, including the campaign timeline, email sequence, patient outreach lists, follow-up scripts, CRM setup, and marketing checklist.

Download the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

See How Patch Can Help

Patch helps physical therapy clinics build marketing, CRM, follow-up, and AI systems that keep patient acquisition moving without requiring the owner to manage every step.

Schedule a Free Call With Patch

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on patient acquisition, AI, follow-up, and clinic growth.

• Free Patient Follow-Up Guide
• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic

3 Reasons Your Open Enrollment Campaign Will Fail

Open enrollment can be one of the most profitable campaigns a cash-based physical therapy clinic runs all year.

But it isn't automatic revenue.

In this episode, Jeremy breaks down the three biggest mistakes that cause open enrollment campaigns to underperform, why some clinics sell just a handful of packages while others sell 75 or more, and what clinic owners need to do now to make their 2026 campaign successful.

Episode Topics

• Why sending emails alone won't drive a successful open enrollment campaign
• The importance of personal follow-up with current patients and warm leads
• How to amplify your offer across multiple marketing channels
• Why your staff needs to be involved in the campaign
• The preparation timeline for November 2026 open enrollment

1. You Skip the Manual Follow-Up

This is one of the biggest differences between clinics that sell a few packages and clinics that generate significant open enrollment revenue.

Jeremy explains that approximately 80–90% of open enrollment revenue in the campaigns he's run comes from personal outreach, not mass emails.

That means building a list of people who already have a relationship with your clinic and reaching out directly.

Your outreach list should include:

• Current patients nearing the end of their packages
• Past patients who never continued into another plan of care
• Leads from workshops, referrals, or advertising who never booked
• People engaging with your open enrollment emails or social posts

Jeremy recommends three personal follow-ups during the 2026 campaign:

• November 2: Campaign launch
• November 11: Mid-campaign follow-up
• November 19: Final reminder before open enrollment closes

These should be personalized conversations, not generic promotional text blasts.

The emails create awareness. The personal conversations drive the sales.

2. You Don't Amplify the Campaign

Open enrollment isn't just an email campaign. Your patients need to see the offer repeatedly throughout the campaign window.

Jeremy recommends reinforcing the message across multiple channels:

• Email sequences that explain the offer and remind patients of important dates
• Instagram and Facebook posts throughout the campaign
• Personal text messages and phone calls
• Signs at the front desk and inside treatment rooms
• Conversations between patients and their PTs during appointments

Each channel supports the others.

A patient might see an Instagram post, skim an email, notice a sign during treatment, and finally make a decision after talking with their PT.

Jeremy also recommends involving the entire staff through regular updates, team meetings, and incentives so the campaign becomes a clinic-wide effort rather than another task for the owner.

3. You Wait Until the Last Minute

This is the mistake Jeremy believes is most likely to derail clinic owners preparing for 2026.

Open enrollment requires more than a last-minute email written the night before launch.

You need time to:

• Build and organize your patient and lead outreach lists
• Write and schedule the email sequence
• Create social media graphics and in-clinic materials
• Set up your CRM and follow-up tracking
• Prepare your staff and assign responsibilities
• Finalize your offer, landing page, and campaign deadlines

The clinics with the strongest results started preparing weeks before open enrollment began. Some even generated package sales before the official launch.

For 2026, Jeremy recommends opening the campaign on November 2, with outreach lists and campaign materials ready during the week of October 26.

Waiting until November to start building everything means you've already lost valuable time.

The Takeaway

Open enrollment works when you treat it like a complete sales campaign instead of a few promotional emails.

The three mistakes to avoid are simple:

• Skipping personal outreach
• Failing to amplify the offer across multiple channels
• Waiting too long to prepare

Build the lists. Schedule the emails. Create the assets. Get your staff involved. Then personally follow up with the people most likely to benefit from continuing care.

The offer matters, but the execution is what makes the campaign successful.

Get the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

Jeremy put together the complete Open Enrollment Playbook to help clinic owners build and execute their campaigns.

The guide includes the campaign timeline, email sequence, patient outreach lists, follow-up scripts, CRM setup, landing page structure, social media strategy, and preparation checklist.

Download the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on sales campaigns, patient acquisition, follow-up, AI, and clinic growth.

• Free Patient Follow-Up Guide
• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic

The One Open Enrollment Hack That Can Generate $100K+

The biggest open enrollment campaigns aren't driven by a clever email or a complicated ad strategy.

They're driven by knowing exactly who needs a personal follow-up, who has already been contacted, and who still needs another touch.

In this episode, Jeremy breaks down the CRM system behind successful open enrollment campaigns and shows how to organize hundreds of current patients, past patients, and leads into simple outreach lists your team can actually work.

Episode Topics

• Why a CRM is the most important tool for open enrollment
• The difference between a CRM and your clinic's EMR
• The four groups every clinic should personally contact
• How to organize contacts using tags, properties, and views
• The three-touch follow-up system for open enrollment
• How automation can build your outreach lists for you

Your CRM Should Answer One Question

Your EMR is built for scheduling, billing, and documentation.

Your CRM has a different job:

Who do I need to reach out to today?

That's especially important during open enrollment because Jeremy says the majority of open enrollment revenue comes from personal conversations, texts, and phone calls rather than mass emails.

If you're managing those conversations from memory, scrolling through your phone, or relying on "I think we reached out to everyone," your most important sales activity has no real system behind it.

The Four Open Enrollment Lists

Jeremy recommends organizing your outreach around four primary groups.

• Package ending: Current patients with three or fewer sessions remaining who are likely to need continued care.
• Past patients: People who completed their previous package but didn't continue into another plan of care or continuity option.
• Trailing 12-month leads: People who previously inquired about the clinic but never became patients, especially leads generated during the summer.
• Warm leads: People actively engaging with the open enrollment campaign, such as clicking an email or interacting with campaign content.

Each group should have its own tag or property and its own CRM view so your team can immediately see who needs attention.

Assign Every Contact to the Right Person

Personal outreach works because it's personal.

A past patient who spent weeks working with one of your PTs should hear from that PT whenever possible, not receive a generic message from "the clinic."

Each contact should have a clear owner. For multi-provider clinics, PTs can work their own lists. For solo clinic owners, that outreach belongs to you.

Track Three Personal Reach-Outs

Jeremy recommends a minimum of three personal touches during the 2026 campaign:

• November 2: Open enrollment begins
• November 11: Mid-campaign follow-up
• November 19: Final reminder before the campaign ends

Every touch should be tracked inside the CRM with the date and a quick note about the conversation.

That way, when the second and third follow-ups arrive, you're not guessing who has already heard from you. You can immediately see the contacts who still need attention.

Let Automation Build the Lists

The system becomes significantly easier when the CRM handles the sorting.

Depending on your setup and integrations, a patient can automatically move into the appropriate view when their package is almost finished, when they complete a package without continuing, when a lead never purchases, or when someone engages with an open enrollment email.

Instead of manually sorting hundreds of contacts, your team opens the appropriate view and works the list.

Four groups. Four views. Three personal reach-outs. One owner for every contact. A tracked date for every touch.

The Takeaway

The open enrollment hack isn't complicated.

Build the right lists and personally work them.

Your emails, social posts, and landing page create awareness around the campaign. Your CRM makes sure the personal conversations that actually move people forward don't get forgotten.

The clinics that execute those conversations consistently give themselves a much better opportunity to turn open enrollment into a major year-end revenue event.

Get the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

Jeremy put together the complete Open Enrollment Playbook with the campaign setup, tags and views, three-touch outreach system, scripts for each group, emails, landing page strategy, and more.

Download the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on sales campaigns, patient acquisition, follow-up, AI, and clinic growth.

• Free Patient Follow-Up Guide
• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic

The Ultimate Open Enrollment Guide for Physical Therapy Clinics

Open enrollment is one of the biggest sales opportunities of the year for a cash-based physical therapy clinic.

But the clinics that have massive Novembers don't start planning in November. They build the campaign weeks in advance.

In this episode, Jeremy breaks down the three most important pieces of a successful open enrollment campaign: getting the dates right, amplifying the offer across multiple channels, and personally reaching out to the patients and leads most likely to buy.

Episode Topics

• Why open enrollment can dramatically improve year-end cash flow
• The exact 2026 campaign window Jeremy recommends
• Why email alone isn't enough to drive sales
• How to amplify open enrollment across email, social, ads, and text
• The personal outreach strategy behind the strongest campaigns

Why Open Enrollment Matters

November and December can create a difficult cash-flow cycle for clinic owners. Patients travel, schedules change, holidays arrive, and visits can decline while payroll and rent stay exactly the same.

Open enrollment gives current patients, past patients, and warm leads an opportunity to commit to future care while helping the clinic front-load revenue before the holidays.

Jeremy shares examples from previous Patch campaigns ranging from a solo clinic generating more than $30,000 in committed revenue to larger clinics selling 55, 75, or more packages.

1. Get the Dates Right

For 2026, Jeremy recommends running open enrollment from November 2 through November 20.

That window is intentional. It allows the campaign to finish before the flood of Black Friday marketing, gives patients an opportunity to use remaining FSA dollars, and gets the offer in front of them before holiday schedules take over.

But a November 2 launch means the work starts now.

Your offer needs to be finalized, your list needs to be built, your emails need to be written, and your campaign assets need to be ready before the doors officially open.

2. Amplify the Offer Everywhere

Open enrollment isn't an email campaign.

Your patients should see the same offer repeatedly across the channels where they already interact with your clinic.

Jeremy's 2026 campaign includes:

• Eight emails, including teaser and early-bird messages before launch
• Instagram and Facebook posts throughout the campaign
• Stories and countdown content as the deadline approaches
• Targeted Meta advertising to amplify the offer locally
• Strategic blast text messages on key campaign dates

The goal isn't for one email or social post to make the sale. Each touch builds awareness so that when the personal conversation happens, the patient already understands the offer.

3. Build the List and Personally Reach Out

This is where Jeremy says the majority of open enrollment sales actually happen.

The clinics with the strongest campaigns don't simply send emails and wait. They identify the people most likely to benefit from the offer and personally contact them.

That list can include:

• Current patients nearing the end of a package
• Patients who started care but stopped early
• Previous leads who never scheduled
• Past patients who haven't visited recently
• People repeatedly engaging with your campaign emails
• Followers engaging with your open enrollment content

Jeremy recommends personally reaching out three times during the campaign: when open enrollment begins, around the midpoint, and immediately before the deadline.

The emails and social posts create air cover. The personal conversations drive the sales.

Build More Than a Discount

A strong open enrollment offer isn't simply a coupon.

The full playbook also covers how to build a value stack around the offer, create different messaging for different patient segments, structure the landing page, organize the campaign inside your CRM, involve your staff, and track every follow-up.

The goal is to make the value of continuing care clear while giving patients a compelling reason to commit during a defined window.

The Takeaway

The difference between a strong open enrollment campaign and a few random package sales usually comes down to preparation and execution.

Get the dates right. Put the offer everywhere. Build your outreach list. Personally contact the people most likely to benefit. And track the campaign so nobody gets forgotten.

If you're planning to run open enrollment this year, the time to build it is now.

Get the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

Jeremy put together a 16-page Open Enrollment Playbook with the campaign dates, offer structure, eight-email sequence, messaging angles, outreach strategy, CRM setup, landing page structure, social media plan, and campaign checklist.

Download the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on sales campaigns, patient acquisition, AI, and clinic growth.

• Free Patient Follow-Up Guide
• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic

The Open Enrollment Playbook for Physical Therapy Clinics

Open enrollment can be one of the biggest sales opportunities of the year for a physical therapy clinic.

But sending one or two emails and posting once on Instagram isn't a campaign.

In this episode, Jeremy walks through the SCALE framework Patch uses to build complete sales campaigns, including the emails, landing pages, social content, and manual outreach that can turn open enrollment into a major revenue opportunity.

Episode Topics

• The SCALE framework for building clinic sales campaigns
• The five emails Jeremy recommends for open enrollment
• How to build a landing page that converts
• Why social media should amplify the campaign, not carry it
• The manual outreach that drives the most sales

The SCALE Framework

Jeremy breaks a complete sales campaign into five parts:

• Sequences: The emails and timing of the campaign
• Call to Actions: The landing page and next step for interested patients
• Amplification: Social media and other channels that keep the offer visible
• Live Reach Out: Personal outreach to the people most likely to buy
• Evaluation: Reviewing the campaign and its performance

The framework isn't limited to open enrollment. It can also be used for New Year's campaigns, new staff PT launches, price increases, seasonal promotions, and other sales campaigns throughout the year.

Build the Email Sequence Before You Launch

Jeremy recommends planning the entire campaign before the first email goes out, including a clear start date, a real deadline, and approximately five emails throughout the campaign.

The sequence can include:

• An introduction to the offer
• Problem-solving and educational emails
• A paradigm-shift email that changes how patients think about PT
• A case study or testimonial
• A final scarcity and deadline email

Each email should be conversational, easy to scan, visually clear, and connected to one specific call to action.

Create a Dedicated Landing Page

Every email, social post, and outreach message should point people toward a page built specifically for the campaign.

Jeremy recommends making the offer immediately clear above the fold, adding genuine scarcity when applicable, including social proof, explaining exactly what the patient receives, and making the next step simple.

Sending interested patients to your general clinic homepage creates unnecessary friction. The landing page should continue the exact conversation that brought them there.

Amplify the Campaign Across Multiple Channels

Email shouldn't carry the entire campaign.

Over a two-week open enrollment period, Jeremy recommends supporting the campaign with multiple social posts, stories, graphics, in-clinic materials, and other opportunities to keep the offer visible.

Don't assume people have already seen your message. Most of your audience will only see a fraction of what you publish.

Manual Outreach Is Where the Sales Happen

This is the part Jeremy believes most clinics skip, and it's also where he sees the biggest difference in campaign performance.

Instead of sending the same generic message to everyone, identify the people who already have a reason to consider the offer:

• Active patients nearing the end of a package
• Past patients who never continued care
• Leads who previously filled out a form or booked a call
• Patients who haven't been in the clinic recently
• Email subscribers actively engaging with the campaign
• Warm leads visiting the landing page or clicking campaign emails

The outreach should feel relevant to that person's relationship with the clinic, not like a generic sales pitch.

Email creates awareness. Personal outreach helps turn that attention into a conversation.

The Takeaway

Open enrollment isn't an email campaign. It's a coordinated sales campaign.

Plan the sequence. Build the landing page. Create the supporting content. Identify your warmest opportunities. Then consistently reach out to the people most likely to benefit from the offer.

The more intentionally those pieces work together, the stronger the campaign becomes.

Get the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

Want the complete playbook to build your own campaign? Patch put together a free Open Enrollment Guide with the offer, campaign dates, emails, outreach strategy, landing page structure, CRM setup, and more.

Download the Free Open Enrollment Playbook

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on sales campaigns, patient acquisition, AI, and clinic growth.

• Free Patient Follow-Up Guide
• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic

AI Can Make Your Ads Better—or Confidently Waste Your Money

AI can be one of the most powerful tools inside your advertising account.

But there's a catch: if you don't understand what the AI is analyzing, you may have no way to know when its recommendations are wrong.

In this episode, Jeremy explains why AI is an incredible multiplier for paid advertising, where clinic owners get into trouble, and how to use it without handing a confident algorithm control of your marketing budget.

Episode Topics

• Why AI-generated ad recommendations can be dangerously convincing
• The context problem most clinic owners overlook
• Why tracking needs to be verified before optimizing campaigns
• How Jeremy uses AI to analyze and improve paid ads
• How AI skills and playbooks can turn expertise into repeatable systems

AI Is Only as Good as the Context You Give It

A patient can ask ChatGPT for a knee-pain program and receive a perfectly reasonable plan.

The problem is that it may be a perfectly reasonable plan for the wrong problem.

The same thing happens with advertising.

AI can analyze part of an account, confidently identify a "problem," and recommend a change without realizing it's missing critical information.

If you understand advertising, you can catch the mistake. If you don't, the recommendation can look completely legitimate.

When AI Gets Ads Wrong, It Spends Your Money

Jeremy shares examples of AI making recommendations based on incomplete negative keyword data or telling a clinic to increase its budget because the reported cost per lead looked strong.

But what if the tracking isn't accurate?

If phone calls aren't being counted, booked appointments aren't firing correctly, or the pixel is broken, the numbers AI is analyzing aren't trustworthy.

Before optimizing anything, you have to know whether the underlying data is accurate.

Three Rules for Using AI With Paid Ads

1. Know what AI is reading. Understand what information it can see—and what it can't—before trusting its conclusions.
2. Verify the foundation first. Confirm your pixel, conversions, booked appointments, phone calls, and other tracking are working before making decisions from the data.
3. Build or borrow the expertise. Learn enough about advertising to evaluate AI's recommendations, or use a proven process created by people who already understand the platform.

Where AI Becomes a Massive Advantage

Once AI has the right context and a proven process to follow, its value changes dramatically.

Jeremy explains how Patch connects AI directly to advertising data and builds specific skills and playbooks that tell the AI what to check, in what order, what good performance looks like, and when it shouldn't move forward.

Those systems can help inspect tracking, build campaigns, write ads, audit landing pages, and generate performance briefs.

The expertise doesn't have to live entirely in your head. It can be built into the process the AI follows.

The Takeaway

Don't avoid AI in your advertising.

But don't blindly hand it the keys either.

AI is a multiplier. Its value depends on the expertise, context, and systems underneath it.

Give it accurate data and a proven process, and it can make you dramatically faster. Give it incomplete information with no one capable of grading the answer, and it can confidently spend your money in the wrong direction.

See How Patch Uses AI for Clinic Marketing

Patch teaches physical therapy clinic owners how to connect AI to their marketing systems, build repeatable AI skills, and use real clinic data instead of starting with a blank prompt.

Learn More About Patch

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on AI, paid advertising, patient acquisition, and clinic growth.

• Free AI Admin Training
• Free Google Ads Audit
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic

The 24-in-72 Follow-Up System for New PT Leads

Most clinics don't actually have a lead problem.

They have a follow-up problem.

In this episode, Jeremy breaks down the follow-up system he used at Ripple, including why a single "touch" should involve multiple channels and how 24 individual reach-outs in the first 72 hours can dramatically change lead conversion.

Episode Topics

• Why most clinics give up on leads far too early
• What Jeremy means by one follow-up "touch"
• The 24-in-72 cadence for new leads
• How follow-up changes based on where the lead came from
• Why automation and AI are essential at scale

Most Clinics Stop Before the Lead Responds

A new lead comes in. Someone calls once, maybe leaves a voicemail, sends a text, and then moves on.

The lead gets labeled as unresponsive or unqualified.

But that person may have simply been at work, at their kid's practice, or unwilling to answer an unknown number.

Jeremy's point is simple: they didn't reject you—you stopped following up.

In many cases, the response doesn't come until the third or fourth touchpoint.

One Touch Means Four Channels

For a brand-new lead, Jeremy defines one touchpoint as:

• A phone call
• A voicemail
• A text message
• An email

That matters because every patient communicates differently.

Some answer texts immediately. Others live in their inbox. Some need the voicemail before they'll trust that the number belongs to a real clinic.

The goal isn't redundancy. It's giving the patient multiple ways to respond.

The 24-in-72 Formula

The first follow-up should happen within minutes of a new inquiry.

Then the clinic should continue reaching out multiple times per day during the first 72 hours.

Six touchpoints across four communication channels equals:

24 individual reach-outs in the first three days.

That may sound aggressive compared with the typical clinic, but Jeremy argues that the patient already asked for help. Consistent follow-up shows that your clinic is paying attention.

Lead Source Changes the First Message

The cadence may stay consistent, but the first conversation should match where the lead came from.

• Missed calls: Call and text back immediately. These are often your highest-intent leads.
• Workshop leads: Start with the workshop topic and bridge naturally toward an evaluation.
• Instagram DMs: Get the lead's contact information into your CRM and move the conversation beyond the DM inbox.
• Lead magnets: Continue delivering value before transitioning toward an appointment.
• Referrals: Stay consistent even if the referred person doesn't respond immediately.

The lead source determines the first message. The point where they stall determines the ongoing follow-up.

You Can't Do This Manually at Scale

Twenty-four individual reach-outs per lead quickly becomes impossible to manage manually once lead volume increases.

Jeremy recommends combining human follow-up with CRM automation and AI so no lead gets forgotten simply because the clinic gets busy.

The system can handle repeated texts, calls, reminders, lost-lead outreach, and longer-term reactivation while the owner focuses on the conversations that actually require a person.

The Takeaway

Your ads may already be generating enough opportunities.

The question is whether your clinic is still present when the patient is finally ready to respond.

Stop judging your follow-up by how many times you've tried.

Judge it by whether the lead has responded, booked, unsubscribed, or clearly told you they're no longer interested.

Get the Free Follow-Up Guide

Jeremy built a free guide that breaks down lead types, follow-up cadence, funnel stage, and message strategy so you can build this system inside your clinic.

Download the Free Follow-Up Guide

More Free Resources

Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on patient acquisition, follow-up, AI, Google Ads, and clinic growth.

• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic
• Free Google Ads Audit
• Free Local SEO Audit

The Follow-Up System Every Physical Therapy Clinic Needs

Most clinic owners spend all of their energy chasing new leads.

Meanwhile, hundreds or even thousands of people who already raised their hand are sitting untouched inside the CRM.

In this episode, Jeremy breaks down what reactivation actually is, why most clinics do it poorly, and the five types of lost leads that require completely different follow-up strategies.

Episode Topics

• Why reactivation is more than sending a "we miss you" email
• The five types of lost leads inside your CRM
• How follow-up cadence should change based on lead intent
• Why most clinics stop following up far too early
• How automation and AI can make reactivation consistent

Reactivation Is Not One Thing

Your lost leads didn't all disappear for the same reason.

Some filled out a form and never booked a call. Others took the discovery call but never scheduled an evaluation. Some completed an evaluation but never purchased a plan of care.

Jeremy breaks reactivation into five distinct buckets:

• Form submitted, but no discovery call
• Discovery call completed, but no evaluation
• Evaluation completed, but no plan of care purchased
• Former patients who didn't finish or continue care
• Leads who completely ghosted

Each bucket requires a different message, cadence, and reason to follow up.

Follow Up Based on Where They Stopped

Effective follow-up isn't simply asking, "Are you ready to book?"

If someone wanted to check their insurance, follow up about their insurance. If they attended a workshop, connect the workshop problem to the next step. If they're a former patient, make the conversation personal to their goals and progress.

Follow up on their reason for stopping, not your need to fill the schedule.

Frequency Matters

The warmer and newer the lead, the more frequently you should follow up.

A brand-new lead should hear from you quickly and repeatedly. Older leads can move into a slower cadence, but Jeremy's recommendation is simple: continue following up until they respond, unsubscribe, or clearly tell you they're no longer interested.

Most clinic owners quit after one or two attempts.

The response often comes several touchpoints later.

Don't Make Your PTs Own This

Your physical therapists should focus on delivering great patient care.

Jeremy explains why lead follow-up and reactivation ultimately belong to the clinic owner or to a dedicated system designed to make sure the work happens consistently.

The business owner's job is to keep staff PT schedules full.

The Takeaway

Reactivation isn't complicated, but it requires consistency.

Know which bucket every lead belongs in, match the message and cadence to that stage, and keep following up.

Your next patient may already be sitting inside your CRM.

Get the Free Follow-Up Guide

Jeremy built a free guide with the five lead buckets, recommended follow-up cadence, and message angles covered in this episode.

Get the Free Follow-Up Guide

More Free Resources

Subscribe to our Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on patient acquisition, follow-up, AI, Google Ads, and clinic growth.

• Free AI Admin Training
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic
• Free Google Ads Audit
• Free Local SEO Audit

Nobody Is Looking for Cash-Based Physical Therapy. That's the Opportunity.

Nobody wakes up in pain and searches Google for "cash-based physical therapy."

They search for physical therapy, and they usually expect insurance to pay for it.

In this episode, Jeremy explains why that's not a lead-quality problem. It's the reality of the PT market, and learning how to convert those patients is one of the biggest differences between clinics that stay referral-dependent and clinics that scale.

Episode Topics

• Why referrals create unrealistic expectations about lead quality
• Why insurance questions don't mean you have a bad lead
• How Jeremy learned to convert cold leads at Ripple
• Where the insurance conversation belongs in your funnel
• The three things cash-based clinics need to scale beyond referrals

Referral Leads Are the Exception

Most cash-based clinics start with referrals. Those patients already know your reputation, understand your model, and often arrive nearly sold on working with you.

Paid advertising changes that.

Now you're talking to strangers who are actively looking for PT but naturally assume they'll use insurance. When they ask, "Do you take my insurance?" that's not rejection.

It's the opening line of the sales conversation.

Lead With Value, Not Insurance

Jeremy argues that ads shouldn't lead with "we don't take insurance" or try to convince patients that insurance is bad.

Lead with the outcome they actually want: getting out of pain, returning to the golf course, lifting again, running again, or finally solving the problem that's holding them back.

The job of the ad is to start the conversation. The insurance discussion comes later.

Build a Better Sales Conversation

Instead of simply telling someone you're out of network, educate them on the difference in care.

What does an hour with one clinician allow you to do? How is the plan built around their goals? What will their experience look like compared with the alternatives?

Then reduce friction. A lower-cost evaluation or helping patients understand their out-of-network benefits can make it easier for someone to experience your clinic before making a larger commitment.

Your Product Has to Justify the Price

No sales script can compensate for an experience that isn't worth the premium.

If you're asking someone to spend $2,000 or $3,000 on care, your clinical experience, space, branding, service, and outcomes need to make the difference obvious.

Premium pricing requires a premium product.

The Three-Part System

• Ads: Lead with value and outcomes.
• Sales: Educate patients and reduce friction.
• Product: Deliver an experience worth paying for.

You need all three. If one breaks down, scaling becomes significantly harder.

The Takeaway

Nobody may be searching specifically for cash-based PT, but thousands of people are searching for physical therapy.

The opportunity is learning how to turn those conversations into patients.

Clinics that stay dependent on pre-sold referrals eventually hit a ceiling. Clinics that learn how to market to and educate strangers can keep growing.

Get Jeremy's Discovery Call Script

Want the discovery call framework Jeremy uses for these conversations?

Follow @_jeremydupont on Instagram and DM him the word "script" to get it.

More Free Resources

Subscribe to our Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on patient acquisition, Google Ads, AI, and clinic growth.

• Free Google Ads Audit
• Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic
• Free AI Admin Training