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