A sustainable business is a successful business. While returning patients form a core part of your practice’s bottom line, they can’t be relied upon to keep your business afloat in the long term. People move, finish treatment programs, or change insurance providers – and if you’re not working to replenish your patient pipeline, you can find yourself in a position where your calendar is severely underbooked. In addition to key factors like great reviews, a strong therapeutic service offer, and a highly visible location, a marketing strategy is critical to ensuring ongoing practice viability. Part of that marketing strategy should be a patient referral program. Here’s what to know.
Benefits of a Patient Referral Program
We all know the value of word-of-mouth marketing – it’s a major driver of customer loyalty and is considered one of the most valuable forms of marketing on social media. In the healthcare space, a patient referral program leans on a patient’s positive experience and encourages them to spread the word to others who might also benefit. And it’s an important part of building that patient pipeline. In fact, almost 80% of physicians consider patient referrals to be a fundamental part of their practice success.
A patient referral program:
- Is cost effective – it’s often cheaper than other advertising/marketing techniques
- It is powerful – it taps into trust and existing relationship networks
- Enhances brand recognition – it helps get word about your practice out there
- It is targeted – it allows you to build a program that focuses on the specific services or parts of your practice you want to grow.
Launching a Patient Referral Program
A patient referral program is different than other marketing approaches as it requires you to actively ask for leads – rather than wait for them to come in through your website or Google My Business presence. It may feel odd asking for referrals at first, but remember that if you’re not getting those leads, a competitor is!
Here’s how to ensure your program is a success.
- Offer a great experience. Before starting your program, make sure your patients are walking away 100% happy. This will ensure they feel good about referring friends and family to you.
- Have a strategy and goals. What part of your business are you trying to achieve? How many patients do you need to acquire?
- Offer incentives. Patients might feel shy talking you up to friends or family. An incentive such as a discount, gift card, or small gift can help take the edge off.
- Double up. When handing out business cards or marketing materials post-visit, give patients two. That way, they have spare time to give to friends or loved ones.
- Be patient. Those referrals won’t come in overnight. Keep reminding patients that the referral offer stands, and you’ll start to see the fruits of your efforts over time.
- Thank referrers! If someone refers a new patient to you, be sure to personally thank them for doing so. They’ll feel appreciated – and more likely to keep the referrals coming.
- Combine your program with a wider marketing program. Don’t forget that referrals are just part of your larger marketing outreach. For best results, keep up with the content marketing, ads, and public appearances, as these are all critical in building trust and awareness among new patients.
Need a Space for Your Growing Practice? Talk to GZ!
If your patient referral program is helping you outgrow your existing space, talk to the medical real estate experts at GZ. We can help you find a new space to accommodate your growing success, a satellite office for an additional location, or even walk you through your options regarding lease negotiation and purchasing. Like you, much of our business comes through word of mouth, so you know that you can rely on us to help take your practice to the next level!