In the first installment, we’ll examine the proper definition of a patient referral program and the beginning steps to making it part of your daily office routine. ![]() In this four-part series, we’ll be walking you through the steps you’ll need to take in order to maximize the substantial benefits of this marketing approach, as well as how to avoid the pitfalls of a poorly-executed program.ĭone right, a patient referral program can add years of income to your practice-all for the cost of printing business cards and a little office diligence. If soliciting current patients for a referral sounds a little scary, it’s not-but it does take a little planning, structure, and a thorough understanding of exactly how patient referral programs work. The challenge, according to Winans, is that patient referral programs are not passive engagements like a Facebook video or TV spot. Join Zocdoc Attract new patients and reduce your no-shows. “If not, then you’re losing them to other practices.” “Over 50 percent of new patients should be coming from referrals,” says Xana Winans, the CEO of Golden Proportions Marketing, a marketing firm that’s worked with over 1,500 dental practices on increasing their patient pool. And unlike social media, patient referral programs are essentially a series of one-on-one sales calls-a current patient tells a prospective patient about the benefits of visiting their provider. Unlike mass advertising, there is virtually no waste on disinterested parties. ![]() ![]() An active marketing strategy that relies on word of mouth, patient referral programs use a provider’s existing clientele to entice newcomers. But in the realm of non-primary health care, there is nothing that provides as much benefit in relation to its comparatively small cost as a patient referral program. Others, including dentists, might opt for the old-school method of investing in local television or billboard advertising, spending thousands in the hope that blanketing a community with stock photos of pearly-white smiles will reach that small percentage in the market for a new caregiver.ĭoes any of it work? To varying degrees, it does. In the social media age, health care providers have taken heavily to Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms in order to reach potential new patients.
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