Internal marketing: the art of patient referrals

Marketing strategies come in all shapes and sizes, but one of the most important categories to get familiar with is internal marketing. You can talk your practice up night and day, but if someone hears the good news from a peer, they're going to feel better about coming to you for care.

Your current patients and their chiropractic stories are some of your most valuable marketing tools.

"Your patients have powerful stories to tell; patient education combined with persuasion and urgency will get those stories out," said Dr. Noel Lloyd, Five Star Management coach.

Your goal should be to make sure every patient is so pleased with their care, they can't wait to share it with their friends, families, coworkers, and everyone else they meet. Always put your patients number one, and encourage them to share their experiences. Some tips Dr. Lloyd offers on getting referrals from your current patients are:

1. Educate them on chiropractic. Make sure your patients attend the New Patient Orientation Class; teach them exactly what chiropractic will do for them, and make them understand why it’s important to their health, and why everyone needs to be under care. When patients understand that chiropractic can make their lives better, they’re going to want to let others know.


2. Talk to them about their care. Don’t be nervous to get to know them and their stories a little better; get excited with them about what chiropractic has done. Encourage them to write up a short review or testimony for the clinic and impress on them how important it is to share that story.


3. Interview them. If they’re hesitant to write a testimony, offer to quickly interview them about their chiropractic success. Write the story up and post it around your office, on your Brican system, on your Web site, anywhere people can see it. People like to talk about themselves, and when you let them know how important and special their story is, they’re going to want to share it with you.


4. Offer them incentives. Create a raffle or drawing for all the patients who bring in referrals; retting as many people in as possible will become a game for them. Host a patient appreciation day; show them how important they are to you with treats, raffles, and free services for all the friends they bring with them.


5. Pamper them. Host a Ladies Night of Indulgence and have all your women patients to the office for champagne, chocolates, jewelry, spa services, skin care advice, anything. The list can be endless.

Think about it; if you went somewhere and got really horrible customer service, wouldn’t you be sure to tell everyone you know? The same is true for really great customer service. Don’t fall into the “just average” category; no one is ever going to talk about you. Make your patients remember you, and make them want to bring their friends in to see you.