8 Steps to Mastering The Art of Referrals
Generating referrals is far and above the best way to grow your practice. When someone comes to your office that has been referred by a friend or a colleague, they are pre-educated about chiropractic, about you, and about what to expect in your office. This referral has asked for or has received advice from a person they trust because they have a problem that they need solved.
Pat yourself on the back for each referral you have gained in the past. This means when someone had a problem, another person told them you were the best solution! This should not be taken lightly; a referral is the best compliment a practitioner can receive.
How can you capitalize on this and begin to generate more referrals? Is it as simple as asking your patients to bring in their friends and family members? By understanding the psychology of what makes people refer, you can learn how to make the process of referring easier for your current patients, and thus more likely.
Understanding the psychology of referrals increases probability of getting more people to refer. To do this, you must completely remove yourself from the equation. Referrals are NOT about you; they are about your patients. Referrers aren’t interested in growing your practice for you. Referrers are interested in being seen as a source of knowledge to solve a problem for a friend or colleague. Referrers feel self-satisfaction from making good recommendations that they know will benefit their friends and colleagues.
To be considered as someone who is worthy of a referral, you need to tap the logic and emotion formula. In other words, people have to believe you can help, that you have a great price, and that you will provide the service you promised. These are the logical reasons someone would refer someone else they care about to your office. However, referrals are not purely logical, they are based on emotion as well. The referrer must also like the experience of doing business with you and trust that their friend will be treated well too.
According to marketing expert John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, people refer businesses, services, products, people, movies, barbers – you name it – if it makes them look and feel good. 90% of referrals are based upon these feelings. By making your patients “feel good” you are increasing your chances that they will then go tell their friends that they “feel good.” Again, this has nothing to do with the patient wanting to grow your practice for you; they simply want their friends, family, and colleagues to “feel good” too.
8 Steps to Mastering the Art of Referrals:
- Be Referable: To make referral marketing a proactive part of your lead generation activities, you need to be referable. Yes you! Ensure that you deliver what you promise, when you promise it, and that you actually deliver high value to your patients. No one wants to refer someone to a doctor’s office that doesn’t deliver results. The referrer’s reputation is on the line when they make a referral. They will only refer to you if you uphold your end of the exchange.
- Convey your specific market positioning to potential referrers: In order to receive a referral, it must be clear to your patients what you do, who you do it for, and what services you provide. They should be aware of the very specific problems that you aim to solve as a practitioner. When your referrer can specifically describe what you do to their friends and family, prospects will be more likely to follow their recommendation.
- Give your raving fans the tools they need to refer you: Your raving fans already love you! Now make it easy for them to refer to you- both online and offline. Create a PDF that can be quickly downloaded on your website and can be emailed to the patient who is interested in making a referral on your behalf. Also create printed referral packets to keep in your office. The packet should contain information that describes why you do what you do, what you do, how you provide your services, and testimonials from other patients demonstrating superior service and results.
- Know when to ask for a referral: Mastering the art of referrals requires knowing when to ask! Marketing expert John Jantsch suggests that the best time to ask for a referral is immediately after the sale takes place and while the customer feels good about selecting you and your service. This is the ideal time to ask for referrals because the potential referrer is feeling excited and emotionally attached to their decision of doing business with you. When a patient commits to your care plan, they do not see you as a salesperson, they view you as a resource that provides valuable service, and you just solved their problem. Another good time to ask for referrals is after re-evaluations. When the patient sees and understands their progress they will again be emotionally attached to you and the service you have provided them.
- Cultivate influencers: Influencers are those people who not only tell people about your business, but also talk with people who then take action. Identify which of your patients are influencers and cultivate those relationships. Provide them with the tools necessary to tell their colleagues about you. Influencers WANT to influence; take advantage of this and cultivate a relationship in which they trust you, feel emotionally attached to you, and want to influence others to come to you.
- Be easy to find and contact: Do the obvious: have business cards handy for customers, run a search-engine-friendly website, engage in social media regularly. List contact information prominently on your website and your clinic handouts, making it simple and fast for customers to get in touch with your business. Also focus on creating a significant online presence, increasing your “search-ability” online.
- Reward positive behavior: Reward your patients who make referrals. When you reward positive behaviors you encourage your staff and patients to continue doing these positive behaviors- in this case to refer more people. Demonstrate your gratitude by rewarding them verbally and physically. Always give a verbal “Thank You” to the referrer; this demonstrates that you recognize their good behavior. The verbal thank you is often more powerful than giving them a physical gift, however it’s also a nice bonus to give them something they value in return for referring a new patient to your office.
- GIVE a referral. It’s one of the best ways to get one in return: Give, Give, Give… Ask. Before asking for referrals, you should always strive to serve and give. Be generous. Know what your patients do for a living, and give them referrals to their businesses. Network with other healthcare professionals in your community and refer your patients to them when appropriate. Referring your patients to other businesses and healthcare providers creates a strong feeling of reciprocity. Reciprocity occurs when the people you have referred clients to WANT to return the favor. Business professionals understand the importance of referrals and naturally want to give back to those who have given to them.
