Why referrals are considered – by experts – to be one of the most valuable form of marketing? Simply because it works! According to a recent study in the US, referral marketing—being personally introduced to a prospect—results in business 80 percent of the time.
Everyone doing business in Medical Aesthetics admits that mouth-to-mouth marketing has proven to be one of the stellar ingredients of success for every practice as it offers built-in trust between patients. Take yourself as an example when a friend suggests you visit a restaurant which serves delicious dishes. Most probably you will want to try them and eventually you will visit it.
The same thing will happen with your happy patients. They will be more than willing to talk about your services to their acquaintances. All you have to do is to “indirectly” guide them to do so. And here is how:
Usually, what you normally ask your patients is: “And how did you hear about our practice?”. The reason why you are asking this question is pretty simplistic. You want to collect data and know where does your new business is coming from. If 10 people told you they were told your name by a friend, and 90 people said they saw your post on Facebook, that’s pretty straight-forward on where to invest additional marketing budget.
But you can do a slight deviation, use a “smart tactic” even before starting your consultation with a new patient. Instead of asking: “And how did you hear about our practice?” you can start by saying: “May I ask who referred you to us?” If the patient comes back with a name, then you say: “That’s great! Thank you so much for letting me now. We’ll be sure to thank him/her”
But if they say, “Nobody. I saw your post on Facebook” you just respond by saying: “That’s unusual, as more than 80 percent of our new patients come from our existing happy patients”. In that way, you plant the seed for future referrals (that they’re somewhat expected and common). And even more important than this, you’re also implying that your patients as so happy that not only do they keep coming back but they are also routinely telling others about you.
Best news of the day: Referral marketing requires a very small investment comparing to the great sales results that can offer to your business and this calls for a great way to save on your overall marketing budget.
Tip: Never forget to always treat referred leads with the utmost respect and best service, since a negative interaction can affect your existing business.
Depending on marketing priorities, you could consider having a Patients’ Rewarding Program or incentives to encourage your existing patient base to talk to their friends about you and your services. Our experienced team can help you build and implement a tailor made program, based on your targets and your strategic imperatives along with specific business tools to monitor the results of your efforts.
Let’s start building your referral network and make your business thrive.
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Dimitris
