Healthcare referral marketing has the power to attract new patients and solidify the current base. While everyday referrals are certainly helpful for many practices, a successful strategy takes a multifaceted approach. At AMNY Health Marketing, we specialize in helping healthcare agencies with promotion, patient acquisition, and other capabilities. Here, we’ll provide some insights into why a more diverse referral marketing strategy can work better for your facility than everyday recommendations alone.

Healthcare Referrals 101

When patients are referred to a doctor, a certain amount of trust comes with this recommendation. Their friend or physician likely knows the doctor and has built a relationship with this professional, which helps the patient feel at ease before they even step foot in the door. New patients are simply guided in by word-of-mouth – and that’s the foundation for many facilities’ success stories. There are two primary types of healthcare referrals:

• Doctor-to-doctor referrals: This is a written order from a primary care physician to a partnering specialist for a patient to receive certain medical services.
• Patient referrals: If a person is seeking medical care – whether primary or specialty – they look to a friend, family member, or online reviews for recommendations.

This longstanding practice helps patients receive the vital care they need and healthcare systems expand their client base. Plus, it’s a very cost-effective tactic that extends your market reach by design. Patients who genuinely love your practice and see the benefit in your services will be happy to recommend you to their friends and family – who, in turn, will have a positive perception of your organization from the start. However, referral-reliant providers can benefit from a more comprehensive marketing strategy.

Strengthening Your Referral Marketing Strategy

Healthcare referrals have certainly helped larger practices and private agencies endure. But at some point, it’s worth digging deeper into this strategy to figure out if it supports your facility long-term. This is where referral marketing comes in – it employs strategies that support your current system, helping your organization attract new patients from multiple avenues. It also helps increase conversion rates, which support your revenue stream. Some of the steps you can take to support your current marketing game plan include:

Outline Your Goals

What would you like to achieve through referral marketing? Whether you want to gain three new referrals a month or use current patient referrals more effectively, this outline will inform your marketing strategy going forward. It also makes it easier to measure the success of your hard work and reevaluate down the line, as needed.

Creating a Physician Liaison Program

Think of a physician liaison as a brand ambassador. They build and nurture relationships between doctors and specialists within communities, fostering a steady flow of patients and guiding scaling efforts successfully. Creating a physician liaison program backed by data-driven strategies is highly beneficial for many organizations.

Tracking Patient Referrals

Where does the bulk of your referrals come from? Whether patients typically seek your services after reading glowing online reviews or following your social media pages, knowledge is key. This helps you tailor your referral marketing strategy to better utilize what’s been working to your advantage and adjust the less effective efforts.

Incorporating Technology

Just like a sales team, you can use customer relationship management (CRM) software – or patient relationship management (PRM) software – to get to know your clients. This software allows you to better serve your patients by nurturing engagement, monitoring their entire care journey, and leveraging analytics to guide your strategy.

Advertising Referral Incentives

If your organization incentivizes patients who refer friends and family members, let them know. Referral marketing campaigns can run via email, healthcare blogs, social media, and other channels. And don’t forget to help your nursing or reception staff remember to promote referrals, as well.

Your marketing team can boost referrals and turn new patients into loyalists in many more ways. After all, a productive referral marketing program makes it easier to generate more user-specific content. The key is to tap into those referrals and leverage them in meaningful ways to achieve your goals.

Launch Your Referral Program with AMNY Health Marketing

At AMNY Health Marketing, our seasoned team of experts can create a custom-tailored approach that highlights your expertise and expands brand awareness. Using data-backed strategies, we help providers better understand their patients, differentiate themselves from the competition, and strengthen their reputation throughout communities. To discuss your goals and learn how we can support your healthcare referral marketing strategy, contact us today.