We’ve seen it a thousand times in every corner of healthcare: physical therapy, wound care, home health, periodontal—you get the idea. You care for and about your patients and improve their lives. They’re better off for having worked with you.
You just need a system that brings in more of them.
We’d love for you to see more patients and experience meaningful, measurable growth.
The best way to drive such growth is by having a small army of providers and case managers recruiting new patients for you.
I can show you how to do this. Keep reading…
We’ve distilled our system of tracking, engaging and cultivating referral sources into five steps that are on this page.
Identify and analyze your current referral sources. Find the ones who are already referring, thank them and keep them happy. Look around for others like them that could be referring more—and create a plan to inspire them to do so. I guarantee you’re sitting on a goldmine with your own data.
But what if I don’t have any data?
This is a common response, but the surprising answer is that you almost certainly have data—enough to get started, anyway.
The idea is to create an emotional connection with current and prospective referral sources. They need to know that you’re the right answer for their patients. Help them understand this by crafting a compelling narrative that resonates with them.
Go beyond dropping off some branded trinkets and a couple of pizzas. Instead, leverage your referral source data and story to forge a comprehensive marketing plan. In this step, we combine content, touch points, and real, human conversations to help them believe in what you offer the world—and inspire them to be a part of it. This is your referral source story in action.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Use an accountability tracking system to ensure that everybody knows what they’re doing, the systems are built, and work gets done. Meetings, outreach, physical and digital content pieces, follow-up—everything is mapped out and assigned an owner who is held accountable.
Work the plan you’ve made for at least six months. Along the way, keep track of performance, make small improvements, and test the outcomes. Repeat this process as needed.
That’s it. That’s the time tested system we’ve helped hundreds of healthcare providers leverage for decades.
(You can download a more in-depth version of this plan below.)
At the end of the day, referral source marketing is about showing current and potential referral sources how you help them and their patients. This system finds and cultivates relationships with referral sources and leads to more patients, plain and simple.
If you’re not sure why some referral sources send you patients while others don’t, this system brings you the clarity you’re looking for and concrete actions to take next.
If you already have a systematic referral source marketing plan in place, I commend you. If you don’t… well, it’s like that old Chinese proverb says:
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Don’t put it off because things are “good enough” right now. The fact is, you’re not seeing patients that both need your help and would generate revenue. Make it a win-win instead with a systematic approach to Referral Source Marketing.