In this post, we plan to give you the best referral ideas for business. To be specific, Patient referral program ideas for dentists like yourself.
There is nothing that delivers as much benefit in concern to its comparatively diminutive cost as a patient referral program. This is a vigorous marketing strategy that relies on word of mouth. Patient referral programs use a dentist’s existing patients to invite new ones.
Patient Referral Program Ideas For Dentists
One happy patient has the potential to attract dozens of new patients to your dental practice. And drawing in new patients with a dental referral program is not something that breaks the bank. It won’t even take so much of your time.
The right strategies can help you create a vital referral program that will help you grow your practice steadily.
Do you need help promoting your Dental Practice?
What Is A Patient Referral Program?
A patient referral program involves inviting new patients. The best thing about it is, you can make use of your existing patient base. Implementing it can be as simple as asking to be recommended to a friend or family member in need of care.
You just need to be creative in creating a customer referral program template and referral program name ideas.
Dental referral program ideas
It is critical to thank your loyal patients for recommending your product or service to their friends. Aside from good reviews, this will strengthen your relationship with them and encourage them to refer you in the future.
Your patients can also easily promote the program to their friends. You can give them credit for any new business they bring you with personalized join links.
Cash and gift cards aren’t the only types of incentives available. Product-based discounts, perks, or upgrades can increase patient investment in your dental practice. This will make your patients like you more —and likely bring you more referrals.
If they have a friend who needs a root canal or overhears a coworker thinking of having her teeth checked: “Hey, I’ve got this really good dentist to recommend…”
By providing dual-sided incentives, your patients can approach the people they know with direct value. They’ll feel better knowing that their friends and family are getting more than just an annoying email. This will make them more likely to refer in the first place.
Before asking for a referral, get to know your top supporters and provide them with something of value. This will give them a little push to continue sending high-quality referrals your way.
Consider creating Facebook Ads to appeal to more patients and get referred through post-sharing.
Referral Program Examples
How can you level up your patient referral program? In order to fully realize the potential of a patient referral program, you’ll need to take a more targeted approach.
Here are some of the referral programs around to help you get ideas.
Do you need help with getting more patients to notice you
1. Google Workspace Referral Program
Imagine, even Google has its own referral marketing program. Google rewards business customers for each new user who signs up for Google Workspace.
Customers who join the referral program are given a personalized link to share with their network. When you refer someone Google will directly deposit money into your bank account.
This is for each new Google Workspace account activated through that link.
2. Dropbox Invite a friend
Dropbox is an online storage/file-transfer service. They launched a referral program that is quite different from the Google referral program. With Dropbox, customers are rewarded with product-based perks rather than monetary ones.
They will give you an additional 500 MB of free storage space for Dropbox Basic and 1GB for Dropbox Plus. As a result, Dropbox grew 3900% with the Invite a friend referral program.
3. Tesla Referral Program
Tesla owners who refer multiple people are eligible for even better prizes, such as a limited-edition Powerwall 2 battery. Wow! Do people really need convincing to buy Tesla though?
They even have this incentive where the first person to refer 20 people in their region — North America, Europe, or Asia-Pacific — will receive a free Model S or Model X. They even get invitations to exclusive parties and the opportunity to purchase other limited-edition products not available to the general public.
Currently, orders for Solar Roof and Solar Panels qualify you for the Referral Program. You will earn $500 for each Solar Roof and $300 for each Solar Panels referral using your unique referral link.
How Do You Make A Good Referral Program?
Implementing a patient referral program in your practice is extremely cost-effective. Your investment is minimal, aside from the cost of printing some literature, cards, or signage, and any thank-you gifts are only applicable once you’ve enrolled a new patient in the practice.
Because the risk is low, some dental practices take a more casual approach to their programs. A half-hearted effort towards a patient referral program is not enough to realize its full potential.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to starting a patient referral program:
| Step 1 – Make it a Priority |
| Make your patient referral program a priority in the eyes of both your patients and your office staff. Make sure your patients are aware that you are looking for referrals or that you have a referral program in the first place. Put a sign up about your patient referral program and that you are accepting new patients. You don’t want people to think your dental practice doesn’t accept new patients. |
| Step 2 – Determine What to Offer |
| Now, referrals can actually be pretty tricky. Make sure you know whether you can offer gift cards or other incentives to referring patients under applicable state laws or provider ethics. Find out if you’re better off sticking with discounts for the referred patient. There are no laws or industry prohibitions against offering discounts to new customers. If you have the green light, consider what you’d like to offer. Some practices offer discounts on services for both the new customer and the person who made the referral. You can give a dollar amount or percentage off cleaning or whitening. Other dentists give patients an entry for every referral to qualify for a draw to win prizes such as tech devices or coupons. |
| Step 3 – Hold Your Staff Accountable |
| Staff should be held accountable in some way. You can ask your team to mention the referral program to patients. Or better yet, personalize asking for referrals by assigning a specific team member. They can ask a specific patient about a referral on the day of their appointment or to contact them after. At the end of the week, you can look over how many referrals you’ve asked for. Next, you can start keeping track of how many people contact you for appointments. |
| Step 4 – Take Action |
| After all of the planning, it’s time to take action. Consider a few things: How will your office solicit referrals? Will your front desk handle the request, or will your providers directly petition patients? Will you distribute business cards, brochures, or both? Will you send a reminder email to your patient, or will you make it face to face? any of these decisions will be influenced by your practice’s personality, how you and your staff like to engage patients, and how aggressive you want to be in recruiting new business |
The best first step of starting a referral program is simply deciding this is something your dental practice needs.
Here are a few examples of Dentist Patient Referral Programs.
Surf Side Kids Dental – Locals Only Surfclub
Surf Side Kids Dental calls their patient referral the “Locals Only Surfclub” brand ambassador program. They offer bags, shirts, entry into special contests and even cash prize incentives.
Want to have an effective pediatric dentist website? Read more from our guide.
Roy Dental Referral Reward Program
Roy Dental’s Referral Reward Program offers $25 credited directly to a referer’s account. The referred patient needs to —of course — show up for their first appointment bring the referral coupon or simply mention your name.
Ways to Maximize Your Patient Referral Program
Here are some ideas for you to make the most of your referral program.
1. Be an informative and great source of information
Examine your website through the eyes of a referring patient. Is there a clearly defined location where they can find the information they need? Is it complete with engaging content? If not, make one. This is important if a patient is going to entrust their family and friends to you.
People must have faith in your abilities —Content that is strong and builds authority plays a key role in that decision.
In addition to educational content, make it easy for referring patients to find useful information, such as details about the insurance you accept, procedures and services, locations, patient referral forms, and contact information.
2. Invest in email marketing
You can, in fact, send emails to your patients. Consider creating a monthly newsletter that contains the same valuable resources and educational content as your website.
To make an email that people will look forward to receiving, include links to interesting third-party articles.
Be sure your emails and website are mobile-friendly for patients who access media on their phones.
3. Elevate Your Online Reputation
Positive online reviews boost your online visibility. It increases your visibility to potential patients while also improving your search engine performance. Make an effort to improve your online reputation before launching a patient referral program.
It will aid in the development of your authority and trustworthiness in the dental community. This ensures the success of your referral program.
Building a Successful Patient Referral Program
Nothing compares to a patient referral program in terms of value for money. Provide a reward to the current patient for each new patient they refer your way. This is known as word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM), and it is effective.
Let everyone know about your dental practice.
