September 30, 2021 • 16 mins
Chiropractic practices heavily rely on patient referrals. Patients that are referred in by your existing patients are also typically your best new patients.
In this episode, we go over key strategies for how your practice and start growing your referral numbers with your existing patients. These are actionable steps you can take today to start getting new referrals in as soon as possible.
You can also read our Patient Referral Program guide on our website:
https://chirobasix.com/how-to-get-more-chiropractic-patient-referrals/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You're listening to the Kyro Basics Podcast, the show dedicated to chiropractic practice
(00:08):
success. Here's your host, Nick Fisher.
Hey everyone, welcome back. We're at it again with another episode for the Kyro Basics Podcast.
Today, what we wanted to chat about is how practices can really drive patient referrals.
(00:34):
And this is an important topic because referrals are a huge way for practices to stimulate
growth for their clinic.
So the reason why is because chiropractic typically isn't the first solution that people
(00:59):
think of when it comes to getting healthcare solutions for whatever problem they're having.
And it's not because people don't believe that it doesn't work. It's more of a lack
of knowledge, honestly. There's people out there that just don't know what chiropractic
(01:19):
is and how it can benefit them. And as a chiropractor, you know that pretty much everybody could
use a chiropractor for achieving optimal health and solving all sorts of underlying issues
and symptoms. But because there's this knowledge gap between what chiropractic is and what
(01:41):
you can do versus what people know about chiropractic, referrals is a great way to bridge that gap.
So you have an existing patient base. Hopefully they're educated in the things that you're
treating them for. And essentially, hopefully you've established a good relationship with
them. They believe in chiropractic, they know and like and trust you. So those people going
(02:07):
out and testifying on your behalf of the power of chiropractic to their network and their
circle of influence is greatly, greatly valuable for your practice to get more people in your
community familiar with what you do and believing and trusting in your ability to help them
solve healthcare issues. So let's dive into it. Let's look at what strategies it takes
(02:34):
for practice to really excel at generating a lot of patient referrals. So we created
a list of activities and like action items to think of when running your practice to
really promote a culture of referrals. So the first thing is really you want to plant
the seed early with your new patients. So number one is when you have new patients come in,
(03:02):
plant that seed early that your goal is to help them and make them feel so good that
they want to refer in people. Use that style of language and it doesn't have to be awkward.
You can say things like, yeah, I'm glad you came in and saw us. The power of chiropractic
(03:23):
is really great and I just want to make a positive impact on your health. I want to
make you feel so good that you want to tell your friends and family about what chiropractic
care can do. Something simple like that, you're planting that seed early for these people
and positioning it early so that as you grow older, you can really start to see the
(03:44):
difference. So you're positioning it early so that as you treat them over the course
of time and you come back and you do ask for a referral, it's not weird because you kind
of set that up ahead of time that this is a great way to help the people that they care
about. So you plant the seed early, right? You have these new patients, you're kind of
(04:09):
building that language and some of your communication. The next thing really is when you're in a
good place with patients and you've helped them, they're feeling good, is to ask for
the referral. So number two is just you simply have to ask. And it's not always easy to just
(04:31):
straight up and say, hey, can you have anybody that you can refer? You don't want to necessarily
tackle it that way, but you can position and incentivize patient referrals just by
communicating that you want referrals. So one way we like to suggest doing that is have
patient referral cards. You can get these little postcards printed that have maybe you
(04:56):
offer a new patient special or something. And you can use language like, give this card
to someone that you care about, that you feel could benefit from getting some care or having
us take a look. And you can do that personally as the doctor. You could also have, if you
have front end staff to handle that during the checkout process. We have these templated
(05:25):
cards that you can order from us if you'd like where we'll put your logo on it and your
special on there. And just every patient that is doing well or is happy with the care, give
them some referral cards and say, hey, if you know anybody that you care about that
could benefit from care, here are some referral cards that are special on it so they can come
(05:50):
see us. And it's as simple as that. You're asking for that referral. You're giving them
something tangible that they can take away so they're not going to forget. And they have
to make a decision with that card. They have to either decide, no, I don't have anyone.
I'm going to throw it away or recycle it. Or two, I actually do have someone I'm going
to give this to them the next time I see them. They have to make a conscious decision of
(06:12):
what to do with that takeaway so there's value to having something physical that you hand
them specifically dedicated for your referral program. You can go and order any type of
cards and put a design on it. If you need cards and you want to order some cards, you
can visit our website. We have patient referral cards you can order. We'll put your stuff
(06:36):
on there. But that's step number one for asking. But step number two for asking is when you
have patients and you collect and you have a patient list, you collect their information,
you should be collecting their email address. So that way you can communicate to them via
email. So we recommend doing an email blast to your list on a periodic basis. Maybe it's
(06:57):
every other month. Maybe it's once a quarter. And promoting and asking for referrals that
way. Saying, hey, just let you know we have a new special going on. Here's our new patient
special. If you have anyone in your life that you care about that feel could use help or
the power of chiropractic care, forward this email to them. Forward this information to
(07:21):
them. We would love to help them. Use your patient's email address and your email communication
tools to promote your referral program and just communicate that. You'd be surprised
if you do that once a quarter how many extra referrals you get. And just from saying, hey,
(07:43):
if you have people, let us know. And then a third way, which we really like this method
as well, is actually use a digital form that you can send to them. This allows you to collect
the name and contact information of the person that's being referred in. And then you can
(08:08):
also set up automation on the back end where once that form is submitted, you automatically
send out a text or an email to that person saying, hey, so and so said you might benefit
from chiropractic care. We happen to have this special on. I wanted to make sure that
you had this information. Let us know if you'd like to come see us. Something as simple
(08:29):
like that. You're not being pushy and super salesy. You're just kind of like, hey, here's
the information if you're interested. The digital form, you can include that in your
email blast. You can text it to your patients. That digital form, you could actually fill
it out on their behalf when they're in the office. So if you're having a conversation
(08:51):
with a patient, you say, hey, if we happen to have this special, do you know anyone in
your life that you feel could use help with care? If you do, I'd love to enter that message
to, you know, enter them into to claim this special. And then if they get, if they say,
yeah, I do, you can punch it in for them, you know, on your iPad or laptop or whatever
(09:13):
and do it on their behalf. So there's lots of value in having that digital form, mostly
because you're able to collect that information and then on the back end, automate the reach
out process, the follow up process to kind of nurture that referral in without leaving
up to that patient to go out and tell that person and hopefully they end up calling.
(09:34):
You're kind of taking some control over that experience and trying to nurture that into
an actual appointment for you. So that's just asking for the appointment. Those types of
activities are going to drastically increase your ability to get referrals, plant the seed
early and then start asking for that referral. You know, you can take things a step further
(09:58):
and do things like incentivizing patient referrals. So that's the third step, right, is if you
need further growth with your referral program, maybe you need to do like a raffle or a giveaway.
Now you have to be a little careful with types of incentives. There's different regulations
that you have to check with your state laws. But, you know, essentially you could offer
(10:21):
a raffle or a giveaway or some type of prize. You know, you can give out Amazon gift card,
maybe an Apple TV or Amazon Alexa, you know, fun little things that patients might get
a little excited for to incentivize like, okay, let me think about this. Is there anyone
that could use care that I know of? Does my dad need care? Does a relative, a friend have
health issue that I might know about and might need help with? That just makes them pause
(10:46):
and think for a second because, you know, they could get a prize if they submit a referral.
So, you know, there's an incentive there that could help promote your referral program.
You can get some extra traction by just having a little incentive there. Okay. So then the
(11:07):
fourth step really is when you do get referrals, when referrals do come in, you need to acknowledge
and thank the people that made that referral. The reason why is there's this positive reinforcement
that happens when you actually go out of your way to thank that person for the referral.
(11:30):
Now that person is going to remember that you did that because when's the last time
you got a phone call from a doctor thanking you for something? You know, usually phone
calls from doctors are not good calls. But if you actually go out of your way to reach
out to them and say, hey, listen, I know you referred such and such and they came in and
(11:52):
I just wanted to thank you for sending them our way. I'm really excited to help, you know,
with their issue. You can do that through a phone call. You can do that through a handwritten
letter. Either way, do something special for the people that actually send in referrals
because you're giving some positive reinforcement and it's going to encourage that type of behavior
(12:16):
in the future. If you go out of your way and thank them, it's much more likely that they
will do it again and they will refer more people because they've got that reinforcement,
that it was a positive impact that they had on somebody else's life, including your own.
So, plant the seed early, ask for the referral, incentivize it if you need to, and then thank
(12:39):
people. Thank the people that actually send people your way. And then the last step is
really be a great doctor. And what I mean by that is you don't want to be transactional
in your visits. Go out of your way to be personable and build relationships with the patients
that come in. Ask how they're doing. Try to remember, you know, tidbits and facts about
(13:05):
their life so you can follow up, like how are their kids doing? How was their vacation?
You know, go the extra mile to make them feel important and that their problems matter,
that their life matters outside of whatever you're helping them with. Become their friend.
You want every patient that comes in to feel like you're visiting with a friend for a few
minutes. And people remember that. Be interested in them and they'll be interested in you.
(13:33):
If you create that relationship and nurture that relationship as if it's a friendship,
they're going to greatly increase the likelihood that they're going to think of you outside
of their care. They're going to, you know, when they're talking with their friends and
family and a health thing comes up, you say, oh, you should check out my doctor. He, Dr.
(13:55):
So-and-so, he does X, Y, and Z. He's really great. You know, those type of things make
a big impact when you can leave a strong impression on someone by being personable. So do really
good at being a doctor, but also be a friend. Be really personable with your patients and
build that relationship beyond the care and make it easy for them. Don't try so hard that
(14:20):
it's awkward. Even if you're an introvert, try to be that extrovert a little bit with
your patients and make them feel important. And I know that can be hard. I'm an introvert
myself, so I know the struggles of trying to be relatable and personable and things
outside of your work. So, but I promise you it goes a long way and it'll make a big impact
(14:44):
on, you know, driving those referrals and by just establishing and building those relationships.
So those are actionable steps that you can take starting today to start driving more
patient referrals with your existing patients and nurture that and make that a cultural
thing throughout the practice with your team and, you know, anybody else that works in
(15:09):
your office. You want to promote a great experience and then communicate the power of referrals
and the impact that it can have on other people in their lives. It's going to go a long way
for your practice. So put in the extra work and you'll yield the results from that.
(15:53):
See you next time.
You're listening to the Kyro Basics Podcast, the show dedicated to chiropractic practice
(00:08):
success. Here's your host, Nick Fisher.
Hey everyone, welcome back. We're at it again with another episode for the Kyro Basics Podcast.
Today, what we wanted to chat about is how practices can really drive patient referrals.
(00:34):
And this is an important topic because referrals are a huge way for practices to stimulate
growth for their clinic.
So the reason why is because chiropractic typically isn't the first solution that people
(00:59):
think of when it comes to getting healthcare solutions for whatever problem they're having.
And it's not because people don't believe that it doesn't work. It's more of a lack
of knowledge, honestly. There's people out there that just don't know what chiropractic
(01:19):
is and how it can benefit them. And as a chiropractor, you know that pretty much everybody could
use a chiropractor for achieving optimal health and solving all sorts of underlying issues
and symptoms. But because there's this knowledge gap between what chiropractic is and what
(01:41):
you can do versus what people know about chiropractic, referrals is a great way to bridge that gap.
So you have an existing patient base. Hopefully they're educated in the things that you're
treating them for. And essentially, hopefully you've established a good relationship with
them. They believe in chiropractic, they know and like and trust you. So those people going
(02:07):
out and testifying on your behalf of the power of chiropractic to their network and their
circle of influence is greatly, greatly valuable for your practice to get more people in your
community familiar with what you do and believing and trusting in your ability to help them
solve healthcare issues. So let's dive into it. Let's look at what strategies it takes
(02:34):
for practice to really excel at generating a lot of patient referrals. So we created
a list of activities and like action items to think of when running your practice to
really promote a culture of referrals. So the first thing is really you want to plant
the seed early with your new patients. So number one is when you have new patients come in,
(03:02):
plant that seed early that your goal is to help them and make them feel so good that
they want to refer in people. Use that style of language and it doesn't have to be awkward.
You can say things like, yeah, I'm glad you came in and saw us. The power of chiropractic
(03:23):
is really great and I just want to make a positive impact on your health. I want to
make you feel so good that you want to tell your friends and family about what chiropractic
care can do. Something simple like that, you're planting that seed early for these people
and positioning it early so that as you grow older, you can really start to see the
(03:44):
difference. So you're positioning it early so that as you treat them over the course
of time and you come back and you do ask for a referral, it's not weird because you kind
of set that up ahead of time that this is a great way to help the people that they care
about. So you plant the seed early, right? You have these new patients, you're kind of
(04:09):
building that language and some of your communication. The next thing really is when you're in a
good place with patients and you've helped them, they're feeling good, is to ask for
the referral. So number two is just you simply have to ask. And it's not always easy to just
(04:31):
straight up and say, hey, can you have anybody that you can refer? You don't want to necessarily
tackle it that way, but you can position and incentivize patient referrals just by
communicating that you want referrals. So one way we like to suggest doing that is have
patient referral cards. You can get these little postcards printed that have maybe you
(04:56):
offer a new patient special or something. And you can use language like, give this card
to someone that you care about, that you feel could benefit from getting some care or having
us take a look. And you can do that personally as the doctor. You could also have, if you
have front end staff to handle that during the checkout process. We have these templated
(05:25):
cards that you can order from us if you'd like where we'll put your logo on it and your
special on there. And just every patient that is doing well or is happy with the care, give
them some referral cards and say, hey, if you know anybody that you care about that
could benefit from care, here are some referral cards that are special on it so they can come
(05:50):
see us. And it's as simple as that. You're asking for that referral. You're giving them
something tangible that they can take away so they're not going to forget. And they have
to make a decision with that card. They have to either decide, no, I don't have anyone.
I'm going to throw it away or recycle it. Or two, I actually do have someone I'm going
to give this to them the next time I see them. They have to make a conscious decision of
(06:12):
what to do with that takeaway so there's value to having something physical that you hand
them specifically dedicated for your referral program. You can go and order any type of
cards and put a design on it. If you need cards and you want to order some cards, you
can visit our website. We have patient referral cards you can order. We'll put your stuff
(06:36):
on there. But that's step number one for asking. But step number two for asking is when you
have patients and you collect and you have a patient list, you collect their information,
you should be collecting their email address. So that way you can communicate to them via
email. So we recommend doing an email blast to your list on a periodic basis. Maybe it's
(06:57):
every other month. Maybe it's once a quarter. And promoting and asking for referrals that
way. Saying, hey, just let you know we have a new special going on. Here's our new patient
special. If you have anyone in your life that you care about that feel could use help or
the power of chiropractic care, forward this email to them. Forward this information to
(07:21):
them. We would love to help them. Use your patient's email address and your email communication
tools to promote your referral program and just communicate that. You'd be surprised
if you do that once a quarter how many extra referrals you get. And just from saying, hey,
(07:43):
if you have people, let us know. And then a third way, which we really like this method
as well, is actually use a digital form that you can send to them. This allows you to collect
the name and contact information of the person that's being referred in. And then you can
(08:08):
also set up automation on the back end where once that form is submitted, you automatically
send out a text or an email to that person saying, hey, so and so said you might benefit
from chiropractic care. We happen to have this special on. I wanted to make sure that
you had this information. Let us know if you'd like to come see us. Something as simple
(08:29):
like that. You're not being pushy and super salesy. You're just kind of like, hey, here's
the information if you're interested. The digital form, you can include that in your
email blast. You can text it to your patients. That digital form, you could actually fill
it out on their behalf when they're in the office. So if you're having a conversation
(08:51):
with a patient, you say, hey, if we happen to have this special, do you know anyone in
your life that you feel could use help with care? If you do, I'd love to enter that message
to, you know, enter them into to claim this special. And then if they get, if they say,
yeah, I do, you can punch it in for them, you know, on your iPad or laptop or whatever
(09:13):
and do it on their behalf. So there's lots of value in having that digital form, mostly
because you're able to collect that information and then on the back end, automate the reach
out process, the follow up process to kind of nurture that referral in without leaving
up to that patient to go out and tell that person and hopefully they end up calling.
(09:34):
You're kind of taking some control over that experience and trying to nurture that into
an actual appointment for you. So that's just asking for the appointment. Those types of
activities are going to drastically increase your ability to get referrals, plant the seed
early and then start asking for that referral. You know, you can take things a step further
(09:58):
and do things like incentivizing patient referrals. So that's the third step, right, is if you
need further growth with your referral program, maybe you need to do like a raffle or a giveaway.
Now you have to be a little careful with types of incentives. There's different regulations
that you have to check with your state laws. But, you know, essentially you could offer
(10:21):
a raffle or a giveaway or some type of prize. You know, you can give out Amazon gift card,
maybe an Apple TV or Amazon Alexa, you know, fun little things that patients might get
a little excited for to incentivize like, okay, let me think about this. Is there anyone
that could use care that I know of? Does my dad need care? Does a relative, a friend have
health issue that I might know about and might need help with? That just makes them pause
(10:46):
and think for a second because, you know, they could get a prize if they submit a referral.
So, you know, there's an incentive there that could help promote your referral program.
You can get some extra traction by just having a little incentive there. Okay. So then the
(11:07):
fourth step really is when you do get referrals, when referrals do come in, you need to acknowledge
and thank the people that made that referral. The reason why is there's this positive reinforcement
that happens when you actually go out of your way to thank that person for the referral.
(11:30):
Now that person is going to remember that you did that because when's the last time
you got a phone call from a doctor thanking you for something? You know, usually phone
calls from doctors are not good calls. But if you actually go out of your way to reach
out to them and say, hey, listen, I know you referred such and such and they came in and
(11:52):
I just wanted to thank you for sending them our way. I'm really excited to help, you know,
with their issue. You can do that through a phone call. You can do that through a handwritten
letter. Either way, do something special for the people that actually send in referrals
because you're giving some positive reinforcement and it's going to encourage that type of behavior
(12:16):
in the future. If you go out of your way and thank them, it's much more likely that they
will do it again and they will refer more people because they've got that reinforcement,
that it was a positive impact that they had on somebody else's life, including your own.
So, plant the seed early, ask for the referral, incentivize it if you need to, and then thank
(12:39):
people. Thank the people that actually send people your way. And then the last step is
really be a great doctor. And what I mean by that is you don't want to be transactional
in your visits. Go out of your way to be personable and build relationships with the patients
that come in. Ask how they're doing. Try to remember, you know, tidbits and facts about
(13:05):
their life so you can follow up, like how are their kids doing? How was their vacation?
You know, go the extra mile to make them feel important and that their problems matter,
that their life matters outside of whatever you're helping them with. Become their friend.
You want every patient that comes in to feel like you're visiting with a friend for a few
minutes. And people remember that. Be interested in them and they'll be interested in you.
(13:33):
If you create that relationship and nurture that relationship as if it's a friendship,
they're going to greatly increase the likelihood that they're going to think of you outside
of their care. They're going to, you know, when they're talking with their friends and
family and a health thing comes up, you say, oh, you should check out my doctor. He, Dr.
(13:55):
So-and-so, he does X, Y, and Z. He's really great. You know, those type of things make
a big impact when you can leave a strong impression on someone by being personable. So do really
good at being a doctor, but also be a friend. Be really personable with your patients and
build that relationship beyond the care and make it easy for them. Don't try so hard that
(14:20):
it's awkward. Even if you're an introvert, try to be that extrovert a little bit with
your patients and make them feel important. And I know that can be hard. I'm an introvert
myself, so I know the struggles of trying to be relatable and personable and things
outside of your work. So, but I promise you it goes a long way and it'll make a big impact
(14:44):
on, you know, driving those referrals and by just establishing and building those relationships.
So those are actionable steps that you can take starting today to start driving more
patient referrals with your existing patients and nurture that and make that a cultural
thing throughout the practice with your team and, you know, anybody else that works in
(15:09):
your office. You want to promote a great experience and then communicate the power of referrals
and the impact that it can have on other people in their lives. It's going to go a long way
for your practice. So put in the extra work and you'll yield the results from that.
(15:53):
See you next time.
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