If your word of mouth marketing system is based on HOPE, you will never thrive. Hope is a lousy business strategy.

You must have a proactive marketing plan that incorporates a number of tactics that will encourage people to refer to you more often.

Here’s a just a few tactics you can use:

1. Ask for referrals. Simple. Direct. Instant. You can start this on your next patient visit.

2. Have a Referral Card Day in your office each month. One day that you give all patients “referral” cards to share with their friends, neighbors and co-workers.

3. Use testimonials to encourage referrals.

4. Have a Patient of the Week (Month) Board in your office, where all patients and visitors will see it.

5. Offer workshops or seminars on health topics and invite patients to attend and bring a Guest.

6. Host health dinners for patients and Guests.

7. Invite patients and a friend to join you at an event that you are particiapting, i.e., health fair, golt tournament, speech, etc.

8. Provide a link on your email communications where your patients can forward the message to a friend, neighbor or co-worker.

9. Provide a referral link on your web site.

10. Conduct promotional offer campaigns to encourage your patients to “bring” a friend, i.e., such as Turkey Day for Thanksgiving!

11. Give to get….give a small gift to your patient that supports their aliveness on their next visit. Wrap it up nice. It must be “personal,’ for this to work best.

12. Use centers of influences for referrals. You can attract a ton of referrals from people in your marketplace whom have never used your brand of chiropractic.

There you go! One dozen techniques for generating referrals. How many are you using? Use more. Use them all!

O.K., here’s one more. A baker’s dozen:

13. Go to a referral only practice. In other words, you don’t accept any new patients who have not been referred by another patient. Now, that’s putting your belief in word-of-mouth marketing on the line! Yes, there are practitioners who have gone to this model!

Finally, how do you know if you have an effective word of mouth marketing system implemented and working in your practice? EZ. Track and monitor the number of referrals you get from patients or centers of influences….

….the benchmark for a successful WOM system is 3 per year from each patient. If you are like most Chiopreneurs, I will bet your average is below ONE per year!

You have some work to do!

The author may be contacted toll free at 877-935.6371 extension 201 or email at ceo@wellnessone.net. Mr. Howell is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of WellnessOne Corporation, a national alliance of chiropractic and wellness centers. http://www.wellnessone.net

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