Fuel Up To Drive Your Practice

Guest Column By Hillary O’Callaghan

Apparently, the oil industry isn’t the only one cashing in on the skyrocketing gas prices. In South Dakota, Dr. John is taking advantage of the soaring gas prices; while his patients are cashing in at the pump, his referrals numbers may be increasing at a rate faster than that Exxon Mobil sign down the street.

Dentists are often baffled at how to reach their audience in a way that will excite them. After all, everyone has teeth, so the audience is pretty much everyone in your area. How are you going to reach all these people, from all different walks of life, in a personal and relevant manner? The answer is usually through a lot of market research.

So how did Dr. John fashion this win-win situation? Using his monthly patient newsletter as the vehicle (no pun intended), he is announcing his new referral rewards program: For every friend or family member referred to his office, Dr. John will award his referring patient with a $30.00 gas card. We’ll be sending this announcement to his best referring patients (those most likely to refer to him) to elicit the best response to the promotion.

You too can generate more referrals AND help your existing patients with this ever-increasing burden. Simply offer an incentive that will hit home with your patients. The response just might be enough to fill your tank.