Small business owners often overlook one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them, and that is referrals. Referral marketing, also called relationship-based marketing, is one of the fastest ways to generate growth and sales in any business. It has been a long established fact that word-of-mouth can help grow a business faster than any other marketing option. Just look what happens when Oprah mentions a product on her show – sales for that product skyrocket. And while most people don’t have the referral clout that Ms. Winfrey does, every person has credibility in their own sphere of influence. So why not use that to your advantage?

Especially effective in service-based businesses, the goal in relationship-based or referral marketing is to motivate people to tell their friends, family, and co-workers about you and your practice. And while some word-of-mouth marketing happens naturally when people are happy with a business or professional whose services they use, creating a referral marketing strategy takes word-of-mouth referrals from a ‘maybe they’ll happen’ approach to an important component of your overall marketing plan. The fact is that repeat referrals are not a coincidence but a well planned marketing approach.

When designing your referral marketing strategy, the most important step you can take is to create a structured and systematic process that will capture the word-of-mouth potential from your patients. Your approach needs to inform, promote, reward, and encourage your patients to talk about you and your practice and to offer them benefits when they do.

And while there are several approaches that can be taken to instigate referrals, “Care-to-Share” cards have been shown to be one of the most powerful because they incorporate a “personal touch” into the marketing process. These specially designed cards encourage your patients to talk about your practice to others and make it beneficial to both of them when they do.

Contrary to an all too common belief, marketing plans and strategies don’t have to be expensive, and Care-to-Share Cards are a good example of that. Whether they are designed as a part of a brochure, a stand-alone post card, a tent-style card, or even a magnet that people can put on their refrigerators, the Care-to-Share Card approach encourages your patients to talk about you and your practice. By giving them the card, you are providing them with a reason to talk about you and to refer you.

Your already established patients can be your strongest and most effective marketing tools – like having a large sales force out in the community promoting you and your business – and can be easily and effectively encouraged and motivated by simply bringing the opportunity and advantages to their attention. And that’s where Care-to-Share cards come into the picture. Whether you have them on the counter where they check in, hand them out individually to patients after their appointments or put them into a patient “thank you” bag with other goodies, getting Care-to-Share Cards into the hands of the people who already know all about you and your services is the first step in activating a strong word-of-mouth referral program.

Author Bio: As CEO of Galaxy Marketing Solutions and an expert in Dental Practice Marketing Jyrki Ikonen works exclusively with dental clients helping them increase their patient flow through proven professional marketing campaigns.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: dental practice marketing, marketing for dentists, practice marketing, dental practice promotion