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The 3 Secrets Of Successful Dental Referrals

How to Get More Successful Dental Referrals

The power of word-of-mouth marketing has proven its effectiveness as a form of social advertising in any business structure. A Harvard Business Review study shows that clients gained via referrals are more high-quality clients and displays brand loyalty.

Marketing for dentists using dental referrals has made many dental offices build their credibility online and within their community. This type of dental marketing strategy is easier to implement after you showcase the quality of your service to your existing patients.

Today, we will discuss the three secrets of dental referrals and how each referral type can increase endorsements from your existing dental patients, local businesses and community and definitely, the internet.

Success Secret #1: Internal Referrals

Internal referrals are coming from your existing dental patients’ positive feedbacks on your dental services and practice to other people. This type of referral has a high conversion rate to drive new patients because the reviews come from your existing patient reviews. If you want your current patients to recommend your dental office, here are the dental marketing tips that you can use:

Tip 1: Ask Your Patients

There is no harm in asking your loyal patients to refer to your dental practice.
Time your request to make it effective. If your patients are satisfied after the dental treatment, ask for referrals.

Try giving a branded gift bag for them to take home. Your patients will love to bring it with them afterwards.

Tip 2: Build An Internal Referral System

Create a referral section on your website to help your patients refer you easier. Discuss how your dental referral works and include a sharable link for them to share.

You can also try a traditional approach like handing out a survey via paper pad in your office. Ask your patient after the dental treatment or procedure for their feedback and introduce your referral program.

Tip 3: Create a Reward Program

A reward system can motivate your dental patients to recommend you to their social circles.

A free dental cleaning or check-up could help your dental patients remember your reward program. You can create a point system or give a discount to credit on their upcoming dental procedure.

Success Secret #2: External Referrals

External referrals can come from businesses and organizations. You can partner with a company or your community for value exchange. To break it down, here are the dental marketing tips that you can use to implement external referrals:

Tip 1: Build Relationships within Your Community

Building a healthy relationship with businesses and organizations can be meaningful as long that each party benefits. Exchange your dental brochures with your partnered business or organization with theirs and place them in your dental office and vice versa. You can also exchange positive online reviews with them and promote them on social media.

Success Secret #3: Online Referrals

One of the most effective referrals is online referrals. Established positive online reviews from your patients help your practice to drive new patients. Use these dental marketing tips to maximize your positive reviews on the digital space.

Tip 1: Ask for Google Reviews

Potential patients do their research and search you on Google. Positive reviews will give a great impression about your credibility to your practice. Once you create a Google My Business account, you can start asking your patients to leave a positive review on Google.

Tip 2: Social Media for Dental Referrals

Ask your patients to like and leave a review on your Facebook page. Create a widget that lets your patients send referrals to your practice via email or social media.

Ready To Rise?

If you want to implement these referral tips for your practice, we offer a free 30-minute free discovery call. We are happy to share more insights on how to execute dental referrals effectively.

3 Easy Dental Marketing Tips To Attract High-Quality Patients

Dental Marketing is a key to the success of any dental practice. In theory, a dental practice needs to book 24-50 patients per month to thrive.

To stand out and attract new dental patients to your practice, you need to offer not only the dental services that most of your competitors are already offering with competitive pricing accompanied by a great dental marketing plan and strategy.

In Marketing for dentists, the first step in creating a solid dental marketing strategy is to create a SWOT analysis.

For some who are not familiar with this term and process, it is a process to which you will identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of dental practice.

In marketing your dental practice, the first step is always a SWOT session. Just in case you’re not familiar with this term, it’s simply a structured way to determine your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

  • Strength: What makes your dental practice stand out from another dentist within your area? List down all the points that you can leverage from your competition.
  • Weakness: Check your feedback box. What are the slightly negative comments that your patients have? Better yet, ask yourself and your team the challenges you have to operate your practice effectively.
  • Opportunities: What are the gaps that you can see for you to grow as a practice?
  • Threats: What are the possible unexpected scenes and factors you need to prepare and back up your practice.

Once you create your SWOT analysis, you can position your practice better using the dental marketing tips that we will show you.

Tip # 1 – Patient Referral Bonus System

There are tons of dental marketing trends and strategies which are available online. However, word-of-mouth marketing from your existing patients increases new patient growth up to 70% for an established practice.

To be consistently remembered, allow them to extend your service from their network by offering a patient referral bonus system.

Create a referral card and display it at your office. In return, offer a discount or a dental product to the existing patients who recommended you to their friend that booked an appointment. It is a win-win for you and your patient.

Tip # 2 – Leverage Patient Reviews & Online Presence

Most of your new patients will pretty much be online. 85 percent of consumers use the Internet to search for local businesses. 72% of patients check for clinic reviews before they decide to set an appointment.

Dental marketing strategies such as creating a google my business account, building your 5-star Google reviews, and an optimized website can help you improve your online reputation and presence to new patients.

Ask for your existing patient to leave a positive review on Google and your Facebook page.
Double-check your website speed, its navigation and your content. Make your content, images, and videos aesthetically consistent, friendly and engaging. It removes the fear of some new patients attending your office if your website looks warm, informative, and welcoming.

Tip # 3 – Build A Well Trained Team

Dental marketing ideas and trends come and go, but every time your new patient attempts to book an appointment, their last decision to either go to your office or not will depend on their first impression of the admin who answered the call.

Enlighten your team on the importance of enthusiasm in booking one patient from the phone calls. Train them on how to properly present your practice and services to a new caller.

Get Started

Planning and executing dental marketing ideas can be challenging, especially if it’s something you haven’t done before. Remember, you don’t need to do it yourself.

At Rise DDS, we offer consultation that appeals to your dental marketing needs and effective dental marketing services that suits well with your dental practice.