How to Create a Chiropractic Patient Referral Program

Highlights

• Learn how to create a patient referral program to attract new patients using your existing patient network.
• Developing a patient referral program requires creating attractive incentives and emails to share with patients to encourage them to refer new patients to your clinic.
• Digital patient communication tools can help you optimize your referral program by sending email marketing campaigns and increasing interest in your services.

Satisfied patients are your most valuable asset when you’re trying to attract new patients. Patients who have had a great experience at your practice are more likely to recommend family and friends to you for chiropractic care.

A 2021 Nielsen study found that 89% of consumers say personal recommendations from friends and family are their most trusted sources for choosing a brand, which means you can use patient referrals to boost business at your practice.

Knowing how to create a patient referral program using effective patient communication tools can help you tap into your existing network and encourage referrals to your practice.

Tips on How to Create a Patient Referral Program

Creating a patient referral program should be based on your goals for attracting more patients to your practice. Once you define your goals, you can work with your team to incentivize patients to participate in the program and track who refers new patients to your clinic.

To help you get started, put the following tips for developing a valuable referral program into action.

Define Your Referral Program Goals

Creating a patient referral program starts by defining the goals you want to achieve for your practice. Use progress toward meeting those goals to measure the program’s success.

Potential goals you may have when developing your program include:

• Increasing patient appointments for initial consultations and examinations
• Boosting referral conversion rates from referral to scheduled patient appointment
• Promoting specific services, such as comprehensive wellness services

Create Attractive Incentives

Providing attractive incentives to your patients can motivate them to participate in your referral program. People tend to engage with referral programs when they’re offered what they perceive is a valuable reward, typically gifts like free sessions, self-care tools and devices, or gift cards.

You can offer incentives that excite patients and encourage them to refer family and friends needing chiropractic services.

Possible incentives include:

• Gift cards: Patients who refer their friends and family to the practice can win monthly drawings for gift cards to local restaurants, smoothie bars, cafes, and health food stores.
• Giveaways: Host quarterly giveaways for practical gifts and self-care kits that include water bottles, stress balls, and resistance bands that can generate excitement among patients.
• Discounts: Allow patients to earn free services through the number of referrals they provide. For example, if a patient refers three new people to your clinic, they receive a complimentary 30-minute chiropractic adjustment.

Collect Reviews

New patients are likelier to believe positive testimonials from real people who are satisfied with your chiropractic care. Integrated digital patient communication tools designed to help manage your practice’s reputation will let you send feedback forms to existing patients after their appointments.

The forms can ask for feedback or star ratings on a patient’s session, including the care they received, your staff’s friendliness, the practice’s cleanliness, and other elements you may want to highlight to attract patients.

Always ask for the patient’s permission to post their testimonials for marketing purposes. If they consent, you can use their feedback in your patient referral marketing materials.

Create Referral Materials

Referral materials can support your program to showcase incentives and the benefits of referring others. Hang posters and distribute brochures to promote your referral program in your clinic.

Consider designing referral cards for your practice’s contact information and services to hand out at each patient session. Provide a space on the card for a referred patient to write the existing patient’s name so you can provide their reward.

You can also create social media posts and email campaigns outlining your patient referral program.

For your emails, include information such as how the program works, the incentives offered, and any specific guidelines for referring patients to new patients. These messages can reach inactive patients and increase patient engagement in the program.

Track and Reward Referrals

A referral tracking system can help you measure your goals and track, recognize, and reward patients. You can use a referral marketing spreadsheet to monitor each patient’s details, including the referred patient, the referring patient, and the rewards a patient has earned.When tracking your referrals, acknowledge the referrer.

Send them a thank-you email or SMS message using your patient communication tool. Include details about scheduling their appointment to redeem their free adjustment reward or gift card.

Personalizing your email shows appreciation and encourages further participation.

Create a Patient Referral Program with CT Engage

ChiroTouch, a completely integrated chiropractic practice management system, provides the tools to create an effective patient referral program. With the platform’s ancillary patient communication tool, CT Engage, you can build an effective referral program for your practice.

This tool lets you create email marketing campaigns to foster interest and increase participation in existing patients. You can create targeted email messages to promote your referral program, award referrers, and welcome new patients to your clinic.

The following tips can help you use CT Engage to create your patient referral program:

• Personalize your emails: Addressing your patients by name in your referral emails can help your patients feel valued by your practice. CT Engage offers modern, customizable email templates where you can include your practice’s name, logo, and brand colors. Use the template’s merge fields to automatically insert the recipients’ names to save time while offering personalized communication.

• Create purposeful email content: Share meaningful success stories and referral program information in your emails to showcase your practice’s benefits. Ensure your emails are concise, focused, and easy to read, allowing recipients to understand the information quickly.

• Segment your email list: CT Engage allows you to segment your email list based on various criteria, such as frequent patients or those with membership subscriptions. You can then target these groups with incentives designed specifically for them.

See More Patients With ChiroTouch and CT Engage

Referrals can help ensure your chiropractic practice consistently acquires new patients, boosting your revenue and local reputation. Using CT Engage to send emails and texts about your referral program can drive patient interest and make your efforts successful.