Five Big Mistakes That Are Costing You Referrals

As the owner of a medical practice, you’re more than a doctor, you’re a business operator. 

However, while you are an expert in your chosen field, those years of medical training probably didn’t teach you much about running your own show from an entrepreneurial perspective. 

For businesses of all sizes, a constant stream of clients is the key to success. In the medical world, with marketing and advertising opportunities being limited, it can be difficult to reach new people. This is why getting referrals is essential if you want your clinic doors to stay open for the long term. 

Having worked with health professionals for many years and watched them struggle to stay afloat, these are some of the key errors I have witnessed when it comes to getting referrals and building your client base as a doctor or practice manager: 

Nowadays competition is everywhere. Simply existing and being good at what you do is not enough to ensure a thriving business. 

Your business needs a clear strategy for customer acquisition and getting referrals. This could include a great looking and user-friendly website, a chain of automated emails or a content marketing strategy with blogs and social media updates. 

If your main source of business comes from GPs, create a strategy to get and keep their attention. If your work is more general, consider what will encourage your existing patients to tell their friends about your clinic and build a plan around this.

While having their health issues resolved is the number one goal, if patients feel uncomfortable due to a bland waiting room or bad attitude from a receptionist, they won’t be in a hurry to tell their friends about your clinic. In fact, if they do talk to them, it’ll be to stop them from coming to you unless they absolutely have to.

To encourage referrals and improve patient experience, seek out feedback after their treatment is complete. Ask your patients how they found the overall environment and if they felt looked after on a personal level. 

Your clinic should deliver ‘wow’ moments which will get people talking about you for the right reasons. It may be as simple as a play area for children, a TV in the waiting room or a receptionist who makes an effort to learn patients’ names. 

Great businesses run on systems. Routines are set and things are done in a certain way so experiences are consistent and staff are not confused.

If your staff are unclear on your systems and are constantly reinventing the way things are done, this will bottleneck your work practices. As a practice manager or owner, you will also notice inconsistencies in the quality of your service delivery. 

A haphazard approach creates impressions upon your patients. We all know how lasting first impressions are, and they can easily colour what follows.

When considering your plan to encourage referrals, have a clear picture of the people you wish to attract and the people who will refer those patients to you. This may seem counterproductive but if you are meeting with a lot of patients who you can’t help, or who exist outside the sweet spot of what you’re passionate about as a doctor, you won’t build a positive reputation. 

You may require a two-step strategy focused on both patients and GPs. Ask yourself: what do GPs need from you that will encourage more referrals? And how will you go about delivering this in an effective way?

When getting referrals as a specialist, you need to clarify your position so well that you are always top of mind for referring GPs when they meet with your ideal patients.

If you provide a good service, your patients and other GPs are likely to refer people your way. However, if your website is hard to find, if your phone line is always engaged or if making a booking is a difficult process, these referrals may slip through the cracks. 

Check Google to ensure your website is easy to discover, set up an answering machine (there are many savvy tech options and low-touch for this now), or outsource to a remote reception service. Add an online booking platform to help patients make their appointment easily and without having to wait on hold. 

Walk yourself through the booking process and get your staff to do the same to identify and remove roadblocks which may be limiting referral traffic. 

The above mistakes are common but should be easy to rectify if you approach your clinic with a business mindset. Take responsibility for generating a constant stream of referrals or allocate the task to someone who has the time and know-how to focus on it. 

Making a few small tweaks to the way you approach this area of your business can lead to fewer empty appointments and more profitable outcomes for your business.

Need help growing your medical practice or career? I have experience as a medical doctor and business coach. Let’s work together to create a life you love. Get in touch today. Go to www.doctors.coach.