Our Consumer Marketing Team and our private practice customers consistently report great results from implementing a formalized patient referral program. We recently talked to ReSound customer, Ken Stallons of Omaha ENT Specialists, about the impact of patient referrals on his practice and why it is an effective marketing tactic for him.
For Ken, patient referrals are key to his business. “Ensuring maximum patient satisfaction is a very effective business growth strategy. I aim for at least 10 patient referrals per month. I get these referrals by recommending the best performing product and by asking for the referral.”
Ken is a big fan of the ReSound Alera 9 hearing aid and believes that the product is a large contributor to patient referrals. “Patient satisfaction with Alera drives a lot of referrals and from a business standpoint, this really keeps me coming back for more. In one month alone, I sold 14 hearing aids solely from patient referrals – and the bulk of these were Alera. This is a hearing aid that is not being left in the drawer; people are wearing it, liking it and are really impressed with its performance.”
Ken has a formalized Friends and Family Program in place at his practice and sends out regular mailings. His practice also mails out hand-written “thank you” notes to every patient who visits the office – and these notes go out on the same day as the visit. “We all sign each thank you card to add a personal touch and we send out referral cards with them.”
Creating patient satisfaction is the cornerstone to any referral program and this is achieved with a mix of product quality and excellent customer service. Ken works hard to build relationships with his patients and establishes regular communication touch points to keep his brand top of mind. His practice now makes a point of recognizing patients on their birthdays and wishes them a Happy New Year with a branded calendar accompanied by discounts and a free pack of batteries.
According to Ken, turning the referral into a sale is the easy part. “In terms of sales, the key is the demonstration,” he says. “I just need to get people into the office to demo Alera. As long as you demo correctly, Alera sells itself. Recommending the best product is why I get referrals.”