“I am currently averaging 30 referrals a month from local providers. Thank you for your help in making this happen!” - Dr. C. Boyle
How to Market Your Chiropractic Practice to Generate Sustainable MD Referrals
Getting referrals from medical doctors with research is one of the most significant untapped chiropractic marketing strategies and opportunities.
What would your practice look like if you added on another 10, 20, or 30 new referred patients each month (without spending a dime on Facebook or Google Advertising)?
In this article I’ll show you the exact strategy to build referral relationships- and I’ll walk you through the proven process- step-by-step.
Let’s get started!
Building Your MD Referral Target List
The first step in getting referrals from other healthcare providers is to build your Target List. Your Target List will contain all of the doctors you are actively reaching out to and will help keep you organized.
If you're a chiropractor focused on pediatrics, you may want to focus your target list on OB-GYN's, midwives, doula's, and pediatricians. If you are more interested in taking care of the Crossfit community, you may choose to target gym owners, personal trainers, and sports medicine physicians.
Once you have created your Target List, then you begin your marketing and outreach.
The Three Steps of Getting MD Referrals
Sending Case Notes
Monthly Research Briefs
MD Meetings
With years of experience and thousands of referrals, we have discovered that a three-legged approach is the most effective when building referral relationships.
The first leg is to begin sending Case Notes to showcase the co-management and results you get with your patients. The second one is sending Research Brief's monthly which we're going to focus on here. The third is setting up and executing MD Meetings, where you have the opportunity to learn more about their practice and how you can help them and their clients achieve better health and wellness.
So Why Is Marketing Your Practice with Research So Important?
Research is your marketing. It's the only controllable aspect of your marketing, and it provides the consistency needed to get results.
By sending monthly Research Brief, you can guarantee top of mind awareness and positive branding, by positioning your practice. Consistency is the primary factor that drives the success of any marketing program. Monthly Research Briefs give you the chance to have consistency with your message.
Become a doc that is consistent and stays top of mind by sharing the latest research is a unique way to position your self in your local healthcare community. It doesn't require you to resort to cheesy tactics but instead allows you to market your practice in a way that you can be proud of.
Also, by "dripping" research each month, you can create far more impact than you could in a single meeting. As an example, if you meet with a doc, I would not recommend trying to tell them everything they never wanted to know about chiropractic. It's overwhelming and counterproductive.
Your monthly Research Updates drip the information to them every month. These monthly Research Briefs are the perfect tool to disperse an avalanche of pro-chiropractic information over a period of time. That process is way more impactful and effective at building referral relationships.
Research isn't the only way to do it, which is why we have Case Notes showcasing co-management and the great results you get in your practice as well meetings which build trust and rapport.
But remember, 95% of the "sale" in the follow-up. If you rely on only Case Notes and Meetings, you will be missing out on the consistency of your message. With Case Notes, you can't control who walks through your front door; so they ebb and flow with volume and are uncontrollable. Meetings are great, but clearly, you can't personally visit each doctor office on your target list each week.
Your Monthly Research Briefs Provide a Monthly Marketing Touchpoint, and a Controllable Marketing Asset.
Researchers have produced an abundance of papers supporting chiropractic care as one of the most safe and effective treatment options available, yet we hover at less than 15% utilization because very few of us build a sustainable practice with consistent referrals coming in from other healthcare providers.
It's our job (you and me) to get this information out to the public on our social channels and to the other healthcare providers in our community.
If you'd like more information about how you can systematize and automate that process to get results faster, then become a member of The Evidence Based Chiropractor today.
Ready to grow your referral base? Listen in to The EBC Podcast for weekly research updates and marketing strategies. If you’re ready to grow FASTER- become a member of The Evidence Based Chiropractor today.