Thu. May 9th, 2024

Here’s a little marketing tip that may really help you. If you ever get a new patient referred to you then you want to send that referrer a personal thank you on a handwritten card. DO NOT TEXT OR EMAIL. Handwriting shows effort and that means a lot to the recipient.

Every time a patient came to our office for a meet-and-greet or even called to inquire about the practice we would always ask how they heard about us. If it was from one of our established patients we would send out a personal, hand-written thank you to them. Why? Well, for one, it’s the right thing to do. Secondly, all people want to be recognized. It makes them feel good. And third, they will continue to refer more patients your way.

You should also do this for any other person who refers patients to you. For example, many members in our Chamber of Commerce Leads group would tell others about us. It is important to recognize them, too.

This ONE tip seems simple and obvious. And it is. You would be amazed, however, how often DPC docs forget to do it. Maybe they don’t know or they get overwhelmed or they don’t think it matters. It does.

So buy a box of “Thank You” cards right now. Go ahead. You’re already on the computer. And get started thanking those people who are building your practice.

29580cookie-checkBig Marketing Tip: Say Thank You to Your Referrers
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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