Word of mouth marketing is an extremely effective form of marketing for a nurse practitioner practice. In fact, I suspect is the most powerful form of marketing for just about any business. Why? Because your FANS are promoting your business for FREE to friends/family/acquittances. What does that mean? It means that those people trust their friend in their recommendation which means they are going to TRUST YOU! It is so powerful, and you need to do everything you possibly can to increase word of mouth marketing.

I would estimate that upwards of 50% of my men’s health and medical cannabis patients come from word of mouth alone. Yes, 50%! I generate more business from word-of-mouth marketing than SEO, Google Listings, Google Search Ads, Social Media Marketing, and Traditional Marketing any day. Why? BECAUSE I DELIVER TRUE AFFORDABLE VALUE. That is it!

If you want to increase your word-of-mouth marketing in your practice, then do these things:

1. Deliver true value to your patients. Throwing a Band-Aid on a problem and not helping your patients feel better will only harm you. You must fix their problems. You must make them feel better. Luckily, if you are providing the plethora of niche services available to you in your practice, chances are the patients will feel better. Is has never been easier!
2. Deliver world class customer service. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT take anything personal with patient complaints and comments. Does a 1 star Google review hurt? Of course it does, but do not take it personally. Just brush it off. You need to focus on the positive. You need to focus on being caring and putting the patient first with everything. If they ask for a refund on something, just give it to them (within reason). If they are having a hard time financially and you have a subscription program in place, give them a discount. I have FANS at my men’s health practice because I have given them upwards of 50% discounts to get them through a couple tough months in their life so they can remain on testosterone replacement therapy. You better believe they refer their friends to me!
3. Ensure your staff understands your practices mission. It is YOUR goal and mission to improve the quality of your patients’ lives but is it the same mission of your employees? You better make sure it is because an inconsistent business is a business destined to fail.
4. Have a consistent practice. This means that when your Google listing says you are open, then you are open! When a patient calls, someone always answers. Essentially, people can count on your practice to always be there in a consistent fashion.
5. Incentivize referrals. Many cash practices have a referral program in place. If a patient refers another patient, then award them with a 10% off “customer appreciation” coupon for their next month of treatment or “5 units of Botox on the house” for example. I know many businesses and practices that absolutely kill it with referral programs.

The point here is that you need to deliver a valuable service and excellent customer service to your patients. A patient conveyor belt primary care practice does not do these things. Most of these patients go to places like that because they really don’t have a choice. I know a urologist in town who is a total prick. The ONLY reason why he is still open is because he is the only urologist in town. If this guy had competition, he would be WIPED OUT. Personally, I refer patients to another urologist one and a half hours away because the guy is a totally self involved pety egotistical ass… I am not the only one in town that refers elsewhere either. This doc does NOT get word of mouth referrals much. Don’t be like him!

If you operate a cash practice though, you are different. You are providing value to patients, and they expect a certain level of convenience and service because they are paying you directly, not some scam insurance company. So, be sure you deliver a stellar experience to your patients and watch the word-of-mouth referrals skyrocket!