Care-to-Share Cards – a Powerful Marketing Tool
Marketing is a necessary part of any business that wants to survive and grow. Yet marketing doesn’t ‘just happen;’ it needs to be planned and created. And in a service-based business, the strongest and most cost-effective marketing programs are those that capture the power of word-of-mouth referrals. When a business can get their current clientele talking about them in positive, promotional ways, they have turned their customers or patients into a powerful sales force that spreads the word for them. And there are easy, creative ways to get your clients or patients involved in wanting to do just that.
A marketing approach called “Care-to-Share Cards” is one of the strongest ways that any business owner or professional can create an atmosphere of word-of-mouth marketing that people want to do. And, when they are happy with a business or professional services that they receive, most people do want to tell others about the business or company, they just don’t always think about it. And that’s where Care-to-Share Cards come into the picture.
A Care-to-Share card typically has the contact information for your business on one side and a promotion or special offer on the other side. With adding the special offer, you give your client something exciting to share with people they know. Then, when the person who receives the card brings it in to your office to participate in the special offer, there is a place on the card where they list the person who referred them. And that’s where the second part of your Care-to-Share promotion kicks in because the person who does the referring receives some type of referral fee or thank you gift from you. With the Care-to-Share card, you generate a ‘win-win’ situation.
This type of marketing program is an easy and cost-effective approach to put into place because it only requires the design and printing of the Care-to-Share cards. The implementation of the program is done by making sure the cards get into the hands of your patients and informing them of the benefits for both them and the people they give the cards to. Posters can be designed for your office that promote your Care-to-Share campaign and having thank you notes created in a similar design as your cards gives your referral marketing campaign a nice cohesive look. Whatever you do, make it personal, make it fun, and make it rewarding so that you, your staff, and your patients all enjoy the process.
Once the cards are in the hands of your patients and referred patients begin coming in, it’s important that you have a system in place to track the referrals and record how many new people come into your business because of referrals and who exactly the referrals are coming from. If you find that you have one client who is sending you a lot of word-of-mouth referrals, that person should be awarded in a way that is above and beyond what your normal referral program offers. Smart business owners track where their new business comes from and are willing to reward the people who help them grow.
Author Bio: As CEO of Galaxy Marketing Solutions and an expert in Dental Practice Marketing Jyrki Ikonen works exclusively with dental clients helping them increase their patient flow through proven professional marketing campaigns.
Category: Marketing
Keywords: dental practice marketing, marketing for dentists, practice marketing, dental practice promotion
