Trina Young Greer, Psy.D.
Building a great referral network does not have to be expensive. Many of the tips shared below are virtually free or low cost.
While networking is the key secret to continued therapy referrals, incredible customer service is a necessary prerequisite. Word-of-mouth referrals are typically the largest contributor to new clients at private practices. To receive those word-of-mouth referrals, your customer service must be stellar to keep your current clients coming back and talking to others about your business.
1. Delight Your Clients
The vast majority of companies believe they provide excellent customer experiences. One study showed 80% of businesses polled claimed “superior” customer service. However, only 8% of their customers actually agreed with this belief. As therapists, we understand this “Fundamental Attribution Bias.”
It is important for the therapist to continually look for ways to bring outstanding customer service. This will ensure “Customer Delight” vs. “Customer Satisfaction.” Customer Delight is more affective and memorable than customer satisfaction. Customer Delight requires out-of-the-ordinary experience. Customer Delight will bring you endless word-of-mouth referrals.
2. Make Free Lunch a Reality
My respected colleague, Eric Scalise, Ph.D., LPC, used the “free lunch” approach to launch his practice. He spent several months taking pastors out to lunch each week. 18 years later, the practice continues to receive regular referrals from those same pastors. You may also consider hosting lunches at your practice. Genesis Counseling Center regularly invites pastors, teachers and referral sources to our lunch team meetings to “meet and greet” our clinicians.
3. Invest in a Website
One poll recently found that 97% of consumers go on-line to search for local services. However, only 48% of small businesses have a website. Make sure you can be found on the web. One option is to join one or more on-line counseling directories (e.g., AACC Christian Care Network, Psychology Today, Theravive, etc.). Even with an on-line directory listing, you should seriously consider investing in a website or giving yours an upgrade.
In designing your own website, keep it simple and focus on appealing to your specific audience. Your website should provide value for your prospective clients. Not all websites are created equal. It is important that people find you. Consider investing in help to leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to assure your clients can find your website when looking for counseling services.
4. Utilize Social Media
Social media provides potentially powerful tools to reach clients and build legitimacy. As a professional therapist, it is imperative to stay up-to-date with conservative ethical guidelines set by our professional associations and licensing boards. That said, consider choosing the social media best suited to you and then be consistent. One expert shares important rules to keep in mind:
Draw strict boundaries between personal social media sites and your professional social media
Define your goals for communicating and be concise
Finish your profile(s)
Be relevant and cautious about your posts/tweets/comments
Give more than you take
Don’t get ruffled, but remain professional
5. Write and Distribute a Private Practice Announcement
Develop an attractive announcement and send it to local doctors, schools, churches and other community organizations where your target audience “gathers”. Postcards with great graphics are eye-catching and don’t have to opened and read like typical letters. Utilize your professional social media networks.
6. Thank Your Referral Sources
Consider a phone call or sending a brief hand-written note on your practice stationery each time another professional makes a referral. One psychiatrist wrote me such a note years ago, and ended with the line “It’s a pleasure to serve this remarkable young man with you.” It spoke of the psychiatrist’s compassionate attitude toward our client. I have never stopped referring to that psychiatrist.
7. Look for Ways to Give Back to Your Referral Sources
By finding ways to add value to your potential referral sources you demonstrate that your focus is on truly helping others versus just asking them for help by referring clients. For example, share new findings in research. Call referral sources with information on special events in their areas of interest. Genesis Counseling Center has developed relationships with several other adjunct therapy groups, and we regularly invite these groups to share our booth at networking events. This demonstrates an “abundance” versus a “scarcity/competition” mentality in our work. It also keeps the client’s best interests in mind, so the client can be referred to the best specialist for him or her.
May you find joy in connecting with the clients and referral sources whose lives you will touch and inspire with truth and life!
Dr. Trina Young Greer, LCP, is the founder and Executive Director of Genesis Counseling Center. Genesis is an outpatient counseling group with multiple sites, based in Virginia. Dr. Greer obtained her Doctorate of Psychology degree from Regent University and is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. She obtained an Educational Specialist degree in Counseling from The College of William and Mary. She is passionate about applying best practice models to bring operational excellence to clinical settings of Christian counseling. For more information, visit www.GenesisAssist.com.