A Revenue Opportunity Missing in Your Practice

Have you received a personalized letter to your mailbox before? Not your email box, but in recent months or even years, have you received an actual hand written letter? 

I'll bet for the majority of you the answer to that question is a resounding, "no." But if by chance you have, how did it make you feel? Did you think, damn, in a time when so many people send their messages via email or through a DM on some social medial site, this person actually sat down and wrote me a letter!

Now apply that to your patient population. In typical current "healthcare fashion" so many patients are used to long wait times, even less time with their provider, and sub par customer service. What do you think it would say about you and your practice if you were sending out hand written letters to your patients. 

And before I go into the logistics of doing these letters and why they are important let me help you get rid of the thought that just crossed your mind: "Yea, I'm not doing that. I don't have time to write a hand written note. I've got a business to run, patients to see, and notes to do. Not happening."

Stop coming up with reasons why you shouldn't or can't be doing these letters and start thinking up reasons why you should be sending them. Too many healthcare providers are ccaught up in "the way it's always been done." Guess what, if you want to blend in and just be another healthcare office, by all means, keep doing what you're doing. BUT, if you would like to stand out, be noticed, and add some extra revenue to your practice, keep reading. 

Iim every practice that I have owned, we have made it a point to send short hand written notes to all of our NEW patients - physical therapy, doctor, makes no difference. These get written on a 5x7 card, placed in an envelope and sent out. Now, while I have had custom ones printed with our logo on them, this isn't a necessity. Its a nice touch, but if you would like to go to your local grocery story and pick up a box of "thank you" cards this will work just as well. 

For every new patient you see, you will write 3 simple sentences:

"Mrs. Jones,

It was a pleasure to see in our office today. I feel confident we will be able to help you get over the back pain that has kept you from enjoying your love of hiking. If there is anything we can help you with in between visits, please don't hesitate to reach out."

Signed

PS - if you know of anyone else who would be benefit from what we do, we always appreciate a referral"

That is it! Simple and thoughtful. State something about their visit that shows them you were actually listening to what they wanted to achieve. Drop your business card in there. Put their address on the thing, stamp it, and send it out. 

This does 3 major things for you:

1. Builds enormous rapport with your patients
2. Shows them you care
3. Asks for a referral

I get countless amounts of praise for sending these in my practice and it has generated a ton of leads from our current patient base. What better place to get referrals than from those who already know, like, and trust you? 

Your current patient base can and should be accounting for 1/3 of your referrals. Word of mouth is a HUGE way to grow your practice. Using these patient letters is a great way to increase those leads from word of mouth.

Remember these only go to NEW patients, not each and every time you see someone. Send them the same week of their first visit to your office. Logistically, this is how you can make it easy:

1. Have your staff pre-stamp, address all the envelopes, and drop your business card in all of them
2. Designate 1 or 2 days a week to write these cards
3. Have your staff place them in a single stack on your desk on the given day/s you are going to do them.
4. Knock them all out at once, but make sure YOU are writing and signing them. If you want to be authentic it needs to actually come from you.
5. Have your staff drop them in the mail

Are you sending letters to patients already?