Many years ago, referral contests were legal in all states. In the recent past, some states have deemed referral contests to be an unethical means of attracting patients and have made them illegal. Please verify the law in your state BEFORE implementing referral contests. Do NOT do anything illegal.
With referral contests, the referral system can be used to motivate patients to refer new patients to the practice. Patients will enjoy participating in referral contests, especially if the reward the winner receives is a really nice prize.
For example, if the office is in the Northeast US, consider a prize such as airfare and lodging for two at a Florida hotel, near Disney World, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Miami or Naples. The cost of airfare and lodging will be significant, but consider the number of new patients that will be gained by having such a contest. Use creative imagination to develop contests for the community the practice is located in.
There will be a few patients who refer a large number – maybe 10, 15 or more patients. Other patients will refer only 4 or 5 patients. Then, there are likely to be quite a few patients who refer only 1 or 2 new patients. By the end of a contest, the practice may have 30, 50 or even 100 new patients. The success of the referral contest will depend largely on making sure the active patients know about it, and having a prize that is attractive enough to get the patients involved.
Just one new patient will cover the cost of the prize, and if done on a regular basis will produce a steady flow of new patients. Consider running referral contests every 3 months or on any schedule that works for the practice.
These contests can also be used for Public Relations announcements in local newspapers and on radio public service spots, attracting positive attention to the practice.