Sometimes dental specialists see generating referrals as a passive activity, as something that just happens. The reality is that the dental specialists who benefit most from referrals have worked very hard to obtain them.

Many times, marketing efforts are focused solely on attracting new patients to a dental practice, often at the expense of nurturing existing patients. In fact, those existing patients are perhaps your most valuable asset: Unlike potential patients, who must be carefully wooed and courted, existing patients already trust you and value your service.

With so many opportunities to market your dental practice, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest gimmick or program and lose sight of the most basic technique proven to help dentists grow their patient base: referrals.

You probably know that referral newsletters are targeted, cost-effective ways to stay top of mind with general dentists and other influential health care professionals. Many dental specialists use newsletters to consistently reach influential referral sources.

Even the most successful dental practice will soon go broke without quality patients who pay, stay and refer to their practice. But how do you maintain high-quality patients while you concentrate on the clinical side of your business? Here are some quick tips to consider:

With so much written today about the benefits of carefully crafted patient referral programs, it’s surprising that so many dental professionals still rely on fate to bring referrals their way. While offering great results is certainly the number one way to ensure patient satisfaction, keeping current patients happy doesn’t necessarily translate into referrals of new patients.

Many elements of dental marketing are difficult to track and quantify. But many activities can be tracked, and therefore your return on investment (ROI) can be measured. Patient referrals are one of your specialty practice’s most measurable marketing techniques.

In these challenging economic times, dental practitioners have to work smarter, not harder, to weather the storm. But the good news is that with a number of simple strategies, you can market your business and bolster the success of your practice in the face of the current downturn. According to Jeff Francis, marketing director at Practice Café, dental practitioners can follow a few essential practices that will serve you well.

In the dental marketing world, a referrals-based practice is the “gold standard” most practices hope to attain, but which only a select few will reach. Why? Because a practice that is able to grow and thrive based only on referrals takes years of hard work and dedication, and a willingness to first develop—and then maintain—a series of marketing practices that encourages other people to bring in all of your new patients for you. Sound like hard work? It is. But the rewards are well worth the effort.

The idea of marketing your dental speciality may conjure up the specter of huge plans and even bigger costs. But successful marketing isn’t always about big steps. Small, targeted actions can have a lot of power. Here are some easy ways to create big results for your dental specialty: