Do you realize your most profitable assets are your current and former patients? Most doctors do not. They are too busy trying to chase after new patients (that they neglect once they get them). According to a survey conducted by Fortune magazine, it is five times as expensive to get a new patient (or customer) as it is to sell to the existing patient (or customer).

You are literally sitting on a gold mine at this very moment. Really, I mean it! The fastest, straightest path to developing massive practice growth is consistently going after your past and current patients. Your patients trust you, they have faith in your ability, and they like you. So, wouldn't it make sense to become proactive, even ethically “aggressive” – in marketing to your existing patients?

You'll quickly find your easiest source of new profits using this one idea. It's downright expensive to get new patients, while the cost of reaching your existing or former patients is almost nothing. That is why the first thing I do when consulting with a new client is to have them go after their current and past patients.

Remember all those old patient files sitting in your office – well, we're going to bring them back into your practice. You've spent an enormous amount of money, time and effort to get them into your office the first time, so let's recoup your investment.

First, you'll need to put together a list of everyone who is not been in for one year, two years, three years, etc. Whatever you think is a reasonable amount of time. I suggest one year, because those still remember you and your list will be more current. Plus, you don't want to reward patients too early, but then again, you don't want to wait too long before they establish a relationship with another provider.

After you establish the guideline, you will send a personal letter to “lure” the lost patient back. Your letter needs to show concern for their well-being and also an irresistible inducement come back. The best inducement is a free service or product. Everyone loves to get something for free.

Free is the best offer you can make. Use something with a high perceived value but low hard cost to you. For example, a free seminar featuring local specialists and you or a free compilation of reports on relevant disease processes. A demonstration of a procedure you or an associate does. Then, once they come back, you'll get these patients back into the habit of using your services. Also, at the same time, you should have special offers available for other services they may be interested in.

A very smart thing to do is set an expiration date and limit the time they can come in for these free gifts. That way you have a very structured offer. You should not send too many of these letters at once, because I guarantee you’ll be swamped with business. So try out 100 or 200 and a time and see how it goes. You can ramp further mailings up or down as needed.

To illustrate this point, let me give you an example from the remodeling industry. Once a homeowner gets their kitchen remodeled after a short time they begin to notice the bathroom or some other part of the house really needs work. The new section only serves to highlight and contrast how much worse the other sections are.

And so it is with your patients. Once they become more aware of their health in one area, other areas gather their attention as well. This presents a perfect opportunity for you – if you keep in contact with your patients.

That means you should be continually in contact with your patient. By using a combination of newsletters, postcards, letters, etc. you can keep them informed of new procedures and services you offer. For the cost of a stamp, you can produce a windfall profits in your practice.

For some people, this will seem like a lot of extra work. I disagree. Here's why: a statistic from the mail-order industry says that a customer will lose 10% of their value every month they are not contacted. So after 10 months, you might as well be mailing to the white pages. Keep in mind, the transaction value of your patients is high enough that you can afford to keep contacting your existing patients over and over again.

I'd bet referrals and word-of-mouth are a substantial, dare I say very important, part of your practice. Most offices rely on referrals for somewhere between 20 to 75% of their business. Yet, the same offices give no thought whatsoever to engineering a system to cultivate and extract referrals.

Simply providing adequate service is not enough to generate tons of referrals rolling into your door. You’ll never get anywhere close to what you should get, unless you ethically ask for them.

The first thing you need to do is position yourself to become the recipient of referral. That means you must deliver incredible service, what I call the “WOW” factor. This makes patients compelled to give you referrals. One easy way to start is to make a quick list of everything patients expect when they come to your office, and then brainstorm for ways to exceed those expectations. By delivering the “WOW” experience you’re sure to get more people to talk about you.