I recently came across this post from my good friend and colleague, Troy Cole. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to share it with you.

Troy is an elective surgery marketing mastermind and I’m thrilled that he’s agreed to make a guest appearance in today’s blog post. 

So, without further ado… Take it away Troy.

Take Your Referral Game to the Next Level with the “Bat Phone Strategy”

If part of your practice growth strategy involves professional referrals from other doctors, then this play is for you.

One of the most common reasons we see when providers SWITCH where they refer patients: They simply don’t feel appreciated.

Think about it: A referring practice calls your office to refer a patient (or even to ask a simple question), and they end up on hold for 5 minutes or even worse, in a voicemail. How does that referring doctor feel? Not valued. Not appreciated.

But this is inevitable if your referring providers use the same phone number as everyone else.

So how can you fix this?

How can you make sure your referring providers’ calls are always answered, and at the same time make them feel even more valued and appreciated?

The Bat Phone Strategy

Remember the old Batman TV show in the 60s? (No shame if you don’t, maybe a little shame if you do).

Commissioner Gordon had a red phone he kept in a glass enclosure in his office – the Bat Phone. When he needed help, he removed the glass globe, picked up the receiver, pressed the button and got right through to Batman. Help on speed dial.

So rather than making referring providers use the same phone lines as everyone else, we’re going to give them a Bat Phone. This is a special phone line that rings directly to your back office, answered by a human, ready to help them with whatever they need. Never goes to a phone tree, never goes to voicemail.

It’s VIP service. A backstage pass. Who doesn’t love that? 

3 Reasons the Bat Phone Strategy Works

1. It makes them feel appreciated, which strengthens their relationship with your practice.

2. It makes sure your team is prioritizing these calls.

3. It gives you a great visual marketing piece when you are recruiting ODs. Here’s what I mean:

• Literally get a fake bat phone and take pics / short vid of the team answering it.
• Make a 5×7 “Bat phone” table topper for the OD offices so they know exactly what number to call to refer someone to you.
• Create a metal VIP biz card with the bat phone number on it that you hand the OD.

These are all physical, visual, visceral representations of how seriously we take collaborative care.

Want to show your referring doctors how important they are to you? Implement the Bat Phone Strategy. 

Wow! Thanks so much for sharing that with us Troy!!

If you want to connect with Troy or learn more about what he does, you can find him at TroyCole.com.