25 reasons for your clients to refer

I've begun offering $25 in credit to my clients who refer other pet owners to my clinic. The old idea of sending a thank-you note for a referral is nice, but it really doesn't offer much incentive. So I pay those who refer.

The procedure is automated. When new clients come in, we ask how they found us-was it through the Internet, a phone directory, or a current client?-and enter this information in the client's record. If the pet owner tells the receptionist that one of our current clients referred him or her, we enter the referring client's name in the record and enter a $25 credit in that person's account. When the referring client comes in next time, the receptionist sees the note, explains the credit, and also thanks the client in person.

We let every client know we offer these referrals by including a message on our receipts stating that referrals are worth $25 apiece. We also review our records of how people have found us at the end of the year to assess the effectiveness of our advertisements.

—Dr. Dan Marshall, owner, Cats Veterinary, Clinton Township, Mich.

Dr. Marshall is a participant in the MOMs veterinary networking group, which you can read about at dvm360.com by searching "Michigan MOMs."