Key takeaways in this post:

  • Streamline your physician referral campaign by ensuring information about your services and providers is easily accessible across multiple marketing channels, leading to a user-friendly landing page.
  • Appeal to referring physicians by not only presenting medical advancements and evidence-based research but also by emphasizing compassionate care and quality outcomes.
  • Establishing an emotional connection alongside intellectual appeal strengthens trust and confidence in your healthcare brand.


Author: WG Content
Last updated: 05/15/24

A physician referral campaign is a key part of every healthcare system’s marketing plan. Referring physicians can help spread the word about your hospital’s services, treatment or care available to the community and connect patients with your organization.

Physician referral campaigns are also quickly becoming commonplace as competition increases across markets. Improved access to care also means it’s easier for other health systems to offer similar services and treatments as you.

Make sure your physician marketing campaign stands out with four simple tips.

#1. Make it easy

It’s no secret that primary care doctors are busy. Make it easy for them to learn about your system’s services and providers. Physician referral campaigns should include an integrated, coordinated approach across several marketing channels that leads to one landing page.

This process of lead generation also allows you to build a relationship and educate your audience about your providers and services.

Consider sending a postcard, followed up by an email and then support it with a digital campaign that leads back to one clear landing page that’s easy to navigate to additional information.

Resist the temptation to put information behind a log-in. Gated content (content that’s only available by downloading a PDF or providing an email) can turn audience members away. Give physicians the information and details they need right at their fingertips.

#2. Make an emotional and intellectual appeal

Your physician referral pieces will undoubtedly look and sound different than your consumer-facing pieces  – as they should. You can include more medical terms and healthcare-language when connecting with fellow physicians. However, many healthcare marketers are quick to overlook the importance of an emotional appeal to referring physicians.

Physicians do want to hear about the latest advances in treatment, evidence-based research and success stories. They also want to hear how you will help and support patients.

In a crowded marketplace, a physician wants to feel good about the provider they send patients to. They want to ensure that their patients will receive the highest quality and compassionate care.

Physician marketing is the perfect opportunity to showcase your health system’s brand and the attributes it delivers to patients. It’s an important deciding factor for patients, and it’s important for physicians, too.

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#3. Give them tools to connect with patients

Help make a busy physician’s day a little easier by preparing and sharing marketing materials about your patient services. Instead of relying on doctors to remember your key messages, create brochures, posters, postcards and other printed materials that physicians can easily share with their patients and families who may need your system’s services.

#4. Build a physician referral campaign with on-going communication

While patient stories should focus on the patient’s experience, collaborating with the doctors involved in their care can add a new dimension. Physicians can answer questions about the medical aspects of the story. They can also highlight your health system’s differentiators. For example, a cancer survivor might not bring up a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, the number of clinical trials offered or department-wide metrics. But it’s likely their physician will.

A strong physician referral campaign is built on constant, two-way communication. Keep the door open and look behind a straight sales message. Consider:

  • Sending a regular email newsletter to share news and thought leadership
  • Creating a quarterly print magazine to highlight breakthrough research and care
  • Inviting physicians from target groups to write a guest blog for your health system
  • Elevating social media accounts by sharing interesting, informative content
  • Sponsoring an event or conference physicians will attend
  • Inviting physicians to complete a survey to better understand their needs

Looking for help with a physician referral campaign?

Our team of experienced healthcare content experts can help you put together an integrated, engaging physician referral campaign. Reach out today!

Frequently asked questions

Make it easy for referring physicians to learn about your services and providers by employing an integrated marketing approach across various channels leading to a clear landing page. Avoid gating content behind log-ins and provide readily accessible information.

In addition to medical terms and evidence-based information, include emotional appeals highlighting compassionate care and quality outcomes. Showcase your health system’s brand attributes to instill confidence in referring physicians.

Create marketing materials like brochures, posters and postcards that physicians can easily share with patients. Foster ongoing communication through newsletters, print magazines, social media engagement, events, and surveys to understand and meet their needs effectively.

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