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Diagnostic centres · Referral marketing

Let the physician down the road send one patient for the blood work and the scan.

Referral marketing for a diagnostic centre is earning the prescriptions doctors write and the recommendations families pass on, so that one referral brings the blood tests, the scan and the ECG together. GullySales builds the referrer list, the booking route for clinics and the record of who sent whom, with no payment anywhere in it.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

A laboratory technologist organises specimen tubes beside a microscope

What referral marketing means

Referral marketing in a regulated practice is being the one a physician, a colleague or a former patient names, without being paid to, because paying for a referral is restricted in most of these professions. GullySales builds the ask into the moment a patient is satisfied and into the note that goes back to the referring doctor, and it never involves a fee.

Also for diagnostic centres

Sales and marketing for diagnostic centres, the overview.

Last updated 6 Oct 2026. Rules for this trade differ by state and professional body, and they change. We describe restrictions in general terms, so check the current position with your own council or adviser before you publish anything.

For diagnostic centres

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

  • “The cut question comes up early”

    A commission per patient sent, known in the trade as a cut, is restricted by professional conduct rules for doctors. Build the programme around service, because the doctors who refuse a cut are the ones worth winning.

  • “Late reports lose the next referral”

    A physician who sent a patient in the morning and has no report when the patient returns in the evening will send the next one elsewhere. The report reaching that doctor, with the patient's consent, is the real thank-you.

  • “Families recommend packages, not tests”

    A daughter who booked her father's check-up tells colleagues about the package and the home collection, not the lipid profile. Ask her when the report is explained, not at billing.

What we do

What we deliver for diagnostic centres.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

  1. A referrer list by doctor and speciality

    Every physician, gynaecologist, orthopaedic surgeon and clinic that has sent a prescription, with the tests they send most and the last date they sent anyone.

    Result: A doctor who has stopped sending is noticed.

  2. A booking line for clinic receptionists

    A number or WhatsApp line where a clinic's receptionist books a scan slot for their patient, answered by someone who can confirm the time.

    Result: The clinic books with you while the patient is still in the room.

  3. Reports routed to the doctor who asked

    With consent taken on the registration form, a copy of the report goes to the referring doctor by the route that doctor prefers.

    Result: The doctor has the report before the patient comes back.

  4. Source captured at registration

    A field for the referring doctor's name, and a choice for friend or family, filled in for every patient.

    Result: You know which doctors and which families send patients.

  5. Recommendation wording for the report explanation

    A line for whoever explains a package report, asking whether anyone else in the family is due for a check-up.

    Result: Pleased families pass the package on to their relatives.

  6. A no-payment rule, written down

    The centre's position on payments, gifts and free tests for referrers, agreed with your adviser and given to every marketing executive before a clinic visit.

    Result: Nobody improvises an offer in a doctor's chamber.

How the result is measured

  • Referrals received
  • Referral conversion rate
  • Cost per referred customer

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Read the full referral marketing page

How referrals work in this trade

Where a diagnostic centre's referrals come from, and how to keep each one coming without paying for it.

Physicians and general practitioners
They send blood work and routine imaging. Make booking easy from their reception, send the report where they want it with the patient's consent, and record their name at registration.
Gynaecologists and obstetricians
They refer pregnancy scans and women's health tests. Keep the scan register and the forms the law requires in order, and never discuss the baby's sex with anyone.
Orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists and cardiologists
They refer MRI, CT, echo and TMT, and judge you on report quality and slot availability. Give them a direct line to the imaging desk and the reporting radiologist.
Families after a check-up
A family that liked the home collection and the report explanation tells relatives. Ask at the explanation, and mark family as the source when the next booking arrives.
Employees after an office camp
Staff seen at a corporate camp come back with their parents. Hand out a card at the camp with the centre's address and the package list.
What never to do
Do not pay doctors, clinic staff or agents per patient, and do not give free tests in return for referrals. Professional conduct rules restrict this, so ask your adviser.

Who it is for

This is written for these diagnostic centres.

  • Standalone diagnostic centres with pathology and imaging
  • Diagnostic centres inside or beside a hospital
  • Multi-branch diagnostic chains
  • Diagnostic centres that run corporate camps
  • Centres with a strong health check-up business
  • Centres serving senior citizens and families

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

  • You want a guaranteed Google ranking or a guaranteed number of leads. Nobody honest can promise either.
  • You need enquiries by next week and have nobody to answer them.
  • You want posts and reach reported, not enquiries and orders.

How it works

From your first message to the first report.

No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.

  1. First

    Your brief

    You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.

  2. After the brief

    A conversation and a written scope

    We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.

  3. Before work starts

    Baseline recorded

    Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.

  4. After the baseline

    The first fix goes live

    The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is reply time, a follow-up sequence, the page buyers land on or the handover between marketing and sales.

  5. As agreed

    Report against the baseline

    What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.

  6. At renewal

    Renew on the numbers

    The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.

How the referral marketing work runs

  1. 1

    Understand your margin and customer relationship

    We agree what reward is genuinely sustainable and appropriate for your business and customer type.

  2. 2

    Audit existing informal referrals

    We check how much word of mouth already happens, to size expectations for the formal programme realistically.

  3. 3

    Design the offer and mechanism

    A specific reward and an easy sharing method are built and tested.

  4. 4

    Implement and promote

    The programme is surfaced at the right moments in your customer journey.

  5. 5

    Measure and adjust

    We track referrals and conversions, adjusting the reward or promotion if uptake is low.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
How do we approach a doctor who has never sent us a patient?
Ask for a short meeting and bring something useful: the scans you do, a preparation sheet for their patients and how their receptionist can book a slot. Leave prices and offers out of it. A doctor refers where reports arrive on time and patients come back without complaints.
Patients rarely remember who referred them. How do we track it?
Read it off the prescription. Most patients carry a doctor's slip, so the desk copies the doctor's name into a fixed field. For walk-ins, ask once whether a doctor or someone they know suggested you, and pick from a short list.
Can we thank a family who recommended us with a free test?
Keep thanks to a call or a note. A free test or a discount for bringing others can count as an inducement in health services, and the rules differ by state. Check with your adviser before offering anything with a money value.
Is it wrong to ask the same doctor for referrals on every visit?
Stop asking and start reporting back. An executive who visits only to ask becomes someone the receptionist turns away. Visit with something the doctor can use, such as a new scan you now offer or a change in report timings.
Why not market each department on its own?
Because the patient sees one centre. A single answer at the front door and a package that spans departments sell more than three separate pitches, and are easier to refer to.
Can we discount packages?
Packages are priced in the market and a clear price helps families compare. Inducements and discounts on health services may be restricted, and the position differs by state and changes. Your adviser should confirm anything promotional.
How much does it cost?
There is no price list, because the work differs by business. The fee is scoped after we have read your brief and spoken to you, and put in writing before anything starts, split into our time, your media spend and production.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.

From the blog

Further reading for diagnostic centres.

All articles

More for diagnostic centres

Everything else we would do for you.

Or start from the overview: sales and marketing for diagnostic centres.

Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.

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