Case Study: Improving GP Referral Preference for a Hearing Loss Brand
Background & Problem to Solve
A national hearing healthcare provider partnered with AusDoc to strengthen GP referral preference for their brand through building brand awareness and understanding at the point of referral.
GPs are required to navigate multiple hearing clinic options, often with limited differentiation or understanding between a long list of providers.
Referral decisions are commonly driven by habit, perceived reliability, past patient feedback and ease of referral rather than strong brand loyalty.
Key Successes & Results
Following campaign activity, measurable improvements were observed across all key brand referral indicators:
- Q4. Which of the following hearing test or hearing aid providers have you heard of before?
Increased +26.9% growth
- Q6. How confident are you referring patients to this clinic?
Increased +19.9% growth
- Q7. Which clinic is your FIRST CHOICE for referrals? (Select ONLY one)
Increased +97.8% growth
Strategy
AusDoc delivered a targeted GP engagement program combining:
- GP-focused Solus eDM sent to +25K GPs nationally
- High-impact digital display placements run across AusDoc
- A pre- and post-campaign GP survey to track changes in brand perception and referral behaviour
Alongside brand metrics, the study explored what are the critical factors influencing GP referral decisions, providing context for how and why change occurred.
Key Insights from GPs
Findings from a separate AusDoc survey that explored growing awareness among patients and increasing demand for effective treatment options, highlighted several consistent themes influencing referral behaviour:
- Relationships matter: Knowing the clinicians and trusting patient care is the primary driver of referral choice
- Access is critical: Ease and speed of appointments strongly influence decisions
- Practical factors support, but don’t lead: Location and affordability play a secondary role
- Clinical standards are assumed: Thorough assessments and reporting are expected, not differentiators
These insights reinforced the importance of sustained visibility and credibility within GP-focused environments.
Why it worked
By reinforcing familiarity, accessibility, and consistent GP presence, the results suggest that when GP communication aligns with how referrals are actually made, targeted healthcare media can shift both confidence and preference, not just awareness.
Importantly, improving top-of-mind presence directly supports referral behaviour in a category where perceived differentiation is low.
Conclusion
The findings, combined with a low but growing brand awareness and market share, show it’s critical to support further progression by activity focusing on:
- Reinforcing familiarity to build awareness and subsequent habitual referral behaviour
- Deepening credibility through consistent GP engagement
- Supporting long-term referral growth rather than short-term awareness gains
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Source
AusDoc Survey: How Doctors Diagnose and Treat Hearing Loss, Jan 2026 (n=129)
AusDoc Database, Q3 2025
This article was written with the assistance of AI