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Posts Tagged ‘Aesthetic Advertising’
Advertising to Attract Aesthetic Patients
Friday, December 12th, 2008Where Did the Aesthetic Patients Go?
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008I’m getting more and more stress calls from aesthetic physicians saying they need help. Their phones have stopped ringing, the reception area is a ghost town and their staff is way too busy doing nothing. Help!
Ok, let’s regroup. First, we need to check your mindset – otherwise known as attitude.
Have you ever heard that saying “If you believe it’s true or you believe it’s not – you’re right?” What are you saying to yourself? Are you coming from a place of abundance or from scarcity? The aesthetic physicians who will fare better are those who believe and are open to opportunities. Open your mind and eyes to “see” the opportunities and what you can do now to combat the negativity going on around you.
By the way, aesthetic patients have not vanished. In my book /“Your Aesthetic Practice/What Your Patients Are Saying” I remind you there are many social trends driving their needs. Let’s not forget there are 76 million baby boomers who still want to look and feel good. They may need more prodding from you but their initial want is still there.
Here’s a secret in marketing. Always cater to the wants of an aesthetic patient on an emotional level. Remind them how your services will make them feel better, more alive and younger. And, stay in touch. You must build a relationship with these patients who may be rethinking and re-prioritizing their needs. Simply communicating with them regularly and letting them know their options could be enough to get them to come back.
Help your aesthetic patients see the opportunities as well. Perhaps they have backed away from more expensive surgical procedures so this is the perfect opportunity to educate them on what you can do for a lot less money and downtime (fillers and Botox). The more you connect with them now on the smaller procedures, the more likely they will be to stay with you for the bigger procedures.
Keep a good attitude – keep in touch with your aesthetic patients – keep your revenues flowing.
Follow the Money in Aesthetic Marketing
Monday, November 24th, 2008Have you pulled back on your promotional efforts? Or, do you see this as an opportunity to invest in your practice?
A great example of someone who understands opportunity is Warren Buffet who is buying up bargains like crazy right now because others have stepped away from the table out of fear.
The secret is to go where the money is. That means if you are even breaking even with any of your promotional efforts – keep doing them! Keep current patients coming in and attract new patients now so when times are better, they will stick with you and spend more with you.
Those who conquer tough times are the ones who get into motion and do something. This is critical because money is attracted to movement and speed. It’s not attracted to those who are scared and standing still.
Get in the game…winners embrace these challenges and do what it takes to not only weather the storm but flourish in it.
The Secret to Aesthetic Marketing
Friday, October 31st, 2008One of the biggest secrets in aesthetic marketing that increases the response to your offers is….multiple exposures. The more times an aesthetic patient hears and sees your name, the more comfortable they will be with you and trust that you are the perfect solution for them.
Another way to get multiple exposures is through combinations of media. If at the same time your patient is receiving mail from you, they also see your ad in the local newspaper and their girlfriend mentions you… that’s powerful and compelling for them to call you since they feel as if they know you better.
Multiple exposures gives your patients instant recognition of your name and practice and a much better chance of them responding to your promotional efforts because they are mentally saying, “Oh yes. I know you.” and is now much more receptive to you.
Here are other low costs things you can use for multiple exposures to your aesthetic patients:
#1: A uniform business image – colors, your name, a logo carried over to your practice materials, your website, your signage and of course all your advertising.
#2: Repetitive contact with fewer aesthetic patients rather than just one contact with a large number of prospective patients.
#3: Distribution of your brochures and business cards to strategic alliances.
#4: The sponsorship of a community event.
The point is to stay in front of your patients as well as your prospective patients. Because, when they are finally ready for aesthetic enhancement, they are going to look up and look for answers and you better be there for them!
The Holidays Are Coming and So Are Your Aethetic Patients
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008With the holidays right around the corner, you want to strategically reach out to your patients. This time of year is full of emotional hot buttons for your patients so be sure you are communicating with them about the possibilities you offer to have them looking fabulous for the Holidays.
Aesthetic Patient Hot Buttons
The aesthetic patient is now thinking about the upcoming holidays. That means Holiday parties with friends, office parties with coworkers and get-togethers with family. Cameras will be clicking and video cameras will be humming so your patients will want to look their best since these photos and videos will be circulating for months and years to come.
They may also be pondering having more invasive enhancement done since their company may close down during the holidays or they can take some time for themselves and could afford a little downtime.
Your patients may also get an annual bonus they want to spend on something special just for them.
Let them know the possibilities and how you can help them. Give them a choice about all the possibilities but then break it down in case they want to take smaller steps.
Now is the time to communicate with your patients about how fabulous they could look during the Holidays.
What Do Aesthetic Patients Want?
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008Aesthetic medicine is all about emotions. The more you understand the motivations of your aesthetic patients, the more likely they will be to respond to your promotional efforts.
In my book called Your Aesthetic Practice , I interviewed 75 aesthetic patients and asked them why they were seeking cosmetic enhancement. Most of the answers were logical and discussed they wanted to look better because they were getting a new job or they were newly single and wanted to start dating, etc.
However, when I probed further, the underlying reasons were much more emotional then logical. If I had to sum it up in one sentence, the biggest reason patients seeked out your services was to feel better about themselves. They thought looking better would make them feel better.
And, they were buying hope. Hope you would make them look better and then their lives would be better. So, in essence, you are really in the business of feelings. And, the more you address those emotional needs and reassure your aesthetic patients you will make them look and feel better, the more likely they are to move forward.
Plastic Surgery Advertising
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008If you are getting less then stellar results from your advertising, I’ll bet I know why.
You probably use a graphic of a pretty lady that says “model” on the side. You most likely have a laundry list of your services. Maybe you even included a photo of you with your credentials.
So, what’s wrong with that? The answer is – everything!
Think of how you yourself read. Don’t you look for headlines that grab your attention? That are pertinent to you? That solve your problems or peak your curiosity? Well, it’s the same for your prospective patients. The more you write about them, the more likely you are to get their attention, hold it and then encourage them to respond to you to learn more.
My advice is to offer a free report on one topic of interest. You might be hesitant since this will leave out a majority of other prospective patients but I assure you, the most specific you are, the more response you will get from a more eager group. This is not the time to be a jack-of-all-trades.
I love the free report because its non-threatening; yet, it helps you build a new database of possible new patients who raised their hand to say they might be interested. Now, the secret is to communicate with this person. Get to know them at the pace they are comfortable with. Aesthetic enhancement is a highly personal decision to make. They may be ready now but if not, don’t give up. Just keep in touch so they do call you when they are ready.
Lean more in my aesthetic book:
http://www.cosmeticimagemarketing.com/book.php
Aesthetic Advertising Must-Haves
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Before you spend another dime on advertising, ask yourself the purpose of it. Are you keeping your name out in the community so they know you exist? Or, are you trying to get your telephone to ring with new, motivated aesthetic patients interested in your services? If it’s the latter, I can help.
Prospective aesthetic patients only care about one thing – “What’s In It For Me?” They want to know what you have that can make them look and feel better. This is the world of emotion-based medicine so you want to address their feelings. By the way, those can be positive feelings such as to have a better social life or they can be negative feelings such as you don’t want to be embarrassed anymore.
Start with an eye-catching, emotional headline since that’s the most important factor in the success of your ad. Perhaps it’s a bold statement such as “How To Look Younger in 30 Minutes” or it’s based on negative feelings, “Do You Cringe When You Look in the Mirror?” or something in between. The point is to get their attention so they continue to read.
Now, keep them with you by offering interesting information explaining how or what you can do to address their feelings. And, then give them a reason to contact you now rather than wait and forget to contact you at all. Use a special offer such as a free report or a free voice message telling them even more about the procedure and urging them to leave their name and number so your staff can call them back for a consultation. By then, they will feel more bonded to you since they read your ad, read your report and listened to your message.
This multi-step approach to marketing will most likely be more effective than trying for a one-step close. There’s just too much clutter in the advertising world to get the attention and positive reaction you want.
Promote Aesthetic Practice Through Education
Monday, July 7th, 2008Today’s cosmetic patients are inundated with advertising. They are bombarded with more than 3,000 messages per day from all fronts and are more confused than ever. Since they can handle only so much new information at any given time, they tune out all but the most important to them at that moment.
Your cosmetic patients only care about one thing – “What’s in it for me?”
That means you must be more creative than your competitors. Be different. See what everyone else is doing and do something else so you stand out. A great idea is to use advertising to educate rather than sell. Pick one topic that is newsy and informative. Decide on a bold heading and then use copy full of benefits to the cosmetic patient. Also include a special offer such as a report to learn more about the aesthetic treatment, procedure or product they are interested in.
Since it’s getting more and more difficult to sell a new cosmetic patient on you and your practice in just one ad, your goal is to get them to raise their hand to indicate they are at least interested in aesthetics. You can then follow up with them to develop a relationship and turn them into loyal patients.
You want to then track your results. You want to know how many prospective patients respond and how many are converted to cash-paying procedures. This will give you your return on investment (ROI) so you know if you should continue this ad or tweak it for better results.
Aesthetic Marketing: Changing Seasons Equal Opportunity for You
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008By: Catherine Maley, MBA, Author, Your Aesthetic Practice
Now that the snow has melted and the days are longer, aesthetic patients are preparing for the warmer weather. They are now looking forward to, and at the same time, worrying about shorts, sleeveless shirts and sandals. While showing more skin is fun for many, you have a majority of aesthetic patients that dread showing off their problem areas.
It’s your job to educate them on how you can help. Be sure they know all about the advancements made in the laser world. The new lasers are faster, less painful and more effective on all skin types and provide solutions to unsightly leg veins, freckles, spots, crepe skin and, of course, unwanted hair.
Now is the time to announce Summer specials with a tight expiration date so they call you right away rather than wait and put it off. Include fun headings that get the point across that summer is coming. You can even say something like:
Summer is Coming….Are You Ready?
