Tags: , Aesthetic Advertising, Aesthetic Marketing, Aesthetic Patient Marketing, cosmetic patient marketing, medical marketing and advertising
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posts Tagged ‘Aesthetic Marketing’
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.
It Takes a Marketing Mix to Grow Your Aesthetic Practice (Part 3 of 3)
Monday, September 29th, 2008Last time, I covered the long-term strategies and now I’ll discuss the short-term strategies that will:
- get your telephone to ring
- your patients to refer
- your prospective patients to finally book
Short-Term Strategies to Grow Your Aesthetic Practice
-
Start with Your Current Patients.
While you’re waiting for your long-term marketing strategies to take hold, implement some “fast-acting” marketing projects that give you revenues now. Start with your current patient base. They already know and trust you. Therefore, they’re much more apt to respond to your marketing efforts. So use the marketing mix to cross-promote comparable procedures and treatments and encourage patient referrals.
If your patient is interested in photorejuvenation, there’s a good chance she’s also interested in vein therapy, soft tissue augmentation and medical-strength retail products. Be sure to check with your individual society by-laws to learn the dos and don’ts of marketing your services. Depending on the specialty, it can be either products or services.
-
Newsletter.
Send a quarterly newsletter to your database to educate them on the latest news in the cosmetic enhancement world. You also may want to include a special offer.
-
Direct Mail.
Work with your vendors to sponsor a comarketed piece that promotes yourself and them. Vendors are usually happy to help you promote their products and services, and they can help you offset your marketing costs.
-
Internet Marketing.
Have a graphic designer create an html message with a special offer that can be e-mailed to your patient database monthly. Be sure you have permission to send e-mail to your patients, and they must be able to opt out if they want. This is, by far, the cheapest and fastest way to communicate with your patients. It’s well worth the time to collect e-mails at every opportunity. Make the messages short and newsworthy so patients look forward to the next one.
-
Word-of-mouth Referral Program.
Offer some incentive for your patients to refer friends or family. The best referrals will come from satisfied patients who were treated well and got a great result. Thank them with a personal phone call and/or note each time they send someone to your practice.
-
VIP Cards.
Americans love frequent buyer programs. So take care of patients who regularly see you for cosmetic enhancement. They will want, and perhaps even expect, some incentive for being loyal to your practice. Talk with your vendors, since they may be able to help you with a VIP program. For example, the manufacturers of Botox® Cosmetic and Restylane® offer a frequent user VIP card that offers a discount on your next treatment.
-
Gift Certificates.
Be sure to display eye-catching gift certificates your patients will see. If they’re happy with your services, they’ll buy them for friends, family and colleagues.
-
In-House Events.
Invite your patients and their friends, as well as neighboring spas, salons and retail shop personnel, to your office for an evening of education. Present what’s new in cosmetic enhancement and sell products.
Tracking Results
Make sure your staff asks every new patient how they heard of the physician. They must know how patients are finding their way to your office. The easiest way to track results is a log near the telephones to remind the receptionist to ask. She can then enter that information into a software program. You’ll be able to pull up reports periodically to track trends and marketing results. You also can code your ads, use a special telephone line or have them present a coupon for the special price you mentioned in your ad.
Remember, it takes different messages and different avenues to connect with your preferred target market. If aesthetic patients aren’t ready today for your services, they will be three, six, nine months from now. Be sure you’re there to address their needs.
Patient Email Marketing
Friday, August 22nd, 2008Email marketing is, by far, the cheapest and fastest way to communicate with your patients today.
Thanks to advanced technology and streamlined processes, you can literally send out a message and within minutes, get your telephone ringing with eager patients.
In today’s competitive environment, it’s vital to keep in touch with your patients on a regular basis. This will help ensure their loyalty to you and keep them coming back throughout the year. You also want to “market through education” since a true aesthetic patient wants to know what’s new in the world of cosmetic enhancement.
Be sure you are asking your aesthetic patients for their email address so they can receive your very exclusive web offers and event announcements. And, your email messages should be brief, eye-catching and include very special promotions so they look forward to hearing from you.
Inside the Mind of the Aesthetic Patient
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008By: Catherine Maley, MBA, Author of Your Aesthetic Practice
Do you wonder why you get along so well with some of your patients and not well at all with others?
Have you ever asked them why they picked you over your competitors?
Are you surprised when certain patients send in lots of referrals and other patients whom you thought would be your best referring patients don’t send anyone to you?
The answers can be as simple as they like your staff. Or the answer can as complicated as they didn’t have a great patient experience somewhere along the line.
In order to close more procedures, you must communicate and bond with your aesthetic patients in the way they respond to. That will keep them happy and happy patients refer their friends, family and colleagues. They also return to you again and again for their own enhancements.
Your distinctiveness is in the details. Pay close attention to how happy your receptionist is to answer the phone and how warm and friendly your staff is any time they are in contact with your patients. Consider what your patient process is from your patient’s perspective. Is it relaxed and professional or hurried and disorganized? When in doubt – go above and beyond since you can never be too service-oriented for the aesthetic patient who is using their own hard-earned money to look as good as possible because:
- your patient won’t remember what you told them
- your patient won’t remember what you showed them
- but they will will remember how you made them feel.
For more tips, tricks and strategies, see my book at http://www.cosmeticimagemarketing.com/book.php
How to Increase Your Revenues Per Aesthetic Patient
Friday, April 18th, 2008How to Increase Your Revenues Per Patient
by Catherine Maley, MBA
In my travels around the country, I notice most practices
go to great extremes and expense to acquire new patients
but then fall short in retaining that patient for the long
term.
It costs a lot of money to get a new patient to make the
first transaction with you but then, managed properly,
it costs very little to motivate that patient to invest
in additional procedures.
Indifferent and inadequate follow-up lets your patients
forget about you. Or worse, allows your competitors to
attract them to their own practice.
What’s the secret to retaining these aesthetic patients?
Rather than spend thousands more on ineffective advertising
to attract new patients, communicate with your current
patients for a much better return.
