cosmeticimagemarketing.com Blog

Have 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.

Aesthetic Marketing for Physicians Who Want More Cosmetic Patients

Word of Mouth Referrals:
What Are Your Patients Saying About You?

“So, how did you hear about Dr. Smith?”

That should be one of the most important questions you ask every single patient walking through your door. If you’re doing this correctly, 7 out of 10 of them should answer with one of your patients’ names.

A word of mouth referral is the absolute best advertisement you can incorporate into your practice. It’s also the cheapest form of advertising that you can invest in, and it takes so little time and effort.

Spending time now developing relationships with your current patients will grow your prospective patient list later. If your patients like, trust, and respect you, they will be happy to tell their family and friends about you and may even brag about your great work to everybody they know. Due to our Baby Boomer culture and TV shows like Extreme Makeover, it’s more acceptable to enhance your look and tell people about it. Use that to your advantage and get your patients talking about you and your great work!

By the way, in my book Your Aesthetic Practice/What Your Patients are Saying Aesthetic Patient Marketing for Plastic Surgeons Who Want More Cosmetic Patients, they told me they would refer more often if the doctor and staff had asked them to – So Ask!

Of course, you need commitment from your staff to make patient satisfaction your #1 priority so meet with them regularly to ensure they understand the importance of treating each patient with a warm and friendly attitude each time they call or visit. Also, be sure your telephone is answered by the third ring, call back when you say you will and don’t keep them waiting!

There are hundreds of ways to ensure you are getting the most from word of mouth referrals and here are just a few:

- During your initial patient consultation, before jumping right in, take two minutes and talk to your patient to build rapport. Easy icebreaker topics are their occupation, neighborhood or how they heard about you. That information is right in front of you on their patient information form they filled out. This helps you connect with them, builds their trust in you and helps the two of you communicate more freely since you are showing your interest and concern in them.

- Set expectations and live up to them. And, under promise and over deliver. If they are pleasantly surprised that they got more than they expected, they will shout it from the rooftops.

After procedures, follow up with a telephone call, note card or flowers. If they had surgery, you should be making the first follow up telephone call yourself so they know you care.

Now, thank your patients who have referred you and don’t wait!

o have staff call them initially to thank them
o write a personal note from you to thank them
o call them yourself to thank them
o send a little gift of appreciation for multiple referrals
o invite them in for a complimentary peel or microdermabrasion for multiple referrals.
o hold an annual patient appreciation day for your patients and their family and friends. Make it an event by serving wine and hors d’oeuvres and have drawings for free and discounted services.

The bottom line is always the same. Treat your patients well, respect their time and concerns and show you care. They will tell enough people about you that your practice will flourish in no time.

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One 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!

Aesthetic Marketing Secrets

Now more than ever, your patients need compelling reasons to part with their hard-earned money. The media is scaring them and they are not sure they will have jobs so they are pulling back on their disposable purchases. Have you noticed a dip in your own revenues? Are you experiencing more no-shows? If so, that just means you need to be more strategic than every before.

If and When patients don’t come to you as freely as before, strategically put a plan in place to make it happen. They are not saying no necessarily. They could just be saying give me more logical reasons to come to you to fulfill my emotional needs of looking as good as I feel.

Target Aesthetic Patients

This is not the time to start a new advertising campaign to attract total strangers to your practice. Focus on those who already know you since they are more apt to respond to your promotional efforts. Use proven patient attraction tools to wake up your sleeping patients and get them visiting and referring this year.

What You Can Do Now to Ensure a Successful Year

The media is scaring your patients. All of this doom and gloom about the economy is paralyzing to a majority of your patients who are or could be affected by the dips and turns in the economy.

Don’t buy into it! There is much you can to ensure you float through these choppy waters safely and profitably.

I’ve put together a timely audio and visual presentation, with me personally narrating, entitled, “What You Can Do to Ensure a Successful Year”

Click Here to Watch:
http://cosmeticimagemarketing.com/media/What_To_Do_For_Successful_Year.wmv

It’s full of simple strategies to keep your phones ringing, your patients buying and referrals coming to you.

The point is to first check your mindset. Are you buying into this pessimism? If you are, you are not going to be open to opportunities and possibilities so fix that first.

The next step is to do something. I know your first instinct is to lay low for now but that’s the worst strategy. Your aesthetic patients need more compelling reasons to invest in aesthetics so, now more than ever, give them those reasons.

Educate them on little things they can do right now to look fantastic for the Holidays. Motivate them to act now with a special offer and a tight expiration date. Encourage them to refer their friends so; they too, can look fabulous for Holiday parties and family photos.

Those who strategically act now will conquer. Those who sit back and do nothing will perish.

Cosmetic Image Marketing - patient attraction tools for plastic surgeons and dermatologists - effective marketing tools for physicians

With 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.

I offer a free CD and Report on my website www.cosmeticimagemarketing.com called 5 Easy Ways to Promote More Aesthetic Patients to Your Practice This Year. It’s full of helpful tips and strategies to attract more patients, get them to refer and stay loyal to you.

While the information is solid, I want to make a distinction. During these shaky economic times, you need to be much more strategic about your promotional efforts. You need to target those patients who are least affected by the craziness going on in the world or, at least, last affected by it.

Which Aesthetic Patients are Recession-Proof?

While most folks will be affected somehow, some way by the stock market collapse, the credit crunch and the housing debacle, not all will feel it the same. It will hit home hard for those who live paycheck to paycheck from companies who may go under and lay them off. It will hurt those in professions such as mortgage brokers, realtors and anyone directly linked to the falling economy.

However, those least likely affected are those who are typically more mature and more prepared by dips since they have been through it before and know the drill. They have saved for this and less prone to devastation. They have reach affluence and will not be devastated by what’s happening.

So, my advice to you is to cater to your more mature patients for now rather than sink much more time, money and effort into the younger patient who has not yet established themselves.

What Can An Aesthetic Physician Do to Weather The Economic Storm?

There is much you can do to survive and even flourish no matter what. I guarantee the answer is NOT to be nothing and wait it out. Those who proactively act will fare the best. And, since your competitors are sitting out, now is the perfect time for you to increase your promotional efforts. You can attract new patients (some of them your competitors who are ignoring them) and you can reconnect with your own patients to ensure they stay loyal to you.

Last 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.

Now let’s talk about External Marketing strategies.

Your External image

To ensure your message is on target, review your current advertisements and other high-profile projects, such as your Web site and public relations efforts. Be sure it portrays you as the expert in your field and the No. 1 choice for them. Moreover, make sure your photo and contact information are up to date. Have your Web site URL address printed on everything—brochures and patient information packets–so people can easily find you on the Internet. All of these tools help, or hurt, the image you’re trying to portray. So be sure they’re top quality, positioning you as successful and experienced.

Public relations.

You want to establish yourself as the industry expert who knows the latest technology and procedures. However, keep in mind that public relations can be time-consuming and costly if you go through a PR agency. It can take months to get any coverage, but it can pay off. Not only can good PR bring you new patients, but it also can reinforce your patients’ decision to choose you and stay with you.

Community Outreach.

Getting involved in your community can give you tremendous exposure. Every community has its “movers and shakers,” so get to know them by attending their events and offering to speak. Get involved in local charities and fundraising events by offering gift baskets and other support. You can get some great PR out of it and be seen as caring and committed to your community.

Speaking Opportunities

Offer to speak in your community, as well as at your industry medical meetings and your local media on topics you know well. This will help brand you as “the go-to” physician in your specialty. Prepare an informational media packet that includes any articles you’ve written, past PR you’ve received, your credentials, your photo and anything else that sets you apart from your competition.

Search Engine Optimization

Internet marketing and pay-per-click search engines are another way to become visible to new patients. To get the Internet exposure you want, use professionals who understand the intrinsic world of meta tags and page positioning. This is the opposite of what you would normally do in marketing, which is to determine your target market and then communicate with them.
With Internet marketing, you’re displaying your practice and then learning who’s interested and what they’re interested in.

Because this large net is being thrown out about your practice, you may need to sift through those just surfing the Internet vs. those who are truly serious about considering your services. You want to review your Website performance monthly reports to see how many hits you are getting and you also want to review the email messages you get directly from your Website from your “Contact Us” link. If you are getting too many “tire-kickers” and not enough qualified leads, you may want to set up an automatic response to answer general questions about you and your practice and then have the prospective patient call your office to schedule a consultation.

Mass Media

You cannot enter this marketing arena lightly, whether it’s print, television, radio or cable TV. It takes substantial time, resources and patience to see this marketing channel work for you. A typical American sees more than 3,000 messages a day. Therefore, your message must talk to that perfect patient who’s ready to listen. That takes creativity, repetition and persistence. If you want the telephone to ring, you must offer an irresistible special patients can’t refuse. If your goal is to build your brand awareness, you need a tastefully crafted message that explains why you’re the best.

I’ll discuss short-term strategies next.

AT&T Yahoo! Mail - catherine@cosmeticimagemarketing.com