Marketing Plastic Surgery
By: Catherine Maley, MBA, Author, Your Aesthetic Practice
Aesthetic medicine is a lucrative business that’s created a fiercely competitive industry. Plastic surgeons, as well as other specialties and corporations, want to capitalize on the growing demand for cosmetic surgery. This means plastic surgery patients have more choices now than ever before so marketing cosmetic surgery effectively takes strategy.
Marketing for Plastic Surgeons
No marketing method works all the time or every time. People change, the media changes, tastes change so marketing for plastic surgeons needs to be strategic. Different long- and short-term messages and avenues must be tried and tested until you get the results you’re looking for.
Marketing Plastic Surgeons Must Define Preferred Patient
When marketing cosmetic surgery to the mass media outlets, remember the importance of target marketing. You’ve probably heard the saying, “You can’t be everything to everybody.” Cater to the group you consider your preferred cosmetic surgery patients. Learn their demographics and needs. This is important because only a certain percentage of the population will purchase cosmetic enhancement procedures, products or treatments. By marketing cosmetic surgery to the right niche market, you’ll be more profitable. You won’t waste your effort, time or money by throwing out your message to just anyone.
Marketing Plastic Surgeons Start with Current Patients
While you’re waiting for your mass media marketing strategies to take hold, implement some “fast-acting” marketing projects that give you revenues now. Start with your current cosmetic surgery patient base. They already know and trust you. Therefore, they’re much more apt to respond to your marketing efforts. So use these marketing mix strategies to cross-promote comparable procedures and treatments and encourage patient referrals:
Patient Newsletter Marketing
Your patients want to hear from you about what’s new with you, your office and the world of aesthetics so send a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter to your cosmetic surgery patients to educate them on the latest news in the cosmetic enhancement world.
Marketing Plastic Surgeons Use Patient Postcards
Patient postcards are an easy, cost-effective to stay in touch with your patients. Invite them to your event, tell them about a new procedure and add a special offer so they call you now to book an appointment.
Patient Email Marketing
Email marketing is by far, the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to stay in touch with your plastic surgery patients. Make them eye-catching, fun, informative and always include special offers with a tight expiration date so patients respond now.
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 email to your patients, and they must be able to opt out if they want.
Word-of-mouth Referral Program
Offer some incentive for your patients to refer their friends and family. The best referrals will come from satisfied cosmetic surgery patients who were treated well and who got a great result. Thank them with a personal phone call and/or note each time they send someone to your practice.
Tracking Results When Marketing Cosmetic Surgery
Make sure your staff asks every new patient how they heard about you. You can also code your ads, use a special telephone line or have cosmetic surgery patients present a coupon for the special price you mentioned in your patient postcard, patient newsletter or patient email. You’ll be able to pull up reports periodically to track trends and marketing results.
Conclusion
It takes different messages and different formats to connect with your preferred cosmetic surgery patients because if they aren’t ready for your services today, they will be three, six, nine months from now. Be sure you’re there to address their needs.
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For more free tips, strategies and resources, visit Catherine Maley, Author of Your Aesthetic Practice atwww.CosmeticImageMarketing.com or call (877) 339-8833.
