Archive for February, 2012
Marketing to Men
Posted by: | CommentsI was interviewed by Cosmetic Surgery Times on Tips to Marketing to Men. Check out the article below.
For a Free Marketing Checklist, Visit www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com or call Catherine at (877) 339-8833. Her firm specializes in creative patient attraction – conversion – retention strategies to drive aesthetic profits.
Office Manager’s Comments about the Receptionist
Posted by: | CommentsMy last Webinar entitled, “Initial Consult to Close” talked about how important the first call into your aesthetic practice is and here are follow-up comments I received from an astute office manager at a busy practice:
“I really just wish we could lock doctors down and let them understand how important the front desk position is for usually the lowest in pay – the most in pressure.
I love our front desk and that position has always been a treasure of mine in the past and even more now as I am new in this office. They are the first to arrive ( outside of me …LOL )– last to leave – last to take a lunch if someone else is not running on time – are responsible for the schedule – however don’t hear many times the good part – or never heard when working hard to fill in gaps – the first to hear the stress when a doctor isn’t busy … responsible for all paper work – a computer system that many doctors and care providers don’t even log on to … AND THEY are always suppose to have a smile as well … it’s a lot to expect when the position is your lifeline … staff need to know that they are supported and respected NOT just a receptionist … when they are out … my JOBS go by the way side … I need her – to do my job or mine suffers as well – the doctors need her to support them … and the patients deserve a calm friendly non-stress greeting.
I don’t always agree with stressing secret shoppers – as they seem to call right when the office has 6 people checking in and out – they have no back up – the fax is not working – the printer is jammed – you have a person who has just found out they have skin cancer and their deductible is $5,000 and it is their 90 year old father with Alzheimer’s or their 17 year old son and half of his lip will be taken off and his senior year he won’t be able to play his favorite sport. The first person you should be taking care of is the person in front of you and the person TESTING you has no idea what else is going on around the person they are asking all the questions and looking for the perfect answer.
Ok I will step off my soap box … I understand how important that job is and how long it takes ( dollars & hours ) to train that position. I don’t want to replace I want to train correctly and encourage growth. It’s hard to be at the front desk – hear other staff laughing and talking with the doctor or each other and feeling like you are not a part.”
This office manager really gets it and I applaud her for caring so much about her plastic surgeon and the practice’s success.
For a Free Marketing Checklist, Visit www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com or call Catherine at (877) 339-8833. Her firm specializes in creative patient attraction – conversion – retention strategies to drive aesthetic profits.
Webinar: Consult to Close, Thursday, Feb 16th, 6 PM PST
Posted by: | CommentsJoin Catherine Maley, Author of Your Aesthetic Practice and Dr. Samir Pancholi as they lay out in detail the steps from the aesthetic patient consultation so they say YES!
Register here and see you there:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/
Customer service story gone wrong
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been in a Masters Academy of Surgeon’s Meeting for two days and wanted to unwind with a massage in this swanky hotel where we’ve been staying. A couple of hours before my appointment, I get a call from the receptionist saying the masseuse is having car trouble and will be half hour late. Ok, sure, no problem, things happen. Then I get there and all is well and I’m half way through my massage when the masseuse and I both hear someone outside the room screaming and sobbing. It was so bad, we decide the masseuse should stop my massage and investigate and she comes back and says I don’t know what’s going on but it’s the receptionist on the phone. We finish the massage which is now not that great and I go out to pay and the receptionist is calmly sitting there and I asked her if that was her I heard and what was going on (I assumed she had just heard about Whitey Houston) and she casually says, “Oh, someone was upset and then says how was your massage.” So I say it was great until I heard all the commotion and she says, “Well, working at a spa is not it’s all cracked up to be!” What The ?!*#
Then to top it off, she says she needs a different credit card and I have to go upstairs to my room to check my bank balances on my cell and run back down to tell her there’s plenty on the card so she runs it again and says, “Ok, you’re good. Thanks.”
What’s amazing is for the past 3 days, I have worked with more than 20 employees at this hotel who helped me with my meeting and this one little, young, drama queen at the end of my visit has tarnished what was otherwise a great experience. It’s reminding me how lightly some physicians treat the importance of their front desk staff. Crazy….
For a Free Marketing Checklist, Visit www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com or call Catherine at (877) 339-8833. Her firm specializes in creative patient attraction – conversion – retention strategies to drive aesthetic profits.
Catherine Interviewed During AACS Conference
Posted by: | CommentsI gave several talks at the recent AACS Annual Meeting in Las Vegas and a reporter asked to interview me about who a “preferred patient” is and how to encourage them to return and refer. Enjoy!
