Catherine Maley, MBA - Attract More Patients and Profit

Catherine Interviewed During AACS Conference

Catherine — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:05:05 +0000

I 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!

Little Hinges Swing Big Doors

Catherine — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:34:45 +0000

As competition heats up in 2012 for aesthetic patients, it’s time to get serious about your aesthetic services and what you offer to the world. If you are committed to crushing it this year, you must have ZERO TOLERANCE for mediocre staff, sloppy processes and lazy practices that underwhelm your patients. Aesthetic patients today won’t tolerate being treated like second class citizens. They will give their disposable income to the practice that makes them feel special.

It’s the little things that pull you out of the fray and into a “class of your own.” Let’s start with your phones. A well trained receptionist can catapult your new patient conversions when they call and get a great experience on the telephone. What defines a great experience? A phone that is answered by the third ring, by a friendly voice, by someone who can answers simple questions about the procedure and the practice and who can ask for the appointment. Start there. Fix your phones for a great 2012!

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.

Golden Handcuffs for Your Best Patients

Catherine — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:22:26 +0000

2012 is going to be a challenging year for aesthetics thanks to lingering recession, Groupons, heavy competition, less Internet traffic due to the sheer number of competitors and fickle aesthetic patients who show little to no loyalty.

It is VITAL you corral your best aesthetic patients so they don’t wander off. It’s also cheaper than spending a fortune finding new patients. It’s also more fun to work with patients who know, like and trust you than total strangers who are apprehensive.

A great solution is the VIP Club Card. It builds “silent golden handcuffs” around your best patients who return often and refer their friends. These high-quality patients love feeling special and getting preferential treatment so use that to your advantage. Give them a unique VIP Club Card with perks and they’ll help you succeed in 2012.

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For a free download of Catherine’s book, Visit www.YourAestheticPracticeBook.com or call Catherine at (877) 339-8833. Her firm specializes in creative patient attraction – conversion – retention strategies to drive aesthetic profits.

Blueprint for Success in 2012

Catherine — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:21:13 +0000

It’s never been more important than right now to get strategic about growing your aesthetic practice. You can’t leave anything to chance and you certainly can’t “ride out” the slow times because you’ll never get going again. The best of the best set up automatic systems to ensure a healthy and consistent flow of aesthetic patients by focusing on:

· Attracting patients

· Converting patients to say yes

· Returning patients so they don’t wander off

· Referring their friends and family

Brainstorm with your staff to creatively come up with ideas for each area. For example, how could you attract more patients? Well, you can align yourself with the high-end hair salon down the block, you can test Facebook ads, you can send out a reverse-Groupon letter to your current patients, you can have a friendly staff contest and so on.

There’s no limit to the creative ideas to grow your aesthetic practice when you think creatively.

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Holiday Gift Certificates

Catherine — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:20:05 +0000

The Holiday season is here and there’s no better time to ask for referrals strategically through gift certificates. Think about what a win-win they are: your patient is happy because you helped them finish their Holiday shopping quickly and easily; the receiver is happy because they got an unusual gift they might not have gotten for themselves; and you’re happy because you have a new patient.

The secret to gift certificates is to promote them. It’s a big secret in most offices but these don’t sell themselves. Have an eye-catching display with a sign that says, “Need a Quick Gift?,” mention them in your patient newsletters and email blasts and be sure your check-out staff asks if they would like to add a gift certificate to their day’s order before she rings them up.

Gift certificates really can be the gift that keeps on giving!

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Promote Downtime Procedures Now

Catherine — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:17:45 +0000

Since we bundle up against the cold in Winter, this is when you want to promote your higher-ticket surgical procedures. If there’s going to be bruising and swelling, your patients are more inclined to have it done when they can wear lots of clothes vs. having something done in the Summer and not being able to hide it. And, we all hibernate more during the colder months than the Summer months so use that to your advantage.

In your next newsletter, talk about what a great time it is for your patients to consider surgery now. Remind them that facelift patients can wear turtlenecks and liposuction patients can wear pants. That could be just what they needed to jump off the fence and say YES.

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Plastic Surgery is More Popular Than Ever

Catherine — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:32:46 +0000

I was interviewed by Newsweek: the Daily Best in an article called Plastic Surgery is More Popular Than Ever. The gist of her research indicates

the public spends less on some things but aesthetic enhancement is not one of them. Click Here to read that Article.

Why is the Aesthetic Patient is REALLY in Your Office

Catherine — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:18:46 +0000

You want to do everything you can to learn why the new patient is there to see you because here’s a hint: There’s a chance there’s more to their answer then originally stated.

If you and your staff bond with the new patient and let them talk, they may tell you the real reason they are there and the circumstances involved. I guarantee – it’s often not the price but something else you would never know unless they told you and they will only tell you if they feel a connection to you.

Here’s a real life example of a patient coordinator story told to me:

The patient coordinator was told by the new patient during her initial consultation that her hair stylist referred her to Dr. Smith because he was the best and his office was close by. The back story was that the patient learned her husband was going to divorce her so she desperately needed to use up the $20,000 limit on her credit card before he shut the credit card down. This consultation had nothing to do with price, competition, shopping around or negotiations – but you would never know that unless you bond with and make the prospective patient comfortable enough to open up to you.

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The Anatomy of a Successful Staff Meeting

Catherine — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:18:42 +0000

Most staff don’t like staff meetings because they can be boring and don’t accomplish much of anything. You can change a dull meeting into an interesting meeting staff is eager to attend.

Here’s how to perk up your staff meetings:

Meet on the same day and time every week or every month so nobody can say they didn’t know. If you keep switching the day and time, you’re sending a message this meeting isn’t important enough to put in stone. And, frankly, staff will only take it as seriously as you do – so put in on the calendar and stick to it.

The physician must be present at the meeting. That means not on the cell phone or otherwise distracted. Again, the staff looks to the physician for guidance so show you care by paying attention.

Use the Sandwich Agenda:
- What went right
- What didn’t go right and suggestions for how to fix it
- Goals for the week or month

This way, you started out positive, you covered a little negative in the middle and then you ended on a positive note.

Have each staff person rotate and run the meeting so no one person has to do all the heavy lifting. It will keep everyone alert and they’ll learn a lot more when they actually have to present. They will also be more polite to others because they now know how it feels to be in the front of the room rather than in the back.

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Hot Off the Press – Social Media for Physicians eBook

Catherine — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:43:16 +0000

Our new book is ready for prime time. I collaborating with Drs. Neil Baum and Andrew Schneider to bring you: Social Media for the Health Care Profession: The New Shingle for Today’s Medical Practice. Greenbranch Publishing is the publisher and handles fulfillment.

Social Media is here to stay so we wanted to take the mystery out of it. The e-book is designed to help you understand and implement an online
We covered the basics of social media by giving you a step-by-step, template-driven guide for Blogging, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. We made it so easy, you or your staff can implement.social media strategy for your medical practice.

Now you can take your practice to the next level and join the conversation going on around you (and sometimes about you).