How You Say Something Matters
By · CommentsI recently flew to Paris to meet about turning my books and products into French so we’ll see how that develops.
Since I’ve traveled abroad before, I know their version of “luxury hotel” and mine can be a few stars off so I didn’t take any chances. I booked a room at the Intercontinental Hotel near the Champs Elysees so I knew I would be comfortable.
I was not disappointed. Although their rooms tend to be much smaller than in the US, it was the perfect location and the bed was lovely.
But here’s something funny. The hotel knew I was coming in from the States because they had my California address so they left this nice note but when I opened it – it was in French! The message was completely lost on me because I don’t know a stick of French but I’m assuming they were welcoming me – I will never know.
The point I’m making is to be sure your message is clearly understood by your patients. Don’t use big words or medical jargon your patients may not understand and are too embarrassed to ask you to clarify. And be sure to proof your message, since one word can throw off the entire meaning.
Bonjour!!
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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.
Patient Reviews Matter
By · CommentsThese online patient reviews are difficult to manage and you’re not even sure how influential they are – but here’s interesting comparative data:
63% consider customer reviews on Amazon “extremely reliable”
51% put reviews found on independent sites such as Angie’s List and Epinions in that class
21% regarded Facebook reviews as reliable, and only
15% thought Twitter recommendations were reliable.
Source: 2011 Social Shopping Study www.e-tailing.com
I’m thinking the best thing an aesthetic physician could do is to write a book and get his patients to review it on Amazon.
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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.
You’ll “Thank Me” for This…Eventually
By · CommentsIt’s the Season of Thanks so I’m going to give you some harsh reality you’ll thank me for if you’re serious about growing your aesthetic practice profits more than your ego.
If you are serious about paying your overhead, supporting your current lifestyle AND generating extra capital to secure your future, there is ZERO ROOM for tolerance for waste, mistakes, sloppiness, indifference, stupidity, squandered leads and lost patients because you didn’t have the time nor the interest to see and deal with it.
You need to find the time and the interest to fight against those desperate to sell for less and work for free. They will hurt you in the short run but they’ll disappear in the long run.
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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.
Good candidates are everywhere good service is provided. Think outside the box. Look for new cosmetic surgery practice team members at a high-end restaurant you dine at, 5-star hotels in your area, at your exclusive hair salon, high-end retail boutiques, the department store cosmetic counter or anywhere else quality services and products are sold.
Talk with the well-groomed, well-trained staff that understand the importance of awesome customer service and find out if they are interested in making a change. They’ve already demonstrated they know how to treat customers so they are most likely going to treat your aesthetic patients with the same quality service.
One more place to find exceptional staff is with your own happy patients. They chose you over all the others so they like and trust you and can explain that to new prospective patients and they are your walking/talking testimonials who can show your work off and that’s golden!
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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.
Do You Have the Right Team in Place?
By · Comments
The team you surround yourself with can make or break your cosmetic surgery practice – period. Getting the right team players on board is difficult and ever-changing but vital to your success.
So, do you have the right team in place? And, do they know their main job is to promote you and your aesthetic services and that starts with impeccable customer service?
If you’re not sure if you’re surrounded by team players, hold a friendly staff referral contest. Keep it short and simple. Give your staff refer-a-friend cards with their name on them so you can track their efforts. Use business-size cards since they are inexpensive to print and your staff can conveniently carry them with them during their daily lives.
Now for the next 30 days, they should refer their family, friends, hair salon stylist, gym buddies, club members, etc. Whoever has the most referrals come in for an appointment within the 30 days wins the grand prize which should have been on display in the lunchroom the entire month to keep them motivated. You want to make this a great prize such as an iPod, flat screen TV or shopping spree.
But here’s the point. You’ll find out whom your team players are and if you have staff that didn’t bother to participate; I suggest you find new staff.
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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.
Are You a One-Hit Wonder?
By · CommentsIf you spend all of your time, money and effort getting a new patient to say yes to you and then never see them again after their procedure, you are doing them, you and your pocketbook a disservice.
The patient liked and trusted you enough to say yes. The hard part is done. The least you could do is reciprocate by staying in touch, following up and seeing how they are. You can do some of that with post-op follow up appointments. It shows you care and gives you more opportunity to bond with the patient.
However, there’s a group of patients who won’t bother with follow-up appointments. They’re happy and don’t feel the need. That’s the group you want to reach out to throughout the year and give them other reasons to visit you.
An aesthetic patient has endless needs so it’s almost guaranteed if they had an issue with their looks, there’s a really good chance another issue has their attention.
Keep in touch to keep them coming back again and again.
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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.
Lay-a-Way Program Helps Conversions
By · CommentsThis weekend, I attended a conference where a very smart (and rich) guy was talking about the economic indicators for the next 4 years. Without going into the depressing and scary statistics about unemployment, the prolonged housing crisis, and government unrest, it looks like we are not going to see better times for awhile.
The good news is if you know that, you can adapt accordingly, so here’s an idea: Offer your big-ticket aesthetic procedures on the lay-a-way plan. Patients can put money down today to lock in their commitment and then make payments to you up until their surgery date. You can even decide on a monthly amount you will automatically charge their credit card.
While this may seem like a hassle or too much work, it’s well worth it if you have prospective patients who want what you offer but can’t afford it or don’t want to spend their money all up front.
This way, the patient stays loyal to you, they are grateful you gave them a way to get what they want and you have a patient on the books rather than a prospective patient who visits other practices to see if they’ll help them.
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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.
Razor’s Edge = Profits
By · CommentsI think there was a book or a movie called Razor’s Edge. That means just being a little bit better, as little as a razor’s edge, can make all the difference in the world.
How does this apply to your aesthetic practice? Being just a little bit better is oftentimes enough for the prospective patient to say yes to you versus all the other choices they have today.
Brainstorm with your staff to determine how you could have the razor’s edge when it comes to:
- Answering the phone better than your competitors
- Being friendlier to your visiting patients than your competitors are
- Offering better post-op care so your patients are comfortable and on and on
Hint: it’s often the little things so look at each detail of the patient experience with you and give yourself the razor’s edge so they choose you.
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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.
Guarantee Surgery – Wha-Wha-WHAT???
By · CommentsThere’s a pretty good chance you don’t guarantee your surgeries so please hear me out.
Consumers in general are skeptical. Patients are even more so since they want to know they’ll get a good result and they won’t have buyer’s remorse. They don’t know whom to trust and often have a tough decision to make between several practices. So how can you stand out?
Offer something your competitors don’t and watch your conversions grow. Offer a guarantee they will be happy with their result or you’ll throw in a revision for up to one year. However, put parameters around it. They must adhere to your directions, show up for their appointments and agree to communicate.
You probably do this anyway if a patient is unhappy so offer it up front to take away their fear of making a mistake by going with you versus someone else. And it tells your prospective patient you’re confident in your ability and that builds their trust in you.
So even if 1 out of 100 take advantage of it and you lose a little money, you’ll get 10x more conversions and 10x more profits by offering something unique. Try it!
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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.
Your Loyal Fans
By · CommentsI’m sure you’ve heard that 80% of your profits come from 20% of your patients. It’s called the Pareto Principle and it works just as well today as it did decades ago. You want to learn who your top 20% of preferred patients are because they will be the ambassadors of your practice as well a great revenue stream with limited effort.
Go through your database and look for those who have spent more with you, visited most frequently, referred more patients than others or who are very connected in the community. Now you want to put a “fence” around them to keep them happy, loyal, returning and referring. How do you that?
You make them part of your exclusive VIP Club. That means they get extra perks that others don’t (until they, too, prove themselves worthy of your Club). Give them an official VIP card that allows them things like: last-minute Botox appointments, free makeover after every treatment so they can go right back to their everyday activities, free monthly peel, you have many options.
The point is you want them to feel very special because they are part of your inner circle. I promise they will brag to their friends about this VIP treatment and their friends will want to know how to become part of your “private club”. This club is very similar to the airline frequent flyer clubs. You have a much different flying experience when you are part of the club – you get on first, there’s plenty of room for your luggage, you get much more leg room, and so on. It’s a different industry, but the same concepts apply. People like to be treated special and will invest in that feeling.
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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.
