Archive for Aesthetic Marketing
Don’t Let the Lazy Days of Summer Melt Your Profits Part 3 of 3
Posted by: | CommentsMore Strategies for You to Get Through a Profitable Summer
Summer Skin Series
Let your skin care staff do the heavy lifting during the summer while you sit back and relax. Have them conduct Summer Fun Events in your office for small groups of patients and their friends. They learn about cool ways to have beautiful skin during the hot days of summer.
Your staff can demonstrate peels and microdermasion, they can explain how to change makeup for summer tans, how to protect skin from the harmful effects of the sun, etc. Your vendors would love to help with this so get them involved.
You can be available afterwards to field any questions or to just be available for 1-on-1 time with patients who want to say hello to you. This could be just what they needed to seriously reconsider that surgery and book it for the fall.
Take Advantage of the Summer Slow Down
Every day I hear doctors and staff complain that they have no time to get anything done. A slow period can be a blessing in disguise; a time when you can catch up on all the training, planning, and cleaning that can’t get done during busy months.
If things quiet down in your office during the summer months, this is the perfect time for you and your staff to “sharpen your saw”. Hold staff training sessions and go over phone skills, patient relations protocols and procedural FAQ’s. Do role-playing and fun contests to help them learn pertinent information. Brainstorm with your entire team how you can be even better with your processes so your patients get that WOW experience during and in between visits.
Or, use this slow time to clean, organize files, throw out unnecessary storage boxes, repaint and anything else that normally doesn’t get done because you are so busy. If you decide to do a renovation, that can be a great reason to contact your patients in late summer, early fall and invite them to see the new ‘face’ of your practice.
Network
Since other businesses are often slow through summer, it’s a great time to connect or reconnect with them. Pool your resources to email and mail co-marketing pieces to both of your databases to cross-sell each other’s services. Include very exclusive Sizzlin’ Summer Special Offers that are only good for a very limited time.
Spread the Word
Spread your message by starting broadly. Add new in-house signage, mention it on your phone greeting, explain it in your next email message and design an eye-catching banner for your Website.
Conclusion
Use these lazy days of summer to catapult your revenues, your relationships with your patients and your resolve to have the best trained staff ever! And don’t forget your sunscreen!
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Get Your FREE Marketing Checklist on www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com and see how you compare to top aesthetic practices. Catherine’s firm specializes in attracting cash-paying patients to a medical practice using PR, advertising and creative marketing strategies. Catherine can also be reached at (877) 339-8833.
Don’t Let the Lazy Days of Summer Melt Your Profits Part 2 of 3
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s Talk Summer Surge Strategies
First, decide on your message. Honesty is always the best policy so your message might include the fact that the slow summer months give your patients more 1-on-1 time with you.
Offer complimentary consultations along with a computer analysis session, a facial or microdermabrasion treatment and a sunscreen product. Bundle it all for an attractive price and give it a theme – Your Summer Skin Kit, or Summer Beauty Bundle
Once you have your message, find your audience. One popular summer audience is teachers and professionals that have the summer off or have a major summer slowdown. You could also use the summer as an opportunity to connect with anybody who came in for a surgical consultation but didn’t book.
You have your message, you have your audience, all you have to do now is create and send. Write a thoughtful letter that speaks directly to your audience. Again, think honest and enticing. For example:
“Things slow down around here in the Summer so I have a more flexible schedule than I do any other time of the year. If you have your surgery done this Summer or before August 31, you are entitled to (INSERT SPECIAL OFFER). “
As long as you give them a logical reason for why you are doing something special, that could be just what they needed to jump off the fence and move forward with you. Keep in mind, the offer needs to be something worthwhile. You know what I mean because you get offers all the time in the mail, via email, etc. When you see 10% off, is that exciting? Not at all. So make it good, you don’t want to take the time to send a letter just to make your potential patients lose interest.
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Get Your FREE Marketing Checklist on www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com and see how you compare to top aesthetic practices. Catherine’s firm specializes in attracting cash-paying patients to a medical practice using PR, advertising and creative marketing strategies. Catherine can also be reached at (877) 339-8833.
Don’t Let the Lazy Days of Summer Melt Your Profits Part 1 of 3
Posted by: | CommentsSummer is heating up but your phones don’t have to cool down if you put creative strategies in place to keep your patients coming back throughout the summer and the entire year.
Just because your practice surgeries may slow down during the summer months, doesn’t mean your patients are necessarily on hiatus from ALL aesthetic enhancement – just some of it.
The good news is your aesthetic patients want to look good now and next month and next season. While they may not be interested in some of your services now because they are in a bathing suit and shorts for the next three months, they could very well be interested in other treatments and procedures that would keep them looking great on their vacation and at family barbecues.
Granted, summer is not the perfect time for your patients to clamor for surgery. Now that the weather is nice, they are not dying to hide away at home to recover from liposuction surgery. They want to be outside, playing in shorts and bathing suits.
So while they may be holding off on body surgical procedures, they have plenty of other concerns they want to address during this season.
Injectables are Hot!
No matter what the weather, aesthetic patients always need a touch up on their Botox and fillers. Weddings, summer cook-outs, weekends at the country club, friend and family get-togethers are all motivators for your patients to want to smooth their sun-squints, fill in their facial lines and plump up their lips.
The beauty of these minimally-invasive procedures is you can have them done anytime with minimal or zero downtime so they don’t interfere with your patients’ busy summer schedules. It will not only keep your patients looking good, it will also give you an opportunity to spend more time with them. That will help solidify your relationship with them so they return to you for more extensive when the timing is right.
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Get Your FREE Marketing Checklist on www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com and see how you compare to top aesthetic practices. Catherine’s firm specializes in attracting cash-paying patients to a medical practice using PR, advertising and creative marketing strategies. Catherine can also be reached at (877) 339-8833.
Who’s Your Target Audience?
Posted by: | CommentsRegardless of how much the media scares the general public, the good news is that vanity knows no bounds and is a strong motivator. A true aesthetic patient will do whatever is necessary to look and feel better. For now, they may pull back on the more extreme and expensive procedures; however, they will do something to regain what they believe they have lost to look as good as they feel.
Let’s also remember there are 76 million baby boomers that are not looking forward to getting old and they still have the disposable income to slow the aging process. They are the least likely to be affected by what’s going on and the last affected.
So one of your strategies should be to target your older, more mature patients versus your younger patients. That makes so much sense because they’ll have more aging issues than your younger patients. Since they’ve been around longer, they are facing sun-damaged skin, wrinkles and sagging body parts.
When times are tough and finances are stretched, your aesthetic patients need to dig deeper for a reason to see you as well as a reason to give up their money; especially if they’re not sure they will have any in the near future. A majority of your patients will continue to want, need and find the money for rejuvenation procedures because they want what they want and can’t stand looking old. They may also be experiencing life-changing events such as a marriage, divorce, layoff or new job opportunity so they have built-in emotional reasons for wanting aesthetic enhancement.
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Get Your FREE Marketing Checklist on www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com and see how you compare to top aesthetic practices. Catherine’s firm specializes in attracting cash-paying patients to a medical practice using PR, advertising and creative marketing strategies. Catherine can also be reached at (877) 339-8833.
7 Ways to Market Aesthetics This Summer
Posted by: | CommentsI’m sure you are feeling the urge to cut down on your marketing and advertising efforts during the dog days of summer. Please resist that urge! It’s actually time for you to step up your promotional efforts to avoid dips and inconsistencies in your aesthetic patient flow.
Let your competitors slack while you actively engage in attracting new patients and re-engage current ones. That will give you a leg up now and set you up for a profitable end-of-year.
Here are easy-to-implement creative marketing strategies bound to heat up profits:
- 1. On-Hold Messaging
Update your on-hold message so callers learn what’s new in your practice. Magic words are Introducing, Now Offering and Ask Us About. Also mention a very special offer this month to prompt the caller to start a discussion about it and then change the offer every month to keep your message fresh.
- 2. In-House Signage
Design and display huge, eye-catching posters in your reception area, exam rooms and restrooms so every human being who walks through your office knows about every single procedure, treatment and product you offer so you never hear the dreaded, “I didn’t know you did that!” and they had it done down the street.
- 3. Involve Your Staff
Involve your staff in building your practice. Get their input. Nobody knows you and your patients better than your staff so when they feel a part of things, they are more likely to go out of their way to help you achieve your goals.
Turn it into a fun 30-day contest. Set a goal and display it in the lunchroom so everyone knows where they are and how much further they need to go to achieve the goal.
However, they will most likely be asking themselves, “So, what’s in it for me to step up?” Give them two compelling reasons:
#1) Set aside time at the end of the day to treat your staff to Botox, Fillers, lasers, microdermabrasion, etc. so they look great. They will be your best walking/talking testimonials since they can now relay firsthand experience to your patients and help promote you and your services since they’ve had them.
#2: Make it worth their while to excel so when they reach the designated goal, they win a girl’s night out or a catered lunch brought in.
And, by all means, show you appreciate them and their efforts. The number #2 reason staff leave their jobs is because they feel under-valued and under-appreciated so go out of your way to say thank you.
- 4. Cosmetic Questionnaire
Add a simple cosmetic questionnaire to a clipboard and leave it for the patient to fill out while they are in the exam room waiting for you.
They have the choice to ignore it or to fill it out to learn more about solutions to their concerns.
It’s more effective if the heading says, “What Bothers You?” and then list all the negative things that could bother them such as wrinkles, crepey skin, leg veins, etc.
The point is to help your patients identify everything that bothers them so you can help them now or later. This will also help to ensure they stay with you for all of their skin concerns rather than turn to you for one service they know you for and go elsewhere for other services.
- 5. Skin Analysis
In my book, Your Aesthetic Practice, 96% of the patients surveyed told me they liked or would have liked computer imaging and/or skin analysis. Make it a part of your aesthetician’s or patient care coordinator’s process to do this with every prospective patient if they want it. Nothing is more compelling than a would-be patient seeing their own skin damage.
- 6. Mirrors
Have mirrors everywhere! Display big mirrors on the wall but also hand-held mirrors within arm’s reach so the aesthetic patient can study his/her skin concerns while waiting for you. And, don’t hide them in the drawer. You want your aesthetic patient to really see what bothers them so they can start that discussion when you enter the room
It’s also strategic to have an 8 ½ x 11 mirror on display facing the patient at the desk where your staff is preparing quotes. The more the aesthetic patient can see and be reminded of what bothers them, the more procedures you will close.
- 7. Financing
Be sure your patients know you offer financing. Have a sign or plaque on or near the desk where you give quotes that say, “Ask Me About Financing” or “Ask Me About Affordable Monthly Payments”. Then be sure to add that to your brochures, networking cards, ads, etc.
Some of the vendors offer these cool website calculators so use them. It makes your website interactive since the patient can easily determine what their monthly payment could be and it brings it down to a more palatable number – so, rather than it costing $3,000, they can have what they want now for only $80/month.
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Get Your FREE Marketing Checklist on www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com and see how you compare to top aesthetic practices. Catherine’s firm specializes in attracting cash-paying patients to a medical practice using PR, advertising and creative marketing strategies. Catherine can also be reached at (877) 339-8833.
Get People To View Your Website (Part 4 of 6)
Posted by: | CommentsYour patient wants to learn all about you on your website. Catherine shows you how you can share your practice, your experience, and your services with the patient online so they are compelled to call or email for more information.
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Get Your FREE Marketing Checklist on www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com and see how you compare to top aesthetic practices. Catherine’s firm specializes in attracting cash-paying patients to a medical practice using PR, advertising and creative marketing strategies. Catherine can also be reached at (877) 339-8833.
My Aesthetic Patients Are Cheap!
Posted by: | CommentsThe American consumer is alive and well. As much as you believe your patients have taken a good hard look at their conditions and debt and have stopped spending and extinct when it comes to investing in aesthetic enhancement, you should know the true facts.
Fact: they recently spent $40 million on the latest scary flick Shutter Island. Did they really need to pay cash to get scared out of their wits? They also donated tens of millions to the Haiti recovery effort as well as $2,000 scalped tickets to watch curling at the Olympics (I don’t even know what curling is).
The point is there’s still plenty of money out there changing hands. The trick is to be where the money is flowing to – not where it’s leaving. And to be strategic about who you are attracting to your practice.
The practice that grows is the practice that retains patients with above par, premium prices. Do you do 10 things every month just to retain your present aesthetic patients? I’ll bet you spend all or most of your energy to lure new patients and nothing to motivate, inspire, encourage, bond with, obligate and keep the ones you’ve got.
Well guess what? While you are spending time, money and energy luring away patients from other practices, your current patients are being lured away by your competitors! That’s crazy!
Here’s the success tip: the aesthetic physician prospering in these un-prosperous times are devoting more time, thought, energy and money to retention then to new patient acquisition and have spent much less doing it while increasing revenues at the same time while their short-sighted competitors are cutting back on expenses incurred in current patient relationships.
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Get Your FREE Marketing Checklist on www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com and see how you compare to top aesthetic practices. Catherine’s firm specializes in attracting cash-paying patients to a medical practice using PR, advertising and creative marketing strategies. Catherine can also be reached at (877) 339-8833.
Communicate With Your Aesthetic Patients
Posted by: | CommentsYou thought you had a good relationship and now you realize you haven’t seen them in over a year – What happened?
The #1 reason patients leave your practice is not because of a bad result.
And, it’s probably not because they didn’t like you and your staff.
…..It’s because of your indifference.
They are being ignored by you so they don’t feel compelled to return. And, they still wanted aesthetic services so they drifted off to your competitors.
Did you know you lose 10% of your patient database with every month that goes by without you staying in touch?
They did not stop wanting aesthetic services….
They just stopped wanting aesthetic services from you…..
How Many Thousands of Dollars Do You Lose Each Year
By Ignoring Your Aesthetic Patients?
Make your patients feel your concern for them and their welfare by keeping in touch with them and reaching out to them regularly.
I promise you – they want to hear from you as long as you are educating them and giving them compelling reasons to return.
You most likely have a database full of prospective patients who came in for a consultation but didn’t book, who came in a couple of times and then wandered off and then those you haven’t seen in months or years.
I guarantee you – they did not stop wanting to look good.
They just went somewhere else where they weren’t ignored and were treated better and made to feel special.
Tip: It’s always faster, cheaper and easier to reconnect with patients who have visited you before than it is to attract total strangers to your practice.
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For more Free tips and videos, visit www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com. Catherine Maley, MBA is Author of Your Aesthetic Practice/What Your Patients Are Saying and her firm offers everything you need to succeed in aesthetic medicine. You can call Catherine at (877) 339-8833 or email her at info@CosmeticImageMarketing.com.
Understand the Decision-Making Process of an Aesthetic Patient
Posted by: | CommentsThe aesthetic patient is more confused than ever. They have many choices and are overwhelmed with the amount of information available today.
Know how difficult this process can be for your patients. This consultation with you is probably awkward and uncomfortable for them. They want to change something about their appearance that makes them feel insecure or unsure of themselves. They hope fixing, repairing, or enhancing it will make them feel better and more confident. They feel vulnerable and are looking to you for help.
That said, it’s important to note that patients also want to avoid making a bad decision. They do not want to regret their choice. A major part of your job is to reassure them they are in the right place for the right procedure and they will be happy with the result.
Note: If a patient is afraid, uncertain or confused,
they will opt to do nothing.
Aesthetic Patients Want to Experience Before Buying
You are in a tough position when it comes to promoting your intangible aesthetic services. You don’t have a product your patient can hold, touch and feel. You don’t have a product she can use all of her senses for to see, feel, hear, taste and touch to then determine its value to her.
With an intangible service such as aesthetic enhancement, she can’t “see” the quality of your materials or the effort that went into the details of producing the finished piece; which is the result she gets.
Since the aesthetic patient can’t see the excellence of your expertise and cannot touch or feel the superiority and knowledge that will go into the aesthetic service you provide her, you are at a disadvantage.
Give her as much as possible to touch and feel and use as social proof such as photos, testimonials, your credentials, celebrity, your office, your shoes, your greeting, your staff and any other detailed detective work she can experience to give her clues to help her determine you are the right physician for her to give her what she wants.
How Decisions Are Reached
The decision-making process is an entire subject on its own; however, here are some basics to consider:
- Decisions are quickly reached by emotion and then justified with logic.
- People act on prejudices, habits and past experience much more than on knowledge.
- It takes a patient a split second to make a decision but getting ready to make that decision can take a long time.
The point here is to address your patient’s emotional motivators for wanting enhancement but also equip them with the logical reasons why you are the perfect choice so they can easily relay that back to their family and friends if they are challenged.
The prospective patient is doing a cost/benefit analysis in their heads to decide if what you are offering them is worth the time, money and effort and if the benefits will outweigh the risk. Help them see and feel what you offer is more than worth it.
Tip: Aesthetic patients buy what they want – NOT what they need.
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For more Free tips and videos, visit www.CosmeticImageMarketing.com. Catherine Maley, MBA is Author of Your Aesthetic Practice/What Your Patients Are Saying and her firm offers everything you need to succeed in aesthetic medicine. You can call Catherine at (877) 339-8833 or email her at info@CosmeticImageMarketing.com.
