Consumer behavior is a complex subject since it involves emotions, personalities and life experiences. To understand your patients and their motives better, here are four groups of your typical aesthetic patients that will make up your practice.

Tire Kickers
This group doesn’t know what they want.  They seem to have a lot of time on their hands because they will attend your events, eat your food, take your samples and never, ever buy. They may even book a consultation, go through the motions but never book a procedure.  Do not exert energy on this group since it’s a waste of time.

Deal makers/price shoppers
This group is looking for the best deal in town, above all else.  They have a tendency to regard cosmetic enhancement as a commodity and will spend much of their consultation negotiating with you and your staff.  To them, it’s an art form to get you to lower your prices or throw in freebies.  Beware of them.  They will tell their friends they got a great deal from you just because they asked and this will set up a bad precedence in your practice.

Brand loyalists
This is your favorite group.  They love you and would not go to anyone else.  They wouldn’t even consider going to anyone else – even if they were ½ your prices!  They are your cheerleaders, your advocates and your braggers.  Treat them well and they are yours for life.  Most of your efforts should be concentrated on this group and growing it to include their loyal friends, family and colleagues.

Luxury innovators/Quality shoppers
While this group wants only the best and will pay for it, they can be a pain in the butt.  They want everything their way, you need to drop everything to stroke their egos and they have a tendency to flaunt their money (neuvo-riche?) and expect better treatment then your other patients get. While you should treat all of your patients with respect and special care, spending a little extra time and effort on this group can pay off since like people know like people and this can be a profitable group to appease.

Tip:  Focus all your efforts on your brand loyalists and quality shoppers since they will make up 80% of your aesthetic profits.

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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.