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Social Proof Marketing for Plastic Surgeons

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Social Proof Marketing for Plastic Surgeons

By Catherine Maley, MBA

Social Proof Marketing for Plastic Surgeons

Why do some surgeons charge 3–5X more than other surgeons… AND have a waiting list?

Why do you lose to competitors not as skilled as you?

Why do vendors in our industry pay a ton of money to celebrities to tout their lasers?

Because they know social proof marketing works!

WHAT IS SOCIAL PROOF MARKETING?

According to Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, “We view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.”

That means when prospective cosmetic patients are uncertain about what to do, they look to other people around them they trust (or want to be like) such as experts, celebrities, friends, etc.

That’s why influencer marketing has always been and will continue to be popular for our industry.

5 TYPES OF SOCIAL PROOF – Marketing for Plastic Surgeons

  1. Expert: Expert social proof is when an expert in the industry recommends your services. Example: Another trusted plastic surgeon endorses.
  2. Celebrity: Celebrity social proof is when a celebrity endorses your services. Example: Any Kardashian sings your praises.
  3. User: User social proof is when your current patients recommend your products and services based on their experiences with your brand. Example: Your current patients boast about you on their own social platforms.
  4. The wisdom of your friends: This type of social proof is when people see their friends approve your services. Example: Seeing their friends use your services and/or following you on social media.
  5. Certification: This type of social proof is when you are given a stamp of approval by an authoritative figure/group in your industry. Example: Voted Top Doc or Castle Connolly endorsement.

Knowing these strategies is interesting but how do you incorporate them to make a difference in your own brand and status for social proof marketing for plastic surgeons?

Coming up…

5 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR SOCIAL PROOF

Be creative and don’t be afraid to share your successes. Things you take for granted are a big deal to prospective cosmetic patients trying to figure out who is the BEST choice so implement these strategies to stand out:

Celebrate Milestones

Show gratitude for your user or follower milestones. Reaching milestones is a fun occasion to celebrate and a great time to thank the patients who have helped you achieve that.

Here are some of the milestones you can celebrate with your audience:

  • Reaching X patients served
  • Reaching X surgeries performed
  • Reaching X followers on your social media profile
  • Practice Anniversaries

Spread the word by sharing on your social media platforms, send e-blasts to your current patients, display in-house signage, and highlight on your website.

Influencer Marketing

Since you probably can’t get a Kardashian to be your celebrity social proof, here’s the next best thing.

Your influencers are also your patients. They may not be celebrities, but they are happy patients who can authentically relay their experience to other prospective cosmetic patients.

Start with your patients who have a strong social media following.

Have your staff ask your patients about their social followers in a conversational way or check out their stats on Instagram and Facebook and ask them how they got so many followers.

Videotape a Q&A with them so they are more comfortable. Ask them simple questions such as:

  • Why did you come to me?
  • Why did that bother you?
  • How do you feel about your result?
  • Any advice for others considering this procedure?

Reviews

Patient reviews are huge in our industry. The most effective way to get reviews is to ask for them once the patient is healed and ecstatic about their new look.

But make it easy for them. If they don’t have a Gmail account, set one up for them. If they don’t know what to say, give them starter sentences like these:

  • I wanted plastic surgery because I was unhappy with my ____________________
  • I chose Dr. Smith because _____________
  • Dr. Smith and his staff were ____________ during my surgical journey.
  • How I feel now _____________________

It’s the patient’s story that is so interesting to other prospective patients who want to experience that story also.

Before/After Photos

Cosmetic patients love to “see” your work and “the more the merrier.”

Develop a protocol (just like you do for surgery) for your processes to get your patients’ before AND after photos, along with consent.

Set up a photo room or corner/closet in your practice with the same lightening and angles so your photos are uniform and professional looking.

Even if they won’t agree to broadcast their photos all over the Internet, they may be ok if you show prospective patients during their consultation.

And here’s a tip about photos… a prospective patient wants to see themselves in your photos so have a variety of ethnicities and ages for them to preview.

Turn Your Staff into Walking/Talking Testimonials

People tend to adopt the opinions or actions of people they trust so turn your staff into your free sales ambassadors.

There is nothing more compelling than a prospective patient seeing another cosmetic patient standing in front of them who has already experienced plastic surgery from you.

Your staff can share their story and show would-be patients their results.

Have your staff consent to the use of their photos, written testimonials, as well as video testimonials to use in social media and on YouTube.

Social proof marketing for plastic surgeons should always be an important part of your overall marketing plan so please make it a priority since your patients do.

Catherine Maley, MBA is a cosmetic practice consultant, speaker, trainer, blogger and podcaster. Her popular book, Your Aesthetic Practice – What Your Patients Are Saying is read and studied by plastic surgeons and their staff all over the world. She and her team specialize in growing plastic surgery practices using creative patient attraction, conversion, follow up and retention strategies as well as staff training to turn team members into converting rock stars.

Visit Catherine for Free resources at www.CatherineMaley.com or Instagram @catherinemaleymba.

Get her complete guide, “Plastic Surgery Marketing: What’s Working Now” at www.CatherineMaley.com.

Click below to read “Social Proof Marketing for Plastic Surgeons” in its original format in Aesthetic Society News, Summer 2021, volume 25, number 3

Social Proof Marketing for Plastic Surgeons
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TESTIMONIALS

5/5
"Catherine outlined a plan that put key metrics in place, gave us a clear plan to follow throughout the year and trained our staff to increase their conversions by at least 10%. Since engaging with Catherine, I’m happy to report that revenues are up 15% over the last three months - 22% in the last month alone! I highly recommend Catherine’s consulting services to any practice looking for “best practice” additions to their operation."
Robert Sigal, MD
Robert Sigal, MD
"I have finally tapped into the most efficient way to grow my cosmetic practice and that is to “fish in the pond of my own patients”. When patients return to my practice, over 85% will purchase another service, product, or procedure. Not only was it worth over $200,000 in revenues this past year, it also reminds my patients I’m still around so they don’t wander off to my competitors. Catherine’s group has far exceeded our expectations and goals we had set up for them to achieve."
Victor Ferrari, MD
Victor Ferrari, MD
"Our consult conversions were running at 40-50%. Then we attended Catherine’s online training and implemented her strategies. They immediately increased conversion rates to 75-80%."
Anthony Corrado, MD
Anthony Corrado, MD
"I know how to run a profitable practice; however, it was not without major staff issues, inefficiencies and unproductive drama. With Catherine's guidance, I reorganized staff, set up processes for them to carry more of the workload and hold them accountable so I have more time to focus on patient care. The changes we put in place and the staff training to convert more callers and consultations will easily increase my revenues by 15% as well as save us time, money and costly mistakes. "
Evan Sorokin, MD
Evan Sorokin, MD
"Working with Catherine and her team has been very profitable. We’re only half way through the year and I’m up $200K and I’m booked out for the next 2 months even though we typically go into our slow summer months now. Her recent promotion brought in an extra $63,782 with more surgeries scheduled. I never realized how much money was sitting in my patient list but I’m a believer now!"
Robert Langdon, MD
Robert Langdon, MD
"Catherine Maley has one of the best Marketing Minds in the aesthetic industry, bar none. She understands the aesthetic patient and she also understands the challenges and frustrations we face as aesthetic surgeons. You will benefit from Catherine's tools whether you are new in practice or a seasoned professional.Turn to Catherine for guidance - she knows what she's talking about."
Edwin Williams, MD
Edwin Williams, MD
“Catherine’s Cosmetic Patient Marketing Service has been a great addition to our practice-building overall plan. While we still invest in our online presence, we also found immense value in the internal marketing efforts. We especially like that all results are tracked so we know we are getting a great return ... last year it was 1,148% and no staff time was used. That’s a much easier way to grow my cosmetic practice.”
Mark Mason, MD
Mark Mason, MD
"Catherine Maley turned our practice around. We converted more consultations in one week than we did in an entire month. Our practice went from a painful 50% no show rate to a remarkable 85% show rate. Even more impressive was our close ratio - from 35% to 80% and still increasing. We would recommend her to any practice that’s looking to not only increase their profits today, but sustain a healthy flow of income for many years to come. Thanks Catherine!"
Sam Assassa, MD
Sam Assassa, MD
"Catherine found me the best patient care coordinator I could have asked for. She worked out a payment plan that was fair to me and motivating to my coordinator. She also provided training tools to help my coordinator convert better, even though she was already experienced. The results have been phenomenal. So good, in fact, that my income increased 250% and I’m booked out for 3 months. Don’t waste any more time or money doing it yourself. Outsource to someone you trust!"
Andrew Lofman, MD
Andrew Lofman, MD
"Since we’ve been working with Catherine and her team for the past 5 months, we’ve brought in $79K in surgeries and have booked an additional 17 surgical procedures and 20 non-invasive body procedures since then. This does not include the additional new patient referrals and revenues we are seeing from the on-going nurturing of my current patient database."
Verne Weisberg, MD
Verne Weisberg, MD
"I had given my staff the goal to convert at least $35K per week in surgeries AND I gave them the tools to help which was Catherine’s Online Learning Center at More Patients Academy. They watched Catherine’s modules and implemented her strategies and converted $80K! That equaled a 2,550% ROI. Nice!"
Adam Stein, MD
Adam Stein, MD
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Catherine Maley

Catherine Maley

Catherine is a business/marketing consultant to plastic surgeons. She speaks at medical conferences all over the world on practice building, marketing and the business side of plastic surgery. Get a Free Copy of her popular book, Your Aesthetic Practice: What Your Patients Are Saying View Author Profile.

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