Tip #6: Encourage Referrals
Word of mouth referrals have always and will continue to be the life blood of a plastic surgery practice. It doesn’t get any better when a trusted friend boasts about their results and how great you are so don’t leave that to chance.
Remind your patients you appreciate them referring your friends to you. And when they do, make a big deal out of it by sending them a thank you note with a gift card showing your appreciation.
Tip #7: Reactivate Your Lost Patients
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. Be strategic when reaching out, but also be thoughtful.
Frankly, these patients may have moved on because they didn’t care for the experience they had with you or maybe they left you for a cheaper price elsewhere but had a bad result and are too embarrassed to return.
So reach out to them in a heartfelt way. Ask them if you did something wrong because you want to make it better. Include a gift card to welcome them back and then hang on to them this time!
Tip #8: Create a WOW Patient Experience
Our industry is all about the relationship the patient “feels” they have with you. In my book, “Your Aesthetic Practice: What Your Patients Are Saying”, I asked cosmetic patients why they chose you versus your competitors and the answer is always the same…they felt more of a connection with you and your staff than they did with the others.
Please be sure every interaction with patients, whether on the phone or in person is a good one. The goal is to make them feel comfortable during every step of the process.
Everyone knows its cheaper to retain a cash-paying patient than it is to find a new one. The easiest way to make that happen is to implement a loyalty program that puts “golden handcuffs” on your patients so they return, refer and review. But it’s got to be easy for the staff to track and compelling for the patient to use.
For example, The KISS Rewards Club is a platform that tracks everything for you but it also includes the ongoing marketing efforts it takes to keep a loyalty program alive.
Tip #10: Build Your Credibility Through Strategic Alliances
Third-party endorsements are powerful. Someone else who is credible and singing your praises to their own database of patients, customers or clients is the most effective advertisement.
It’s called “transference of credibility”. If someone has a following of ardent fans and boasts about you to them, they transfer the credibility they have for that person to you.
Who do you know who has a following? Possibilities include: non-competing physicians and cosmetic dentists, salon owners, retail shop owners, social media influencers and local personalities.
Conclusion
Please use these 10 plastic surgery marketing tips to grow. Plastic surgeons today must use their advertising budget to proportionately attract new cosmetic patients to the practice and then spend the rest nurturing those same patients so they return, refer and review.
That’s smart because cosmetic patients have endless needs you can address for years to come, and so do their friends.
Click Here for the Cosmetic Patient Attraction Plan for 2020