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10 Plastic Surgery Marketing Tips

Introduction

You cannot be successful in the plastic surgery industry without a steady stream of plastic surgery patients coming to you so below are 10 plastic surgery marketing tips to help keep a steady stream of cash-paying patients coming to you.

But, first, a little background. The female plastic surgery patients’ wants, needs and concerns are complex and ever-changing. Rather than a goldmine, it can be more like a mine field to understand these patients and why they chose you over all the others, stay loyal to you and refer their friends to you.

You Are in an Enviable Position.

Here is the good news. You cater to a very hungry market – the plastic surgery patient who wants to look and feel good and will invest their time, money and effort to do so.

Think about it. The patient who cares about their appearance has a built-in need now and for years to come because if they care today how they look, they are really going to care as the aging process takes an even bigger toll.

So, putting in the effort up front now to attract these plastic surgery patients to your practice and nurturing those relationships will prompt them to return again and again for procedures, treatments and products to help them look and feel good for a lifetime. The tips below will help:

10 Plastic Surgery Marketing Tips to Grow a Multi-Million Dollar Cosmetic Practice:

Tip #1: Target Higher-Value Cosmetic Patients

In today’s world of surgical and non-surgical technologies, everybody is a prospective patient. Ask anyone what they would change about their appearance if there were no money or time issues and I guarantee 90% of them will give you an answer.

However, you will run out of time, money and energy attracting everyone to your practice. Instead, identify who your most profitable patients are and then focus your efforts on them. For example, females still make up 85% of the market so I would start there. Then decide which age group you like to work with and which procedures are your favorite. It’s much more effective to target certain groups of patients than it is to market to everyone because that will make you “The Jack of All Trades and Master of None”.

Tip #2: Understand the Decision-Making Process of a Plastic Surgery Patient

Put yourself in your patients’ shoes. Imagine how difficult this decision is when you consider how many posts, directories, advertisements, banners, social posts and youtube videos these prospective patients see, read, watch and talk over with their friends.

It’s mind boggling to not only choose the procedure you want, but who should perform it. Help your patients make a good decision by assuring them with tons of social proof.

Cosmetic Patients need reassurance they will get a great result and have no regrets. They get that reassurance through your before/after photos, online reviews and patient testimonials so have a process in place to collect that social proof.

MarketingTip #3: Make the Aesthetic Patient Feel Acknowledged

The plastic surgery industry is all about emotions. The patients you cater to have something about their appearance that is making them feel uncomfortable about themselves. That hurts their confidence and self esteem which then affects the quality of their lives.

It takes empathy and compassion to acknowledge and understand your patients’ concerns so they feel heard and understood. The more comfortable you can make your cosmetic patients feel, the more likely they are to connect with you, open up and say yes to you.

Tip #4: Increase Revenues-Per-Patient

You are leaving money on the table if your patients don’t realize everything you offer. So often, your patients see you for one procedure but go elsewhere for their other cosmetic rejuvenation needs. It’s typically because they didn’t even realize you offered more.

Don’t make that mistake. Be sure you have lots of tasteful in-house signage such as a menu of services listing ALL of your surgical and non-surgical procedures and treatments so you never hear, “I didn’t know you did that!”

Tip #5: Stop Ignoring Your Current Patients

The #1 reason cosmetic 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.

The reality is they did not stop wanting cosmetic rejuvenation. They just stopped wanted it from you because you’ve been ignoring them. And your competitors have been courting them so they went to them instead.

It takes so little effort to keep in touch with patients who already know, like and trust you. Be sure your marketing plan includes communications with your current patients so they know you care.

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A Complete Guide to Understanding Your Aesthetic Patient and Growing Your Aesthetic Practice. Catherine Maley, MBA went straight to the aesthetic patient to get the answers you need to succeed with your patients.

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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.

Tip #9: Implement a Cosmetic Patient Loyalty Program

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

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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