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Cosmetic Practice Growth Funnel

Times have changed when looking at the cosmetic rejuvenation industry so building a cosmetic practice growth funnel helps.

To make sense of it, it also helps to understand the structure and stages of an industry so you can then adapt to it.

The Life Cycle of the Cosmetic Surgery Industry

Every industry goes through stages of introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

Cosmetic Practice Growth Funnel

Why? For lots of reasons, but the biggest one is because society and its consumers accept products and services at different rates. As society begins to adapt and accept an innovation, the demand for new services grows and eventually reaches maturity.

But a lot happens between these stages.

The Introduction Stage

Just one generation ago growing a cosmetic practice was straight forward. At that time, cosmetic surgery was still a taboo topic and only for celebrities and consumers of high-worth value. Because demand for cosmetic surgery was limited, so are the number of service providers. Most of whom were plastic surgeons who performed reconstructive surgery and wanted to spread their wings to the cash side of medicine.

Advertising was minimal and consisted of a few surgeons investing in mass advertising via TV, radio, and print ads.

Prospective patients looked up to surgeons and, most often, went with the surgeons’ recommendations since they were regarded as the experts.

When prospective patients called the office, it was to book a consultation with the surgeon. More often than not, patients showed up for their appointments and conversions were fairly straight forward.

This old cosmetic practice growth funnel worked well. There were few plastic surgeons to choose from and they enjoyed regal status.

Cosmetic Practice Growth Funnel

Growth Stage

As society accepted cosmetic surgery more (thanks to the media who report on it and the Kardashians who partake in it… a lot), consumer demand increased dramatically.

The growth in demand for cosmetic surgery, coupled with exciting technological advancements, not only opened up the industry to an increase in consumers, but also to an increase of service providers.

No longer was cash-based cosmetic medicine limited to board-certified plastic surgeons. Any MD could open a medspa and provide convenience and service for cash-based, non-surgical procedures that filled the need for consumers not ready for surgery.

Then, as government regulations deterred medical providers from practicing insurance-based medicine due to low reimbursement and high cost and hassle of reimbursement, that supply of cash-based service providers increased even more.

Once there was proven consumer demand for cosmetic surgery, big business and pharma also jumped in and created more solutions for service providers to offer to consumers.

And, all of that increased the competition dramatically.

Today, consumer demand continues to increase even more and includes new types of consumers (men and the younger population), as well as geographic opportunities, so the future looks promising.

But all of this leads to commoditization within the aesthetic industry.

As the competition enters the market, they frequently offer aesthetic services at lower prices. They almost have to since they don’t enjoy status and need to enter the marketplace to attract new cosmetic patients somehow.

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This creates a downward sloping demand curve that reflects the willingness of consumers to purchase more of the commodity at lower price levels.

Now, consumers have a plethora of solutions at a range of prices to choose from. This scenario forces cosmetic surgeons to either lower their prices to compete or add more value to justify the higher prices.

Adding value includes creating an image and brand to position the practice in a crowded marketplace. For example, as a high-end service provider offering better quality of results, excellent customer service and an upscale experience.

Maturity Stage

With so many service providers and manufacturers offering countless solutions to address consumers’ cosmetic concerns, competition for new cosmetic patients grows fierce. Increased competition causes profits to peak at the end of the growth stage and the beginning of the maturity stage. So, total sales continue to grow during the first part of the maturity stage.

Profits then decline during the remainder of the maturity stage because even though many consumers are buying, they are buying on price more often than value.

Here is the point: In the growth stage, even inefficient practices make money. However, only the best run practices survive in the maturity stage.

Less efficient practices struggle to generate positive cash flow in a super competitive environment. They are not able to spend enough to attract the number of patients needed to generate positive cash flow, so they get weeded out.

Growing a cosmetic practice now is different. Today’s cosmetic practice growth funnel is more complex. Cosmetic practices have to be able to balance their advertising costs and overhead expenses to keep a steady stream of patients coming to them without going broke.

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
READ MORE

Surviving in a Maturing Marketplace

The trick to staying in the game is to adapt. Leverage existing assets to get more value from costs already occurred and to become more efficient, thereby generating more revenue using fewer resources.

The practices that do this best win. The weakest practices don’t because they cannot afford to operate profitably and compete on price at the same time.

How would you rate your own practice?

If you’re not sure, start here:

  • Rather than compete on price, compete on friendly customer service, efficient processes and relationship-building.
  • Invest in the best staff you can afford and train them on customer service. Quality of work, great attitude, and excellent converting skills will make you money.
  • Increase the value of every patient by developing a relationship with them so they return, refer, and give you great reviews.
  • Turn your current patients into unpaid sales ambassadors. They will grow your practice organically by sharing you with their friends and followers on social media.

Your #1 Asset

All of your leverage is with your number one asset—your patient list. You have already spent the time, money, and effort in attracting them to you. They will grow your practice for you if you let them.
But it’s not enough to just have the list. Focus on your relationship with your patient list.

They chose you once and, if you focus, they will choose you again and bring their friends with them. This means you redirect some of your advertising costs to training your staff and nurturing your current patients.

So, now, you are growing a cosmetic practice internally and externally. That’s how you survive and thrive in today’s marketplace.

If you are looking for clarity and a more structured plan, Click Here for Catherine’s Practice Growth Booster Kit

Looking for more clarity? Consult with Catherine to gain clarity and a plan to up-level your practice.

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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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