Beauty and the Biz
While 65 Million people in the US would consider facial injectables,, only 4 Million have been treated.
That’s only 6% of the market so the room for growth is huge!
The injectables prognosis for the coming year looks favorable, and Catherine shares how to effectively capture this turn-key sector of the industry and reap the patients AND profits!
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➡️ Robert Singer, MD FACS – Former President, The Aesthetic Society
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I recently spoke at AACS’ virtual Annual Meeting.
Virtual is ok but will never replace the real thing:
- Human interaction
- Hallway talks
- Networking
- Building relationships face-to-face for a lifetime
I sat in on a presentation given by Jason Gilmore, a Senior VP at Allergan.
His excellent talk was entitled: A Year of Struggle. What 2020 taught me about aesthetics and what to do about it.
Here are the highlights that I took away that would be important for you to consider:
He started with these interesting stats gathered in 2018:
While 65 Million people in the US would consider facial injectables,
Only 4 Million have been treated.
That’s only 6% of the market so the room for growth is huge!
And the International Market is even bigger.
He said the demand for BOTOX has recovered and increased A LOT since COVID; however, Allergan spent a ton on marketing and increasing sales:
But Allergan wasn’t sure if this increase was the regular patient base coming back for more or if it was new patients now wanting injectables. So, they were happy to learn these stats:
22% of BOTOX in Q3 of 2020 were patients NEW to the brand
37% of JUVEDERM in Q3 of 2020 were patients NEW to the brand
The demand for these injectables is likely due to the fact that patients can’t spend on travel and restaurants, so they, instead, spend their disposable income on cosmetic rejuvenation.
If you’re a surgeon, you may be saying Why DO I CARE About Fillers?
For lots of reasons:
If you develop trust with the patient early on, they are more likely to stay for surgical procedures.
Or maybe they had surgery and now want non-surgical procedures.
Patients will go up and down the ladder of endless needs and move on to next body part.
The longer you keep that patient, the more add-on revenues and word-of-mouth referrals you’ll get.
So back to Jasons’ talk. He then asked why isn’t Allergan bigger?
He wondered why if 65-million consumers are interested and search like crazy for Botox and filler, but don’t get treated, there’s a fundamental problem.
Actually, there are 2 fundamentals problems…..
Problem #1: Lead conversion
Their stats show:
Only 6 out of 100 phone leads are converted!
The best practices in the country only convert 18 out of 100!
Why is that?
The response time is crucial so you need to answer your phones and online inquiries immediately with a friendly human person and you need well- trained staff who know how to bond with and convert callers.
And the other big problem affecting your revenues (and Allergan’s) is
Problem #2: Patient Retention
Jason’s team reported:
50% of injectable patients never come back and that continues to decrease.
So, why don’t they come back?
He said (and it’s so true)… In your mind, all your patients come back because those are the patients you remember.
The ones that don’t come back, you don’t know and don’t remember. That skews your perception, so you don’t focus on this part of your practice as an issue to address.
The driver to patient retention is the practice experience.
Not the function or the result the patient gets because they assume that already.
It’s the emotional job that is not being handled correctly so patients continue to leave to find another practice they feel good about visiting.
So, what should you do?
Jason wrapped up his talk with these (2) action items:
- Fix Your Front Desk
Before you spend a $1, understand your most valuable marketing channel is YOUR FRONT DESK!
It’s the most valuable ROI channel you have. The interaction with new prospective patients on that first phone call has everything to do with that patient choosing you….or not.
It’s their first exposure to your practice so make sure it’s up to par.
Patients don’t pick up that phone lightly. That’s a big step so your front desk needs empathy, and the emotional elements are needed.
For example, your receptionist can tell the caller, “I’ve had Botox” to make the caller more comfortable to come in and learn more.
- Advertise
Jason recommended paid ads on Google, Instagram and Facebook. He suggests paying for clicks or impressions and testing first.
Also, be authentic in your advertising so patients feel a connection to you.
Here’s My Feedback on Jason’s Allergan Presentation
Fix Your Phones – AGREE
I agree, and have touted for years, to get your phones right since too much money is lost at this stage.
Your front desk needs to be professionally trained to:
- Bond with the caller
- Credential you as the BEST CHOICE
- Ask for the appointment
If they need help, have them join The Converting Club for Receptionists. It’s quite common for phone conversions to increase by 30% within 48 hours when they have the right structure and scripts:
Paid Advertising – DISAGREE
Non-surgical injectables have been commoditized. It’s too competitive and too expensive to advertise services so many others CAN do and WILL do for a lower price.
Not only will you spend (waste) a fortune advertising injectables, you’ll also be forced to lead with price specials to get the attention you want so that’s a dummy whammy on your profits.
A much cheaper and more effective approach is to thank your patients for their loyalty, so they return, refer, review and share you on social without discounting your prices!
If that sounds interesting, please check out my KiSS Loyalty system.
You can find both the KiSS Rewards Club and the Converting Club on my website, www.CatherineMaley.com, under services.