| MArkETing STrATEgiES | praCtICe management
physical space allows. To solicit reservations for these seminars, the practice can send flyers or emails to targeted patient groups, as well as display announcements in public areas of the office. in addition, a practice can seek out patients who are social connectors and have many friends or ties to the community. These patients can be given an incentive to help organise the events. An example of an incentive could be a discount on cosmetic procedures for each attendee the patient recruits.
Maintaining strong overall relationships with patients A practice that maintains strong overall relationships with its existing medical patients will have a much easier time converting patients into cosmetic customers. Patients like to feel that they are more than a medical record number. Above all, patients want to feel important. There are many effective ways to maintain lasting and positive relationships, such as: ■ newsletters ■ Digital marketing ■ Patient appreciation.
Newsletters A newsletter can keep patients routinely engaged with the practice. The content of a newsletter can be a mix of educational and promotional material. For example, depending on the frequency of publication
it might
make sense to offer seasonal skin care tips. A summer newsletter might offer sun-safety advice — thus leading to a promotional announcement about a new line of sunscreen products available at the practice, as well as a discussion of laser options for treating sun damage. newsletters also offer the opportunity to discuss changes and developments at the practice that will be of interest to patients. For example, if the practice purchases a new laser or adds a new provider, a newsletter is a perfect vehicle to reach patients with this important information.
Digital marketing As communication has become increasingly electronic, the options available to practices wishing to stay in touch with existing patients have expanded. A website for the practice can be a valuable way to stay connected with
patients. if elements such as posted lab results or online consultations are incorporated into a website, medical patients will have a reason to log in regularly. This web traffic will provide a platform that is useful for delivering marketing information. A practice might incorporate a blog to supplement the promotional information in a newsletter. Blogs have an advantage over print
media in that they can be updated quickly with current information. A blog also has a low cost of publication, and its audience is more easily traceable. it is easy for a practice to know how many newsletters it mails, but it is impossible to know how many are read by patients. Web-based marketing can give accurate and up-to-date metrics on the number of people who view a practice’s marketing materials, as well as the time spent viewing. The one caveat about blogs is that a practice must be cautious about communicating content (into the public domain) that has not been approved by appropriate authorities, or for which the providers are not entirely confident. if in doubt, leave it out. in addition to website-based
communications, email is an important component of a complete internal marketing campaign. Email has many of the same advantages that a blog enjoys over print media with a particular added benefit. As each email is targeted to a specific patient, the tracking data can be more specific. Email-based marketing firms can give patient-specific information on response rates to a range of promotions. The more information a practice can learn about what truly works, the more effective its marketing will become.
Patient appreciation One way to build relationships with patients is to let them know they are appreciated. A simple gesture, such as a birthday or holiday card, can keep a practice at the top of its patients’ minds. A practice can also extend special privileges to the patients it wants to recognise as ViPs. ViPs can be designated based on cosmetic spending in a given year, or on any metric the practice feels will adequately describe the demographic it is aiming to recognise. ViP patients can be offered perks such as increased access to providers after hours or during special time slots. ViP patients
could also qualify to participate in special promotions the practice occasionally offers. These benefits can create an additional incentive for medical patients to seek and accept cosmetic services and products at the practice.
Conclusions All practices that want to maximise volume should first direct their attention toward internal marketing. The cost of delivering a message to existing patients is relatively low compared with the cost of creating new patients. in addition, the likelihood that a marketing message will be well received is much higher in a base of patients who already know and trust a given practice. There are many channels through
which a practice can pursue internal marketing. Ultimately, it will be up to the individual practice to determine which methods will work best with its specific patient population. ideally, all four major categories discussed in this article can play a role in a coordinated internal marketing campaign. A practice that successfully builds a cosmetic brand, captures patients who are predisposed to cosmetic treatments, stimulates new cosmetic interest in existing patients, and maintains strong overall relationships with patients, will dramatically improve patient satisfaction and the sale of cosmetic services and products.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is an edited chapter from Cosmetic Bootcamp Primer, edited by Kenneth Beer MD PA, Mary P. Lupo MD FAAD, and Vic Narurkar MD FAAD. It is available from Informa Healthcare, at www.
informahealthcare.com
prime-journal.com | September 2011
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