We know how important first impressions can be - on a job interview, on a date but also to a client who is visiting your practice for the first time.
Take a moment every day to survey your entrance, your reception, your exam or treatment rooms and even your private spaces where patients would not enter.
Look closely. Do you see any debris? Disorganized materials? Empty holders for patient education brochures? Any dust or cobwebs? Do countertop signs obscure your staff or other messages or products?
Sit down in your reception seats. Take a look around. Be critical.
I visited a medical spa recently who offered laser based technology aesthetic procedures such as laser hair removal and skin tightening. I noticed things I liked - good lighting, lots of product in a retail area but organized well. Lots of messaging. Good use of texture (tile, wood). Very friendly receptionist. The impression was one of a busy, thriving practice with a nice variety of procedures and product.
What I felt needed correction (and I mentioned to the nurse) was: counter signage was obscuring the receptionist so she could not see us when we sat down. There was a cobweb hanging from a can light in ceiling. The TV over the doorway was primarily showing testimonial videos but the sound was off. It would be better to either have small wireless speakers by the seating (so the message was heard) or switch the video to photo loops which do not require sound.
These are all easy fixes.
If you prefer - have a friend visit your practice and task them to notice anything that seems off. Better you see it and fix it than for a less-than-ideal first impression be made by a new patient. It's nice to know that some things - we can control.
According to a Dove survey of 8,000 men between the ages of 30 and 55 in seven countries, it appears that men are bothered by how they're portrayed in advertising. According to Michael Kaufman, Dove gender expert consultant, "These are bad news about what our standards of men's bodies should look like, they're impossible images. Men can't live up to that."
Dove launched an ad campaign during the NFL's Super Bowl for its new line of men's skin care products. What Dove's new ads convey and what their survey reveals is that reak men are not the fit, toned and buffed male models we see in ads. Men are just as frustrated by those portrayals as women are annoyed by fashion images suggesting all women should looked like photoshopped-to-perfection super models.
Sharon MacLeod, a director at Unilever which owns the Dove brand reports "What our campaign does is look to celebrate men who have different responsibilities in life and are comfortable in their own skin," Ms. MacLeod says. "These are not guys who are ladies men or heroes or power-hungry. These are real men with real lives" -- film directors, business people -- and the campaign is "about their definition of success."
Of note: Dove's survey found 65% of Canadian men are comfortable using women's skincare products but only 24% are prepared to admit to using women's products to their friends.
Outside of toiletries; other articles indicate that male demand for fillers, injectibles, liposection, laser hair removal and other cosmetic procedures are on the rise. Does this indicate that it is time of use promotional marketing materials (brochures, posters, countertop displays, DVDs) which show men - in and around your practice? Should your web site and advertisments appeal to your male patients? Should your practice offer product lines for retail with a focus on male concerns? Are male patients the new demographic? It's an equal opportunity world of aesthetics!
I just read a very interesting article by Brent Foster in Practical Dermatology. It's entitled "Nonverbal Communication in the Patient Consultation".
Brent recommends using the clues patients provide to help you during a consultation; i.e. are they uncomfortable, interested, undecided with what you are explaining or proposing?
Perhaps you are discussing laser hair removal but they just learned about vascular treatments or they are concerned about pigmented lesions and they want to change the subject? See if these visual clues can help you with more successful consultations - with better closure rates!
Wendy Lewis, acclaimed author and expert in aesthetic consultancy, has a helpful article on "Instilling Loyalty in Cosmetic Patients" in the October 2009 issue of Plastic Surgery Products.
Wendy recommends offering your loyal clients a reward program to encourage repeat business and referrals.
Customer Loyalty Programs may include:
courtesy vouchers
offer of extra service
complementary product
volume discount
refer-a-friend bonus
discount on particular treatment
trial of a new product or technology
Even offering a "thank you - using personal notes, calls or emails can be enough to make them feel special. I highly recommend saying thank you after any aesthetic laser treatment such as laser hair removal or skin rejuvenation or injectible; and keep them coming back for more.
During a conversation with Dr. Jill Lezaic with Laser Skin Solutions Jacksonville, she used the term "e-myth" which stumped me. What was an e-myth? Dr. Lezaic explained it as a business term for companies whose founders are very good at creating products but not necessarily good at running a business to sell those products.
How would an e-myth work in aesthetic practices? Physicians are trained to perfom medicine. They are not trained in medical school how to operate a business and market their services.
Physicians must learn the skill sets needed to be an entrepreneur. It's not intuitive to know how to advertise laser hair removal or to differentiate their ability to treat vascular conditions on all skin types, safely. For tips on jump starting your aesthetic practice, consider registering for Dr. Lezaic's webinar on practice marketing. It's taking place live on July 28, 2009 from 4-5pm PDT but afterwards will be available on demand for your convenience.
I heard from a colleague who recently attended a customer event at an aesthetic practice. The event was sponsored by Allergan and primarily promoted Latisse to their event attendees.
The physician was offering a discount on Latisse to any attendee who purchased that evening or within a few days.
I thought it was interesting that the physician did not promote her other services or products. She sold ~10 units of Latisse at the event and of course, there will be a great opportunity to market additional services to those buyers going forward but I think it would have been a more profitable event had the physician enlisted additional vendors for support and opened up her event to more promotion. She could have promoted laser hair removal (which can be safely performed year-round with CoolGlide Nd:YAG, even on tanned patients), non-invasive skin rejuvation (Laser Genesis, again, safe on all skin types, year-round), Titan, fillers and BOTOX.
Open houses and customer events are a great way to have current customers (patients) bring friends and family, enjoy some wine and hors d'oeuvres while learning about new products and services and enjoying special attention (receiving goodie bags, being offered special discounts for packages paid for that evening or within 48 hours, referral $ or points if their friends/family buy product or sign up for packages).
Customer events are great marketing tools - just be sure to leverage the event for all it is worth!
Do you have a diverse patient population with all or most skin types and many different ethnicities?
Are you able to offer aesthetic treatments to all of these patients?
Do they know you have aesthetic products and treatments for THEM?
In other words - are you doing a good job letting your patients know exactly what you can offer them, and which services are safe and effective for their individual needs? Do you use marketing materials that feature models of different age groups? Different ethnicities? Both male and female models if your clientele is both male and female?
Cutera recognizes this need exists. We offer a way to create customized patient brochures to help our customers reach out to their entire practice. Customers visit CuteraPatientTools.com, choose the application, then select a brochure cover model(s) who best suits the patient group they are targeting. They can customize the back panel of the brochure with their practice information as well.
For example, if you want to offer customized laser hair removal patient brochures, you can choose from photos of men and women of all ages, from skin types I -VI. A specific example -- create and print a vein treatment brochure that features a woman of Mediterranean heritage or show an older couple who are contemplating fractional skin resurfacing such as Pearl Fractional.
Think about your patient base, what you can do for them and ensure they know it.
Alright - I know this is not part of "Marketing" but I just read an interesting article by Bryan Durocher on Employee Compensation published last December in Skin, Inc. and thought I would share it with you.
I know a number of Cutera customers struggle over how much they should compensate their employees - for promoting their practice, referring friends/family, closing consults to appointments, performing aesthetic procedures such as laser hair removal, skin rejuvenation, etc. There is no one answer as every practice is different.
Some pay commission on top of salary - others use monthly or quarterly profit sharing. I thought this statement was sobering. "If a business owner is paying more than 50% commission or is offering some type of benefits in conjunction with a commission structure greater than 50% they are losing money."
The increased terminal hair growth occurred mostly in areas in which fine hair or both fine and coarse hair was present prior to initiation of treatment.
Laser based technology has provided a permanent hair reduction for many people. However, for a very small percentage there can be counterintuitive hair growth.
Increased terminal hair growth has been seen with near infrared and infrared technology.
It is important to be aware of this possibility when providing Laser Hair removal services.
Hair Stimulation Following Laser and Intense Pulsed Light Photo-Epilation: Review of 543 Cases and Ways to Manage It
Andrea Willey, MD,Jaioae Torrontegui, RN, Jose Azpiazu, MD, and Nerea Landa, MD
This is a nice article and includes the anatomy and physiology of the hair growth cycle. Success with Laser Hair Removal is increased with the understanding of the hair growth cycle. Infrared technology used for permanent hair reduction can produce a rare paradoxical side effect of hair stimulation
A very important element of the patient consultation and skin care treatment plan are uniform photos of the treatment area. Patients often forget how much hair they had before starting Laser Hair removal. Pictures help to identify changes in pigment. This is important when performing a Limelight facial for pigmented lesions or Laser Hair removal. Pictures really are worth a thousand words.
Having a simple protocol for patient photography is essential. This means taking steps to standardize not only the method of taking representative photographs, but also of storing/cataloging them for efficient retrieval for presentations and patient use.
The key to this is to simplify the process and make the number of photos required for each patient uniform.
Laser based infrared technology is used for permanent hair reduction. It is important to assess to color of hair to be treated prior to a Laser hair removal treatment. The type of melanin can affect the outcome of the treatment
The use and delegation of Laser based technology differs from state to state. Treatment providers are required to know the state laws that govern the use of Laser and Light based technology. Some states mandate that the physician be physically present and supervise procedures such as Laser Hair removal and vascular treatments. While other states mandate that the physician can delegate Laser based treatments to staff that have recieved adequate training. The physician is not required to be physically present when the Laser Hair removal or vein treatment is performed.
It is important for treatment providers to be familiar with legal issues of operating an Aesthetic medical practice. The regulations for the use of Laser based technology vary from state to state on who can perform the treatments. In some states Laser hair removal may be delegated to "an employee under the physician's supervision" while in other states the person performing the treatment must be a licensed healthcare professional. New Report Outlines Key Legal Issues for Medical Spas and Aesthetic Medical Practices
Source: The International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine www.IAPAM.com Laser Safety
Source: Betty Minor, BS, RN is President of Laser Resource, Inc., Aurora, Colorado since 1986 actively consults and teaches laser safety programs, facility safety audits and overall laser safety development across the country. She was the Operating Room Director of Surgical Services; Director of Education east coast based Laser Company. She is a Sitting Member of the ANSI Z136.3 Safety Committee. She was instrumental in the development of the Medical Laser Safety seminar, which is recognized throughout the country as the most informative and practical for any health care laser facility. For more information, please contact her via e-mail at bettyminor@ds-int.com.
Potential patients are bombarded with advertisements for Laser Hair Removal, Laser vein treatment, skin tightening and skin rejuvenation. It is important for treatment providers differentiate themselves from the competitors.
After great anticipation Aesthetic Profits Inc. is trilled to announce the launch of it’s much awaited How To: Series - Effective Patient Attraction Tools for Aesthetic Physicians. This compilation contains essential strategies aesthetic doctors need to build a reliable database of returning patients, to enhance their presence within their community and see a steady boost in revenues.
Current titles include: ‘How to Differentiate Yourself From All the Others’, ‘How to Make the Most of Your In-House Marketing’, ‘How to Effectively Communicate With Your Patients’, ‘How to Become Famous in Your Community’, ‘How to Conduct a Successful Aesthetic Patient Consultation’, ‘How to Coordinate a Successful Open House’, ‘How to Promote Retail Profitably’, ‘How to Promote Minimally-Invasive Procedures’, ‘How to Build a Word-of-Mouth Practice’ and many more.
Source: International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM)
We all know your best aesthetic patient is the referred patient. They are not as price conscious and are already pre-sold on you. You do not want to take these referrals lightly. Every aesthetic practice or medical spa has their group of cheerleaders and you do too.
Source: International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine
There are many things to research and learn about starting an Aesthetic practice. The physician may want to offer skin rejuvenation with chemical peels and Laser based technology or a more advanced skin care practice with Laser hair removal, vein treatments or skin tightening.
After completing this workshop, participants will leave with a comprehensive business plan for their aesthetic medicine practice. This program will cover all aspects of creating a business plan for a profitable medical spa, including:
• Financing options for physicians; • Target demographics for tailored aesthetic procedures; • Developing a menu of treatments and pricing strategies; • Establishing aesthetic practice protocols and HR for aesthetic practitioners; • Creating an effective marketing plan; • Finding the right location; • Staffing; • Federal and state legal and regulatory issues; and • Startup costs and reading financials.
Souce: International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM)
Limelight may be used to treat pigmented lesions. Sunscreens are helpful to prevent the formation of pigmented lesions. It is preferable to avoid sun exposure when performing skin rejuvenation treatments, Laser hair removal or vascular treatments.
Encouraging photoprotection is the leading preventative health strategy used by physicians involved in skin care. Although sun avoidance is most desirable, outdoor occupations and lifestyles make total avoidance impossible for many individuals.
Author: Stanley B Levy, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Powered by Compendium Blogware