Patient Retention through Better Customer Service

Even medical practices need to brush up on customer service. Some patients complain about the poor services provided by staff. Online reviews for some practices have patients talking about how poorly they were treated by the staff and may need to find a new doctor. This could hurt your practice, as your leads could decrease because of your staff members.

If you received poor reviews about the staff, then it might be time to reconsider getting friendlier staff or training them for better customer service.

Manage staff well

Customer service starts within the practice. How you deal with staff could translate to their behavior towards patients. Aside from better treatment towards staff, provide them with appropriate training such as customer service and procedures.

In a medical aesthetic practice, allow staff to have training and delegate tasks for them so they could also take part in your practice and learn more about how to deal with patients in different situations.

Survey Patients

One of the many ways you can connect with your patients is to give them a say in what you are offering. Many experts suggest this method as a way to put your patients first. While you cannot offer every treatment out there, at least consider the idea of having that non-surgical treatment or an alternative.

For your reference, the most common procedures in 2016 (according to the ISAPS) were Botox or dermal filler related procedures, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and laser hair removals.

Hold Offers, Discounts, and Specials

All patients love to hear the words discount and special. If you have found footing Advertise it on social media or conduct an email blast. Either way, build a relationship with all your returning patients, and hook them up with your offers and specials so they could refer your practice to their other friends.

Invest in Social Media

A large number of practices are on social media, not to keep up with trends, but to connect with customers digitally. Social media is one of the most recommended marketing strategies, and this is how you can pick up potential patients for the practice.

Twitter and Facebook are among two social media outlets that have improved on the business side of customer service. Businesses on Twitter have been given a feature to accept or decline a Direct Message (DM) from an individual. Facebook has also that option on Messenger to set up chatbots for your business. Further discussion about this concept will come at a later time.

Strengthening Your Medical Spas Local SEO Strategy

Many say, it’s always best to start small, which is true, because going big could cost you. It is crucial to keep up with the trends, and a solid marketing strategy can help you make your way to Google’s 1st page, without being banned. Thus, it is important to keep marketing at a steady pace while still following the rules. In this case, we advise you to start LOCAL.

Local SEO could help boost your website’s visibility in your city or state.

When you search for Local SEO, Google My Business (GMB) always comes up. This is a great way to be known through the search engine. Google is very much intuitive, knowing one’s location as they search. Thus, it is important as you update or set-up your website, to have a GMB listing underway. Google My Business also added a feature which is schedule appointments.

NAP, NAP, NAP

No don’t take a NAP. NAP means Name, Address, and Phone. All of which should be consistent in all your pages or social media websites. Aside from NAP, you also have to input your times and days of operations.

List on Local Directories

All businesses can start by listing their companies on Google My Business, so should your medical practice. Local directories could also help you put your practice on the map. Here are several directories you can start listing in:

• Google
• Yahoo!
• Yelp
• Facebook

Ask for reviews with Podium's special offer for Medical Spa MD Members.

It’s not bad nor it doesn’t violate HIPAA practices when asking for reviews. After all, most patients look for reviews first prior to scheduling an appointment with the doctor. Ask your patients to include the location of your practice when you encourage them to write their review. If some patients have already submitted their own, you can filter out the bad reviews, if any. Note, never to call out the patients that gave you a bad review.

Understanding Women as Customers

Failure to understand the role of women as consumers and decision makers is seen as an impediment which prevents Americans from getting good health care.

This is the result of the research conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) among more than 9000 women respondents in US, UK, Germany, Japan and Brazil. Their study reveals that 70% of global consumer decisions are controlled by women, with 94% of them making their own health care decisions.

However, 77% of them do not do what they have to do to stay healthy because of lack of time. There is much information available online but only 31% of them trust the information they see in the internet. But the good news, according to CTI, is that they have also found out ways to make a difference in improving the trust and satisfaction among women.

Doctors and medical professionals can foster dialogue and provide clear communication. Providing them with enough information allows them to make informed decisions leading to a trusted partnership. Allowing women to also make their opinions matter may achieve connections to the female market. CTI research reveal that women make up around 88% of the health care workforce. It was found that women who share their stories and personal experiences as a heath decision maker allowed them to make connections with fellow women.

Researchers at CTI say that:

Developing a keen understanding of these women's wants and needs in health care, and using that understanding at every stage of product development and commercial relations, will help companies uncover and leverage huge market opportunities as well as surprise and delight their customers.

More on: http://www.talentinnovation.org/_private/assets/PopHealthcare_Infographic-CTI.pdf

Aesthetic Show 2015: We are Invited!

On July 9-12, 2015, the Aesthetic Show will bring together new procedures and breakthrough products related to running a Medical Spa.  This will be held at The Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada.

This is a sales-oriented show that is an avenue for medical professionals, buyers and potentials partners to meet. Continuing education credits are provided for attendees.

This is great opportunity to learn about marketing strategies, discover new products and meet other Medical Spa practitioners.

According to its website, the show presents Advanced Techniques for Practice Success courses which are helpful in building, growing and marketing an aesthetic business. Some of the lecture topics include Internet and digital marketing, expanding practice and profitability, analysis of one's business model, mastering patient consultations, improving staff management skills, and real world success examples.

There will also be discussions about emerging procedures and techniques, use of energy-based treatments for skin resurfacing and tightening, and updates about injections techniques and tips from experts among others.

You may visit the Aesthetic Show website for more information: http://www.aestheticshow.com/ or call +1 (949) 830-5409. 

Storytelling As A Medical Spa Marketing & Sales Tool

If you want to increase your sales, learn how to tell stories in the consultation room.

If there's a truism in your medical spa it is the money is made in the consultation room, and the ability to tell stories about successful outcomes, happy patients, and life changing results is how it's done.

Stories trigger our emotions and allow us to create a "shared experience" that psychologically aligns the listener with the speaker and removes what are common blocking mechanisms around what is 'logical'. In telling a story, credibility is not even an issue. According to Geoffrey Berwind, a storytelling consultant

The use of stories, properly conveyed, is actually how we prefer to receive communications. When leaders learn how to meld the use of stories with the left-brain data-based information they also need to convey … well, this becomes irresistible. Their influence and engagement becomes more powerful, and real change occurs because people are moved to action.

Researches also reveal that regardless of the content of the ad, those which tell stories become relatively more successful. In the issue of The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Quesenberry and research partner Michael Coolsen found that the structure of the advertisement predicted its success, regardless of its content.

A study made by the University of Massachusetts Medical School found that more people were convinced to change their behavior to reduce the risk of hypertension after the storytelling approach was used.

In a research done by neuroeconomist Paul Zak, it was found that our brains allow us to focus in tense moments of the story because of the release of the stress hormone Cortisol. Also, empathy and the promotion of connection is felt because of the release of the feel-good chemical Oxytocin.

In an experiment, Zak asked study participants to donate money to a stranger after they were asked to watch and emotionally charged movie about a son and his father. It was revealed that people were more likely to give more monetary contribution to a complete stranger. Stories, especially those that capture the attention of the audiences, allow people to move and act.

Several researches were already made to show how storytelling can affect and motivate people to do something, or change their behavioral patterns. Marketing and brand managers capitalize on this information as a way to advertise their product. As a marketing strategy, storytelling boils down to using the right metaphors and structures and then generating a story that is remembered and attributed to a brand.

Speakers for TED talks use narratives and powerful stories and imagery to share their message. Even Steve Jobs himself uses images and one-line concepts to support verbal storytelling.

As executive coach Harrison Monarth puts it:

Storytelling may seem like an old-fashioned tool, today — and it is. That’s exactly what makes it so powerful. Life happens in the narratives we tell one another. A story can go where quantitative analysis is denied admission: our hearts. Data can persuade people, but it doesn’t inspire them to act; to do that, you need to wrap your vision in a story that fires the imagination and stirs the soul.

References:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rodgerdeanduncan/2014/01/04/tap-the-power-of-storytelling/ https://hbr.org/2014/03/the-irresistible-power-of-storytelling-as-a-strategic-business-tool/

Mommy Makeovers for Mom's Day

Mother's day is just right around the corner. Husbands and children are thinking about ways to make this day special for moms. A makeover and pampering may just be the right gift for her.

Mommy makeover is a marketing strategy and a marketing term which has gained popularity over the years. In a study conducted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 62% of mothers who want to regain their youthful look before giving birth.

Mothers who want to restore or improve their post-pregnancy bodies undergo multiple plastic surgery procedures which include tummy tucks, liposuction, breast implantations and breast lifts.

Medspas may capitalize on this by providing discounts for bundle procedures, especially with the celebration of Mother's Day.

How Your Competitors Might Be Destroying Your Medical Spa Business Using Google Maps

Almost anyone can damage your medical practice business or reputation by turning Google against you.. and it's not very hard.

Here's an example from Wired Magazine detailing how a restaurant's business was destroyed: Read the article.

It began in early 2012, when he experienced a sudden 75 percent drop off in customers on the weekend, the time he normally did most of his business. The slump continued for months, for no apparent reason. Bertagna’s profits plummeted, he was forced to lay off some of his staff, and he struggled to understand what was happening. Only later did Bertagna come to suspect that he was the victim of a gaping vulnerability that made his Google listings open to manipulation.

He was alerted to that possibility when one of his regulars phoned the restaurant. “A customer called me and said, ‘Why are you closed on Saturday, Sunday and Monday? What’s going on?’” Bertagna says.

It turned out that Google Places, the search giant’s vast business directory, was misreporting the Serbian Crown’s hours. Anyone Googling Serbian Crown, or plugging it into Google Maps, was told incorrectly that the restaurant was closed on the weekends, Bertagna says. For a destination restaurant with no walk-in traffic, that was a fatal problem.

In the case above the business owner is actually trying to sue Google, claiming that a competitor manipulated the restaurants business and that Google didin't do anything about it.

He's not going to get anywhere with that, but it serves to highlight just how vulnerable a local business can be if you're not keeping abreast of what's going on.

Beneath its slick interface and crystal clear GPS-enabled vision of the world, Google Maps roils with local rivalries, score-settling, and deception. Maps are dotted with thousands of spam business listings for nonexistent locksmiths and plumbers. Legitimate businesses sometimes see their listings hijacked by competitors or cloned into a duplicate with a different phone number or website...

Small businesses are the usual targets. In a typical case in 2010, Buffalo-based Barbara Oliver & Co Jewelry saw its Google Maps listing changed to “permanently closed” at the exact same time that it was flooded with fake and highly unfavorable customer reviews.

“We narrowed it down as to who it was. It was another jeweler who had tampered with it,” says Barbara Oliver, the owner. “The bottom line was the jeweler put five-star reviews on his Google reviews, and he slammed me and three other local jewelers, all within a couple of days.”

The first thing you should do is go to Google, Yelp, Yahoo, and Bing and search for your business in different ways using your street address, name, zip code and your name (with misspellings if that's possible) and see what the returned results are. That should give you a sense of whether or not you might have an issue. All of the search engines have a method for creating a local business listing and changing it once you have it.

Not addressing new technology is really just whistling past the grave yard. Your business and reputation are vulnerable and makeing sure that you have clean information online is the first step.

Non-conformists, Dissenters & Rebels

“Talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among non-conformists, dissenters, and rebels. Think different—the best thinkers often do.” --David Ogilvy

If you're seen by your market as an also-ran, your clinic is going to be among those that are fighting for the scraps left over by the market leaders and you'll be forced to compete on price... not where you want to be.

To set yourself (and your clinic) apart, the first thing you have to do is be something of a non-conformist.

Non-conformity is what allows businesses to break out of the pack to become extraordinary. Non-conformity means that while everyone is following the rules, you are in your garage building Microsoft or out flying a kite in an electrical storm, or floating across the “Big Pond” to “discover” a new world.

Apple, famous for its “Think different” approach to problem solving, famously defied the conventional wisdom that compters had to be big and complicated to run, thus creating the first personal computers. Brilliant problem solvers often do more than find answers to existing problems. They create entire new industries. 

And that’s when things get interesting. The medical spa market is no longer new and novel. It may be that the med spa buzz has died down a bit, but with technology advancing faster than ever, the med spa industry is becoming more mature, and the competition will only grow for the forseeable future with the expansion of the new medical technologies that rely on tech over specific physician knowledge and skill.

Marketdata estimates that revenues of the 2,100 U.S. medical spas reached $1.94 billion in 2012, and will hit $3.6 billion by 2016. Average revenues per facility are $924,000—with about 80% coming from procedures and 20% form retail product sales. The market is forecast to grow 18% per year. Fully 58% of med spas expected sales to grow more than 5% last year.

How do you define non-conformity in business? Being a non-conformist isn’t limited to what you do; non-conformity might be displayed in how you answer the phone (value chain), how you build and market your products (positioning), your manufacturing (cost advantage, sustainability), your technology (speed and efficiency = cost)or any number of metrics. 

If you’re a non-conformist, a dissenter, or even a rebel, how have you broken away from the pack? What makes your business extraordinary?

Inbound Marketing For Aesthetic Clinic

There are three things that all doctors running cosmetic clinics want to know; which technology to buy, how to effectively manage staff, and how to get more patients.

If you're looking at the latter, getting more patients, you'll need a decently comprehensive understanding of what your needs and options are. Here's a very good graphic in a recent post from Rand Fishkin  the effectivley shows the split between what's become know as 'interruption' marketing (really more along the lines of advertising), and inbound marketing.

All of the stuff on the left is where you'll find the advertisers who are constantly dropping by your clinic to  "help you grow your business". I'm not a fan for the most part since; once you stop paying the spout is turned off, you can blow through a lot o money to little effect, bigger budgets win.

I tend to stick to the right where; it's never turned off, it's more effective when done well, and it grows organically. 

To be sure, it's a lot more work on the right. You have to actually do things that provide value and that's not easy, but if you do it effectively, there's nothing better.

Client Referral Rewards

Legitimate Marketing Or Unacceptable Practice?

Your client tells you they will send lots of friends your way, if only you will give them a discount for their goodwill. Or you decide that because your neighboring practice offers a $200 incentive for every referral, perhaps you should do this too in order to compete. You want to show your appreciation for the new business that might have otherwise incurred advertising costs, so why shouldn't you offer financial acknowledgement of the referral?

Hair salons and massage practices rely heavily on referral rewards programs. So why not Medical Spas or Cosmetic Centers? Well, if you are a physician and you offer consideration of any kind for referrals, you are in direct conflict with AMA Code of Ethics Opinion 6.021. You may also be violating your state Board of Medicine regulations, many of which simply defer to the AMA Code for ethical compliance. The opinion argues that the reward may incent the referring client to alter the information and expectations to others in an untruthful or unrealistic way. 

Early in my practice, prior to the AMA opinion, I succumbed for a short time to clients requesting rewards. The referred clients never seemed to have the same level of motivation to have a procedure as someone who came on their own accord. Now when a client asks me for a discount or a free service because they will send lots of friends, I simply tell them the following:

"A referral is the greatest compliment you could ever give me. And I appreciate the kind mention of your pleasant experience. I promise to always give you and those you send to me my very best work."

Push & Pull Marketing Within Your Medical Spa

Push Marketing is any type of marketing that pushes a client through your medical spas door.

It may be a referral from a satisfied client, or possibly a business partner. It may be an article in a publication, a video interview or a promotional video you made. To put it simply, it's marketing that covers everything except ads.

Pull Marketing on the other hand is anything that "pulls" a consumer through your door. These are mainly your marketing materials such as your main website and your advertising, especially those "Specials" ads. Don't forget that these "Specials" are targeting customers that are either unfamiliar to your practice or unfamiliar with your products/services.

It's obvious that higher conversion rate is expected from Push Marketing because people already have a general idea of what you are offering. Before they arrive at your door, they already hold a positive opinion of you. That is unless there's anything unfortunate that comes along the way. These bad marketing bridges may be as simple as poor office behavior, overpricing, etc. Generally speaking, you should be able to convert over 90% of all your push consumers.

In order to increase your conversions in the Pull marketing, it is important to focus on the consumer's trust. If you own an aesthetic practice, adding high quality before/after photos (this needs permission of course!) will definitely increase the consumer's trust as well as adding testimonials to your marketing materials and website from your customers. You can do so by providing testimonials in both writing and videos to your blog, newsletters and auto-responder emails.

If you are able to have access to passers-by that are potentially customers, consider putting banners in your windows showing before/after results. This is great if you're offering aesthetic treatments. But again, make sure you have the patient's permission to use their images, especially if it's in a very public form.

Your Medical Spa's Front Desk

It's easy find sub-par front desk staff in medical spas.

I got this complaint (I'm not sure why it was even sent to me) of someone who ended up leaving a clinic less than impressed...

Here's the comment:

If you're a cosmetic surgeon, a cosmetic dermatologist or even a cosmetic dentist, the gals at the front should somehow represent your practice. Your's have much to be desired.

I recently had an appointment at your clinic I was able to make the following observations.

1. She had blackheads
2. Too little makeup (which made the blackheads visible)
3. Chewing gum
4. Her hair in a ponytail in a way that looks like a rat's nest thingy
5. Wearing some kind of jammy looking top.
6. Could have used a more supportive brassiere.

I left very disappointed...These things should never be seen in any medical spa.

The front desk should be the bus drivers! It means they are the first person you'll see when you enter the bus and the most likely person to cause an accident. Do you understand? If you don't like the sight of the girls you see out front, then there's something wrong about the "Aesthetic" services you're providing.

Now, look at your girls out in front. If they look anything like what I observed, then you should talk to them. Perhaps you need a dress code. Maybe you should provide them the product and treatments that your office is offering. Pamper your staff a little. Besides, it will be easier for them to sell your services since they have first hand experience.

However, one should not be to brash in saying these things since people can be very sensitive, especially women. Consider it from a perspective of a prospective client when they walk through your door. Will they wonder, "why doesn't the front desk person look anything like the product they're offering?" and "what's she doing in a place like this? She doesn't seem to belong".

While the email is obviously not actually for me since I no longer own any clinics, the sentiments represented are spot on. I don't know what clinic gave rise to this email but you'll want to make sure that your medical spa's front desk represents you the way you'd want it to.

The importance of responding to "ALL" Online Reviews

In this day and age of Internet “authors” almost all of us that own aesthetic practices have a new challenge to meet.  

How to deal with online reviews? We all know the impact of online reviews that are negative. In looking through over a 50 websites with reviews I found a troubling statistic. 97% of these websites only responded to negative reviews and missed out on a golden opportunity to improve their search engine ratings by responding to every review.

Let’s look at the first impact of only responding to negative reviews and that’s being put in a reactive mode that is going to almost always be defensive and will stand out like a sore thumb. I urge you to think like a patient when reading reviews and especially replies to reviews. If you were a patient and had taken time to write a positive review wouldn’t you liked to be thanked for it? Wouldn’t you like to read that the owner/physician of this practice also took their time to reply back to you?

By only replying to negative reviews we usually create a negative stream of content to and from.  In most cases that I read through, the negative review would generate 2 replies from both the poster and the owner/physician and the more post, the higher the positioning will be. Now contrast that with replying to all reviews. If you have 30 online reviews on Google and reply to all of them, you effectively have 60 reviews. 

It does not need to be lengthy. Something as simple as “Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know of your outstanding results. My team and I love what we do and look forward to seeing you again soon”. If you were a perspective patient looking for a place to visit and read how engaged the practice is with their patients, wouldn’t you be more inclined to visit a place that looks like they really, really care? Of course you would…

The other positive aspect of replying to reviews as the owner is that you can quickly bury a negative review off of page one. All it takes is the creation of and responding to 3-5 positive reviews and the 5th down negative review is now on page two. When replying to negative reviews also try and think like a perspective patient.  Try not to engage the patient unless they misrepresented their visit. Something like, “I was sorry to learn of this negative experience.  We greatly value both your treatment and our reputation.  Please email me at () with the details of what happened so I can get involved and work at trying to find a solution to this issue and thanks so much for letting us know”.  Now if you were again a perspective patient and read the owners reply, wouldn’t your image of the practice still be very high despite a negative review.

Now get to work on finding a mutually agreeable win/win solution. In most cases, you will be able to find some way to satisfy the patient. If not at least the reader will see that you tried by your initial response. If however you try and “air” the defense of the negative review online, it will usually result in an ugly exchange that will benefit no one.

So, embrace all the online pontificators. The old adage, “if you can’t beat them, join them” applies as does “silence is acceptance”. Let everyone read how much you care by replying to all reviews.

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Medical Spa Branding: Getting Started

The big shots are only the little shots who keep shooting. - Christopher Morley

Your actions, over time, equal your brand.

It's determined through your output: the work you do, the products sell, the services you provide, and the content you create.  It determines how much money you make, and how much control you can exert over your career and your lifestyle.

If you're not exercising, you'll lose muscle tone and gain fat. If you're not working on your own brand, it'll backslide too. Rest too long on your laurels and you run the risk of undoing all of your hard work and fading in to the background. If your behavior, attitude and output contradict your existing position, your real positioning will change.

You're not going to need much to get started, just and understanding of how all of this fits together (this guide), some thought about your goals, and the effort to take action. Once you've determined your capabilities and decided where you want to be, you should be able to manage everything in your head, and a few bookmarks in your browser.

Your goals and were you want to be are up to you. We're going to focus on what actions you need to take to get you there.

Success is measured in years, not months.

To get started, read through this guide, give it a little thought, then act.

Bad Reviews Of Your Medical Spa? Yelp Accused Of Extortion

Are you being extorted to keep your medical reputation clean?

Wired.com posted a story about a complaint filed in California that the online review site Yelp.com manipulates the reviews, and therefore the business ratings, through business practices that amount to extortion.

From the story:

 “Yelp’s sales tactics amount to high-tech extortion,” said plaintiff attorney Jared Beck in a press release. “The victims tend to be small businesses, such as our client, who often have no choice but to pay Yelp exorbitant sums in order to prevent further harm to their livelihoods.”

Yelp released a written statement in response to the lawsuit.

“The allegations are demonstrably false, since many businesses that advertise on Yelp have both negative and positive reviews,” the statement read. “These businesses realize that both kinds of feedback provide authenticity and value. Running a good business is hard; filing a lawsuit is easy. While we haven’t seen the suit in question, we will dispute it aggressively.”

Read the entire article here

Your reputation is one of your most valuable assets. If you're looking to protect and control your reputation in a real way, check out this review marketing product from Frontdesk.

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Protect your reputation. Get new patients. Medical Spa MD Members receive a special, full service Podium account that includes: no setup fee (save $300), a 10% discount forever (save $330/year) and on-demand patient review marketing training for your entire staff ($597 value).  This offer is not available anywhere else.

If You Can’t Lower Prices, Offer Higher Value

Our MedSpa, as most others, is severely limited in how low we can go on our prices. All of us in the industry pay roughly the same amount for our products, whether it be Botox, fillers, or equipment.

However, especially in this tough economic climate, our clients are looking for bargains. Price comparison shopping is a fact of life, and is made much easier for the consumer by readily available pricing information on the internet.

But low prices are not the only way (nor maybe the best way) to attract patients to your facility. To us at Canyon Lake MedSpa, the answer is VALUE: meaning, if we can’t lower prices, we have to offer more value for the money.

In our case, we offer free microdermabrasion/chemical peel (we almost always combine the two together) to any patient who purchases any other product or service. Additionally, if we hold a seminar or any other promotional event, we entice people to attend by offering free microderm/chem peel to all registrants. It takes very little time, and limited resources, to perform these procedures. And it gets people into our facility, gives us a chance to evaluate, speak with, and get to know them. Established and new patients alike can then be assessed for possible further interventions.

Even though these treatments are free, we never want the patient to feel rushed or feel less special just because they’re getting a free treatment. Taking your time now will pay off in dividends later on, when more lucrative procedures are scheduled.

Most importantly, our patients feel like they have received more value for their dollars, and it keeps them coming back.

In summary, service and value will trump lower prices in most markets and situations. Consider if it might be valuable for your facility.