Keeping Your Aesthetic Patients Happy Is Good Business

Keeping patients happy makes sense, both to avoid problems and build your reputation and referral base.

Not all patients that state they had a poor experience from another provider are signaling the proverbial red flag. Most of these patients HAVE had an experience of poor treatment outcome.

And to add salt to their wound,the previous treating provider could care less!

We must keep in mind that for most of our patients, coming in for Medical Aesthetic treatments is an exciting and much anticipated experience.

The number one reason patients state they no longer go to their previous provider is, "He was a jerk!" Oddly enough, the number one complaint I hear regarding a female provider is "I had to wait too long." This is not to say there are no female jerks or that patients don’t have to wait too long to see a male provider. These statements are simply the most common that I hear from (from) my patients.

No one is perfect. I don’t care how good you are at fillers, Botox, lasers, and surgery. We’re human, and we have bad days too. Bottom line: If you did achieve a less than desirable outcome, fix it for heaven's sake! With a smile on your face. If you're running more than 15 minutes behind, be prepared to apologize profusely and don't let it happen again. At both our clinics over 50% of our new patients are by referral. The most common reason for these referrals: “They're so nice!” Patients in general have a sense of helplessness when it comes to being treated by a provider. Do not tell a patient what they have to do. This is not life or death nor a dictatorship. Our patients know that we truly love what we do and we care. You don’t have to be all hugs and kisses, but, you'd better have a smile and a few jokes up your sleeve. You must keep in mind that this is the grown up version of a trip to Disneyland. It’s an E ticket ride with a high price tag. This is not an area of medicine of need.

This is completely a "WANT" this treatment situation. We encourage our patients to tell us what they are looking to have done and then offer safe, sane treatment options for them. This gives the patient a greater sense of control, and a decreased sense of possibly being pressured. If they can't afford all of the treatments at one time, what ever you do, never pressure a patient! If they like the one treatment you do and you personally, they’ll be back. And that’s how you keep your patients.