8 Rules in Finding Patients (and Saying No!) in 2017

With 2017 coming up, more and new challenges are afoot in managing practice and performing cosmetic procedures. You may encounter new patients who have no idea about cosmetic procedures or get quirky ones who have jumped from one physician to another.

Before all that, here are three things to evaluate in the upcoming year.

Practice ways you can market

Marketing will always stay a crucial factor in getting patients. Whether you are marketing through word-of-mouth or social media (SEO), strengthen that further.

Not getting your desired results? Try a different approach. There are other marketing approaches other than basic marketing in social media. You could mix it up in other social media platforms. Read more about our Marketing Strategies in 2017 here.

Set your current policies and rules

This one deals with mostly updating your current guidelines to staff and patients; this is in dealing with new patients and caring for them. It could act as a refresher to old staff or new information for your new staff as well.

Organize a list

For what, you ask. Everything you do and will do in your practice, and now that you have probably figured out which services you want to keep, it’s best to know which new procedures you could do with existing ones. That includes updating your menu of services.

Promote services that keep your practice alive. Don’t let your old devices collect dust in the corner. Sell them while you still can or probably re-use them.

Considering having your staff undergo training? Enumerate it there. Do not only expand your experience, give them opportunities to make them grow.

Now that you have set-up, what about the new patients that would come in your office come 2017. The holidays are finally over, and they would need a new look over the new year. Some would come with the weirdest requests while others would come in without knowing anything. This is where you come in and educate them about what you offer and how you manage your practice.

Have a sit down with the patient and assess the situation objectively

Allow them to come to your office and listen to them. Ask them where they got the idea to get the new treatment. Once you have heard their story, discuss what options they have or recommend what other alternatives for their desired treatment.

Explain the expected outcomes (for their preference and of your assessment)

Many patients come in the clinic without expecting risk at all; most would think it would only enhance them. As their physician, it’s your responsibility to inform them of everything involved around their favored procedure.

For example, if their desired procedure or treatment is attainable in another way, offer that one instead. Spare no details of the risks and costs involved. This way, your patient knows the effects of undergoing the procedure, rather than leaving you with a bad review. Yikes!

Stand your ground

This comes hand-in-hand with the policies and rules you have prepared, and later we will briefly elaborate on saying no to your patient. Don’t be a pushover to your patient, and approach them as to how you will be performing the procedure without being aggressive either.

Remember to ask about their history

Patients may forget to disclose their past surgeries or physicians they have gone to, and from there you can determine how you could work out your process in treating them.

Get insight from past patients

Learn from your past and apply it in your present. You might think that this one patient was similar to someone you have encountered before, tell a background about how some patients reacted to the treatment.

Saying no can be a daunting task. Most aim to please their patients, which could be a factor to getting good reviews, but not all procedures and treatments are plausible or doable, as they pose risks to your patient and to your practice. In order to avoid that, politely apologize to avoid any misunderstanding from the patient; the prospective patient may not appreciate your initial turning down. Thus, elaborate why you will not perform the procedure, and how risky and costly it could be.

In doing so (and saying no), remember three things in mind.

Empathize first

Many patients would undergo a procedure just to enhance a specific area of concern, and this could be a valid reason. Some others would do it for other people, and not for themselves. Let them know that surgery would not be the immediate answer to their concerns. Instead, offer them an alternative.

Offer other options

Their procedure may not be attainable, offer alternatives as to how to achieve similar results or that would greatly benefit them. Another scenario is after you have assessed them, and recommend the treatment that would suit them best.

Stay firm

In the case where the patient is insistent on getting their wanted procedure, assert and assure that the options you laid out would be the safest. Emphasize how the treatment won’t be achievable. Remind them as a physician all you want to offer your patient is better care and services.

Millennials Are Starting To Hit Cosmetic Medicine

Millennials are now hitting the age where they're looking for cosmetic medical care... but reaching them requires a change in the way you're getting your message out.

Social media is a key factor in engagement. It has opened doors for physicians to update patients with the latest offers in the clinic or with the newest in the health world or by simply educating them about your specialty or practice. The power of social media would help you become an influencer, allowing you to be known across different channels and even through different generations.

Moz, an SEO company, released a series of infographics about generational use and reach of social media.

See them here: https://moz.com/blog/the-generational-content-gap-three-ways-to-reach-multiple-generations

According to some experts, physicians have difficulty reaching Generation Y (millennials). While many millennials are active in social media, physicians may have to step up their game in order to reach this demographic to garner more patients in their practice. Millennials have trust issues, and as physicians who want to reach Gen Y, you may need to build up your online reputation and website. After all, they're looking at everyting online via their smart phone.

If you're a single physician, make your name a brand. According to Forbes, Millennials are able to connect with companies better as a brand, so try to condense your popular procedures into 140 characters on Twitter. Another alternative to wordiness is visuals. So, put your name out there and differentiate yourself from the others.

If you're running a larger clinic, you can do the same thing with your clinic's name.

Reviews will remain important. Forbes also reports that Millennials trust reviews before getting into anything. It helps them discern if the cosmetic procedure is right for them or is too expensive and the risks that follow. Ask returning patients to give you reviews so that Millennials will be able to read about your treatments and the way you and your staff handle patients as well.

Lessen advertising. Advertisements sound the alarms on a Millennial’s head. This causes their trust issues to rise, and they . Don’t target their insecurities, target their possible needs. In addition to what they would need, elaborate further as to how this procedure could be beneificial and risky it could be. In that sense, you could have them consider getting the procedure and look more into it.

So physicians, what should be your 2017 strategy?

Change it up. Don’t stay on Twitter or on Facebook all the time. Try Instagram and Snapchat. According to most SEO experts, Expired Content—posts that last for only a few hours—would keep them curious or wanting more. If you are already established on Twitter or Facebook, go on live video to introduce products and services, show your whole practice, and flaunt your practice or clinic. It allows your audience to see how the clinic looks like and your staff also runs the practice.

Content is always essential. No updates could hinder your conversion strategy. Always have relevant content on your blog and your social media channels. Churn out significant content. Remember, there is a difference between spamming your followers and posting regularly.

Ask returning patients to follow and mention you. This is important, because in this regard you can retweet or like their posts and some of your followers will be able to see that.

Educate and inform. To establish yourself further on the social media front, you will need to post educational content about cosmetic procedures. This way, your patients know what to expect and at the same time see you as their reliable sources.

Drive New Patients With Social Media

Everyone is on mobile, if you are not online then you're missing out.  But if you are, kudos to you and keep up the good digital work. As time passes, you may need to step up your game. Thus, improve your chances of patient visits by upgrading your current digital marketing strategies in the practice. 

Social media is omnipresent, that anyone who has access to the internet can have a social media account ready. Businesses use the opportunity to go on social networking sites, to gather more consumers and study their competition. Even if competition is evident, you can make social media a companion in your business. One of the many things social media introduced is the ability to go Live. This feature allows you to do as it suggests. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram has rolled out this new detail, and users (whether for personal or business purposes) have taken advantage of this feature. Going Live means you can present yourself or your practice to patients. Give them a glimpse of what your typical day is, which could make you look transparent.

Aside from investing on social media, blogging is also a great way to reach out to patients. It may be a tedious task as you may need to fill up one post with around 200 words at the minimum. Here's the thing, blogging gives you a voice. Many consumers are able to find new products through blogs. If you write about your work or your interests, people are bound to find you. Keywords will be your friend here, but use it with caution. Market your services with blogging, share your thoughts about any issue, and put your name out there.

If you are looking into reaching out with your customers, you and your practice staff can set-up an online community via groups, in lieu of an email marketing campaign that may cost you. Some examples of online communities are: Google+, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups. Encourage them to join the online community, whether it is in Facebook or LinkedIn. Of course, there should be boundaries set, and have patients engage with you and reach you for any concern. You could promote services and should avoid any spamming.

This year, you should remember these tips and keep them if they work for you. If your practice isn't on social networking sites, you could be losing revenue and patients, so sign up real soon and be part of the competitive market.

Everybody Needs a Marijana – Marketing of Medical Practices in the Information Age

A young doctor asked me the other day how new patients, excluding patients who were referred by other doctors or previous patients, find their way to my practice. We were hanging out in a crowded party in a loud room so I couldn’t elaborate too much, but I managed to belt out one word that would sum it up: Marijana. That is actually the name of the Director of Marketing, Advertising, and Web Presence in my plastic surgery practice – Discreet Plastic Surgery. If you ask her, she’d probably tell you that she NEVER expected to be working for a plastic surgeon. But if you ask me, she’s an integral part of our practice, and should be so for all doctors, especially those in private practice.

As I finished up my training in plastic surgery and went into private practice, I soon realized that free market forces are constantly working to edge me out of the market. Competition is fierce, and people in large markets have many choices in obtaining plastic surgery, as they do in other professional services. A few print ads and radio talk shows later, I further realized that in today’s world, the majority of marketing dollars in a doctor’s practice must be geared towards their internet presence. Even your print ads eventually all end up as PDF files in the “media” section of your website – funny that people still put so much weight on how many times their doctor shows up in “People” magazine. I guess a comment about whether or not Kim Kardashian had a Brazilian butt lift really makes you an expert…

So where do I get started? …you ask. Easy. Just like most questions asked in life these days, the simple answer is: “Google it!” I have no financial disclaimer here so “Bing it” or “Yahoo it” works just as well, and is in fact, recommended as well. Seeing what internet content is out there associated with your name, an old article that you published, a hospital website listing you as a physician, a yellow pages or rate-a-doc style website, or any other peculiar locations, is of paramount paramount. In our office, we started doing our search engine optimization (SEO) by calling each of these websites and online listings and getting all the details right, including linking to our own website. From there, you will soon see how rapidly you’ll be approached from different directions regarding potential help. There’s a huge market for this work, and it rarely goes unnoticed.

As in any rapidly progressing internet-based enterprise, getting someone on your side who knows the tricks of the trade is the key to success. Sure, you can outsource all of these services away, and many do. But, when you add in all the costs of internal office marketing, advertising in a wide gamut of different media, and other costs of brand development, you have a full-time job on your hands. Please beware doctors, stick to doing what you do best. Get an expert on your side. Get yourself a Marijana!

Dr. Daniel Kaufman
Discreet Plastic Surgery

Facebook Offers Aesthetic Practices A Chance To Put Their Best Face Forward

Facebook has become a prime marketing tool for aesthetic practices.

Facebook has become an internet addition to our aesthetic websites. It's the interactive version of a website. Just like on our websites, we can share pictures, share practitioner biographies, and share directions on how to get to our office. But facebook offers more interactivity. It is offers a record of our customer service. It shows how we handle questions and it shows specials that we've offered before. And it can also show the human side of our practices - such as pictures or videos showing our birthday celebrations of our staff, etc.

Facebook shows our human side

Why not show off our staff's accomplishments and celebrations as human beings? I think many patients are attracted to practices that value the fun side of life. When patients come to us, they want a great experience, and to be treated as human beings by other kind individuals. Facebook gives us a chance to show that. Patients are also used to facebook being a bit on the lighter, less formal side. How about showing off some staff hobbies too?

Facebook requires good customer service skills

Like a telephone which likes to be answered before the 3rd ring, facebook comments are probably best answered within a few hours. This also shows good custmer service. If we have farmed out the job of facebooking, I would recommend that we regularly check our facebook pages to make sure questions are answered appropriately, and that impressions made are in line with our own brands of customer service. Poor customer service on facebook could cause us to lose patients. Facebook requires a time commitment, but I really do think it pays off.

Facebook has worked well for me

I run my own facebook pages. It takes me about 6-7 hours a week.  But I think it is well worth it and I have fun with it. I know my involvement style may not be right for others, but I do think that someone on the staff can help grow our facebook presence. I have a personal page and two plastic surgery related pages.  But I think one page is enough. I have different pages so that I can experiment. About once or twice per week, I'll get someone who inquires about a procedure through facebook and turns into an actual patient at the office. A few weeks ago, we ran a special event with Obagi with their Blue Peel Radiance. I posted about this special on facebook (free posting - not even considering the $5-15 advertising fee that facebook offers currently). Within 3 hours, the event was filled up with 18 chemical peel patients. Obagi reps said that they have done special events with many other offices with the same setup, but we had the most successful result (in terms of Obagi product sales that day) that they have seen so far. We had flyers printed, but we ended up not using any of the flyers because there was no more space for further peels that day, and I wasn't willing to do any additional peels - due to a bit of laziness on my part.

I do think that if someone wanted to be focused and have a facebook page 2-3 hours per week would suffice for a wonderful aethetic practice's facebook page. I spend more time on it because it has become a hobby for me.

Facebook is a record of prior interactions

Always be polite on facebook and know that patients can scroll down on the facebook timeline and see how others were treated.  If there are spammers - sometimes they needed to be treated gingerly. There's also a "hide" button that can be used.  It's never wise to get into a public war on facebook.  I have to remind myself of that at times.  We can use facebook to put our best face forward.

Add Allergan's Brilliant Distinctions Program To Your Website's Social Media Buttons

What is the Allergan Brilliant Distinctions Program?

Brilliant Distinctions (BD) is a frequent user program by Allergan for their products of Botox, Juvederm, Latisse and their skin care line. This program gives the patients coupons and rebates. Many practices in the US who inject Botox have the opportunity to join this program. Your Botox/Allergan representative would have more information. In my location, Brilliant Distinctions is well utilized.

New Patients look for Brilliant Distinctions

I have also found that when experienced Botox and Juvederm patients move to my area, they sometimes come armed with Brilliant Distinction discounts which they would like to use. They have called my office asking whether we take Brilliant Distinctions  These patients usually come from different states, and the transition process is painless. We just need their name, zip code, and birthdate. With that information, the patients can use their points and earn new ones at our practice. With any patients who have somehow created multiple accounts, a quick call to the toll free hotline provided by Brilliant Distinctions usually solves the problem.

Creation of the Brilliant Distinctions Button 

I thought it would be useful to create a button that goes along with some of our social media buttons. I presented the idea to Allergan, and they actually helped me create some of their logos that matched the size of frequently used social media "buttons." By buttons, I mean those icon or logos that represent Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. I have had links from my website before to Brilliant Distinctions, but they were big clunky pictures, and I've never matched it up on the page with the Facebook or Twitter logos. I asked Allergan about the idea and they sent me basic BD logos to work with. I spent some time trying to make these logos match, and I've shown them to Allergan.  Allergan has a section on their website for physicians which has logos to use on their websites, but when I contacted them, they didn't have ones of this design. I thought I'd share these logos with you so you can put them on your websites yourself or have your trusty webmaster do it if you like the idea.

Please feel free to copy the Brilliant Distinctions Buttons (ie. Right click/save-as). 

I've seen many beautiful websites out there with beautiful social media buttons. Now you can also add a matching BD logo to the collection.

I made a website displaying the logos that Allergan and I tweaked to match most common social media buttons which are already used on many plastic surgery, dermatology, and aesthetic websites.