Holidays are Coming! Don't forget your past patients!

The Holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving is the first one, and it's coming up in just 3 more weeks. What do you have planned to keep your valuable patients coming back?

A doc confessed to me the other day that he sees certain patients for injectables only when he runs a special. This is sad because it suggests to me that this physician is utilizing only pull technology, ie, running specials to build his business. Specials should be avoided unless they are attached to a particular event, such as:

• A holiday card, in appreciation for their year of business.
  
• A client's birthday (you are sending birthday cards, aren't you?) With the birthday card, I recommend actually giving them something, like a facial, to get them into the office. Then your aesthetician, PA, etc, should cross sell them by pointing out problems in the skin, such as wrinkling that could be addressed by fillers. If they either get the injections that day or pay that day for a future appointment that includes the fillers, they get a discount, like 10%.
  
• A bring-a-friend event that gives them % off only if they bring a friend (ie, both they and the friend get $50 off for example).
• A seminar (that night only; ie, they take the treatment that night or they pay for a future date, but it must be paid that night whether they are injected then or later)
• Part of a package (example: 2009 Beautiful Face Package that covers the patient's treatments for an entire 12 mos, and for paying in January for the entire year, they get a nice discount (ie, 20% or $1000 off the entire package).
• Their participation in a media story.

Remember, focus on developing and nurturing trust with your patients so that they come back because you are the best, not the cheapest. People may buy Fords, but lots of folks buy Mercedes. And Mercedes seldom offers a discount.

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