THE FRONT DESK GALS ARE THE BUS DRIVERS

I find it hard to believe that after all my writing and bugging my clients to write blogs, and writing blogs FOR them that I haven't written in this blog since...uh...wince..DECEMBER. Time sure flies, doesn't it? OK, let's get going.

IT ALWAYS AMAZES ME when the front desk receptionists are sub-par in an aesthetic practice. Whether you are a cosmetic surgeon, cosmetic dentist or cosmetic dermatologist, take a REAL GOOD LOOK at the gals out front.

THIS is what I found at a recent onsite visit to a new client's office. The client will remain nameless to protect their privacy, hehe:
1. Chewing gum in the side of her mouth
2. Her hair in a ponytail which looks like some weird rat's nest thing. ewwww
3. Blackheads
4. Too little makeup (which is why I can see her blackheads)
5. Her shirt looks ALMOST like a jammie top
6. She needs a more supportive brassiere.

Now, I should NOT see these things. Ever.

THE FRONT DESK GALS ARE THE BUS DRIVERS!
What does this mean? It means they are the FIRST PERSON to be seen when people get on the bus and the most likely person to crash the bus. GET IT?

NOW, on Tuesday take a GOOD LOOK at the gals out front. And if they look ANYTHING like the one described above, for pity sake, have a little chat. Maybe you need a dress code. Maybe you need to be sure they have access to the products and treatments in the office like chemical or laser peels, microdermabrasion, Jane Iredale or whoever's makeup line you carry (assuming you carry a makeup line), etc.

It's a sensitive thing to tell someone they look like a mess. But hey, think of all the people (mostly women) who come to that front desk and wonder WHY the front desk person does NOT look like a "product of the product"--in other words, they do not look like they belong in an aesthetic practice.

Now go and check this out!

Using Video to Increase Conversions

For those who joined us last night and for those who could not, here is the Power Point Presentation and voiceover by John Fodor, PhD, discussing video content for websites.

In the presentation, he discusses the difference between formal video (shot by a professional) and casual video (shot by the physician or dentist). He makes recommendations about camera choices, lighting and presentation. He shows some video elements from Dr. Richard D'Amico's website. (keep in mind that video from a site that's part of a webinar will have a herky-jerky quality to it--for best viewing of those sites, go directly to www.drdamico.com or www.arykraumd.com/video-library.html to view their formal videos. Both sites have video dispersed throughout their sites as well as in a Video Library.

At the conclusion of Fodor's presentation, Nick Matelan, PhD, gives a short talk about the value of video for search engine optimization purposes. He mentions taking the script from your video and placing it on the website to add fresh content, and how linking video clips from YouTube and other video sites can influence your position on the search engines.

Feel free to contact either of our presenters for more information or clarification of anything you hear on the webinar. Fodor can be reached at fodor@fodorfilms.com. Phone is 845.339.4337 or cell is 845.430.3999. Nick Matelan can be reached at nmatelan@matelan.com or 212.541.6017.

If you have any trouble seeing the webinar, click on this link where it will automatically download the webinar directly to your desktop. You can then resize it to your needs. The webinar is best viewed in Windows Media Player. If you don't have WMP, you can download it, free, here.

To your success,
@

Push Vs Pull Marketing

Apparently a good idea bears repeating! About a dozen docs have written me lately to get a better understanding of Push vs Pull Marketing. So here goes. Watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special on TV if you've already read this!

PUSH MARKETING is anything that pushes a consumer through your door: a referral from a satisfied patient or a cross channel partner, an article in a publication, an interview in the media, your name viewed in a program that denotes you as a supporter of a nonprofit organization, sponsor of a Little League team, etc. In other words, just about anything that isn't an ad!

PULL MARKETING is anything that pulls a consumer through your door. These are primarily your marketing materials such as your practice website and your advertising, particularly ads that include "specials". Remember, target "special" prices to customers who are either new to the practice or new to that procedure/treatment. In this way, you counter the tendency for a consumer to do business with you only when you give a discount.

Obviously, a higher conversion rate will generally occur with consumers who come to you via Push Marketing, as even before you meet them, they have a positive opinion of you. Unless a bad marketing bridge gets in the way (poor office behavior of some kind, pricing beyond the consumer's ability, etc), you should easily convert over 90% of Push consumers.

To increase conversions in your Pull Marketing activities, remember to focus on that which is most important to consumers: trust. Increase trust by adding high quality before/after photos (with permission of course!) and testimonials to your marketing materials and website; by adding testimonials both in writing and via video on your site and in the office waiting area; and by putting testimonials and excellent before/afters in your blog, e-newsletter and auto responder emails.

If you are in the rare position to have access to consumers walking past the office, consider putting banners in the windows showing before/after results. This is particularly great for skin treatments, ZOOM! whitening, Invisalign and face lifts or rhinoplasties. Again, confirm twice that you have patient permission to use their images, particularly if they are used in a very public forum.

@

ZOOM! is like Crack!

OK, I admit that, like many consumers, I have dental-phobia. I hate lying helpless with no idea when an unexpected zap of agony will suddenly tear through my tender mucosa before I have a chance to brace myself, my prone position eliminating the potential to jump up and run for the door.

But I work in the aesthetic business and meet aesthetic surgeons, dermatologists and dentists on a regular basis. At 55, I'm working hard to look as young as humanly possible, utilizing all the fillers, lasers and skin treatments I can get my wrinkly hands on! So, by necessity, beauty includes my teeth. I have used those OTC trays and carbamide peroxide. Not a bad result. However, with a new dental client in San Francisco, I decided it was time to sit in a chair for "real" whitening. The results were amazing. I’ve looked in the mirror only about 54 times since I had the procedure.

This isn't about my ZOOM! results but about the fact that I am no longer going to be satisfied with teeth that are less white than I currently have. Like my relationship with Botox and fillers, I'm now an addict. This stuff is like crack--once you have it, ya gotta have it again (not that I know first-hand about crack, that's what I've read). I now have a New Standard for my teeth.

Which brings us to you and building your practice. Remember my blog about finding that some patients only get treatment if they get a discount? They do this because you make it easy to wait for the discount and/or because they aren't "hooked" enough to their new standard to get the treatments at full price. Trust me, they are buying gourmet coffee whether it's discounted or not, and that follows for a host of other expensive things they buy.

I offer up two ideas:

1. Discount a service/product only if it's the first time that patient has had it.

2. Use before/afters to reinforce patients’ New Standard.

Inform your patients that for each new treatment they try, they'll get a steep discount, like 25-40%. Yes, Thi$ $s painful for you, but it's only once per patient per procedure. Every patient will not try every procedure.

Make sure patients leave with copies of their before/afters to reinforce their New Standard. Laminate the pair of before/afters on the back of a business card or a 3 x 5 card (the laminator is $38 if purchased here ). AND—they will come back to have that treatment again because they have a New Standard. Not only will the patients carry their before/afters around with them, they will show them to friends who will then ask for your name and phone number, which is conveniently printed on one side of the laminated before/after set.

Now, of course, not all patients will do this, but many will. And those who do will increase traffic into your office and that means more money in your pocket.

Here's to you,
@

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.

@

The Easiest Patient Referral Program in the World

Aesthetic practices wrestle with the challenge of patient referral programs. They want to reward patients who bring them more business, but they fear violating their association and/or board's code of ethics. I believe our simple method will pass the test. It's simple to create, simple to administer, and easy to check out with your local ethics folks.

Open a blank word document. Create 2 vertical columns. Both columns will be identical. At the top is your logo, tag line, address, phone, website URL, email address for the office. Hit the "enter" button twice.

Next area is a "note" to the referring patient expressing your appreciation for patronizing your practice and thanking them in advance for sending you their friends and family members for treatments. Explain that if they complete the 2 cards below and share them with others, that when their referral comes in for a treatment, they and the new patient will each receive a $50 discount--the new patient receives $50 off his/her first treatment, and the current patient gets a $50 credit toward his/her next one. Hit "enter" twice.

Beneath the 2 areas at the top, create 2-3 sections with perforated lines between them, so that the printer can create tear-off cards. Each card has your office info (so the referred patient has your name, address, etc) and a line for the current patient to write his/her name and another line for the name of the referred (new) patient. Be sure to note again that each one enjoys a $50 discount from your practice. In 8 pt type put in an * to state that this card can be used only once by each new patient.

Duplicate the left column onto the right column. Depending on the size of your logo, name, tag line, etc, you may end up with either 2 or 3 referral cards. Email as an attachment to your printer and tell them to print these on post-card weight paper, and to create perforations at the appropriate spots to make it easy to tear off the referral cards. Print a gazillion of these and place in brochure stands in the reception area, on the side tables in the waiting areas and in the exam rooms. If you want to be really fancy, attach them to 2-3 brochures, so when the current patient gives them away, the new patient has a brochure to go with the card.

That's it. Easy. No difficult computer skills needed here. Easy to administer when the patients come in. If the front desk is too busy to record the referral to the proper referring patient's file during the day, just put a box or small bowl in the receptionist's area into which the receptionist places each "used" referrer card. When she has time she takes the cards out of the box and enters the information either in each patient's computer file or on a separate spreadsheet for easy access when the referring patient comes in to "collect" on his/her $50 discounts. Naturally, when the new patient checks in, the receptionist must make a note on the file so that when s/he checks out, the $50 discount is applied.

There are many ways to do referral rewards. This is just one of them. I'm eager to hear from readers as to other ideas they may have.

As always, to your success,
@

Increasing Business with Patient Appreciation Days

Several days ago I mentioned that the fastest way to the next customer is via the customer currently sitting in your database, ie, if you aren't going out of your way to treat that customer well, h/she don't bring in the next one!

Let's talk today about utilizing your patient database as a "feeder"system for your business growth plans.

1. How many names are in your database? Do you know how to export them to an Excel Spreadsheet? Do so. Export first and last name, street address, city, state, zip, email address, date of birth, and date of last visit in your office.
   
2. Once you have this information in Excel, save as Patient Database.todaysdate.xls
   
3. Sort by email address to see how many email addresses you have. Delete all those without an email address. Do a "save as" with just email addresses. Name is PtEmails.11.1.08.xls. Be sure to date this because over time you will add more patients and the lists will get confusing.
   

OK, how to use this information?

Hold a Patient Appreciation Day

• Ask one of your filler and/or cosmeceutical reps to design a postcard mailer and a flyer that you can hang in the office where patients check out. Some reps are allowed to not just create the postcard but cover postage as well. Ask around and see who accommodates you the most.
  
• Invite the patients in your database to come in for an educational seminar about non-surgical facial rejuvenation and injections from 4-7 on that date. Avoid weekends, as people have family things going on.
  
• If they bring a friend both they and their friend get $50 off their injection or cosmeceutical product. Be sure this is clearly stated on the invitation.
  
• Also announce this via email.
• You will want to use a service for emailing. Constant Contact is a good one. Very reasonable fees and you can mail as often as you wish, as the cost is based on the number of email addresses, not the number of times you send emails. You can easily see how many opened it, whether they forwarded it to a friend, etc.
  

Come back for the next blog post and I'll teach you how to create a Patient Referral Program that's extremely easy to create and run.

Here's to your success,
@

Sur-Thriving in a Difficult Economy

Christian Louboutin was on CNN this morning--he's having his best year ever! A pair of his shoes runs around $1K or more. Now, if some of your aesthetic treatments run about the same, on average, per treatment as a pair of Louboutins, doesn't it make you wonder why you aren't having your best year ever?

Consumers are confused and concerned about America's economic problems. If financial troubles haven't hit them yet, they're wondering when and if they might. Your customers may be scrutinizing their aesthetic purchases, which ultimately puts loyalty to the test. They may be looking at other options to see if the treatments they receive at your practice can be matched elsewhere for a lower price. What to do?

Here are 3 sur-thrival tips. I call them Sur-Thrival Tips because if you do them, you'll not just survive but thrive! I'll be posting more sur-thrival tips over the next few days and weeks, so tune in again.

• Position aesthetic care as a need, not just as a want. Who needs aesthetic care? People looking for work, folks wanting to hold off on a surgical aesthetic solution by using laser treatments and fillers, brides, mothers of brides (and grooms)-to-be, women re-entering the job market, trophy wives, executives, models, actors, professional singers, sales reps who sell high-end items like luxury cars, high-priced homes, insurance--they must look like they are doing well. Get out there and present 30-min seminars to these groups at their job sites and clubs. Go into their sales meetings, run ads targeting job-hunters, singles, brides-to-be.
  
• Sell experience and skill. The average consumer has never really understood the value of a highly trained specialist to deliver aesthetic care. They figure if one nail salon is about the same as another, then every aesthetic provider (cosmetic dentist, cosmetic dermatologist, plastic surgeon, etc) is the same as another except for--what's that?--price! Focus any advertising on experience and skill to differentiate yourself from the price-cutting competitors.
• Survey your customer base or hold a focus group or two to identify the driving factors for your products and services. Use this information to determine if and how attitudes have changed. This can identify new opportunities for your business as well as changing the message you put out to the public.
  

BOTTOM LINE:
Marketing never stops. If you stop marketing, you waste the brand equity that's already been established.

Commit to making your brand more relevant over the next 12 months. You'll end up miles ahead when things turn around (and they always do).

To your success,
@

How Important is the Practice Website?

If I come to your office as a prospective patient and see torn curtains hanging at the windows, a maze-like layout to the office, and nobody there to assist me, is it likely I'll stay for the appointment? You know the answer. I'll bolt faster than a cat in a tubful of ice water.

So, does it stand to reason that if I come to your aesthetic website and it's unattractive, difficult to maneuver and hard to find important information (like before/after and financing details as 2 examples), that I'll bail and go to another aesthetic practice site? You betcha.

Your website is the doorway to your practice for the vast majority of patients. This assumes, of course, they can FIND YOU on the internet by typing [procedure] + [city] into a search engine such as Google, Yahoo or MSN (the top 3). If you are doing search engine optimization, (SEO) with a reputable SEO firm, then at least consumers have a chance of finding the site.

But finding your site isn't enough if, when consumers arrive there, the information they want cannot be located without extensive clicking through layers upon layers, if the headers don't make sense, or if it's ugly and disorganized.

Just today I went to the website of a prospective client in Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is THE toughest market in America for plastic surgeons. Sooooo many plastic surgeons. I was stunned to find a hideous, poorly formatted site. Honestly, it is obvious that this person did the site himself. And it's a pity. Because I imagine him to be a terrific practitioner. But if I were a consumer, I wouldn't stay on the site for more than 5 seconds--that's about enough time to be turned off and get the click out of there.

So, a word to the wise. Consider prospects' first interaction with your practice. If your website is crappy, fix it. If your receptionist lacks finesse & charm, doesn't speak clearly and pleasantly and/or doesn't "get it" when interacting with upscale clientele, don't pass GO and don't collect $200--fire her! You have much too much to lose.

The Four Legs to Successful Conversion

Imagine a 4-legged chair. If one leg of the chair is broken, the chair wobbles and may not hold your weight, correct? If two legs are broken, the chair is just as useless as if all 4 legs were missing.

Successful conversion also rests on 4 legs. They are:

1. Desire
2. Timing
3. Ability
4. Trust

In any transaction, whether it's buying aesthetic improvements, a dishwasher, a car, a house--virtually anything--these 4 things must be in place for the transaction to take place. You must identify the first three and instill the last one.

If I go to Sears and begin looking at dishwashers and John, the appliance salesman, wants to sell me a dishwasher today, he needs to evaluate my level of desire, timing and ability in order to make that sale. If I just came in to "look" because my dishwasher works just fine but we're "thinking" about remodeling sometime in the future, what is the likelihood that John will sell me a dishwasher today? Very small, right? So you quickly see the importance of John evaluating my level of desire and my timing. So, how much time should John spend with me? Enough to insure that later, when I am ready to buy, he will be my salesman because I trust him and Sears, but he need not "go for the close" because he now understands my level of desire and sense of timing negates a sale today. To instill trust he might tell me the benefits of their guarantee, low repair statistics, financing options and therefore, instill the trust that will make Sears "my choice" when I'm finally ready to take action.

So how does John sell a dishwasher? By identifying each consumer's level of desire, sense of timing, and ability to buy, while instilling trust that Sears is the place to buy and that John is the person to carry out the transaction with efficiency and integrity. In other words, John must first identify the desire, timing and ability through polite and carefully constructed questioning, and he must instill trust. Note that he can only control the trust factor. He cannot control my timing, my desire or my financial ability to buy, but he must understand them in order to evaluate whether and when he might be able to consummate a transaction. If I have little desire, don't need a dishwasher now, or don't have the money even though I need a dishwasher now, it matters little how much trust I have in John because I cannot or will not buy that dishwasher. Got this so far?

So how does this apply to the aesthetic practice? Just like John, you need to evaluate each prospective patient in the first 3 areas (desire, timing, ability) at every opportunity until the paperwork is signed and money is exchanged. Every Opportunity. This means that every connection with your office, from the website to the receptionist to the consultation, must identify desire, timing and ability while instilling trust.

Example: When a consumer calls the front desk for information, it's the job of whoever takes that call to elicit the caller's level of desire, timing and ability. If they fail at this, you end up with appointments that cannot convert, either because the consumer isn't ready to do anything, isn't really that committed or doesn't have the money.

How is this done? Simple and polite questioning. Things like:

• Mary, you've called the right place--we do perform [procedure]s! May I ask how long you've been thinking about having a [procedure]?
  
• John, we do perform [procedure]--are you hoping to schedule this during your vacation or before a special event? (Note: many people elect aesthetic procedures/treatments before weddings, reunions, etc).
  
• Susan, about 60% of our patients finance their [procedure]s. I'm happy to send you some information about that if you'd like. (Notice that staff member asks this before the caller has to expose their financial limitations by asking for financing information)
• Jan, most of our patients find that it's helpful to bring their Significant Other to the consultation; is there someone you'd like to bring with you?
  

This is done again at the consultation appointment by the person who takes the patient back to the exam room. And again by the physician or dentist who examines the patient. It must be done casually, without sounding like the Grand Inquisition. More examples:

• Mary, who would be coming with you to drive you home after your [procedure]?
• Have you been thinking about how you'll look after your [procedure]?
• Do you have someone who will care for your children while you're recovering?
• Did we send you financing information? (those who don't need it will say so and those who do will be relieved that they didn't have to bring it up). Do you need any help completing the application?
  

Note how appropriately constructed questions instill trust while eliciting the information you need to gauge the probability of a conversion. By understanding your prospects' timing, level of desire and financial ability, you will close more business and waste less time on those who have no ability to convert.

You're Actually Selling Trust

Most of our clients think they are selling procedures and treatments. Although procedures and treatments are the goal of a successful consultation with a patient, what you're actually selling at the consultation is trust--trust that you will deliver the results discussed at the price agreed upon. Trust that they will be better off after the procedure or treatment than they are now. Trust that you have the skill, experience and aesthetic eye to create a satisfactory outcome. Trust that you will not laugh at their physical imperfections. Trust that they will have no more pain than they can tolerate. Trust that you and your staff will be kind to them.

You have surely noticed a larger conversion ratio in referred patients than those who find you on the internet or via the Yellow Pages, right? Why is that? Because the original patient (the referror if you will) transferred his/her trust in your practice to the referee. The referred patient does not feel the need to investigate two or three other aesthetic offices because his/her friend has already told them how terrific you are. The trust in you has been transferred.

So, what does this tell you? Everything you and your staff do, say, print on the website or elsewhere (ads included) must speak to the issue of trust. "You are safe with us", "We are expert at [insert procedure here]", "Over 1000 patients have entrusted us with their dental/dermatology/cosmetic surgery care", etc. You get the idea.

Converting More Incoming Calls to Appointments

The majority of consumers first enter the cosmetic dermatology, cosmetic dental or plastic surgery world with two basic fears--they fear exposing parts of their anatomy which are displeasing to them, and they fear exposing their financial limitations.

Studies show that the average individual choosing elective cosmetic surgery has a HHI (household income) under $70K. Therefore, it's safe to assume that a good portion of consumers evaluating elective procedures of any kind have concerns about revealing their income limits to their elective healthcare provider. This is not a concern in a "regular" doctor's office, as insurance covers most treatments along with the patient's small co-pay. In elective care, however, patients have only their own resources plus the potential of financing plans through Care Credit and other similar firms to cover the cost of elective procedures.

It's always our suggestion to elective healthcare providers that any prospective patient be provided with the full armamentarium of payment options as soon as possible in the relationship. Surely, most physicians are familiar with the average consumer's initial call to the office, which is usually along the lines of "What does it cost for a [fill in your procedure here]?" To the irritation of the receptionist, who has been instructed to either give out the fees or withhold them by responding with the least helpful response of "we don't quote fees over the telephone", these incoming calls must be considered an opportunity to offer financing options and engage the caller in a more in-depth conversation that will lead to a consultation appointment.

It pays (literally) to keep in mind that most Americans purchase large-ticket items by monthly payment, not by total price. Consider a car or home purchase. Most of us are more concerned about the monthly payment than we are with the total cost. Therefore, I suggest that you "run the numbers" to discover average monthly cost of your most popular procedures (when financed) and make sure the receptionist and other staff who deal with patients pre-booking are familiar with the average monthly payment for veneers, for a breast augmentation, or for a series of laser skin treatments, as examples. Then the receptionist can be more helpful to callers who, by and large, are "shopping" for the best price because of budgetary limitations. This also helps the receptionist or patient coordinator to take charge of the incoming call and steer the caller to more important issues such as the qualifications of the physician.

It saves the prospect the embarrassment of having to ask about financing and thereby exposing his/her inability to pay cash, and can dramatically increase conversions because the consumer develops a sense of trust with a practice that provides such options. It also enables the practice to "weed out" those who ultimately won't qualify for financing before staff and physician time is spent on those who cannot convert.

The Fastest Way to New Patients

It occurred to me today, well, OK it was actually about 2:34 AM while I was laying in bed THINKING instead of SLEEPING, that marketing is sometimes backwards.

My clients spend alot of time worrying about their ads, wondering whether they should do a blog or what else they should be doing on the internet to attract patients. While this isn't a bad idea (doing a blog or more on the internet) what's backwards is this: the best marketing is a satisfied patient. Flat out. That's the best thing for any business.

It's surprising to me how little attention is paid to the very tool that guarantees future business--current employees and their skills in personal interaction.

I've experienced, and seen, some of the weirdest and worst patient interactions out there in my visits to my own physicians or other service providers, and in visits to the offices of clients. Staff who don't understand the difference between SELLING services and GUIDING customers to more services. Staff who think the patients are actually a pain in the rear and act accordingly. Staff who cannot speak clearly and/or pleasantly on a telephone. Staff who don't get the "I should smile and be pleasant with customers" basics.

What's that about?

I promise you that the best way to get the next patient is to over-satisfy the patients who are sitting in your office right this very minute. More on this when it's not 5 AM.