Med Spa Marketing: To Twitter or Not To Twitter

Medical spa and laser clinic marekting? You may want to be on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

It’s no secret that a creative way to market your medical spa or laser clinic is by participating in social media marketing (SMM) such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Digg, Craig’s List, etc. These types of sites give users a virtual voice on the internet. At our practice, we have a huge amount of referrals from friends or family members. In the same manner, these types of sites allow people to share information and recommend your practice to others. Let’s face it, most people like to check out your reputation before they schedule an appointment and SMM sites allow for an excellent forum to do so.

Just listing yourself on SMM sites with a link back to your URL won’t help your SEO ranking much unless you actively use them to build your brand recognition which, in turn, leads to improved linking to your website. The main problem is, keeping yourself current on SMM sites is time consuming and many physicians barely have time to answer their email let alone update all of these sites on a regular basis! In fact, I am extremely impressed at how many physicians are active on Medical Spa MD!

To get started, your best tactic is to investigate who your target audience is in demographics, then compare that data to different SMM sites that fit your target. Once established on these sites, you have to continually engage your audience with interesting content, perhaps chats, or mini blogs. It does take time and diligence, but the reward is building your brand awareness and uniqueness from other practices in your area.

Making your site mobile ready enables users to follow you on SMM sites easily (visit my mobile site from your handheld device at www.YoungMedicalSpa.mobi (if you try to visit from a PC you will be redirected to my dot-com site).

I truly believe SMM can help with your global link popularity which is essential to your SEO rankings. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to determine which venues are converting users to actual revenue. I monitor referring sites using Google Analytics - a very valuable tool!

I work hard at keeping up with all of these SMM sites and have to build a schedule to follow just so I don’t forget. Is it worth investing your time? I say absolutely! That, or hire a teenager to do it for you.

Follow Medical Spa MD on Twitter

Follow Paula; Young Medical Spa on Twitter

Author: Paula D. Young RN runs internal operations and training at Young Medical Spa and is the author of the Medical Spa Aesthetics Course, Study Guide, and Advanced IPL & Laser Training course for medical estheticians and laser technicians.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Update

on 2009-04-01 20:04 by Paula D. Young RN: Medical Spa

Twittering and social media marketing is the key focus in April's digital edition of Cosmetic Surgery Times!

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/advanstar/cst_200904/#/2

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Medical Spa MD Members get a Podium patient review marketing account and save $1,257

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.

Medical Spa & Laser Clinic Coupon Shopping

Medical spas seem to be opening up everyday, or more physicians are adding cosmetic services to their practices and adding the phrase “medical spa or laser clinic” to their practice name. Whatever the cause of this increase in “competition” the fact is the more players there are, the more you have to step up your marketing campaign.

Potential clients have no idea who is “better” than whom, or who has the most experience, or talent. Point blank, their main concern when choosing a medical spa service provider is price. We have price shoppers calling everyday asking how much we charge per unit of Botox, or per syringe of a particular dermal filler. It amazes me that "A", Botox and fillers are so common and are injected in so many different types of practices that someone actually CAN price shop. And, "B", it amazes me that someone doesn’t even ask who is performing their injections and how much experience they have had. Since when is cosmetic medicine categorized like shopping for a handbag?

Here’s the conundrum we’re facing in our medical spa... laser lipolysis is our number one aesthetic service in our practice. So many physicians have added laser lipolysis to their practice in the hopes of generating revenue and, unfortunately, are having a difficult time getting business in the door that they’re offering ridiculous price breaks or coupons worth a very high dollar amount. What the unsuspecting client doesn’t know is how high they jack up their service price to allow for the coupon deduction. Plus the client knows nothing of the practice, who’s performing their procedure, etc.

We have recently had clients come in for complimentary consultations and asked us if we would honor our competitors coupons. My staff was taken a little off guard not expecting such a request.

My stance is that this is a medical practice, not a boutique, and there is certain room for negotiation in pricing, but honoring a ridiculous coupon just to get someone’s business isn’t worth the reputation we’re trying to maintain as medical professionals. Granted, some clients take their coupons away in a huff and say they’ll go elsewhere and only under my breath can I say you’ll get what you pay for!

I’m curious to know how other medical spas handle competitor’s coupons. Is there a limit to what you will accept, or particular services you’ll negotiate on? How far are you willing to go to acquire new clients?

Author: Paula D. Young RN runs internal operations and training at Young Medical Spa and is the author of the Advanced IPL & Laser Training course for medical estheticians and laser technicians.

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Medical Spa MD Members get a Podium patient review marketing account and save $1,257

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.

Plastic Surgeon & Dermatologist Marketing Online: Is click fraud draining your advertising budget?

If you're one of the thousands of plastic surgeons, dermatologists, laser clincs and medical spas advertising online with Google Adwords or Yahoo, don't be surprised to find that at least some of the money you're paying every month is generated by click fraud.

Don't think it's happening to your skin clinic? Here's a quote from Michael Caruso, CEO of click fraud services vendor ClickFacts in an interview with Marketing Sherpa:

In some particularly fraud prone verticals such as finance, class action lawsuits and medical, ClickFacts sees rates in the 30%-45% range. These are all categories that see high keyword pricing in the auction model. That makes them particularly tasty for click fraud artists. “If you can make more money from the dark side than the light side of search, there are plenty of people who will take advantage. Plus, it’s not even technically illegal yet.

Two ways that your plastic surgery or medical spa marketing budget is being drained:

Competitors who see your ad simply click on it, draining your advertising dollars, or 'affiliate' sites are set up that run your ads where they are clicked on by bots or employees. These sites are the most damaging since you're paying for every click without any return. Click fraud for medical spas can be very lucrative since medspas are becoming such a competitive market and the payment per click can be as high as $4-5.

To keep your budget safe you have very few tools. Google just advertisers $90 million to compensate for click fraud as the result of a class action suit but you can bet they're not that interested in your individual account. Especially since they're making money from click fraud too.

Start by limiting your exposure to click fraud. If you're still running an Adwords or Yahoo campaign, they allow you to limit the maximum amount you spend in a day. Take advantage of this feature by limiting your maximum cost to what you can afford to spend. You can also look for the tracks of click fraud by examining the reports you might have available to you. Multiple clicks coming from the same IP address are a sure sign of fraud.

Malaysia has become such a haven for click fraud 'sweat-shops' that clicks generated there are completely discounted and Malaysian accounts for Adwords or Overture are not granted.

If you're going to run search ads, try to protect yourself. You can be sure that you're the only one trying to.

Medical Blog Power

Medical and doctor blogs have power. Just ask the med spa and laser clinic franchises that have suffered at the hands of the physicians who bought into them, and then related their experience on Medical Spa MD.

Here's a CNN story about blogs and the travel industry that dove tails with the growing number of plastic surgery, dermatology and skin clinic blogs that are integrated into existing sites.

In the near future, Medical Spa MD will be rolling out a laser clinc, medspa, and cosmetic practice blog network as well as detailed courses on SEO, gaining traffic, keyword analytics and general how to information. If you' don't already have a highly trafficed medical blog, that will be the time to start.

Advanced Laser Clinic

The most ‘advanced laser clinic’ is thrown around liberally but the truth is that all of the lasers and IPLs used in todays laser clinics are ‘advanced’.

The term ‘Advanced Laser Clinic’ is only a marketing term for attracting patients. (Who wouldn’t want to be treated at the most advanced laser clinc?) I've talked about advanced laser clinic in your med spa name before.

Of much more importance to a patient is the skill and experience of the doctor AND the estheticians or laser technicians who are performing the treatment. (No matter what realself.com thinks about doctors who are not boarded in plastic surgery or dermatology.) There are differences in IPLs and lasers, but it’s worth remembering that the advanced laser clinics are those who provide the best care, not the one’s that have advanced in their name.

Medical Spa MD: The 6 best ways to earn and use patient testimonials, associations, and third party endorsements.

Patient testimonials, third-party reviews and endorsements, media coverage... these can all differentiate your medical spa, plastic surgery, or cosmetic dermatology practice and convince potential patients to give your clinic a shot.

While search engine marketing (SEO), pay per click (ppc) and direct mail can put your practice in front of potential patients, third party patient testimonials can provide the needed level of ‘trust building’ to initiate a first contact.

The three types of third party validation for medical spas, plastic surgeons, and cosmetic dermatologists:

Direct Patient Testimonials: You’ve seen this if you’re not already doing it. Prominent display of your patients saying nice things about you.

Trust Through Association: The reason that you’ll put your FACS, ASAPS, AAD, or ASDS logo on your site is to build patient trust. It works. Of course, theses associations are completely restricted and very protective of their turf, leading to less restrictive medical associations who want to gain credibility. The reason MAPA was formed was to add some legitimacy to a group of non-core physicians. These associations are always pay to play.

Third Party Endorsements and Validations: Botox ‘premier providers’ is an example of third party endorsement as are others that are run by medical service companies. (If Medical Spa MD links to your medical spa it’s a third party endorsement.) Interestingly, third party endorsements actually have a more favorable impact than association endorsements since the third party is often more ‘relevant’ to the initiation of a financial transaction.

When you receive these kinds of accolades or promotions from prominent third-party players, if validates what you’re doing and provides the potential patient you’re marketing to a level of instant comfort that you’ve already been checked out and are the ‘real deal’.

Subtle changes to the way you’re handling your patient testimonials and third party endorsements can produce dramatic effects, especially online, where the majority of patients are now searching for information.

Medical Spa MD: Quick strategies for piling up and using patient endorsements

Target the places your patients already are: First and most importantly is your existing medical spa or cosmetic practice but you’ll be able to reach far out into the community and gain the endorsements of other prominent businesses and individuals

Identify third-party recognition programs: These are most often paid inclusion but there are ways to get these types of third party endorsements for free, or at reduced cost.

Prepare legal and media write-ups: The media only runs two types of story; we found something good and, we found out something we thought was good, was really bad. Uncover the ways to build this kind of content that you can use on your own site, and share with you local media outlets.

Provide ready-made strong human interest and strong visuals: Patients and the media love photos. If your fractional laser resurfacing before and after pictures suck, you’re losing traffic and paying patients. Learn how to manage your photos and make them more than just snapshots.

Give patient testimonials prominent placement: If you don’t have your patients smiling photo, full name, and a stellar testimonial, you’re less effective that you could be. Learn how to get patient testimonials that are truthful, candid, and really work. Read these testimonials from Medical Spa MD Members touting the benfits of belonging to the best cosmetic medicla commuity on the web.

Look for latent patient traffic, not spikes, from these techniques: The effective use of third party endorsements and patient testimonials work and drive patient flow, but it’s not a technique that provides an instant boost. It’s begins a trend and compounds over time.

If you’re not using patient testimonials and third party endorsements to drive patient flow, start now, your medial spa, cosmetic dermatology clinic, or plastic surgery practice will benefit far into the future.

And of course Medical Spa MD uses testimonials too. Read these testimonials from Medical Spa MD Members:

Mitchell Chasin, MD: Reflections Center for Skin & Body, Livingston NJ

Medical Spa MD helps us to stay focused on the details that make the difference between a thriving practice and one that is languishing in this sagging economy.

Medical Spa MD is an important resource that I recommend to anyone who wants to understand the trends and stay connected to the ever changing aesthetic community.

Paula D. Young RN: Young Medical Spa, Allentown - Lehigh Valley, PA

To really know what's going on in the aesthetic business you MUST join Medical Spa MD! Nowhere else can you find the information crucial to your success in this ever changing arena. From the classified ads section, to the professional community forum discussion threads, to real equipment reviews by aesthetic professionals. I especially value the articles on marketing and the community forum discussions on therapy management like melasma, fillers, laser lipolysis, and skin resurfacing. Medical Spa MD keeps me on my toes as a medical spa owner, marketer, and nurse!

Susan J. DeGuide, MD: Inovamed, Rockford IL

I found Medical Spa MD several months ago and immediately added it to my “Favorites” list. I check the site several times a week to look through the new posts. I enjoy learning about new technology, expanding my knowledge of the technology I already own, and knowing that I’m giving the best available care. I would not buy a new piece of equipment now without first consulting Medical Spa MD.

Ronald Berglund, Former Medical Spa Franchisee. Sybaritic, Inc.

...we no longer feel like we are "all by ourselves" out there. There are a myriad of challenges involved with operating a successful and profitable medical spa, including marketing, sales, operations and procedures, clinical, human resources, regulatory and legal. Another huge issue for everyone is choosing the best equipment for the price. With the help of the "medical spa equipment for sale" feature I have been able to sell several pieces of used equipment. Trying to use E-Bay and other Internet-based options was a nightmare.

Jeffery E. Epstein MD: Founder Medical Aesthetic Practice Association
& Cherry Hill Laser & Skin Care Center

When we look back on the early 21st century with regards to Cosmetic Medicine, we will think of R. Rox Anderson, The Carruthers and we will think of Medical Spa MD. By providing this platform (Medical Spa MD), Jeff Barson has done more to advance Cosmetic Medicine than Anderson and the Carruthers combined. There has been a paradigm change in the cosmetic medical world and it can be directly attributed to Medical Spa MD!

Marketing your medical spa to female patients.

Wondering how word of mouth works when marketing your medical spa to women?

We asked Michele Miller, co-author of the new book "The Soccer Mom Myth: Today's Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys" to share five tips for understanding word of mouth and women.

Do women and men differ in they way make recommendations or share information?
Women are three times more likely to share personal stories with a friend than men. Ask any woman how she found her hairdresser, doctor, or favorite wine, and she is likely to tell you that it was from a friend. Women are natural word of mouth spreaders. They are wired that way – with four times as many connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, women tap deeply into that area that is responsible for bonding and connecting with others.

What can you do to make increase women’s word of mouth?
Here’s the wrong way to do it: “Sign up three friends and we’ll give you a 15% discount.”  This feels like you are asking her to sell out her friends. Instead, change the offer to “You and every one of your friends who signs up will get a 15% discount.” Now she has special access to a discount that she can pass along to friends. You’ve made her the hero. She can offer value to her trusted network.  She has just increased her trust and standing.

What about asking women for referrals; good idea, or bad idea?
This is tricky.  Because women are such great referrers, it seems logical. If you are doing business with her, and she values your relationship, it may seem perfectly acceptable to ask her for a list of friends who might benefit from your services. But that may not be a good idea, even if she thinks you’re the best thing since Starbuck’s drive-thru. She is the gatekeeper of her relationships. She’s not being stingy, she’s being protective. A better idea might be to give her a few of your business cards and say, “if you know of anyone who might benefit from my service, feel free to give them my card.”

If women talk more than men, how do we avoid bad word of mouth from them? 
The “duh” answer is, meet or exceed expectations. The other answer is, communicate clearly and often. If something goes wrong, explain to her exactly why, then do your best to make amends.  Basic, fundamental communication can go very far to deflect bad word of mouth.

How can you delight women?
Give her the personal touch.  It does not have to be fancy or extravagant (though that’s always appreciated).  A personal thank you note mailed the old-fashioned way may be enough to get her attention and touch her heart.  Remember her kids’ names, and even more importantly, the names of her pets.  Give her a gift she can pass along to family members. A financial advisor for my friend Holly knows Holly has two dogs. Every visit, he sends Holly home with two dog biscuits. He even knows their favorite – Snausages. Holly likes his work but what really endears him to her are the Snausages. It’s a personal touch that makes life better for those she loves.

Medspa Study: $50 off beats 15% off coupon.

Marketing Sherpa is a research site that I subscribe to for a number of reasons. It's $600 a year or so but worth it for me.

One of the recent studies they published has real relevance for most physicians looking to recruit new patients. The entire study is only available by subscription but the information it contains is simple.

o $50-Off Coupon generated 170% more revenue than the 15%-Off Coupon.
o $50-Off Coupon had 72% higher conversion rate.

“It turned out that the dollar-off coupon was a better way to position offers because the perceived value is higher for our customers. The ‘defined amount’ that you get turned out to be a much more effective incentive. Going forward, we are going to use the dollar-off [tactic] to drive more sales.”

Decker adds that eliminating the prospect of the recipient having to do some percentage math to figure out their savings also was a likely factor.

“The dollar-amount was simpler. And it was clear what the offer was from the second the person looked at. They didn’t have to think about it, and I think that has relevance.”

Interestingly, the slight copy difference in the subject line didn’t affect the open rates nearly as much as they did conversions. The $50-Off Coupon” got a 20% open rate; the 15% Off Coupon did almost as well with 19%. Also, the clickthroughs were nearly identical -- the 15%-Off coupon produced a 33% rate, while the $50-Off came in at 32.4%.

The 15%-Off Coupon did generate an average order size that was 44% higher . For that reason, Decker says, marketers who value average-order size due to their customer niche may want to duplicate the test to see if they get the same lift. Based on revenue, however, choosing between the two going forward was a no-brainer for Decker.

“In a down time or an up time, the finding would be applicable. But it has been especially beneficial to find something that works better when things are looking [economically] scary down the road.”

Medical Spa MD is going to help market your medspa.

It's been a long time in development, but it looks like the medical marketing arm of Medical Spa MD is about to make it's appearance.

In a study of medical spas and cosmetic medical practices the number one most pressing concern is getting more patients. So I've decided to build a more robust solution of the types of marketing that Surface does and offer it to the readers of this site.

If you've read this site and you've got an IQ in the double digits you'll know my feelings about the current crop of medical spa franchises, but... there are a number of principals that make franchises attractive. Perhaps the main one is a hope that they'll help you get patients that you don't know how or can't afford to. Certainly advertising, design, marketing, and new patient flow in general is the great bugaboo for many docs.

So I'm going to print you up some money... kinda.

With the help of some printers and developers, I'm building a portal to help the readers of this site handle that nasty business of getting new patients to walk through your front door. Soon, (within weeks) Medical Spa MD will have a link that will allow you to print and mail the highest quality postcards, letters, and newsletters to your existing clients or targeted mailing lists in your area, and even out source your calls to a call center. This will all work on amazingly low runs and still have all the efficiencies of the web. And I think I'll be able to set it up so that we're paying 20-30% less than any existing solution. It's a perfect solution.

I got the idea from a thread on this site about creating a buying consortium. Certainly I'm familiar with the challenges of growing clinics and advertising is perhaps where more money is wasted than any other area.

So let me outline how I'm intending to build the process. You're welcome to comment about features, pricing, options, etc. since this is still in the formative state and I'm happily soliciting input.

The new medical marketing site will allow you to:

• Print direct mail postcards in runs as low as 100.
• Choose from a number of templates that would be targeted specifically at the retail medical and medspa market.
• Change the offers, copy and contact information.
• Have the option of utilizing a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly mailing that changes but keeps your information.
• Upload your own mailing list (patients for example) or buy a targeted list for your market (Nearest 5000 female home owners over thirty for example.) with the click of a button.
• Have you're own branded 8 page newsletter printed and mailed for about 85 cents each
  
• Save you 20-30% over what you could buy anywhere else, including the discount online shops.
• Outsource your calls to a call center. (Even if you only want to do 100 a month.)
• Manage all of this online.
  

The only way to actually accomplish this is to build a vertical. But what will you care if I'm mailing the same post card? This is a killer solution... at least as I envision it. We'll see if it's a cool as I think it is. Comment and tell me what you'd be looking for and if it makes sense I'll build it in.

If you're interested make sure you join Medical Spa MD as a member (it's free of course) so you get the announcements and pricing. 

5 Questions To Ask About Your Medical Spa Web Site.

Most dermatologists, plastic surgeons, aesthetic physicians, cosmetic surgeons and medical spas now have a web site. These range from - excellent, not bad, and blah, to downright horrible, unusable and sad. In some cases the site is so bad that it actually detracts from the message they are trying to convey. The days of unsophisticated web users are gone. In order to drive traffic and stand out, any site needs to obey these five rules:

#1. Personality:
Is there a clear personality? Do you feel like you know the business? Is there a feeling of intimacy? Your site should convey two things above all:

1. You are an expert: If you're a medical spa, you are working in cosmetic medical technology. That denotes what is supposed to be a familiarity with technology and the ability to use it. If you're site looks like it's been created by your nephew you're in trouble. Many, many, many, patients are going to research you online and make a decison about what you're like based on the only thing they can, your site. Go ahead and create a site that postitions you as an expert in your field.
2. You can be trusted: If you have a site that screams "call now", "order this product", and "going fast", just take a minute and think. You are in a market that is based in large part on trust. If you are seen as a "used car salesman of medicine", you're in trouble. The purpose of your site is not to make money. Suprise. The purpose of your site is to create the conditions that will allow a patient to overcome her natural reluctance to call and make a consultation. That's it.
   

#2. Usefulness:
Does your site read like a yellow page ad? In order to be useful to you (driving new patients) your site has got to be useful to them. Post information that is unique and useful to your clientiele. The day's of cut-and-paste are gone. You have chosen to be in a service industy so you're going to have to serve. Here is a big one... Link to articles and infomation that is not on your site! A site without external information links is like posting a "dead end" sign on your front page. Link to the article, treatment information or conditions on this site. That's what they're there for.

#3. Writing style:
Is it a sales pitch badly disguised as information? Is it a long-winded column on your CE instead of snappy and slightly-informal? Is it just a price list without analysis or insight? Anwser yes to any of these questions and you're losing money. If you want to gain a patient's trust, you have to earn it through effort. Think about what you want to convey and craft your site to do it.

#4. Usability & design:
Is the typeface easy to read? Is the information either darned useful or very enjoyable to read? Many web site designers get caught up in touting the latest and greatest tools that look flashy and cool. The problem is that they are notoriously difficult to use and update. If you're site is in Flash or uses some of the other greatest new gadgets, it may not be able to be indexed by the search engines and will cost you an arm and a leg every time you need to change something. Stick to basic HTML for the same reason Amazon and Ebay do. It works the best.

#5. Would you revisit?:
Is it useful or engaging enough for you to visit it again ? Or will you forget it the minute after you leave? If your site never changes you are losing a tremendous opportunity to interact with potential patients in a very cost effective medium.

Here are some examples and reviews of medical spa sites that you can learn from.
Warning: Materials and copy on web sites are subject to the same usage requirements as any other. This means that you can not copy or use anything without permission. There are now sophisitcated tools on the web that allow any site to find if their material is being used without permission and you may be liable.

• Surface Medical Spas: Err... my site. Something of a shameless plug.
  
• Juva Medispa - Skin & Laser Center: A middling site that doesn't do Juva's reputation as an outstanding medical spa justice. While the information is impressive, the site appears to be somewhat neglected.
• La Jolla SpaMD: A site that suffers from the "sales pitch" theme. The size and color of the copy and links are also difficult to read. There is a reason that dark type on white had been the standard since the printing press came around.
• Pure Rejuvenation Cosmetic Surgery & Spa Center: Ouch. Where to begin? Besides the name that was obviously thought up by the owner, this site does not instill a sense of confidence.
  
• The Mezzanine Spa in SoHo: A beautiful site that uses some bells and whistles but still fits the image that the Mezzanine is trying to convey. However, the site is still very static.
• Cultura Medical: An easy-to-navigate site that uses flash as a header which isn't all bad but also uses music, a big n0-no across the web.

You're site is the first interaction that many potential patients will have with you. Take the time to make sure that it works. Links to more information about marketing your medical spa.
Gourt Directory

Medical Spa Marketing: Your DVD waiting room loop.

Waiting Room Loop DVD

 
If you've got a waiting room, it should have a big plasma screen TV with a professional presentation showing your services on it. Actually, you may not want it to be that big but certainly very visible.

Perhaps the easies way to inform your existing patients of what you're offering and keep them asking questions. Like anything else, there are some tricks and tips to achieve sales rather than have it look like you're showing your home movies.

Why does it work so well? 

 
It's free: You're already paying $15k a month in advertisng so having something that doesn't have a recurring cost is sweet, sweet love for the wallet.

It's a captive audience: You currently have one of the most desirable situations in all of advertising already built into your waiting room experience…a captive audience and people who are already inside your business. One of the biggest hurdles you have is just letting your patients know what it is you offer.

Education is the key – Research shows that up to 90% of your medical patients do not fully understand aesthetics or the services you are now offering. Showing a ten minute loop with explainations and before and after images presented in a professional way is killer and if done properly will lead to a host of questions and consults.

Insures more comprehensive consultations – Your DVD will provide a great deal of information that will shorten your consultation time and help patients better understand each procedure they are considering. The DVD is an effective tool for those patients who were initially hesitant and in need of more information before making a decision to move forward.

Turn medical “patients” into aesthetic “customers” – A DVD loop in your waiting room is the most convenient and effective way to “cross-sell” patients who are visiting you for medical reasons. Unlike patient brochures, DVD video is a powerful visual medium that stimulates the interest of your target market at a significantly higher rate with a lower cost than conventional advertising such as print, radio and even direct mail.

Personalize your practice with the human touch – A DVD will personalize your practice so that your potential MedSPA patients can actually view brief live demonstrations of your several aesthetic services. The video will help motivate your patients to ask questions, allowing you to answer their questions, express your desire and concern in providing the utmost care for your patients, and sharing your philosophy about their health and happiness. These typically are not things that can be done during a normal check-up or procedure, due to everyday time constraints.

8 ways to drive your advertisers and designers crazy.

If you're just starting up your first cosmetic medical practice, you may not know why the graphic designers and advertisers of the world will shortly be clutching you by the short hairs and forcing you to cough.

Well my bespectacled brothers and sisters in white, ward yourself against the beret wearing crowd who constantly rail about 'top of mind awareness', tempt us with subliminal advertising, force us to spend money on the worst shit imaginable, and eventually blame us for not coming up with a good offer. And of course, most of them are communists.

So, in order to do my part to save your medical practice from the charts and smiles crowd, I arm you with this list of things you can do when working with a graphic designer to assure that their experience is much worse than yours.

1. Start with lame embedded graphics
When sending the art department any document, make sure it's made with a program from Microsoft Office. PC version if possible. If you have to send pictures to be used in an ad, you'll have more success in driving them mad if, instead of just sending a jpeg or a raw camera file, you embed the pictures inside a Microsoft Office document like Word or even Excel. Make sure to lower the resolution to 72 dpi so that they'll have to contact you again for a higher quality version. When you send them the "higher" version, make sure the size is at least 50% smaller. And if you're using email to send the pictures, forget the attachment once in a while.

2. Multiple and colored fonts are good.
Now we've got them right where we want them. Ask for at least four different fonts in every ad. Multiple colors are best since they really grab attention and sell, sell, sell. If the designer balks, start asking where he went to school and raise your eyebrow as though you can't believe he actually found a job. Now we're cooking.

3. White space is the fruit of the devil.
Now the first time you have anything designed it's just going to have too much empty space. They'll try to leave white space everywhere. Huge margins, spacing the letters and all kinds of hoy-ploy stuff. They'll also throw that 'clean and professional' jargon at you. Then they'll tell you that they're doing this to make it easier to read. Don't you believe a word of it. They're just trying to get off easy and leave everything half done. Stick to your guns. Ink is money and don't let them get away with more than 4% white space anywhere in the add. The type should actually be smashed into every corner.  Remember, graphic designers hate you and want your money. They're also responsible for global warming and the mercury in shellfish.

So make sure you have no margins at all and tiny, tiny text. (Bonus points for multiple colors in the body copy.) They will try to argue and may even cry. Don't worry, they're not really human so you shouldn't feel bad. Remember who's footing the bill.

4. Logos say 'look at me'.
Now of course you're going to need a logo. It's who you are. Make sure you design this yourself and flatly refuse to pay the $4-7k for a real designer, or even the $300 for an online chop-shop. Think about this for at least ten minutes and then dive in. You don't want to make something that's detailed and easy to understand. As always, multiple fonts and rainbow colors are best. Try to work in a scalpel or needle to show you're medical. Above all, be sure to include 'advanced' or 'laser' in the name of your medspa to show the world that you have advanced lasers. (People are stupid and need this.)

Without exception, when you see your logo in print, tell the graphic designer to make it bigger. If the logo doesn't not overlap the edges, you're getting screwed and no one will call and you're spouse will blame you for ruining their life. A good rule of thumb would be to have a five inch logo on a six inch ad. Actually, five and a half inches.

5. Use lots and lots of 'exciting action words'.
When describing what you want in your ad, make sure to use terms that don't really mean anything. Terms like "snazzy it up a bit" or "can't you make it pop more?". "I want this ad to really sell," or "I want an ad that really says who we are." are other options. Don't stop hammering the 'pop' and 'sell' aspects. Don't feel bad about it since the started it when they said they were interested in helping grow your business.

6. Colors make everyone happy.
The best way for you to pick colors (because you don't want to let the graphic designer choose) is to ask your staff what they're favorite colors are and what makes them want to buy. Have your staff write down their favorite colors and make a list to give to the designer to use. This is really a good one. The graphic designer will suggest to stay with 2-3 main colors at the most, but no. Insist that he use at least one color from every staff member because they really know the clientele. If you can, do this whole list thing in front to the designer and smile while you're doing it.

7. Deadlines aren't really meant for you.
When approving a design, take your time. There is no rush. What? Are they going to press without you? Take two days. Take six. You're the only account that matters and that dentist down the street is probably doing it too. If the layout guys want to really know what it's like to go without sleep they would have done residency. Try to incorporate some last minute changes by email.

8. Drive a steak through his heart.
After you've rained down this list on your advertiser or designer, he'll start to get a bit insecure and start second guessing himself. Once he realises that he just can't satisfy your needs, the graphic designer will most likely abandon all hopes of winning an argument and will just do whatever you tell him to do, without question. You want that in purple? Purple it is. Six different fonts? Sure! This is exactly what we're after. The feeling of breaking your designers hopes and dreams over your knee and casting them into the abyss. This is why you became a doctor in the first place.

You would think that at this point you have won, but don't forget the end goal: he has to quit this business entirely. So be ready for the final blow: When making final decisions on colors, shapes, fonts, etc, tell him that you are disappointed by his lack of initiative. Tell him that after all, he is the designer and that he should be the one to put his expertise and talent at work and that you've had to do everything. That you were expecting someone who actually offered insight and useful advice and didn't just sit back while you did all the work. Tell him you've had enough with his lack of creativity and that you would rather do your own layouts from now on instead of paying for his services. This even works with those poor $6 an hour guys they have at the yellowpages.

 There you go. Sweet justice for once. Next we'll work on that day spa that has the temerity to use the word medical.

Fear Marketing, Plastic Surgery, & Your Medical Practice.

Fear Marketing in Cosmetic Medicine

I use a number of gmail alerts to keep me informed about what's going on in cosmetic medicine on a weekly basis. (Daily would overwhelm me.)

I see all manner of press releases, including those from the plastic surgery and dermatology boards. 

In reading one of these, I was struck by the pervasive use of fear marketing and scare tactics that the society's use in their PR and marketing campaigns. While there are times when it's spot on to use these tactics, the universal use of them probably speaks to a political leaning rather than an effective one. It seems that board certification is often used as a fear tactic rather than a hook.

While this post may not be politically correct, fear and scare tactics are effective and widespread... especially in medicine (and politics).

So, I got to thinking about the use of fear marketing in medicine and when you should, and should not, use it. 

When to Use Fear Marketing

 
Some products and services lend themselves to fear marketing better than others. Cosmetic medicine is certainly one of these. Your patients wouldn't be coming in if they were not afraid of getting wrinkly and old. You’d skip the malpractice insurance if you weren't afraid of  an unforeseen negative out come or personal liability.

Before firing off your initial salvo of fear marketing consider your potential patient population . Fear marketing can (and is) used to drive patients to action across any number of medical areas. Think of these fears and how they motivate your patients.

• Fear of aging - the mirror
  
• Fear of embarrassment - Weddings, school reunions
  
• Fear of loss - youth, personal image
  

There is an opportunity to leverage fear marketing to your advantage when patients find themselves motivated by fears. While discussion of this may not be popular, I've seen physicians who pray on this to the exclusion of all else and it can be very effective. The physicians who practice this are typically the ones who talk down to their patients. Patients often don't like it and I'm guessing, since I've got no data to back this up, that the satisfaction rate is low.

When Not to Use Fear Marketing

 
For services and products that make people happy, don’t exclusively dwell on the negative! Focus on how positive results can impact your patients life. There's an aspirational quality that works more effectively than fear.

Think of how glamour magazines (aspiration) change behavior and how anti-smoking ads (fear) don't have nearly the effect. 

A balanced strategy will capture a broader, more diverse group of potential customers that fear marketing alone. Better yet, fear derived patients are certainly much less likely to provide positive word of mouth advertising for you.

Fear Marketing Guidelines

Several points to make your fear marketing effective:

1. Make sure the portrayed consequence of not taking action is severe, but not exaggerated.
2. Make the patient feel that the problem is relevant to them.
3. Provide a specific action that the patient can take to prevent the consequence from happening.
4. Ensure that the patient believes that the proposed solution is effective in preventing the consequence.
5. Portray the solution as something that the patient can easily do.

Provide the Happy Ending

Paint a picture for your patients that compels them to action. You want them to visualize themselves with a happy ending because they purchased your services and you become a security blanket that helps the customer sleep at night without the fear.

List your medspa on Medical Spa MD for $50.

Now don't think I'm getting ornery, but this site takes up a fair amount of time.

And while I started this site out of the profound goodness of my heart and desire to help my fellow man, the bills still have to get paid. (There aren't actually that many.) So, there are a couple of things I'm initiating in order to keep that warm fuzzy feeling I have for all of you.

• The long awaited medical print on demand solution that I've been working on for the last three months is supposedly almost ready. (Developers are the car mechanics of the web.)
• There are some company sponsors who have contacted me about becoming sponsors. (Identified of course.) Don't expect the medspa franchises to be among them.
  
• I'm going to sell some advertising space to companies, vendors, and... to individual medical spas.

Here's the pitch:

Advertise your Medspa on Medical Spa MD
Cost: $50 /year

If you have a medical spa, the very best thing you can do to drive patients to your web site is to increase your visibility to search engines so that you can be found. Medical Spa MD is the authority in this space with over 100,000 page views a month and 20,000 unique visitors. Purchasing a link to your site means that Google, Yahoo, MSN and the rest of the search engines will increase the importance that give to your site and raise you in their search index. (And you'll feel good knowing that your $50 will go to help pay my hosting bills.)

If you feel that you've gotten some smarts or info that's been of benefit, give a thought to pulling out your card and listing your medspa on this site where it will join the other clinics under: Fantastic Medical Spas.

If you're one of the first ten or so medspas to join I'll show you some special love. If you think that $50 is too much... well, it's less than I've spent on any single type of advertising for any of my clinics, ever. (Hell, it costs $250 for a classified ad.)

To purchase a link to your site, just click the buy now button, follow the directions and send payment via the paypal page (enter $50 in the amount box),  and include your link and 20-30 words about your medical spa or cosmetic practice. That's it.

$50 and your site will appear here under: Fantastic Medical Spas

Retail Medicine: Make an offer your patients can't refuse.

Medical Spa Advertising: Three Attributes of a Great Offer for your Medspa.

When you've decided on your offer, run it through this checklist to make sure it's as effective as can be.

1. 

   Does your offer have a high perceived value? "Perceived" is the key word here. The good news is that an effective offer doesn't have to cost much. It just has to be something of value to your audience. Certainly the 'free consultation' is a common offer and generally very effective. Free facials are another. If you're smart and have been collecting your patients mailing addresses in a database (not just in the chart), a valuable offer could be inclusion in your medspas monthly newsletter on skin care and anti-aging where they can receive 'additional' offers.
   
   
2. Is your offer easy to understand and take action on? Have you gotten a direct mail piece or an e-mail that had an offer that was so involved, so convoluted, that you just said, "Forget it!"? You don't want people to be overwhelmed and forget your offer. Make it simple. Don't add a lot of conditions or steps or restrictions. If you can, stick with one step: Call this number, click here to download this white paper, type in this discount code or register here. Joining Medical Spa MD is an example of ease of use and low barriers. All you need to do is enter your email.
   
   
3. Is your offer relevant to the product, service or event you're promoting? A great offer isn't just good for the person who receives it; it's good for your medspa too. Especially in the case of lead generation, you want your offer to tie into the product you're selling, event you're promoting or service you're providing. That way, it will help advance the sale, or--better yet--inspire your audience to take immediate action. A monthly newsletter or email or "10 tips" lists are both great examples of this. They keep your reader focused on areas of your expertise and continue your 'face time' with potential new patients.