I often focus on marketing strategies aimed at increasing the visibility and web traffic for cosmetic practices. Blogs, press releases, videos, SEO, and advertising all help to achieve this goal. Internal marketing, such as social media and email marketing, are crucial for patient engagement and retention. But how do you get people excited and interested?
The most obvious answer is to offer discounts off your services. However, discounting services is something you need to be very wary of. In the Groupon-era that we’re now in, many cosmetic practices have inadvertently branded themselves as “discounted retailers,” and subsequently went out of business.
The following ideas can help you increase interest in your practice, drive more repeat patients, and boost revenue without over-discounting your services. I imagine many practices are already utilizing several of these ideas, but my goal is to enlighten you on at least one new tactic that your practice can incorporate into your existing internal marketing approach.
1) Botox Days: consider designating one day a week to Botox and other injectables. This day you can offer a discount for these consumables.
2) Botox Parties: there’s a reason I’m listing Botox twice…many women love it! So why not combine two things these women love: parties and Botox! Patients organize a group of their friends to come to the practice, relax, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine, all while they get Botox at discounted pricing!
3) Host an Open House: there are many directions you can take with an open house, including short discussions on certain technology or treatments, demonstrations, discounts, giveaways, and more! The goal is to get people comfortable with you and your practice, and then get them interested in your services.
4) VIP Clubs: Why not reward patients who come to the practice frequently? You can either create a program where patients pay to be a member, and subsequently get discounts on services and treatments. Or, you can simply offer discounts when patients have exceeded a certain level of services. Along these same lines, consider offering discounts for referrals as they’re the lifeblood of your practice.
5) Random Gift Card Winners: Encourage discussion on your social networks by giving away gift cards to those who interact with the practice. You don’t have to limit it to gift cards, you can also give away units of Botox, facials, or other spa services. More likely than not, by giving something $50-100 in value they’ll spend more than that amount, generating more revenue for the practice.
6) PR&R: If you’re unfamiliar with the “PR&R” term, it’s short for Patient Retention & Re-activation, a term we’ve coined for a unique service that we offer. In short, this is a form of email marketing that allows practices to offer deals on services for a limited-time (usually one week). Patients can buy directly from the email. You can learn more about this service by checking out this blog or watching one of our webinars. PR&R isn’t just limited to running deals. You can also send out requests for reviews on Yelp & Google+. The software can trickle these emails out, preventing either review site from flagging you for getting multiple reviews in a short period of time.
Remember to not over-promote. Pick a unique service to highlight each month and change it after the month ends. Also, whatever you decide to promote, make sure you get the word out via social media, email and on your website.
If your practice has a particular promotion that’s working well and it’s not listed here we’d love to hear about it. Just leave a note in the comments below.
To learn more about how you can “beef up” your internal marketing schedule a consultation with TRBO today. Just drop us a line here or call 877-673-7096 x2.
