Every type of business is impacted by the simple economics of supply and demand, including the aesthetics industry. Summer bodies are made in the winter, so usually, summertime and the back-to-school rush can be a headwind to plastic surgeons. But, just because it tends to be slower during these times does not mean you or your team should slow down too. As you move fast through the day-to-day aspects of your practice, the softer seasons are a great time to retool, refocus and reinforce your team’s focus to maximize your practices’ potential. When the phone is ringing off the hook and your team is slammed with patients every day, it can be easy to overlook some key aspects to your practice’s growth, which is why it’s so important to take advantage of any downtime.
Here are just a few proven ideas that you can implement in your practice to keep your practice rolling through any Soft Seasons:
Acquire Patient Reviews
Your reputation is a key aspect in your future patient’s buying journey. Actively acquiring 5-star reviews from your patients should be a year-round effort, but when things slow down, you have the opportunity to spend more time with your existing patients, which should enable you to find out who is ecstatic and ask them for a 5-Star Google Review. Check out one of our recent blogs on how your practice can acquire more 5-star reviews. Also, during the slower season, it would be a great opportunity to ask for video reviews of post-op patients. These patient experience videos can show real results and ease the concerns of future clients which can then be shared on your social media channels.
Maximize Your CRM
Ideally, your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database should be updated daily with all the new leads your practice receives each day. We know of many practices that only enter actual patients into the database, which we know is wrong. Contacting all your leads via email, phone and text can be tedious when it’s peak season, so when it is slower go back through the leads to mine the database for potential prospects ready to schedule. Call the old leads that did not move forward with the procedure. Also, going through your database from 2020 and creating a list of all the patients who are due for Botox and follow up with them to schedule their next treatment. Run retention reports on recurring procedures, such as Botox. You can remind your patients that it’s time for their non-surgical treatments like injectables, CoolSculpting, or skin rejuvenation. You can also try to convert your surgical patients into injectable patients. Some of our clients have loyalty programs where if you have had surgery in the past you get a certain percentage of injectable treatments but patients forget, so during the soft season is an ideal time to remind them.
Reactivating someone who has already come into the office and had a positive experience is so much easier and cheaper than finding and obtaining a whole new lead.
Be Active On Social Media
Being on top of your online presence is one of the best ways to market your practice all year round. When it is slow, you need to find more time to create more content that could be used in the peak season. Just because you make a video today, does not mean you have to share immediately.
Sharing learning tools such as informational videos about a procedure or sharing before and after photos of a dramatic transformation can keep you on top of your future patient’s mind. At MD Internet Marketing we suggest having a consistent social media schedule and posting quality educational and entertaining content for your followers. Ask your patients to tag you when they share their patient journey. More than likely they will allow you to reshare the content they post.
Build Up The Busy Season
We understand that particular times of the year are the best suited to get a cosmetic procedure done for several reasons. As we mentioned before, winter and spring are peak seasons for cosmetic procedures. Per an article on Seeking Alpha “Moreover, due to vacations and other headwinds, the third quarter is normally the slowest one. On the other hand, based on 20 years in the medical aesthetic field, the fourth quarter is usually the strongest one, and ongoing demand reflects how the minimally invasive aesthetic surgical space is growing in the COVID era.” Generating excitement for your peak time is a tactic you can implement during the soft season. Send out e-blasts with cross-promotions and stay on top of your customer’s minds with educational and entertaining content on social media. Remind your potential followers to get ahead of the game to schedule their consultations before appointments are fully booked.
Invest In Your Team & Yourself
Have you ever heard of “Sales Kills Everything”? Meaning that when sales are great and you’re busy growing, it can be easy to overlook other key aspects of your business. How your team is answering the phone, when was the last Care Credit training, what is our same day cling rate, would be some examples. When your business is busy, you can forget about what’s truly important — the people who interact with your potential clients before you see them, your team! Investing in your team by providing online training or one-on-one meetings can show your team that you care about them as people. Even having a special event to reward your team for all the hard work can be beneficial in boosting morale. During your soft season, take time to reflect on the past, plan for the future and invest in your team.
MD Internet Marketing can help you speed up the soft season and position your team to maximize the ability to refocus on key areas of your practice to drive growth all year round! We have been in the aesthetic industry for over 10 years and have the experience of helping practice work through recessions, pandemics, and soft seasons. From strategic planning to reputation marketing, the experts at MDIM can help you reach your potential all year round. If you want to learn more about how to grow your practice, contact us for a free strategic evaluation.