A well-planned and well-executed event can bring in a substantial profit for your practice, build long-term relationships with clients, and help focus the team on a specific treatment or service. However, a successful event cannot just be thrown together last minute. Hosting a successful and worthwhile event takes careful planning, time and effort. But if you put in the time and plan accordingly, a single event can pay off immediately and continue to bring in business for years to come.
Why Offer a Patient Event?
It is understood that everyone at your office is already spread thin, working hard to keep the traffic running smoothly. If you think a seasonal special event just sounds like unnecessary added work, think again. There are substantial benefits for hosting a patient get together:
- It will make money – A well-planned event can make tens of thousands of dollars in a couple of hours.
- It will build customer loyalty – This ever-important face-to-face time spent with established customers creates a vital bonding experience that keeps them dedicated to your office for the long haul.
- It will establish trust – Potential patients are shown to feel the most comfortable with a practice they feel they already know well. A special event gives new clients a chance to see the office, meet you and the staff, and feel like they are a welcome part of the group. By establishing a level of trust, these soon-to-be patients will then turn to you when they are ready to commit to an aesthetic procedure.
- It will build brand recognition – Getting your name out in the community will continue to build a patient base long after your special event. Community leaders, other doctors, friends of friends, and neighbors will see, hear, and remember your name as they refer patients in the future.
- It creates free advertising: As attendees share your event and their wonderful experience on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, people across the country may get their first glimpse at your practice and decide it is worth the trip to access your services.
- It will be memorable – Music, food, live demonstrations, and one-on-one attention in a stunning environment … all of these details will make your special event a memorable one that sticks with attendees. Even years after the fact, patients will remember their joyful experience and call your office before any others.
- It increases the profitability per patient – The time it takes to woo a customer during a private patient consultation costs time and money. By wooing ten or even fifty patients at one time, you increase your exposure and chances of operating on these clients or their friends.
Tips on Planning Your Patient Event:
- Plan ahead – Don’t put off arranging your event. Event planning should begin at least 45 days out. Create your eblast, office signs, a script for phone calls, and draft your social media posts. Starting 30 days prior to the event, kick-off the marketing campaign and get the word out there.
- Use Eventbrite – A successful campaign will put all of the available tools into action. Eventbrite offers free email invitations and promotional tools to sell your event. Marketing your event online through Eventbrite can get your promotion presence on search engines, and can easily be integrated on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Eventbrite even helps you keep track of those who RSVP, and has metrics to track the performance of your promotional efforts.
- Create a unique event-only special – But be careful not to tell anyone about the discount until the day of the event. Leaking a good deal will keep people from attending your event, but an excited buzz around the one-day-only special will bring patients into the office.
- Enlist help from your vendors – Your event will be more profitable if you enlist the help from your most valued vendors. These companies, offering valuable name recognition, want to promote their products and services, bringing in money for themselves. Let them help with food, setups, product demonstrations, samples, and gift baskets. It will be a win-win.
- Put an end to no-shows – Make a sincere effort to ensure anyone who RSVPs makes it into the event. Get their name, email, and cell number. Call and email with reminders 48 and 24 hours in advance, as well as the morning of the event. Remind the attendee they are welcome to bring their friends, partners, siblings, or husband to the event. The more the merrier.
Follow-Up to Keep the Momentum Going
Now that you have a group of happy attendees, keep them engaged. Anyone who came to your office event is interested in your services, so do what it takes to make the sale. Inform them of discounts and invite them to come back by your practice. Additionally, post photos on your social media accounts (with clients permission), so that those who did not attend can see what they missed and to grab the attention of potential attendees for your next event.
Get Expert Assistance
Planning and executing a strategically planned marketing campaign takes an investment of both time and effort. To put your upcoming event on the track to long-term profits, enlist help from MD Internet Marketing. We are not an SEO company; MD Internet Marketing is a trusted authority on marketing and social media management for the aesthetic practice. Call our office at (954) 993-5154 to discuss your marketing needs.