Presented by:Anne CohenA Cohen Marketing and Public RelationsNew York

http://funny-dog.blogspot.com/2006/07/trendy-dog.html

There’s no such thing as foolproof

What works in Boise may not fly in Vegas

However, marketing, when well executed, should return an ROI of 4 x or more.

#1, what is marketing?

Marketing is every activity that creates and reinforces your practice as the Obvious Choice to your targeted demographic.

What does Marketing include?

• Branding•Advertising

•Community Participation• Events

• Internal Marketing• Internet & Viral Marketing

• Cross Channel Affiliations• Media Coverage

• Referral Exchanges• Staff Behaviors• Your Behaviors

• Office Condition & Location

People don't "buy“ cosmetic improvements.

They "buy" the concept of what the improvements will do for them.

Therefore, do not market cosmetic improvements.

Market the concept of what cosmetic improvements will do for your prospective

patients.

Rule #1: People Buy Concepts

Rule #2: Marketing Must Follow a Plan

•Without a plan you are at the mercy of every skillful sales

rep.

•Without a plan you market the wrong things to the right

people or the right things to the wrong people.

•Without a plan you will spend too much money and waste

time.

•Without a plan you will be disorganized, which leads to

frustration, which leads to disillusionment that marketing

can build your business.

Rule #3: Marketing must be consistent

Marketing is like every other discipline:

Moderate efforts executed on a consistent basis are more effective

than huge efforts executed sporadically.

•Marketing is like any other discipline•Example: If you show up at the gym regularly, you will ultimately become a fit person, assuming you are choosing the right activities.

If you market sporadically, you will waste time and money and ultimately stop marketing because it’s painful and fruitless.

Rule #4: Marketing is Research-Based

• Know your Customer Demographic and Your Competitors

• Identify what makes you & your practice unique: SWOT

• Evaluate your marketing bridges

• Research local media orientation

• Research opportunities for practice exposure

Know Your Customer & Your Competitors

• How do age, gender distribution and economic realities of your local demographics affect the likelihood of marketing success?

• Research is key here!• What does your demographic watch on TV?• What do they read?• What radio station do they listen to?• Where do they shop, work out, etc• What do they believe about aesthetics?

• How does your local competition affect your choice of offerings?

Know Your Personal SWOT

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Opportunities

• Threats

• Communication

Skills

• Personal

Appearance

• Training & Education

• Length of time in

practice

• Special skills or

expertise

• Reputation

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Opportunities

• Threats

Know your Practice SWOT

• Location• Office Appearance• Equipment• Staff• Economy• Insurance• Cash Flow• Practice Debt• Competitors• Changes in social or economic patterns• Patient Mgmt System• Referral System• Patient Retention• Practice Reputation• Trends

• There is no point in attracting

prospective patients to your practice

unless you can convert them.

• Unaddressed Marketing Bridges will

turn patients away before you even have

a chance to meet them!

Awareness of your practice (front of mind) Branding 3 customer types

Internet presence Behaviors of Staff: Front Desk, Pt Coordinator,

You Office Location & Condition Patient Readiness to Proceed The Consultation Process The Close

Your Brand is your Icon to the Public A “nutshell” representation of your business

Brands you know Kleenex Playboy Magazine

You recognize them immediately because their brand remains consistent

You understand what they do whether you want one or not Branding is based on Consistency

Consistent Message Consistent look and feel Logo and Fonts Colors and Style

Behaviors of the company (the brand)

All Collateral Must Tie Together Color Palette Style Fonts Message

Collateral includes Logo Photography Letterhead Folders Business Cards Everything a patient sees in your office

Three Customer Types You Must Create “Front of Mind” with All 3

Types Buy Now Buy Later Never Buy—The Referrer

Friends and Family of Former Patients Community Connectors Information Recipients

Basic Awareness Options Advertising

Print Radio TV: local and cable Mall Boards and other public boards Internet

Public Relations Events Seminars Sponsorships/Involvements with Charitable Events Internal Marketing

Media Coverage Local versus national press (articles, interviews, columns) Local versus national media (TV, radio interviews) Becoming the “go to” person

Print Advertising Confirm that your demographic reads it! Check ratio of editorial vs advertising Frequency is key along with location of ad Is there an internet component? Ad Design

Ads must evoke emotion to be remembered Dare To Be Different!

Never fear white space Leave them wanting information to promote contact

15 and 30-second spots Know what your demographic listens to

Ask patients & staff what they listen to! Don’t depend on the sales rep to guide you

Expensive! Price is market and time-dependent AM Drive Time, Midday, PM Drive Time, Late Night

Demographic Specific! Insist on demographic numbers

Cable is often a good bet PS Before/After coming back online

September Dr 90210 Matt Archer: www.arconadvertising.com or call him at 916-543-1195

Ask your patients what they watch! Check local affiliates for remnants & short ads

8 seconds within the 6 PM news, etc.

Portals Insist on statistics

New visitor and return visitor stats City-specific stats

How can you differentiate yourself? What’s the real ROI on these sites? Should these sites do your website SEO?

Viral Marketing on Cosmetic Improvement Sites MakeMeHeal.com Others: Obesity Help, Mom Sites, College Sites

Failure to track results leads to a waste of $$ Phone tracking

You can purchase phone numbers singly or in bundles

Attach to a specific ads Calls can be recorded for staff evaluation

Website tracking All portals should send you stats monthly You need website statistics tracking both for

portals and your own SEO trackingPatient queries are often inaccurate!

Public Relations is, by definition, “unpaid” marketing, ie, you aren’t buying an ad.

You will “spend” time (=money) getting PR PR consists of

Involvement in Community Events Cross Channel Affiliates Seminars Sponsorships/Silent Auctions Internal Marketing Media Coverage

Community events can offer great visibility Women’s Expos, Bridal Shows

Have a booth Give samples Attend during specific advertised hours Take a Visia or other participatory equipment Have raffles and get names & emails Continuous slide show of before/afters (get

permission from patients of those before/afters) Think twice about business expos

What’s a cross-channel affiliate? Anyone who serves your demographic

Image Consultant Personal Trainer Personal Chef Upscale Nail and Hair Stylist Bridal Salons and upscale clothing boutiques Concierge service Massage Therapist Cosmetic Dentist

What can you do with CCAs? Run ads, hold events, share brochures,

participate in their database marketing (newsletters, etc)

Aim toward quarterly seminars Invite all past & current patients Advertise! Don’t forget your local businesses and those in your own building!

Involve cross-channel partners Ask them to invite their top 20 clients & add you to their newsletter Take invitations to their location 2 weeks in advance Involve them in the event: show their stuff, participate in Grand Prize

Involve all your reps Food & beverage $$ Postcards and advertising support Presentations: give them each a space for discussion & demos One raffle each Grand Prize Makeover involvement

Call the United Way for a list of nonprofits Find out when they have fundraising events

Highest price per seat are the best Avoid political or controversial events Find out if they have a raffle or silent auction Participate as a speaker whenever possible You need not attend if you send a silent auction item

Silent Auctions hit the right demographic repeatedly You are viewed as a community member and a

philanthropist Don’t forget the clubs & sororities!

Jr League, Women’s Clubs, Moms Groups, etc always need speakers!

This is the perfect time of year to get on the schedule!

It costs 6 times as much to bring in a new patient than to use internal marketing to build your practice Consider Referral Marketing in your own life

Creating Community with past patients is key to successful internal marketing Americans lack community.

Provide a sense of community with your practice and you will grow like crazy!

Customer Appreciation Programs Referral Thank you Cards Frequent Flyer Programs Holiday party: New Year’s is safest and results in the

highest attendance Fall Beauty Kick-Off: Second highest attendance Holiday Cards & Birthday Cards Quarterly Events with Friend Special Pricing

Newsletter Monthly via email (get permission!) Have this professionally created for a turnkey solution Avoid mass-produced newsletters

Sending Press Releases into cyberspace is an ineffective method.

You must get to know your local media— Media works by “beat”. Your “beat” can be

Lifestyle Health and Beauty Medical Current Events Breaking news

Mass e-mails are not read and can eliminate you!

How to find them: Internet is best for radio/TV contacts Inside banner of the publication Create a database so you can consistently track them

This cannot be a selfish endeavor: You must get to know your contacts and offer them information that helps them do their job! Take them to breakfast or out for coffee

What are you working on? Would you like someone in my business to consistently

send you helpful information about our industry? Invite them to your events When news breaks, be the first to call and offer help!

National Coverage is Great IF You are in a very large metropolitan area You perform very unique procedure(s)

ICI in Dallas Syd Coleman in NYC

Local Coverage is Generally Best because It focuses on YOUR market specifically It’s more thoroughly read & watched by the locals It allows for more frequent media placement

You can become the “go to doc”

Don’t Avoid the local weekly paper It might not have the cache of Vogue but people in your market are

reading it from cover to cover Push for a monthly column in your local weekly

Human Interest Stories Get the Highest Coverage

Some of the most successful physicians in the country have used Marketing and PR to brand themselves.

The ones who become (and remain) successful are the ones who know how to keep their personal brand consistent and treat their press relationships like gold.

Determine what you want to be known for, build your contacts and

attack it every day.

One major press piece can be the difference between $1 Million and $5 Million in business over the next 12 months.

If consumers cannot find you, your beautiful website is a waste of money. Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is imperative if you wish

to compete on the web All Keywords are not created equal Duplicated Content kills optimization At this time, video is not indexed by the search engines

Both design and SEO must be done by the SAME FIRM to avoid wasting time and money!

Are your competitors optimizing your site?

The goal of your website is to build trust Get them to call you before they call your competitors Get them to call sooner rather than later: trust

Once they find your site, you must offer them a reason to stay (“site stickiness”) Information easily found with 1 click Before/afters are the #1 viewed web page Financing information is the #2 viewed web page Video builds trust Contact Us on Every Page Phone Number on the top right of every single page Address on every page

Do you ever listen to what she says to callers? Tone of Voice, communication skills Ability to convert callers to consults

Can she elicit timing, desire, and ability? Does she need a bullet-point script?

Do you know how many callers are put on hold and how long they are on hold? What do they hear while on hold?

The importance of the on-hold message Who takes inquiry calls?

Instill Trust-Building from the start!

What % of callers book a consultation? Do you know?

Location, location, location Parking Neighborhood Maximize contacts near you when marketing

Other businesses’ employees—invite/involve Cross Channel Opportunities Condition of your office

Clean, clean, clean Coffee, tea, soda, biscotti, etc ; offered, not just available TV: Marketing tool vs employee entertainment Hide messes! Close doors if necessary Employee interaction, voice levels, etc all impact conversion!

Primary consumer fears: Exposing their bodies and wallets to strangers

Every transaction sits on a 4-legged stool Timing Desire Funds Trust

You must identify the first 3 You only affect the 4th one: instilling trust No transaction will occur without all 4 legs!

Push for second buyer/influencer to attend consultation

She needs someone to bond with: a guide, mentor Maintain that connection throughout the process

Minimize movement between rooms Movement disrupts thought process and creates a new fear

Elicit timing, desire, ability to buy These are “breadcrumbs” that are used at the close Elicit financing concerns early on

Be sincerely interested in patient’s story Find the emotion that motivates desire Tie the emotion to timing, desire and ability Help patient visualize results and tie to emotion

We purchase emotionally and justify rationally

The patient came to you to get what she wants She may need help to justify getting what she wants Your staff’s goal is to help her be OK with her desire and pave

the way to the conversion

She needs to process information and justify the information to align with her desires (emotion)

Interfering with that process kills conversion Do not fear silence Permit the “inner struggle” when presenting the financial

close ABC: Always Be Closing

You do this in every facet of your life!

Assumptive Close You must assume the patient wants this Confirm date availability, time from work, trust in surgeon Confirm support is available

At the procedure: who will be coming with you? After the procedure: home help, childcare, etc.

Ask patient if she knows approx cost of the procedure(s) and if she’d like to put part of it on financing, credit card, etc. “Many of our patients”…

Explain pieces of pricing before showing figures

Assume the close and get the signature & the check

Consistent, client-demographic-focused marketing and public relations can build your practice and brand from a “No Name” to the Big Name in your area.