The Importance of Treatment Plans and Why they Matter! 

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Shifting “Upselling” to “Upping-Results”

I have taught my sales training course to thousands of plastic surgery and medical aesthetic practices across the country both onsite and virtually. Time and time again, one of the biggest areas of missed opportunity for revenue is the failure to develop long-term treatment plans for clients.

 

Treatment plans help build long-term retention and increase the client’s lifetime value. They provide clients with solutions, options, and possibilities to yield the best results. 

 

I hear a lot from providers that they don’t want to appear pushy, salesy, or feel uncomfortable about the “upsell,” so they focus only on the problem the client specifically comes in for. Most often, it is our own bias getting in the way. I’ve heard excuses such as, “Patients won’t spend the extra money.” Or “They are not going to buy it; It is not what they came here for.” Or “They can’t afford that.” 

 

That is not up to you to judge or decide. Your only obligation is to inform the client of all their options and possibilities for the best outcomes. It is up to THEM to decide. If we don’t see and believe in the value of what we recommend, how will they?  

 

I want to encourage you to shift your mindset away from “Upselling” to “Upping Results.” Here’s why:

 

  • Short-term and symptom-focused treatments may work but won’t build long-term patient retention.
  • Combining different modalities over multiple visits provides the patient with a better outcome and strengthens the relationship and trust with the provider (or in the case of plastic surgery, pre-op preparations and post-op care).
  • You’ll gain opportunities to cross-promote by using combination treatments, which will yield more revenue (revenue for skincare is typically at 100% markup).

When patients have their skincare built into their treatment plan, they will:

 

  • Use the best products for their skin that you know will yield the best possible outcomes.
  • Be more likely to practice home care compliance.
  • Experience increased convenience as they can purchase them at the same time as they book their treatment appointments
  • Be delighted by experiencing something new (How many of you have patients who come to you as an expert and ask, “What’s new?”), so pairing your new products with procedures is a solid strategy. 

Did you know the amount spent on skincare is 3x more compared to services or procedures? Every procedure should have a product and additional procedures to augment. With this revenue strategy, retail should be 20% of your total revenue. 

 

Example A: Clear & Brilliant ($500) + Retinal & Antioxidant ($200)  

 and post-op Hyrdrafacial, $250 = $950  

90% increase in revenue 

 

Example B: Micro Needling Treatment ($450) + Serum and Accelerator ($280) = post op Hyrdafacial ($250) = $980

118% increase in revenue 

 

Example C:  Full Facelift ($20,000) + Laser Resurfacing pre-op ($1,500) + Retinol and Antioxidant ($200) and post-op Vascular laser ($75) and Hydrafacial ($250)   = $22,025
More than 10% Increase in revenue

When a provider builds skincare and or other treatment modalities into their treatment plan (pre-op and post-op care), they will experience these benefits:

 

  • Volume. Comprehensive treatment packages increase sales
  • Margins. Comprehensive treatment packages can lower the cost of goods sold and increase your profit margins
  • Exposure. Comprehensive treatment packages offer new opportunities and exposure to additional services and treatments




How Much Revenue are you Leaving on the Table?

According to a recent survey by the New York Post, the average female consumer spends $313 per month on products for her face and men spend $244. The survey states that 82% of men now are using skincare. If even 20 patients spent that on your products you recommend versus buying over-the-counter products, that would be an extra $6260 per month of revenue generated by women and $4880 for men.

 

Let’s take a little deeper dive into patient expectations versus reality. 

  • 86% of patients expect physicians to recommend a pre-treatment skincare regimen yet only 14% of patients were recommended at home care. 
  • 91% of patients expect physicians to recommend a post-care skincare regimen, yet only 30% of patients were prescribed post-care products. 

So, you can see the clear gaps in the industry and how comprehensive treatment plans can increase your revenue opportunities and create better results for your patients. 

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.John D. Rockefeller

What Should be Included in the Treatment Plan?

When developing your treatment plan, it is best to keep it simple and clear in terms of the procedures/services and products you recommend. Include a short description about what each procedure does, the cost, the downtime, products you recommend, a step-by-step plan on their regimen to follow as well as any personalized notes. I recommend having your treatment plan template branded to match the branding of your practice.

 

Hopefully all of you are using some form of a Cosmetic Interest Questionnaire (CIQ) that can help spark discussion around other areas of interest to them. Here are sample scripts for those who may be uncomfortable or unsure how to bring a treatment plan up during a consultation in both a medical spa and a plastic surgery practice: 

 

Medical Spa: Hi Pam. My name is Terri and I’m a Nurse Practitioner. Thank you so much for coming in today. Our consultation will be around 30-45 minutes where my goal is to get to know you, focus on understanding your needs, and discuss all the viable treatment options, along with the best skin care regime that will help you achieve the best results.

 

Based on what I hear you saying, my recommendation for you is the following:

  • Retinol and antioxidants
  • BBL
  • Hydrafacial with LED and Hydrating mask
  • Post-op recovery care 

Plastic Surgery: Hi Pam. My name is Dr. Smith. Thank you so much for coming in today. Our consultation will be around 30-45 minutes where my goal is to get to know you, focus on understanding your needs, and discuss all the viable surgical and non-surgical options, along with the best skin care regime that will help you achieve the best results.

Based on my assessment to get you the outcome you are looking for, I am going to recommend the following:

  • Pre-op hydrafacial to clean your skin and pores to prep for surgery
  • Laser skin resurfacing to help with overall pigmentation and texture
  • Facelift
  • Post-op recovery kit
  • Vbeam 

The Sales Training Course within APX Platform goes into much greater detail about the value of incorporating long-term treatment plans which increase the lifetime value of your clients, help clients to achieve better results, increase revenue, and improve patient retention.

Marketing Your Practice

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There is an analogy about marketing sometimes being like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. We don’t want you to be throwing your money away on things that are not working. That’s why it’s really critical to understand what marketing spend yields the highest ROI, and then come up with a strategic plan in terms of your marketing verticals so you know how much your lead acquisition costs are and what channel is yielding the highest return. I have found that most practices are not tracking any of that. Would you believe that less than 10% of aesthetics practices track their metrics?  If you are one of the 90% who do not, don’t worry, I’ve got your back! 

 




Foundations of Marketing from an Internal Perspective

 

First and foremost, your team is the lifeblood of your practice. They are your strongest asset and greatest expense. Investing in comprehensive staff training is the single most important thing for running a profitable practice. 

Next comes your image and brand.

 What and who do you want to be known for? 

  • Who is your ideal client? 
  • Who are you talking to in your messaging? 
  • Are they in their 20s or are they in their 50s? 
  • Is your image Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms, Macy’s or Target? 
  • Does your team, practice, services and pricing reflect that brand?

Now, you might say, “Terri, we see a wide range from age 25-65.” That is ok, but your message has to be very clear and resonate with your market. For example, when you run an ad or create a video, you should pretend you are speaking to one person, not a general audience. Really picture that ideal client avatar when you are creating your message.  It doesn’t matter who it is, but you want to make sure you keep your brand and messaging strategy consistent across your website, blogs, email marketing campaigns, newsletters, social media, etc. It has to all tie together in a cohesive way.

Then, you and your team need to be able to articulate your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and credential your providers and practice, explaining what you do and why someone should come to your practice. Do you know your UVP? Can all of your team articulate your value prop in 20-30 seconds?  If a patient  said, “Well I could go down the street and Dr. Sanderson is cheaper than you,” would you and your team know how to respond?  Do they know the LAER communication model and the value of using that to engage and diffuse any objection?

This is an area which tends to trip people up and put them in defense mode. There is a whole section in our sales training course in the APX platform that addresses this topic and has a downloadable exercise on creating your UVP and credentialing statements.  It goes beyond saying your board certified, it is your perceived value to patients. Here are some examples:

  • Our providers at XYZ practice have a combined 40 years of experience solely focused on aesthetic medicine
  • We take a comprehensive approach to our consultation process to discuss your concerns, and together develop a long-term treatment plan that will yield you the best outcome.  
  • Our center is a training facility as we have performed X number of procedures.
  • We offer extended weekday and weekend hours to fit the needs of our customers.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.John D. Rockefeller

External Marketing Verticals

  • How many of you reading this are tracking your leads and where they are coming from? 
  • Do you know the total number of leads you generate a month? 
  • How many are phone leads? 
  • How many come from the web?
  • How many come from social media?
  • What is your conversion ratio? 
  • If not above 70% why or why not?
  •  Do you have a follow up process in place?  
  • Did you know 45% of leads are never followed up with? 

 

Clients come to us all the time and say, “Terri, I need to get new people in the door” and then they start throwing all this money into different marketing verticals without a strategic plan or a trained team that can convert leads. 

When you are considering external marketing spend, use this rule of thumb: Approximately 10% of your revenue should be allocated toward marketing spend. If you are a startup, it can run as high as 15%. But…it should not be higher than 10% if you are an existing practice. You want to spend those dollars very strategically. So, you need to look at what you’re spending per month versus how many new patients are coming in. Then, determine your lead acquisition costs. You need to look within your software at patient demographics, such as age, gender, race, income levels, education, etc. and consider the lifetime value of a patient (To learn more about lifetime value, read my previous blog here).  

 

Now let’s take a look at some of the most important marketing verticals and ways to grow your business by utilizing them. 

 

Website and Blog

Your website should be your number one source of where you put your marketing dollars. There are a few companies I stand behind who are experts in the aesthetics space and build beautiful, high-performing, aesthetically pleasing sites that are optimized for SEO. Please reach out if you need a referral. While other web development companies can be fine, I think it is really important to have a website built by companies within the space who understand the terms and the competition. 

 

Your website needs to contain enough copy. Each page needs to have 600 to 1000 words because Google looks at authentic copy and there must be enough words to rank each page. So, if you have 20 services that you offer, each one needs to have its own page. Your website should contain a tab on the navigation bar that is called CONDITIONS. Why? Because people search both by the name, more by the problem. They are probably searching for things like belly fat or hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, fine lines, spider veins, saggy boobs,  etc. Your website should also feature video. This is really important because video converts 70% higher than copy. If professionally produced videos are not within your marketing budget, then use your cell phone and a tripod and get a good light and record your own.  

 

Ask your website company to perform a competitive analysis report of search terms so you can see how you rank compared to your competition. If everyone is ranking for the same things, you’re going to have a harder time attracting in clients and that’s going to drive your lead acquisition costs up. You might want to choose some specific terms to rank for that are much narrower in scope like ethnic skin, stretch marks, cellulite, transgender or LGBTQ, etc. to get your phone ringing more often! 

 

You’ll also want to have a blog on your website that serves multiple purposes: 1) Educating your patients or potential clients on relevant topics with a call to action at the end; 2) To add fresh content to your website on a regular basis for SEO purposes; and 3) To increase your reach and frequency and touch patients or prospects who visit your site on a consistent basis. You can also include a link to your blog in social media posts and in your newsletter or email marketing.

 

Social Media

Social media is a great way to promote your practice and share valuable content, new blogs, and testimonials or before/after results through images, videos, etc. You must have a very solid social media strategy that is consistent with your brand across all of your channels: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn…whatever you have. You also should have a content calendar plotted out. There are literally hundreds of social media holidays. June is Men’s Health Month, Pride Month, etc. Take an hour and sit down and plot out content for things like Skin Cancer Awareness Month or Self-Care Day, etc.  We recommend you have a designated person on your team to post on social media. If your budget allows, we highly recommend working with an expert to curate content and post for you. If you need referrals, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  80% social, less promotional.  

 

Paid Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) or Facebook/Instagram ads are important for growth, so you really want to make sure you are working with an ad expert so the money allocated is well spent. Any paid advertising should be targeted to your highest revenue per hour procedures/services or your highest profit per treatment services (for more information on determining Revenue Per Hour, read my previous blog). For a benchmark, Facebook/Instagram ad spend should be at least $1000 to see results, and any PPC ads on a particular treatment should be around $2000 to maximize the results.

 

Online Reviews

Every practice needs a strategy to monitor, address, and collect online reviews. According to a study by Harvard Business School, there is a direct correlation between reviews and revenue. Income can swing by up to 18 percent in either direction based on whether reviews trend positive or negative.  According to a study done in 2020 by Software Advice, almost three quarters (71%) of surveyed patients used online reviews as the very first step to finding a doctor. Your online reputation is often the first impression you make on potential patients. Spending as little as 10 minutes a week cultivating your online presence and addressing feedback publicly reduces the impact of negative reviews by up to 70%.

 

Email Marketing to Loyal Clients
I say this all the time, but it is much easier to nurture existing clients that already have established the know, like and trust factor with your practice than it is to acquire a new patient. Take advantage and market to your existing patients. Send out a high quality, professionally written newsletter with valuable insights, industry trends, and that highlights new services, seasonal themes or special promotions (not discounts).  Make sure to include a brief mention that referrals are the greatest compliment and ask them to share your newsletter with a friend who might find it valuable. You can even assign a member of your staff to make some personal phone calls to patients who have not been in the office for a while just to see how they are doing. A simple phone call is a personal touch that can spark someone to book a service, without having to ever promote anything or “sell.” 

 

Educational Seminars
Hosting a complimentary educational seminar on a topic of interest to your clientele is a great way to not only educate, but to generate potential business. Whether it is virtual or in your office or at a local venue, a seminar is a great way to bring in additional revenue. One of my previous clients hosted a private seminar on vaginal rejuvenation with a group of women and ended up generating $30K worth of revenue with a 30-minute seminar. 

 

Get Involved with Local Events/Networking 

Now that things are opening back up, take advantage of local events in your city or area related to health and wellness. Getting involved with your local chamber of commerce is a great way to gain access to local businesses in the area as you’ll get a member list of contacts. Consider sponsoring events, if appropriate, or submitting articles to local publications. You can even offer yourself as a resource to the media in your area which is another great way to position yourself as THE expert and publicize your practice. 

 

These are just a few ideas to help get your juices flowing. I’d love to hear what worked for you or which ones you are planning to implement.  As always, my team and I are here to help you grow your practice so please keep in touch and let us know how we can best serve you.

Building a Marketing Program

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As the number of new medical aesthetic offices is steadily increasing, it is essential that you build and sustain an effective marketing program. The goal of this program is simple and two-fold: 1. Attract new patients and 2. Retain current patients. To achieve this goal, you first need to establish your presence in the market. This can be achieved by branding your office, services, and programs, and also by creating and sustaining a successful marketing outreach plan. Both a strong physical presence and a successful media presence are critical components of this plan. Once you have attracted the attention of a prospective patient, your next job is to communicate your expertise. Because the front office staff is often a patient’s first contact with the office, it is critical that members of your staff are knowledgeable and engaging. Their role is to inform potential patients of the technology, treatments, and individualized programs your office offers. 

As you implement new marketing strategies, keep track of the numbers—know how they first heard about your office (i.e. which marketing materials) and why they return (i.e. state-of-the-art technology). Know your marketing ROI and incorporate the most successful strategies into your business plan moving forward.

Define your target population

The first step in building an effective marketing program is to define and characterize your target patient population. The idea here is that you don’t want or need to attract everyone to your office. You only need to attract a certain population well. What type of clientele do you want to attract? What services are they looking for? You’ll need to keep in mind where these patients live, what services they have access to, and how regularly they will visit your office. Once you have defined this population, create and cater your marketing program to target them. Find your patient niche and commit to it.

Establish your presence in the market

Physical – The physical structure of your office—both the exterior and interior—helps to define your presence in the market. An ideal location, updated sign and well-groomed exterior helps to attract the interest of potential patients and keep current patients returning. The interior of the office is equally, if not more, important. Invest in well-appointed furniture and décor. The main waiting room, and each treatment room, should be clean, inviting and well-decorated. Offer pamphlets and relevant literature on the newest treatments you provide so patients are informed of your services in advance of their appointment. You may also want to offer refreshments and/or a hot beverage station to make patients feel more comfortable as they wait. 

Media – The most successful medical aesthetic offices market through a variety of media. Create brief and targeted marketing advertisements and publish them where your target patient population will see them. Consider local and regional magazines and newsletters. In the current day and age, it is also essential to create and maintain a positive presence on social media – be it through Facebook or Instagram or a similar avenue. Keep in mind that building your social media presence takes time. You won’t see an immediate return on your investment, but with careful branding, engaging posts and consistency, you will build a successful, long-lasting presence

Communicate your expertise

Communicating your expertise goes hand in hand with establishing your presence in the market. It’s important to clearly communicate the services and treatments you offer—and how your office excels over the competition. Do you offer state-of-the-art technology?  Individualized treatment plans? Top-notch staff? Market this to prospective patients. You can do this in a variety of ways, including quarterly newsletters, professional pamphlets, informational booths at conferences, etc. You can also host informational sessions at your office annually or bi-annually. This gives you a chance to connect with your patients and also to present information on existing or new treatments/services in your office. Another key component of communicating your expertise is through targeted e-mails. Make sure you have current and prospective patient e-mails and send them personalized information monthly or quarterly. The key here is personalization, reach and frequency. You want to make your patients feel important. Send out any new information regarding technology and/or treatments they have previously received or expressed interest in.

Keep track of the numbers

There are several important numbers you need to know to track the progress of your marketing program. Know your marketing ROI—the projected and actual return on investment for each marketing avenue (i.e. social media, e-mail promotions, informational sessions, etc.) and track it quarterly. You’ll want to invest more money and/or personnel in the marketing programs that are working and find ways to improve the programs that aren’t working. It is also important to know your current patient conversion and patient retention rates. How many prospective patients come in for their first consultation appointment?  

How many current patients are satisfied with their experience and return? These rates are directly tied to the success of your marketing program.

Plan for the future

Implement an informed and guided plan for the future. Assess the numbers and consider patient feedback. Have your patient conversion rates increased due to a positive, established social media platform? Do your patients give positive feedback—verbal or written—on quarterly newsletters and individualized e-mails? Make concrete goals for the future and implement strategies and procedures to get there. If your goal is to increase patient conversion by 50%, invest in training your front office staff and developing the right materials to educate prospective patients on the high-quality service and care you provide. This will lead to increased consultation and service appointments in the future, expanding your patient base and increasing the profitability and success of your office.

Launching a Medical Aesthetic Office: Key Factors to Consider

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Launching a medical aesthetic office can be an incredibly challenging, but ultimately rewarding, venture. Before opening the doors to your practice, there are several key factors to consider, including but not limited to: market characteristics, population statistics, competition, potential resources, and personal drive. 




Market

The most critical factor that will directly impact the success and profitability of your medical aesthetic office is the status, pace, and growth of your niche market. Take a pulse of what’s happening in your target area. Is the market already saturated? How many offices are currently in operation? How many have opened in the last 5 years? Are they expanding? What specialty treatments and services do they offer? Identify offices that have demonstrated considerable success and learn from them. Take note of their infrastructure, marketing style, target clientele, etc. The goal is to create a medical aesthetic office that excels above the competition. There are a few ways to approach this goal. First, you can strive to meet the needs of your target clientele better than existing offices. This can be achieved by providing a superior patient experience: upscale office and treatment areas, knowledgeable and engaging staff, and personalized treatment plans. Or, you can strive to meet a new need in your target population, by specializing in a new area or offering unique treatment plans. Read more about how to find and develop your niche market in this article from Forbes: [https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2019/03/17/5-steps-to-find-your-perfect-niche-market/#2a0e2b2cc39f]. The key is to identify an area of the medical aesthetic market that is under-developed in your region of interest—and capitalize on it. 

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.John D. Rockefeller

Population Statistics

Before launching your medical aesthetic office, you’ll want to carefully and diligently define your target patient population. Where do they live? Where do they shop and which restaurants do they frequent? Identify this population and research them extensively. Take note of their average household income and their average monthly expenditures on medical aesthetic services, among other expenditures. Consider what types of medical aesthetic services they are currently receiving and what types of services they might be interested in. Identifying and characterizing your target population links back to defining your niche market. If you can identify a need in your target patient population that hasn’t been met by the current market, you’ve accomplished the most important—and perhaps the most difficult—part of launching your new office.  

Competition

An important part of establishing your niche market is identifying and understanding your competitors. What types of services and treatment plans do they offer? Are there any specialty offices already on the market that have a main focus, like body contouring? Be careful and diligent in your research. Identify three to five of the most successful offices in your area and take notes, visit the competition. How long have they been open? How fast are they growing? How many doctors practice in each? How extensive is their support staff? What is their patient retention rate, ask industry reps? By mapping out these details for each of your top competitors, you will begin to understand key elements you want to implement—or not—in your office. For example, you might hone in on a particularly successful marketing strategy or identify treatment plans that maximize profitability in your area. By thoroughly examining the competition, you’ll be able to learn from their mistakes, streamline processes, and shape a successful marketing strategy before ever opening the doors to your own office.   

Potential Resources

Once you’ve identified your niche market and target patient population, you’ll want to make sure that the region you’re considering can support your vision. The area you choose to launch is critical. It will affect your ability to staff, manage, and grow your office. What are the local demographics? One of the most critical aspects that will shape the success of your office is how well your staff listens, engages and communicates with your patients. This begins with hiring the right people and training them well. Read more about the LAER model I developed for effectively training your front office staff here: [link]. Another important resource you’ll want to consider is the accessibility of technical support for your medical equipment. Your equipment and supplies will need regular and established maintenance and support to ensure optimal performance. Most laser companies offer a maintenance plan; however while vital also very expensive. How quickly can support personnel be onsite? Do they offer a loaner? One last element to consider before making the final decision on where to open your office is the potential for collaboration. Are there any offices that offer services that would complement your services or specialty in the area? Would a collaboration or referral system make sense? In some cases, it may be more beneficial to work with key competitors, rather than against them. There may be an opportunity to offer patients a bundled promotion or personalized treatment plan that successfully incorporates the expertise of both offices. In this way, you are capitalizing on existing resources and building upon them to maximize your profitability and success.

Personal Drive

Another key element that will impact the launch of your medical aesthetic office is your personal drive. This factor cannot be easily measured or analyzed, but it plays a pivotal role in the success of your office, particularly in the launch phase. Undoubtedly, launching a new medical office in any specialty requires expertise and knowledge, of course. But it also requires persistence and drive, in both the medical and business fields. As the medical expert, you’ll be required to know and stay up-to-date on your clinical knowledge. This includes learning new technology, procedures, and treatments, as they become available, and implementing them in your space. As the business leader, you’ll be required to make smart decisions and make changes that will support the growth and success of your office. This includes hiring and training medical and administrative staff, implementing efficient processes and protocols, creating and sustaining a successful marketing plan, and consistently achieving new goals in patient retention/conversion, ROIs and room revenue assumptions. To launch and sustain a successful medical aesthetic office in the current market, you will need diligence, tenacity, and a great deal of personal drive.

Launching a successful medical aesthetic office is a challenging, but incredibly rewarding, experience.

Critical Financial Numbers You Must Know

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In order to maximize the profitability and success of your office, you need to take an accurate and realistic snapshot of where you are by the numbers.

  • Do you know your return on investment for every procedure and treatment you offer?
  • What percent of patient leads do you retain?

Patient retention is directly linked to how well your front office staff listens, engages and responds. Read more about the LAER model I developed for staff training here.

In order to become a top performing practice, every working part of your office—the staff, systems, processes and protocols—must be performing at optimal speed. Be diligent and organized in your record keeping. Take a quarterly snapshot of your office. If you know where you are, you can make a sustainable plan for future optimization and growth.


HERE ARE THE KEY NUMBERS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Budget

  • Start-up costs – Property, building, equipment, technology, staff and marketing all go into start-up costs.
  • Payroll – When your business is off the ground, payroll makes up a large part of your bottom line. Know how much you pay your personnel, in wages, taxes/insurance and bonuses throughout the year.
  • Equipment – This includes initial cost, maintenance and materials required to run, update and optimize equipment.
  • Marketing – Any expense targeted towards attracting new patients falls into this category, from pamphlets to website development and networking events.

ROI = (Gain – Cost) / Cost

  • Procedures – Know how much every procedure costs you to perform, including supplies, time, and personnel involved. Your potential gain per procedure is based on these expenses.
  • Technology – Know how much a piece of new equipment costs to acquire and maintain. You’ll need to include maintenance and supply costs in your ROI calculations for every piece of equipment in your office.
  • Marketing – Knowing your ROI on marketing strategies allows you to quantitatively measure how successful a specific marketing tactic is. Know how your patients found your office and why they return—online marketing, networking at the right events, etc. Read more about how to calculate your marketing ROI in this article from Forbes.
  • Website position – Know the numbers behind your website—how many people visit the site per day, what page they go to and stay on, what your bounce rate is, and modify from there.

Rates

  • Conversion/Close rate – How many prospective patients do you “land”? How many are retained as long-term patients?
  • No show/cancellation rate – On average, how many patients make an appointment and don’t show? Or cancel in advance?

New patient rate – The number of new patients you bring in per month, or year.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.John D. Rockefeller

Room Revenue Assumptions

  • Number of rooms – Total number of procedure rooms
  • Hours of operation – How many days are you open?
  • Average treatment price – Taking an average of all procedures offered, what is your average price?
  • Average length of procedure – On average, how long do your procedures take? This includes operating preparation.
  • Treatments per day – How many treatments do you complete per day? Are any days busier than others?
  • Revenue/hour – Based on the numbers above, what is your average revenue per hour?

Goals

  • New patients – Set a goal for number of new patients retained per quarter. Using the LAER model I developed, you can train your staff to engage, respond to and retain patients.
  • Revenue – Based on where you are, what is your projected revenue? Set your revenue goals and make the necessary changes (processes, protocols, staff) to get there.
  • Revenue/hour – To reach your revenue goals, how much do you need to generate per hour? Avg room should do between $600-$1000 per hour.
  • Price strategy (vs. competitors) – Based on your current and desired revenue, and keeping competitor pricing in mind, develop an informed and realistic price strategy.

How To Stand Out in The World of Medical Aesthetic Offices

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When I first started my business, I was well aware of the positive impact I would make, however; the outcomes have far exceeded my expectations. Providing growth strategies is my passion, and I want you to dive into reading some of the ways I’ve helped businesses get to where they are today. This is for business owners who want to make their businesses stand out, shine, and stay ahead of the industry. 

In this article, I will be taking you through some of the criteria that every practice needs to consider when entering the aesthetic market and to continue to monitor and evaluate for continuous success.

In the world of medical aesthetic offices, competition is steadily increasing and fierce. To succeed and stand out against the sea of competitors your office must exceed expectations. This means every aspect of your office, from the infrastructure, processes, systems, staff to location and marketing strategies, must be carefully planned out and executed. One critical part of managing growth and optimizing your processes is knowing where you are by the numbers.

A knowledgeable and engaging front office staff, informed marketing strategies, state-of-the-art technology, trained clinical providers that are able to perform a successful patient consultation, more importantly systems and processes in place are all integral parts of a top-performing medical office. In my 8 years of experience transforming new or average performing medical aesthetic offices into top-performing practices, I’ve developed a list of 6 key components that differentiate a highly successful medical spa or medical practice.




SIX KEY COMPONENTS

Well-Trained Front Office Staff

Your front office staff is the face of your office. It is critical that all members of the front office are well trained, knowledgeable, informed and engaging.

The job of the front office staff is really two-fold:

  1. To engage, listen, and inform prospective patients of the high-quality care your office offers and
  2. To continue to offer the highest quality of service to current patients, which relates directly to your patient retention.

When a prospective patient calls your office, the front office staff must quickly and effectively portray the message that your office offers the highest-quality care, technology and expertise in the market. Therefore, it is critical that all members of your staff are knowledgeable—that they know the details of every procedure and treatment you offer. Further, it is imperative that they know how the treatments/services offered in your office compare to competitors and are able to relay that information clearly and concisely to potential patients. By listening, engaging and responding, your front office staff will consistently convert prospective patients into long-term patients and ensure current patients are satisfied and return.

Passion

To start-up and maintain a top-performing office, you will undoubtedly need passion for patient care and for business. Aside from developing the initial expertise required to start your office, you will need to stay informed and ahead of new technologies and successfully incorporate these into your practice on a regular basis. This takes passion and drive. And further, you’ll need passion for business. Know your office by the numbers: potential ROI on equipment and marketing strategies, new patient rates, and room revenue assumptions, to name a few. Plan for the future. Consistently and creatively think of new ways to expand your business and implement the necessary changes for future growth. New marketing strategies, processes and protocols, and staff training are all included in a comprehensive plan for office growth and optimization. To lead both the medial and business sides of your office, you will certainly need passion and a keen sense of determination.

Marketing Strategies

Marketing strategies are critical in the world of medical aesthetic offices. You need to stand out among the sea of competitors and the most direct way to do this is to be known. Make sure potential patients know you exist. And further, make sure they know key elements that make your office unique: state-of-the-art equipment, the highest quality of service, personalized treatment plans, etc. In other words, brand your office. Another important aspect of effective marketing is to make specific goals and implement strategies to get there. If your goal is to increase new patient leads by 50%, implement fresh and innovative advertising and/or offer a new promotion to attract potential patients. Measure your progress and keep track of your marketing ROI.

Location

Choosing the right location for your medical aesthetic office is key.

The right location takes a number of factors into consideration:

  • Where your prospective patients live, accessibility, visibility and convenience.
  • Is your office centrally located and convenient to a broad base of customers?
  • How visible is your office?
  • Your office, the physical structure, sign, and parking lot is a central part of your marketing strategy.

A well-located office attracts new patients and helps to ensure current patients return.

 State-Of-The-Art Technology

Treatment and procedure options in the world of medical aesthetic offices are constantly evolving, as new research emerges and new products become available. To offer the best possible service to your patients, you will need the best tools. This means that in addition to staying on top of emerging research trends, you will need to assess, budget for, and acquire new equipment for your office.

This requires careful research and calculations:

  • Initial cost, maintenance costs, training, and treatment pricing all go into calculating the potential ROI for a new piece of equipment.
  • You’ll also need to consider your competitors when choosing which equipment to acquire. 
  • Do you offer new and/or different technology compared to your top competitors?
  • How will you differentiate your office?

New technology goes hand-in-hand with staying on trend with the newest medical aesthetic treatments. You want to make sure you have the proper tools to offer the best service.

Staying On Trend

It is imperative that you stay ahead of new technologies and treatment options. This requires knowing the research and implementing changes ahead of time to acquire new equipment and the expertise to use it. This also requires that your office staff and clinical medical providers are continually learning the technology and portraying this information clearly to prospective patients. In this industry, prospective patients often know what they want—and they are seeking out the right office to offer that service. Make sure your staff is informed and knowledgeable of the technology you offer. State-of-the-art technology, a well-trained staff and creative marketing strategies will ensure that you consistently land and retain patients seeking the newest available procedures.

In conclusion, comprehensive and consistent set up of your practice requires constant fine-tuning and it is helpful to engage the help of a professional who can look at your practice with fresh eyes. As a busy doctor or business owner, your focus is on treating your patients but the same care is required to build the business. 

Build a Strategic Retail Program.

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Incorporating retail products in your medical aesthetic office can substantially strengthen your sales program, increase patient satisfaction, boost profitability and increase patient retention.  All things vital to patient outcomes and a healthy practice. 

The key to a successful retail program is to focus on products that compliment your treatments and services. Don’t try to be a one-stop-shop. Carefully define what products will augment laser skin resurfacing, body contouring or skin tightening; research the options; have the reps come in and do an in-service; and ask to evaluate the products in addition to understanding the numbers and the support the company offers. 

Once you’ve selected your vendors and the lines you want to carry (my recommendation is no more than 3-4 skus) then spend the time and resources necessary to train your staff and integrate the products into your personalized treatment plans and services. ABE – always be educating.  If you’re not, or your team is not, stats show your patients will go to a department store or CVS and buy products, which obviously do not add value.  After you’ve launched your retail program, follow up on the numbers and make adjustments as necessary to fine tune and maximize profitability.

1- Define your niche.

The most important step in building a successful retail program is defining your niche. Just as you seek to define your niche in the world of medical aesthetic offices through specialized treatments and services, you should seek to define your niche in the products you offer. The products you choose should be carefully tailored to your treatment plans. Don’t try to offer every product on the market. This will overwhelm your patients and will negatively impact your retail profitability. Why? Because patients will feel less like they are being offered a product to enhance their specialized treatment, and more like they are being sold as many products as possible to increase their overall expenses. When you hone in on a specific retail line, you give patients the impression that you have carefully selected a product that will complement their services, leading to increased patient satisfaction and trust. By focusing on a particular product line, you also give your staff the opportunity to really learn the products, applications, and relevant technology. Their ability to answer patient questions accurately and thoughtfully is critical and will further enhance the patient experience.

2- Research the options.

Conduct careful and thorough research of potential retail partners, their products, and their current relationships with other offices. Once you’ve honed in on a specific type of product, take note of how many retailers offer that product and what types of products are typically offered in parallel. When choosing a vendor, prioritize product quality and partnership satisfaction. Product quality is crucial—what you offer patients in your office will reflect on the overall quality of your services. And your goal is to offer the best patient experience possible. Equally as important is partnership satisfaction. How easy is the vendor to work with? How frequently are they willing to deliver and replenish inventory? What are the potential mark-ups on each product? Is there any opportunity to grow with the vendor and expand as demand increases? What educational support do they offer?  Are there minimum quantities, do they buy back?  These are key details to know in advance of making any binding commitments with potential vendors. The vendor you choose should have a strong record of sales, customer reviews, and partner relationships.

3- Evaluate the numbers.

Once you’ve identified a few vendors, you’ll want to dig deeper into the numbers. What types of products offer the highest profitability in the medical aesthetic office market? What products offer patients the best outcomes both in combination and stand alone.  What are the profit margins for some of the key products in each retail line you’ve targeted? What is a typical quarterly ROI? While some of these numbers are relatively straightforward to calculate, others may be more difficult to pinpoint and will require careful research. A key part of your investigation should be based on patient satisfaction. After all, even if profitability on a product is historically high, you must first sell the product to make a profit. Research how well customers respond to specific products offered by each vendor and calculate an estimate of overall satisfaction. It may also be beneficial to reach out to other medical aesthetic offices that offer specific products and request a rough estimate of patient satisfaction. What percentage of patients who buy this product review it positively? Would they recommend it to a friend or colleague? How many times have they purchased the product over the last year? How many products does a patient purchase, on average? Some of these numbers may be provided by the vendor themselves, particularly if they are a more established entity. Though careful research takes time, it will be worth your investment to evaluate potential vendors by the numbers before making a commitment.

4- Manage your relationship with vendors.

Once you’ve identified the vendors you want to work with, your next step is to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with this business partner. First, make sure any contractual agreements signed are mutually beneficial. In most cases they will be, because you have parallel goals—to satisfy patients and sell products. Because product prices can fluctuate with the market, you may want to request written confirmation that the price will not fluctuate more than a maximum allowable percentage, based on your evaluation of profitability. The most important part of managing your relationship with vendors is to maintain transparency. Pass along feedback on their products from your patients, whether it be positive or negative. They may be able to expand a specific line or improve upon existing products to better satisfy patients in your office. The goal is to grow together. If your sales program is performing exceedingly well, they will be able to learn from you. If your sales have become stagnant, they may be able to offer tips on how to boost your marketing program and may even provide literature or product demonstrations to increase your success with the product. Seek to establish and maintain a positive, honest, and mutually beneficial relationship with your vendor.

5- Integrate products into your treatment plans.

Aside from product quality and vendor relations, the most important part of a successful retail program is how well you integrate product lines into your treatment plans and services. Create in-house literature to support the products you offer, i.e. pamphlets, posters, and quarterly newsletters. Include the expert opinion of physicians, as well as positive feedback from patients who have already tried the products in your office. You want to give your patients the impression that these products will enhance their overall experience and the success of the treatments they receive. If a specific product has been shown to increase the effectiveness of a certain treatment or prolong the effects of a certain service, emphasize that in your marketing plan. In short, the product line you’ve chosen to sell should not stand alone in the back corner of your waiting area. Spotlight the products by featuring them in personalized treatment plans and monthly specials. A successfully integrated retail program will enhance the overall patient experience, resulting in increased patient satisfaction and increased profitability.

6- Train your staff.

The success of your retail program is directly proportional to how well your staff is trained. It is critical that every member of your staff listens to and engages your patient population. They should be intimately familiar with the personalized treatment plans and services you offer. When you launch a retail program, invest in staff training. A well-trained staff will have a thorough understanding of your products, how they will be incorporated into your treatment plans, and how they compare to similar products on the market. The goal is to inform your staff so they can inform your patients. When a patient asks about a specific product, they should receive a well-informed, positive response. Not only will this help to increase trust in your staff, it will also boost sales and lead to increased profitability. Staff training is critical to almost every aspect of your medical aesthetic office. You invest in a beautiful office, you invest in expense equipment, you invest in marketing to get new patients, but often the internal training is an oversight or neglected.  Training your team to convert callers to appointments, convert web leads, and conduct an effective patient consultation…all require skills, confidence, knowledge, and effective communication. Investing in training will yield the greatest ROI and build confidence for an empowering your staff to help you grow your business and provide 5-star customer service.  To learn more about the processes and techniques join our 4S Summit, click Here to register.

 

7- Keep an eye on the numbers.

Once you’ve built a retail program, you’ll want to review the numbers at least once a quarter. Calculate your overall ROI on retail sales and determine which products have the highest sales and profitability rates. Also take note of which products patients purchase more than once. The most expensive products do not always offer the highest profit margins. Use this data to tailor your marketing program and staff training, if needed. If a particular product isn’t selling well, execute a plan to incorporate it into a monthly special or feature it in a specific service or treatment plan. Consider sending out a product survey in your quarterly newsletters to take a pulse on which products your current and prospective patients are most interested in. Use this data to hone your inventory and boost sales. You can also report this data back to your vendors, so they can better plan and tailor their production and inventory delivery. If you want to sustain a successful retail program, you’ll need to keep a regular eye on the numbers and make the necessary adjustments in your protocols, processes, marketing and staff training. 

 Building and maintaining a successful retail program can substantially increase patient satisfaction and boost profitability.