Tag Archive for: strategy

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.

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.

Benchmarking: A Key Practice Management Solution

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One of my favorite sayings and a critical component I teach to all of my medical aesthetics clients is “Inspect what you expect.” 

If you DON’T have systems, processes & procedures and a way to track your business analytics, or you don’t know your numbers, or even what numbers you should be tracking, then you are setting yourself up for failure. 

Even if you DO know your own numbers, data is only as good as the action steps you take once you analyze it. You should be using the information to your advantage, running reports on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly), and using benchmarking data to compare your practice to others locally, regionally or nationally.

No matter what stage your medical practice is in, there are so many business decisions you need to make. The bottom line is without knowing your numbers or having a basis of comparison within the industry, you cannot scale, you cannot make informed decisions and you cannot course correct.


Why Benchmarking is Critical Now More Than Ever

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a worldwide change in consumer and business behavior. At this point, the duration and long-lasting effects are unknown, and guidelines are fluid and vary by location. The pandemic has changed the way we do business and has propelled the aesthetics industry into the virtual-based world. Now more than ever we must understand the financial health of our practices and the nuances of consumer behavior so we can maximize efficiency, profitability and ultimate viability. 

It is vital to know the latest trends across the country as well as in your region and city when it comes to consumer behavior, products and services sold, and which KPIs to measure so your business can stay competitive during this critical juncture. 

An aesthetics practice is a retail business. You sell products or services to consumers, so measuring your success should closely mirror the same metrics other retail businesses use. 

On the consumer side, you must be able to answer:

  • Am I providing the consumer with a quality product or service?
  • What is the public perception of my brand?
  • How effective is my brand marketing and messaging?
  • What are the most up-to-date consumer trends for various aesthetic procedures and services? 

On the business side, you must be able to answer these questions:

  • How efficient is my business? 
  • How can I maximize my productivity and minimize my overhead? 
  • What procedures provide me with the highest net revenue?
  • What products and services will bring me the best patients (those that keep returning for additional treatments)? 

The only way to quantitatively answer ALL of these questions is by 1) understanding the importance of benchmarking to gain insights into practice performance and patient behavior and 2) using updated, aggregated, validated and standardized aesthetic medicine data that allows you to make an apples-to-apples comparison to other practices locally, regionally and nationally.

Why Benchmarking is Critical Now More Than Ever

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a worldwide change in consumer and business behavior. At this point, the duration and long-lasting effects are unknown, and guidelines are fluid and vary by location. The pandemic has changed the way we do business and has propelled the aesthetics industry into the virtual-based world. Now more than ever we must understand the financial health of our practices and the nuances of consumer behavior so we can maximize efficiency, profitability and ultimate viability. 

 

It is vital to know the latest trends across the country as well as in your region and city when it comes to consumer behavior, products and services sold, and which KPIs to measure so your business can stay competitive during this critical juncture. 

 

An aesthetics practice is a retail business. You sell products or services to consumers, so measuring your success should closely mirror the same metrics other retail businesses use. 

 

On the consumer side, you must be able to answer:

 

  • Am I providing the consumer with a quality product or service?
  • What is the public perception of my brand?
  • How effective is my brand marketing and messaging?
  • What are the most up-to-date consumer trends for various aesthetic procedures and services? 

 

On the business side, you must be able to answer these questions:

 

  • How efficient is my business? 
  • How can I maximize my productivity and minimize my overhead? 
  • What procedures provide me with the highest net revenue?
  • What products and services will bring me the best patients (those that keep returning for additional treatments)? 

The only way to quantitatively answer ALL of these questions is by 1) understanding the importance of benchmarking to gain insights into practice performance and patient behavior and 2) using updated, aggregated, validated and standardized aesthetic medicine data that allows you to make an apples-to-apples comparison to other practices locally, regionally and nationally.

How Can Benchmarking Data Help?

With access to comprehensive data, you will be able to anticipate and answer these important questions:

 

  • What will recovery look like for different products, procedures and devices? 
  • How does my revenue and procedure counts compare to the previous year?
  • What is the spending behavior of the mask-wearing, socially distancing consumer? 
  • How does this behavior positively and negatively affect the aesthetic market?
  • What types of procedures and products are patients consuming during this time?
  • What is the trend for average charges for products and services?
  • How does this relate to patient and practice demographics?
  • How does productivity for other providers in your practice compare to the previous years?

Where Can I Access Benchmarking Data?

Because aesthetic medicine is not dependent on medical insurance reimbursement, most of the datasets out there are generated ad hoc from subjective information based on surveys which are not validated and subject to errors. Even when using the top practice management systems and EMRs, standardization by devices, procedures and products across specialties and different types of practices is not possible within each system. 

 

That’s why I’m so excited to offer the Ronan Solutions™ dataset which is accessible through the APX by Terri Ross integrative training platform. This comprehensive benchmarking dataset is a unique, aggregated, de-identified set of aesthetic medicine data coming from hundreds of practices across different specialties from as far back as 2000.  

 

Plastic surgeons can access proprietary local, state and national benchmarking data needed to perform competitive market analysis in a meticulously standardized and organized manner. Then, gain insights into their practices and consumer behavior as well as understand previous, ongoing and potential future trends–all critical to creating an efficient and profitable business in the Covid-19 era and beyond. 

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.