First, you need to have a practice management system that’s going to allow you to market to your customers based on your medical practice’s exact relationship with them. This means you can send the patient a message tailored to the specific actions they have or have not taken within the practice.
This can be based on their financial relationship with your practice, whether they’ve spent money or not, and if so, how much? It can be based on whether they had a procedure with your practice, and if so, what type of procedure was it? It could also be based on their age and gender. Your software should allow you to determine all this information and send a specific message based upon it.
Retention
Retaining customers is incredibly important in today’s market. Whether you’re a plastic surgeon, cosmetic surgeon, ophthalmologist or orthodontist, you’re in a commoditized business. The amount of direct and indirect competition makes the importance of patient retention marketing greater than ever before.
The ability to send 1:1 message means you can send messages to a consumer to remind them to come back to see you based on their relationship with you. For example, if you haven’t heard from a patient who typically comes in for Botox® on a regular basis, your calendar should automatically notify your retention marketing system for you, and send that consumer a reminder to reach out to schedule a Botox® appointment.
Upsells
Your system should allow you to understand the procedures your consumer typically undergoes and the age at which they underwent that procedure. So, for instance, if the consumer is a woman approaching her late 60s and she’s been getting fillers from you for years, it may be the right time to reach out to her at a 1:1 level via automated marketing. You could discuss opportunities that may appeal to her, such as an eye lift or facelift, based on a natural upsell relationship with respect to your practice’s services.
Relationship Building
You want to make sure you’re maintaining a relationship with your patients, but in a sophisticated and respectful manner. Here are three ways you can do that.
- Wish them a happy birthday.
- Request for referrals based on the amount of business they’ve done with you.
- Events – market the right events to the right person.
So, the general idea is to utilize retention marketing in a 1:1 personal relationship format. By doing so for retention, upsells and relationship building, we guarantee you will increase your margins and topline revenue at your practice.
