It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in practice 5 years or 20 years… Stress number 1 as a plastic surgeon is finding a strong patient acquisition channel that you can count on to bring in new patients.
Nothing else matters. It’s not your new office, your new laser, or your awesome coordinator.
If you don’t have aesthetic patients who say yes and give you money, you’re in trouble.
Think of cosmetic patients as your oxygen. When you have a steady stream of cosmetic patients saying yes, you breathe easy.
When you don’t, your breath is cut short and you won’t survive for long.
And he never gives up. The anxiety. Even when you’re booked, aren’t you waiting for the other shoe to drop?
The well was overflowing and is now dry.
ON THE OTHER HAND…
When you have a solid patient attraction system, you breathe easy.
If your system is to spend thousands of dollars each month on advertising, that is part of the plan but NOT the whole plan.
An easier way is to let your existing patients bring new patients to you in creative ways.
This not only significantly reduces new patient advertising spend, but also increases patient retention, which is a very good thing.
Why?
Because referred patients have a higher conversion rate than “internet unknown patients”. Referred patients also spend more per transaction and are more likely to return, so their lifetime value is much higher.
This makes patient referral programs the most profitable AND lucrative marketing strategy your practice can employ.
By the way, you can learn a lot by looking at how other industries use referral programs to grow their businesses. Here are some:
1.Paypal. They literally gave away free money, and it worked out great for them. And this was before social media!
2. Airbnb. A single user in China generated thousands of registrations and hundreds of reservations in a single month.
3. Uber. They have been in a unique position to run multiple referral programs at once, both for users and drivers.
4. $1,000 for both the defender and the friend, with a star-studded list of defenders!
5.Amazon Prime. Probably one of the most used referral programs in recent times.
6. When the front page of the Internet decides to run a referral program, it pays to investigate.
Obviously, you won’t pay cash for patient referrals due to fee-splitting issues; however, that is no reason to close your mind to a referral program.
You may not be allowed to pay for referrals directly like other companies do, but you are certainly allowed to grow your practice strategically and ethically, so it’s in your best interest to keep an open mind.
A referral program is a deliberate and systematic way of encouraging patients to refer others to you.
But you can’t “expect” your current patients to spread the word about you.
Between their hectic work schedules and an endless list of social and family obligations, their marketing strategy is the last thing on their minds.
So, you need to put that in mind and make the referral process as easy as possible for them, turning your loyal patients into your top brand advocates.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD REFERRAL PROGRAM?
For a referral program to have a real impact on the growth of your cosmetic practice, the following key elements must be in place:
– Easy to understand for patients
– Easy to use for staff
– Compelling profitable goal
– Easy to track results
– Fun and focused on patients more than you
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