Marketing

In business lexicon, internal marketing is the promotion of an organization’s objectives and services to its employees with the goal of improving customer service and creating brand ambassadors. In the service industry, it also refers to the practice of promoting your services to existing (versus prospective) clients to increase loyalty and motivate referrals. Combining both of these efforts is key to practice growth.

Sir Richard Branson, the British business magnate, billionaire and high school dropout, said, “Succeeding in business is all about making connections.” While your medical practice may not be the next Virgin Airlines, professional networking can make the difference between having a mediocre practice and a highly successful one.
Professional networking is the process of building professional relationships. These relationships help you by bringing in new patients through referrals.

One of the best ways to get your practice in front of your most likely prospective patients is to rank high in local online searches. At The Aesthetic Meeting in May, Peter Houtz of Plastic Surgery Studios, a practice-marketing firm, shared strategies to help practices achieve high local rankings on Google.

In our fast-paced world infused with multiple channels of communication, radio persists. That’s because radio pairs perfectly with whatever else we’re doing, whether it's working, driving or just relaxing. With the flick of a dial, we have instant access to our favorite music, interesting interviews, sports and commentary. As a practice owner, you can have a lot of fun while building your business with radio advertising and marketing.

Are you ready to determine your practice’s digital marketing IQ, and with it your ability to leverage the modern sales and marketing ecosystem to find, serve and retain more patients? To reap the benefits of digital marketing, it is important that practice owners and managers separate facts from feelings when analyzing their efforts. Following is a quiz that can help you do just that.

Instagram has become wildly popular in recent years. Today it boasts 1 billion active users—30 percent of whom are between 25 and 34 years old. The visual focus of this photo- and video-sharing social networking site is a natural fit for the medical aesthetics industry and offers fertile marketing ground for practices that want to reach out to young adults interested in looking and feeling their best.

New Year’s resolutions are made with the best of intentions. We begin with determination, but get distracted or busy and gradually revert to our old familiar ways. Next thing you know, the resolution is long forgotten.

Many aesthetic practices and medspas have already embraced video as an effective marketing tool. Videos posted on your YouTube channel and website allow you to introduce prospective patients to your staff, services and facility. They are also valuable patient-education tools. But you can take video one step further and offer virtual events that allow you to both educate and create a personal connection with attendees. Virtual events, such as live-streaming videos and webinars, combine the power of video and open house events.

In the past decade, marketing and advertising efforts have moved online to capture consumers where they shop, get informed and spend most of their time. “Things have evolved over the past 10 to 15 years from traditional face-to-face marketing, sending cards and making phone calls to almost exclusively digital marketing,” says Timothy Katzen, MD, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California.“We still send out the occasional card, but the majority of our communication is digital.”

Excellent customer service is the cornerstone of small business success. In the medical aesthetics industry, this extends beyond delivering the results or products that were promised and deftly handling complaints. Cosmetic patients also expect a positive and memorable experience with your practice.
Here are six ways that you and your team can deliver an experience that meets or exceeds expectations.