Unlock New And Personalized Marketing Practices For Cosmetic Surgeons

Marketing techniques for cosmetic surgery and the aesthetic industry is a speciality in the medical industry that needs a competitive and pro-active plan. When it comes to elective procedures in plastic surgery, it needs a special consideration in identifying your demographics, your competition and current surgery trends to get an idea of where you should focus your efforts.

Putting an effort to attract the right patient, convert and retain them in today’s ever competitive environment will involve understanding these patients, why they chose you over all the others stay loyal to you and refer their friends to you. Then there is also the need to effectively communicate with your target patients. Patients in this highly informative world, have to be spoken in their language that makes them feel comfortable enough to address and reach out their concerns. Effective communication between provider and patient should be a two-way street, allowing the patient to communicate back with you.

Here are some marketing strategies that will help you boost your patient base and change more lives:

Internet Marketing to drive in targeted traffic - Commonly referred to as online marketing is the most significantly practiced marketing practice to target right customers with huge ROI’s and pay-offs. Broken down to areas such as social media, email marketing and search engine optimization, internet marketing addresses more than 75% of plastic surgery patients looking for Cosmetic Surgeons Online. The target market for such audience should be defined taking into consideration patient age, demographics, education, income levels and psycho graphics.

Craft your online presence with positive and decisive branding - A positive brand perception helps in expediting the client’s decision. Positive experiences, reviews and relationships build a unique reputation and help position your brand in the minds of your prospective patients. Online reputation management with regular review management and increasing patient interactions and engagement creates a positive image and brand.

Promote via Website and Social Media - Most patients follow traditional paths of reviewing your website content that lists your services, provides testimonials and demonstrates your surgery skills with an assortment of before and after photos. Promoting Facebook videos of procedure with details will benefit them with a visual experience and help answer many questions they may have in mind. Facebook Ads are yet another way to spread the message about your practice fast and cost effective. Knowledge is power. Promoting useful and informative content through blogs can increase viewership and help them stay engaged.

Employ Brand Ambassadors - Your previous patients are the biggest resource of your referrals and will encourage new ones to consider aesthetic procedures. Partnering with brand ambassadors who have credible following will help advocate your brand to new clients and optimize your marketing efforts.

Creating A Winner Marketing Plan For Your Prospective Patients

 

There was time when patients sought out to doctors, but given the increasing number of medical practitioners, it is the doctors who are battling to attract patients, new and returning in order to maintain a healthy and profitable relationship among them. With advances in technology, patients now have access to quality healthcare and detailed information in going about choosing the right medical practitioner.This evidently calls for a result driven, easy to implement marketing plan that will pay off in the competitive years and drive their profession to new heights. The focus of the marketing plan should be to ensure that the treatments and services offered best meet the patient’s need. 

Marketing Plan that focuses on Patient Acquisition to Patient Engagement
 

A flexible marketing strategy that responds to changing market situations is the key to improving patient acquisition and managing long term business sustenance. As a medical practitioner you need to know where you are heading to go in order to plan how to get there. It is then, that you can target the right patient with the right message at the right time.

 These are a few steps outlined to help you devise a Medical Marketing Strategy that will help you grow your business efficiently:

• Identify who you are and where you want to go: Begin your marketing strategy with a SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities & threats) analysis. This will help you discover your key potential that differentiates you from the rest and give you a clear idea as to which type of patients you would want to attract and promote your practice accordingly.
• Design your sales funnel and marketing plan: When you know who your potential patients are, design your marketing plans and channels they are most likely to access. For example the age group of your patients will help you decide the ratio of online and offline marketing mix that is ideal for your business.
• Targeted online advertising for Patient Acquisition: Your patient acquisition process should meet the evolving needs and surroundings of your patients. An effective advertising campaign should entail a selected target audience and deploy strategies to optimize your business position and bring a call to action (call for an appointment).
• Patient Retention & Engagement Strategies: Patient engagement strategies should help attract new patients as well as builds long term relationships. Just like other staff, patients also need to be made to feel special. Automated E-mail marketing campaigns that will send notifications,updates, newsletters and routine check up reminders for example, are excellent engagement tools that ensure optimum patient relationship and repeat business.

The Bottom Line 

A famous quote by Zig Ziglar says: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

A good marketing strategy is not just the application of the 5P’s (Product, Price, Place, Promotion and People) to meet your requirements in driving your medical practice but also that which drives your reputation and branding. The key to a thriving medical practice is about maintaining a perfect balance of the medical marketing techniques that focuses on “staying in touch with patients”, “understanding their evolving needs” and “delivering results through a tactical plan”.

How Can The Powers Of AI Be Harnessed To Shape The Future Of Healthcare?

Robert Wachter, professor and head of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco is a national leader in the area of patient’s safety in the digital age and is well known for his views on pressing healthcare issues every day. Having authored the book “The Digital Doctor” he takes a deep dive to address the chronicles and challenges of AI in medicine. In his book he takes his readers to examine the highs and lows of technology tools and how he trusts AI to eventually amplify even the human side of empathy and compatibility besides his emphasis on accuracy and patient’s safety.

What is the extended role AI is expected to play in healthcare?

In the evolving world of healthcare, Artificial Intelligence’s transformation on treatment and diagnosis has potentially saved billions of lives through the application of complex algorithms and data points. As Watcher admits that it is far safer with the intervention of super computers than a scenario without them, there is however a lot of scope for improvement. Referring to the incident where a teenager received a huge overdose with antibiotics, such disasters of poorly designed computers could have been avoided in a conventional hospital. This leaves us doubtful, yet hopeful about what Artificial Intelligence can hold in store for us.

Much hope placed with AI to redefine Healthcare

The digital tsunami has taken over the healthcare space with the disruptive innovation of AI. Be it in the fields of diagnosis, treatments or bridging geographical barriers, with cloud-based AI technology, the dependency on small practitioners can be practically nullified. The same goes for decoding X-rays and biopsy’s and the lesser subjectivity to human errors. As Watcher is optimistic that radiology, pathology and dermatology are three main medical fields that will see the strongest wave of digital transformation.

AI stands for Augmented Intelligence

Augmented Intelligence is actually what it is all about. Systems are built by humans and are further elevated to assist and scale human expertise to make well informed decisions. Hence the collaboration between human and computers is very important in shaping successful health systems. Unlike artificial intelligence it is relevant and insightful. So, augmented intelligence is the way forward in the Digital Healthcare world.

Why it's time for doctors to say bye to old school marketing techniques?

Keeping up with tips and tricks of Online Marketing Strategies for doctors is as imperative as for any other internet savvy start up you may find these days. It is that age when most patients will consider doctors that can boast of a good online reputation in an unravelling competitive market.  Leveraging the online presence for doctors means getting noticed, establishing a brand name, building loyalty and finally amounting to an increased patient base and improved satisfaction.

A Google Think study that doctor's should reckon on-

This soaring percentage of patients going online for medical information's suggests that the well informed and net savvy patient is not only taking responsibility of their own health but that doctors also have no option but to embrace the digital age.

Although it could be a bit overwhelming platform for doctors, who once thrived on the patient's reference and word of mouth to accept the paradigm shift, it is a good idea to be there and tap the power of internet.

4 Online marketing ideas for doctors that will pay off

A few "must have" online marketing strategies that most doctor's should implement are:

•  Differentiation - Before drawing out what internet strategy will work best for you, it is first important to be cognizant of what distinguishes you and your practice from others. Do you offer patient- centric care? Are you well facilitated in terms of equipments and machines? or that you are the Best Specialist in town? This singular factor can be the key to a successful marketing campaign.
   
• Online Exposure- Exploiting the web exposure is the first step to connect to your patients and market your practice to the Health Care Industry. An attractive SEO friendly website that not only stands away from competition, but also allows easy navigation and a good user experience will go a long way in optimizing your visitors base. Be versatile in updating news, blogs and social networking links. Unleashing the power of social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn& Twitter can hardly be undermined as an effective patient engagement tool. The more you are talked about, the better the recall.Google My Business is a one-stop listing which allows not only  your local business to appear on search, maps and Google+ but also climb higher in rankings. Bring into play all the online practices and create successful stories!
   
• Get Mobile Friendly - Mobile is not the future, it is Now!. Ever since smartphones and tablets have replaced the traditional devices, it would be oblivious to ignore the mobile web traffic. Making your website responsive to  electronic gadgets like smartphones and tablets is the smartest way to unleash your internet traffic.
   
• Campaign Development-  Creating a publication schedule that will keep your patients awareness in sync with your developments and research will help educate them and differentiate you as  a medical provider. Crafting a physician campaign engages a relevant audience and helps you go that extra mile in building credibility.

Digital Marketing Predictions & Analysis for 2017

Smart Insights into Digital Marketing that will give you an edge

Digital Marketing is getting large, complex and sassy. As you would have rung in the New Year fine-tuning marketing strategies for 2017, the most evolving field of Digital Marketing is a serious contender to your marketing success plan. The sooner you strike on the right nerve of internet users, the better the chances of staying ahead of the curve. While every industry is going gaga over this medium, it is important to understand what will or won't work in the digital year ahead.

Based on the research and association of 350 national brands, StacyDeBroff, CEO and founder of Influence-Central(a portal that connects brands with consumer insights) shares her observation about this medium that can re-define your focus as a smart marketer of 2017.

What's the game changerin the digital world?

1.   Brand Revolution through Social Media- social media has given more and more power than ever to drive, change or prioritise consumer purchasing decisions. Online reviews, shares and feedbacks influence consumer choice and thus product rankings. Brands must stay attune to these trends.

2.   AI (Artificial Intelligence) will continue to thrive - Artificial intelligence is making waves in the digital technology. As a marketer you cannot overlook the technological innovation it offers to every technology enabled service, thing, application or pinpoint analytics that predict consumer needs. Healthcare marketers brace that AI is changing Healthcare in its entirety. AI seems to be a great boon for medical practioners for diagnosis and mining medical data that makes it undeniably big.

3.    Mobile Optimization - Finally mobile has taken over the legacy of desktops and laptops. I am also probably assuming you are reading this on your mobile device. On-the-go consumerism is on the rise. Google Smart insights say 80% of internet users own a Smartphone. Innovative apps for mobiles pushes the need for a digital mobile strategy, if you haven't done it already, you cannot ignore it anymore!

4.    Intrusive marketing is a consumer turn-off- As a consumer, you would have resented those pesky tele-marketing calls, tacky magazine inserts or pop up banner Ads that go out of the way to command attention. While social media platforms have been a chosen marketing platform, 2017 is predicted to see consumers walking out of any medium that gets aggressively pushy.

5.    Big Data is Big Money- Big data has changed the way to do business for companies big and small.  The digital age has brought with it tons of data that marketers must leverage to make effective digital campaigns. Detecting changing trends, consumer behaviour and preferences can maximize a digital campaign making it more personalized with the help of Big Data. Big Data inevitably means Big Money!

Keeping the above trends in mind, outline your 2017 Digital Marketing Strategy. It is time for a change now!
 

Leveraging The Power Of Digital Marketing Into The Healthcare Space

Digital Marketing will certainly give Healthcare a makeover! Here is why and how

Healthcare and digital marketing have not been heard going hand in hand until now, the digital age. It was then, when patients spent dull hours reading medical pamphlets or visiting clinics looking for information about best doctors and now the tech savvy, flipping screens and instantly accessing information no matter their location. Anywhere from a simple CBC test to complex Cosmetic Surgeries, healthcare has made its presence in every online forum ranging from mobile apps, social media to digital ads. The trend has actively set in with physicians as well in the strive to gain maximum visibility, so there is no escaping the digital path for both, patients and medical professionals.

Why go digital?

Medical marketing strategies worldwide have undergone massive transformation. Some interesting takeaways for healthcare marketers are as below, (insights by Think with Google’s ‘The Digital Journey to Wellness: Hospital Selection)

• Most patients search for treatments and information related to doctors online. According to one of the research, more than 70% of internet users look for Healthcare Information Online.
• More than 40% of consumers (patients) find social media information not only useful but trustworthy. Social is a wonderful way for patients to let out stories of their experiences online. Most of the users of social media falling in the age group of 18-24 trust medical information online through LinkedIn, Twitter and Face book, making it increasingly important for healthcare professionals to target the young audience.
• Over 70% of patients use search engines like Google before they book appointments online out of which a 44% comprise mobile devices.
• Digital content plays an important role in building trust among consumers. This applies particularly to medical treatments like cosmetic surgery where a doctor's review plays a significant role in the patient's decision making. With reviews being searched extensively, online reputation management through digital marketing remains critical. Building a good brand for healthcare professional becomes easy with online marketing.
• Youtube attracts over 119% year on year increase in traffic to hospital sites. It is more likely that doctors and hospitals find their potential audience on you tube, a highly acknowledged marketing platform.

What is trending in medical healthcare in the digital space?

• Emergence of e-patients (both existing and new)
• Proliferation of online health video, consumers watch more of health videos featuring doctors than food or other topics
• Impact of Mobile traffic. With more than 50% of web traffic coming from mobile device and mobile apps, the spends on digital marketing on this medium is expected to grow.
• Community building. Creating a community around the brand with patient testimonials helps to educate and inform consumers.
• Indian healthcare market is likely to show a growth of a CAGR of 23%. IT health care which is valued at US $1 is poised for 1.5 times growth by the year 2020.
•  Marketing budgets shifting to digital continues to show a positive trend.  

So what is the bottom line? If you as healthcare marketer is not on the internet, you are missing out on a big chunk of prospective consumers, your potential healthcare audience!