How To Build Patient Demand For Aesthetic Treatments

Current patients and referrals are reliable sources of business, but to sustain long-term growth you need to be able to attract new patients to your medical aesthetics practice. So, how do you do it? By commanding people’s attention and enrolling them in your clientbase.

In sales, this process is called lead generation or demand generation. When performed correctly, it can result in more customers and new revenue opportunities. Here’s how to develop a productive lead generation strategy for your practice. 

Understanding Lead Generation 

A basic understanding of lead generation can be helpful in creating your strategy. These concepts include:

• Client journey: This refers to the path that leads patients to you. It begins with awareness of a problem or pain point (sun damage or hair loss, for example) that drives someone to investigate possible solutions. Then, he or she would reach out to see if you can meet his or her needs. Identifying the ideal consumer based on age, income, interests, lifestyle, and geography can help clarify your client journey.
  
  
• Brand strategy, or positioning: Brand strategy is the professional vision and qualities that patients will recognize and associate with your practice. It includes but is not limited to your website, practice name, and mission statement.
  
  
• Marketing funnel: The marketing funnel is the step-by-step process of finding and connecting with prospective clients. Ultimately, the goal is to convert them into leads.
  
  
• Sales funnel: The sales funnel refers to the manner in which you convert leads into aesthetic consultations. That first meeting is your opportunity to build trust and get patients to book a treatment.

With these terms in mind, let’s look at the strategies that can attract new patients to your practice. Your marketing efforts should:

• Make the target audience aware of your practice (top of the marketing funnel).
• Entice potential patients to learn more (middle of the marketing funnel).
• Convert those interested into leads when they provide names and contact information (bottom of marketing funnel).

Building Awareness: Gain Visibility and Attract Interest

At the top of the funnel, the goal is to let potential patients discover your practice and learn about your offerings, using techniques such as: 

• Search engine marketing: Your website should be optimized for relevant terms (such as “hair removal in Tampa”) to help you appear near the top of online search results.
  
  
• Paid advertising: Promoting your business on social media and search engines with ads can help increase awareness.
  
  
• Social media marketing: This should include relevant, interesting content on your profiles and working with key influencers.
  
  
• Directory listings: Your office should be included in all directories where patients might be searching, including Yelp, Google My Business, doctor review sites, and practice finders offered by device manufacturers.
  
  
• Reputation management: There should be a process in place to solicit and publish reviews from patients on site such as Yelp, Google, RealSelf.com, and HealthGrades.com. Be sure to monitor and respond to any negative comments.

Sales Funnel: Strategies for Converting Leads into Patients 

After potential patients provide their contact information, you can consider them leads. Now the goal is to persuade them to schedule an aesthetic consultation using your sales funnel. Similar to the marketing funnel, the sales funnel has three stages:

• Contact those interested, follow up if necessary, and nurture the relationship (top of funnel).
• Verify leads and work on scheduling an in-person consultation (middle of funnel).
• Conduct the consultation, using trust-building to convert the prospect into a patient (bottom of funnel).

Strategies for the Top and Middle of Your Sales Funnel

There are multiple strategies to effectively engage your leads, including:

• Email marketing: Email marketing can cultivate prospects who may not be ready to convert but could eventually. This technique includes regular email newsletters and contacts.
  
  
• Events: Both in-person and online events such as webinars, parties, and fundraisers can encourage participants to schedule consults.
  
  
• Lead scoring and tracking: It’s a good idea to have a customer relationship management (CRM) application that lets you determine which leads are ready to convert — such as when a person downloads your brochure or opens an email.
  
  
• Follow up: A critical step is following up with leads via text, phone, or email to encourage him or her to book an in-person consult.

As you implement these strategies, track their performance, gathering data such as search ranking, traffic growth, cost per lead, and conversion percentage. Analyzing this information could help determine how to tweak and adjust your techniques.

Maintaining Consistent Marketing

In order to succeed, you must maintain a consistent marketing strategy. If you find it difficult to sustain this effort while running your practice, consider enlisting outside specialists, including:

• Practice consultants: These experts can help improve performance, make business plans, and develop staff.

• Marketing and advertising agencies: You’ll want to choose an agency that has experience with medical aesthetic practices. 2two5™ agency, a division of Venus Concept, offers straightforward pricing and services packages, and has aesthetics expertise.

• Specialized programs: Some device and equipment manufacturers provide turnkey programs that focus on business development and marketing. For example, doctors offering NeoGraft^® and ARTAS iX™hair restoration systems have access to a marketing and account management package that supports ongoing growth.

While attracting new patients requires concerted effort and marketing know-how, it is a vital aspect of a growing a medical aesthetics practice. Our report,Building Patient Demand for Aesthetic Treatments,will help you do just that. Click the Download Now button below to read on about increasing demand for your clinic’s treatment offerings.

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