The medical industry is no stranger to marketing. Advertising expenses in health services alone accounted for nearly $2.89B in 2016. However, what is the best approach for cosmetic surgery marketing? Because of the differences inherent in cosmetic surgery, which is generally elective and often performed in smaller practices, you need a different strategy.
What Is Online CRM?
Let’s break this question up into two parts. First, the online part tells us that we will eschew traditional advertising such as TV commercials, radio ads, or print ads. In its place, we want to focus on online interactions. This makes sense in the 21st century as more people unplug their cables and go online for most of their interactions.
But what is CRM? Customer relationship marketing is a marketing strategy that is wholly focused on building stronger relationships with your customers, both old and new. The goal is to put your customers front and center, making your marketing decisions based on their needs and desires. Using the power of the internet, this can be done more effectively than ever before.
Why CRM Is the Best Approach to Cosmetic Surgery Marketing
To date, the most effective method of advertising has always been word of mouth. When you trust someone, you trust their recommendations that much more. CRM makes referrals more likely because it builds better relationships with customers, thereby encouraging them to recommend you even more.
When someone has an overwhelmingly positive experience at your practice, they are more likely to recommend your services. CRM helps you to extend that positive experience beyond the front door, reaching out to clients even after they’ve exited the building. By carefully showing others how you care for your clients, you can attract new ones too.
Today we’re going to look at 5 of the main reasons why CRM is so effective for cosmetic surgery marketing, and we’ll show you how you can incorporate it into your practice.
Reason #1: Keep Your Current Clients
Repeat business is the lifeblood of cosmetic surgery since many of the procedures and treatments you provide are not permanent. Injectables such as Botox require repeat use, and even surgical techniques may need a touch up after a decade or two, so it’s imperative that your customers keep coming back to your practice in particular.
But there’s no guarantee that current clients will keep returning. If they get tired of going to your practice, they will search elsewhere. And price isn’t the only factor in these changes, as this study shows. Many people who get cosmetic surgery never truly achieve full-body satisfaction and look for more ways to improve themselves through another practice. So, how can CRM help you to keep your clients from jumping ship? Let’s look at how it works.
Using Your Data to Drive CRM
The most important part of CRM is the data you have on your clients. This data allows you to develop targeted marketing for each client individually. For example, a client who received a facial filler will likely need that performed again in the future. You can send them a targeted email around the time they would get it done again, with a discount offer.
CRM means that your marketing is always relevant to the customer, and that makes them feel valued. However, not all of your marketing should be geared towards sales.
The Personal Touch
Consider follow-up emails for people who’ve had surgery. Give recommendations on how to properly care for their bodies after the procedure. Even something as simple as a phone call halfway through recovery can mean the world to your patient.
Take some time out of your day to contact your clients directly if at all possible. This removes the coldness that might be felt from a mass email or a call from a secretary. Those 10-15 minutes could translate into several new sales, a worthy investment of your time.
Reason #2: Get High-Quality Feedback
Besides focusing on communications to your clients, you also need to get feedback from them. People like to be listened to and to share their opinions. While you should certainly incorporate reviews into your CRM strategy, you should also get your staff to reach out to your clients for their feedback.
Direct Communication With Clients
Phone calls and emails that go directly to your client can be a great way to get feedback. Survey forms are useful but often lack the personal touch that CRM requires. Simply send an email with a few questions that pertain directly to how the patient is feeling and how they felt about their experience at your practice.
A good way to do this is with a two-step system. Do one follow up after a couple of days to see how the patient is feeling. Then, perhaps a week or two after they should be fully recovered, send them one more asking about how they felt about your first follow up and if there have been any issues. Invite them to email you with any suggestions for improvement.
Putting Feedback to Good Use
Once you’ve got good quality feedback in hand, it’s time to actually use it. CRM is relatively meaningless if you don’t actually care enough to take your customers’ feedback and turn it into action. People see through hollow attempts to care.
Complaints about staff should be the first thing you resolve. Part of good CRM is training your staff to provide proper attention to your patients. Next, look for ways to improve the atmosphere in the office.
Let Them Know You Listen
CRM isn’t just about making your existing clients happy. We also need to attract new ones. A great way to do this is to show people how you listen to your existing clients.
For example, if you’re thinking of redecorating part of your office, reach out to your customers! Get their advice on colors and positioning of items. Then, follow their advice and post images of the work.
Take screenshots of the feedback you got and splice them together with images of the changes you’ve made. Prove that you put your clients first. That’s CRM at its finest.
Reason #3: Reduced Costs vs Traditional Marketing
Another reason to adopt a CRM strategy is that it’s a much cheaper way of cosmetic surgery marketing. Your average return for every dollar spent on a CRM strategy is a whopping $8.71!
This is because CRM costs very little but pays big dividends. Let’s take a look at why that is.
How CRM Saves Time
Firstly, CRM saves you time. Planning TV commercials or radio ads can take weeks or even months. But CRM simply leverages the data you have on patients to deliver effective results. As we’ll talk about in a moment, the time benefits are even greater when you employ quality CRM software.
One thing that Crystal Clear Digital Marketing strives to do is help your business be more streamlined without sacrificing quality. That’s why we recommend CRM for cosmetic surgery marketing.
How CRM Saves Money
Compared to traditional marketing, CRM is much more affordable. Implementation of software is much cheaper than running lots of ads. Even if you opt to have professionals oversee the content of your direct marketing, these costs are negligible compared to a single TV commercial in your area.
Reason #4: Attract New Clients
You might be wondering how a strategy that is so focused on your existing customers can lead to new ones coming through the door. As mentioned, word of mouth is a powerful tool. However, CRM also employs other methods of getting people to stop by.
Smarter Social Media
When you use social media to engage with your existing customers, you are also publicizing your relationship with them. Use your Twitter account to communicate important information and get your customers’ opinions on possible new ideas. Post pictures of your smiling clients after their treatments on Facebook.
When strangers see these, they’ll feel more comfortable coming to your practice. Fear is a major obstacle to cosmetic surgery marketing. You’ll want to show people that they are safe and welcome inside your office.
Making CRM Videos
Offer discounts to your clients to participate in interviews that you can later post on Instagram or Facebook. Get their honest opinion and publish it. But what if they give a less than amazing review?
Hold onto that video, make adjustments, and point out how you listen. People are far more likely to trust you when you admit that you needed to improve rather than presenting a false image of perfection.
Reason #5: CRM Software Makes Your Practice More Efficient
Crystal Clear Digital Marketing has learned over time that effective software integration can make your practice grow quickly. CRM software replaces paper forms and turns data into more than scribbles on a page.
A CRM system can manage appointments, communication with clients, and so much more.
Customer Service Benefits
CRM software can also make your customer service more organized. For example, you can field customer complaints or questions with more ease, never losing track of a single one. And with that data, you can recommend the best actions for your customers.
Having a solid CRM platform also helps to standardize procedures and make your practice more efficient in general. New staff find that it’s much easier to learn how to navigate a piece of software than numerous spoken or written procedures.
Better Planning and Anticipation
With reporting features, you can figure out how best to expand your practice. For instance, it’s possible to analyze the addresses of all your customers to determine where you should expand to next.
Reporting can also tell you about the frequency of certain treatments, so you always have enough materials on hand and can even decide what procedure to market next. Cosmetic surgery marketing requires a focused approach, and CRM software can help you achieve exactly that.
Better Data Privacy
Another important factor, especially in the field of cosmetic surgery which is quite personal, is data security. Many medical practices still use outdated legacy software that looks straight out of the 90s. These systems are more vulnerable to hacks from attackers.
Exposure of your data would be a huge blow to your business. Not only is data privacy good for your practice, but it’s also good for your patients too. They’ll appreciate knowing that their data is encrypted and secured by the best software.
Get Started With CRM Today
If you’re interested in starting a CRM campaign at your practice, then call Crystal Clear Digital Marketing today. We have years of experience specializing in marketing for the medical industry, and we can help your practice grow and flourish, all while keeping your customer satisfaction at an all-time high.
