Plastic surgeons know that it’s much more than sunshine and daffodils come springtime. March through May tends to be the busiest season for breast augmentation procedures, which themselves are often the lifeblood of a cosmetic surgery practice.
What’s the best way to leverage technology to make the most of “breast season” this year and beyond? In 2020, the way you reach prospects (and current patients, for that matter) is on mobile devices. The biggest challenge is to find creative ways to engage these prospects in your market, cutting through the clutter of endless distractions to get your message across.
As more and more women start to consider breast enhancement surgery so they can look great poolside or beachside, a special digital marketing push in the next few months is crucial. Let’s take a look at a few mobile-first patient engagement options.
AI/Predictive Analytics
A personal connection is essential for any lasting relationship, but that doesn’t mean it needs to start with a handshake. Bots and big data are finding new ways to connect patients and doctors, helping to find the right fit both for current and long-term needs.
By using artificial intelligence and machine learning, marketing teams can provide a better mobile experience and reach patient prospects in new ways. The key is to tailor content and messaging specific to the needs and goals of prospects, right when they’re ready to pay attention.
Relevant, contextual marketing messaging is easier than ever online, particularly on Google and social media channels. These platforms, with hundreds of millions or even billions of users, can sift through data big and small to uncover purchasing trends that puny human brains had never even considered. Example
Such predictive analytics aren’t really in reach for very small websites like most plastic surgeons have. Yet. But blink an eye and you may be able to dynamically alter the content of your website in real time based on incoming user traits and preferences.
Think of the “soft handoff” that’s possible when a user sees an online ad, comes to your site, and behind the scenes as the page loads, it is adding in content which has a track record of appealing to that exact user. For instance, a person who tends to watch a lot of videos and has been shown to spend longer on sites with green accents, your site may autoplay a video right on the screen and subtly switch colors on her device. It’s not far-fetched at all.
Omnichannel Marketing
We’re focusing on mobile marketing, but it’s an antiquated idea that a person’s only going to be on one device all day long. Many people carry different phones for work and personal use, have an iPad or similar tablet, might jump on a work or home computer, spend some time on a web-connected TV in the evening.
To make an impression, your message needs to get across on many channels. Message consistency, timing and frequency matter. To put this in practice, consider running PPC ads on Google and Facebook/Instagram, setting them to show on all types of devices. Facebook particularly has an excellent retargeting platform to follow interested prospects with your message across all devices where they’re logged in.
Physical + Digital Marketing – Getting “Phygital”
Once a prospective breast enhancement patient has taken the next step to reach out and schedule a consultation with you, your work is far from over. You now have to reinforce the brand, messaging, and values that brought that person to you in the first place.
If you’ve pitched an elegant, premier experience and your clinic is in a strip mall, you’ve got a problem. Similarly, if you’ve offered some sort of deep discount but you run a high-end practice, your prospects will be put off before even walking in. Make sure that the digital message you put forward jives with what your practice is really all about, and align the two as much as possible. Great ways to do this include using real photos and videos of yourself, your staff and your practice in your online marketing, consistently using brand colors and materials, and even being consistent with words, phrasing and taglines.
A good mobile marketing strategy, especially this time of year, will help drive increased consults. Then it’s up to you to forge a lasting bond with each patient and keep in touch online so that they feel excited about coming back again and again.