We all continue to ride the rollercoaster that is 2020. For many cosmetic and plastic surgery practices, right now they are riding high with (in some cases) unprecedented levels of demand. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on and some strategies to make the most of this wild ride.
What’s Driving Demand?
Here are some of the many factors contributing to a very high level of demand for many cosmetic surgery practices.
- It’s easier and more convenient to recover at home right now since many people do not need to go out in public for their work.
- Postponed or cancelled vacations have left money in the bank that can be spent elsewhere.
- Stimulus/rescue funds from a range of Federal government programs have stabilized or in some cases even increased family earnings.
- Decreased entertainment and dining options have also translated into extra money in many people’s budgets.
- Many people have had more time to “focus on themselves” during the pandemic and cosmetic procedures can be one area for self-enhancement.
- People who regularly get BOTOX, fillers or other nonsurgical treatments that need touchups over time are overdue as a result of the spring quarantine period.
- Shelter in place orders have been lifted or relaxed in most jurisdictions and in many places, people feel comfortable visiting businesses again with proper precautions.
How Do You Cope?
Regardless of what all is driving demand, the reality is that many of our clients are crazy busy at the moment. Besides taking a lot of deep breaths and putting in extra hours, what are some ways to capitalize on the demand and set yourself up for healthy growth now and in the months ahead?
Raise Prices
This is simple Econ 101. If demand is high, the price for that good/service increases. Given the unpredictable nature of the economy over the coming year, we wouldn’t recommend locking in a wholesale price increase.
But if you have all the business you can handle right now, and increased costs of doing business due to Covid-related sanitation and setup, it might make sense to tack on a surcharge in the quotes you are offering at consultations. At the very least, discount offers can be curtailed unless you really need to keep a particular machine or staff member busy.
Shift to Nonsurgical
From what we’ve seen, the surgical and nonsurgical sides of many practices are both seeing heightened levels of demand. For nonsurgical, a lot of that demand is coming from overdue recurring appointments, as discussed above. Once that patient base is caught up, it’s likely that the nonsurgical side of your practice will have a bit more bandwidth than surgical.
It makes sense to shift some of your marketing priorities to injectables, skincare and other treatments to boost this side of the business while you work through your surgical queue.
Re-Evaluate PPC
If you have all the work you can handle right now, it’s time to turn off your PPC effort, right? After all, why spend marketing dollars to attract new patients who will just have to sit and wait? Not so fast. While there are certainly some people who are in a rush to get a procedure, a lot of web searchers are still sticking to the usual decision journey of research, contemplate and then contact.
If you stop PPC, you are less likely to reach prospects in the early stages of research, and since we know the typical patient spends 3-4 months doing research before taking the step for a consultation, that could become a drag on your level of business toward the end of the year.
If your aesthetician has any bandwidth, it’s also smart to shift PPC focus to nonsurgical procedures, since there is a high level of interest and web searching now.
Stay the Course on SEO
As we’ve said many, many times before, search engine optimization and marketing is a long-term play. Times are not likely to be as good as they are now forever. If you dial back on laying the constant groundwork needed to keep your rankings up, it will very likely come back to bite you in the butt down the road.
Related to this, we’d encourage you to continue to post regularly and thoughtfully on social media. Many of our clients did a fantastic job of communicating on social during the spring quarantines and shutdowns. It was easier to do when your practice was idle. But it’s important to continue to post so your practice stays relevant and top-of-mind on Facebook and Instagram.
Prioritize Current Patients
So far we’ve talked about getting new patients in a way that won’t cause you to pull your hair out, but we’d suggest never losing sight of your loyal, existing patients. They may believe (rightly or wrongly) that their existing relationship means it’ll be easier to get an appointment with you. We’d suggest sending out a newsletter to your patient base to explain that demand is high right now but you are doing everything you can to meet their needs. The same message makes a lot of sense on social media too.
Set the expectation of longer wait times for consults. If possible, designate a couple consultation slots each week just for existing patients, so you have the flexibility to fit them in and continue to provide great customer service.
Put New Patients on a Slower Track
We’d never ever recommend that you stop responding to new leads or put them on the back burner completely. You still need to treat every web or phone lead as a precious little baby bird. Leads deserve the usual immediate replies and attention you always give. But it’s OK to communicate to new prospects that they may have to wait a bit longer for a consultation appointment, or to advise that you are currently booking surgeries months out.
To help take the sting out of the slower service times, your office can add in additional communication steps along the way. For instance, add a separate check in 2 weeks out from the consultation appointment for a staff member to thank the prospect again for their patience, confirm their appointment time, and ask if they have any basic questions that can be answered before their visit.
Consider Automation & Online Tools
The day-to-day needs of running your practice are not the most fun part of any doctor’s job, and that’s especially true right now when your surgical skills are in such high demand. Thankfully, there are more resources than ever available to make it easier to run your business.
Most of our clients who dabbled in virtual consultations in the spring have curtailed those now. And we think that’s too bad. Done right, these can be a win-win with a solid patient experience and an efficient use of time on your side. But virtual consults are just one example of online resources that can help you improve efficiency. Practically any area of your business – accounting, HR, compliance, customer service, etc. – has apps and tools worth a look. Sure, it can take time to evaluate any new tool, but quite often the time investment pays off handsomely.
Hire
We put this one last for a reason – it’s probably not something that’s a great idea right now. Hiring new staff is fraught with all kinds of problems. There’s the search/interview process, additional training time, and more supervision needed. And with such high demand, you may have to pay a premium to pull the most talented staff away from their current gigs. Plus, you don’t want to hire up only to have another slowdown hit. We’d suggest a wait-and-see approach on hiring at least for another 3-4 months.