Dear Doctors, we love working with you, we truly do. You are passionate, hardworking, persistent people who have dedicated your lives to medicine and built thriving businesses.
At the same time, you’re also a bit of an odd bunch. You geek out about suture technology. You can talk with your colleagues for hours about hospital politics. And let’s be honest: you take pictures of nude people and post them on the Internet.
When thinking about how to market yourself, it’s worth taking some time to put yourself in a patient’s shoes and noodle on how they perceive many of the things you might hold near and dear. Let’s look at some examples (all in good fun!)…
You: I’m double board certified.
Your Patient: I’m double bored by what you’re saying right now!
You: I completed my fellowship at UT Southwestern.
Your Patient: Fellowship? Wasn’t that one of the Lord of the Rings movies?
You: I corrected severe ptosis in this woman’s breasts.
Your Patient: I ptotally don’t know what you mean.
You: I have published in multiple prestigious journals.
Your Patient: Sounds fancy. What are this month’s BOTOX specials again?
What Your Patients DO Care About
It’s pretty easy to shift your focus when talking with patients so you’re hitting their hottest topics.
- Results – The quality of your results is THE thing that differentiates you in your market. There are many paths to success in cosmetic medicine but they all start with delivering highly satisfying results and constantly striving to make patient outcomes even better. Results are the cake. All your online marketing is icing on that cake.
- “The Experience” – Very closely related to results is the quality of care a person receives from your office. The Experience extends beyond just bedside manner and encompasses every single online and offline touchpoint. How friendly are your front office staff? How tidy and modern is your office? How easy is parking? What are you doing at every point to show the patient you care about how they feel? Adding thoughtful touches and eliminating pain points (literally and figuratively) help patients to have a wonderful experience while in your care.
- Likeability – Here’s an area where the doctors who do social media well really shine. Humility, sense of humor, and charm go a long way toward convincing patients you are “the one” for their procedure. What if you haven’t been blessed with that “it” factor that makes you a social media maven? We’re not all that lucky. But you can still play up the aspects of your personality that patients have said they most admire, and showcase the most appealing version of yourself on the web.
- Being part of the right club – While cosmetic surgery is not necessarily the luxury good it was considered several decades ago, there is still an element of cachet that your office and brand can nurture. Again, social media marketing is an important component in building a tribe of people with fierce loyalty and a group that new patients feel a connection with.
- Value – As the saying goes, “Price is what you pay, but value is what you get.” We think it’s a losing game to compete on price, but you should fight like hell to provide the best value in your market. You probably aren’t the cheapest. Good. Find ways to convincingly sell your value and do it over and over again, from the consult through the final follow up visit. Call it humble bragging. Call it brand management. We call it the best way to get paid what you’re worth.
Targeting Your Marketing to Patient Interests
What can you say and do to pique your patients’ interests? Here are some tips.
Don’t: Hide the things you’re proud of.
Do: Put your achievements in context. Clearly explain why your certifications, experience, etc. matter.
Don’t: Come up with your marketing and branding in a vacuum.
Do: Listen to your marketing team, staff, and patients to uncover what they perceive as your biggest strengths.
Don’t: Become a clown or monkey on social media because you “have to.”
Do: Be authentic, and try new things within your comfort zone to see what gets engagement.
Don’t: Use big words and technical jargon.
Do: Explain everything to patients as simply and clearly as possible.
Don’t: Be all things to all people (unless you are in a very small market).
Do: Specialize, and showcase why you are the best possible doctor in your niche.
Don’t: Focus on the technology.
Do: Focus on the results your use of the latest tech can achieve for the people you serve.
Don’t: Limit yourself to phone and email communication.
Do: Communicate (in a HIPAA-compliant way, of course) on platforms like texting and chat that are most convenient for your patients.