Three Ways To Market Your Aesthetic Practice In 2020

If you’re in the business of making people beautiful, you’ve probably already caught on to the fact that you’re not alone in your mission. Since the year 2000, minimally invasive cosmetic procedures have increased by 200%, an incredibly impressive statistic. And they’re not slowing down.

Whether you’re a dermatologist who has added cosmetic procedures to your medical practice, a plastic surgeon adding non-invasive beauty treatments to round out services and target a larger market or a medical spa looking to attract beauty seekers on a budget, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Oversaturation within the cosmetic industry, as well as several bargain-basement beauty deals popping up on popular discount sites, have made it a challenge for beauty professionals to get ahead in marketing their cosmetic practices. Yes, social media is still a critical tool for staying ahead of the marketing curve, as is curating amazing imagery and video to market your business. But it’s not enough.

We’ve found three techniques to help you effectively market your aesthetic practice in 2019:

Less is more.

Sure, you’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the best medical equipment for your aesthetic practice. You’ve got tons of amazing, effective skincare treatments on your website, and you’re constantly sharing your talent in administering each of these treatments. Newsflash: All of this at once can be confusing.

We’re not saying you can’t promote all of your services, but we’re saying you shouldn’t. Less is more. Take a step back from your practice and think about the treatments you offer most or the ones you feel you really can offer better than anyone else. Are you a board-certified dermatologist offering the only FDA-approved microneedling treatment in your area? That's what you market. Are you finding that more and more patients are visiting your practice for hair restoration through PRP treatments? Keep pushing that.

Marketing one thing -- the thing you’re best known for and what brings you the most business -- will be much more effective than trying to sell it all at once.

Go against the grain.

Laser hair removal has been and continues to be one of the most popular aesthetic treatments in the country. This is exactly why you should stop promoting it. Everyone from Groupon to your local dentist’s office is offering laser hair removal at severely discounted prices. And you’ll get nowhere trying to compete with this. Go against the grain and find the thing no one else in your area is pushing, and push that.

You can’t expect to set yourself apart when you’re promoting the same old treatment as everyone else. Unless your laser hair removal treatments come with a basket full of gold and a genie in a bottle, you’ve got nothing superior to offer in that department. But you definitely do with something else. Maybe your patient demographic is in their mid-to-late 50s and complaining about collagen loss and sagging jowls. Boom. Sell that. Maybe your patient demographic is the new mom crowd with a desperate desire to rejuvenate tired skin and look as youthful as they did pre-baby. Head in that direction, even if it goes against what everyone else is doing.

Develop trust.

A new patient will most likely visit you for the first time based on your reputation, a Google review or a friend’s recommendation. But the trust you develop with that new patient is where patient retention is born. As reported in an article in The Pharmaceutical Journal, “The concept of trust is important in healthcare because health and healthcare in general involve an element of uncertainty and risk for the vulnerable patient who is reliant on the competence and intentions of the healthcare professional.” In layman’s terms? If I’m putting my face in your hands, I better trust you.

So, how do you develop the right level of trust with a patient you hardly know yet? One thing we've found to be really effective is blogging. Blogging gives you the ability to speak directly to your patients and ideal target market by sharing all that you know about cosmetic procedures and then some. Blogging can improve patient relationships in three ways:

1. Building Authority

Blogging can position you as an authority on a topic, and we are more inclined to trust the authorities. When it comes to their skin and how they look, patients have every right to demand the best. When you deem yourself an authority on a subject simply by writing about what you know, you’re one step closer to proving your worthiness and making yourself the authority on all things cosmetic-related.

2. Maintaining Relevance

Blogging is still the best way to promote your brand or business when it comes to SEO rankings. According to a study on blogging by Orbit Media, more bloggers are focusing on SEO to promote their blog (up 34% since 2014).

Putting out relevant blog content on a regular basis and optimizing for SEO can help you rank higher in Google searches. And if you come up on page one, chances are your content will likely be seen more than, say, the doctor on page four.

3. Relationship-Building

Blogging is a conversation. And most of us are more likely to want to return to the doctor that speaks to us and gives us their time versus the one that seems rushed and disinterested in our needs. By opening up this dialogue, you’re letting your patients know that you’ve taken the time to educate and share with them -- the ultimate trust-building technique.

The bottom line? It takes consistent, hard work and creativity to stay at the top of your aesthetic industry game. If you focus in on what makes your aesthetic practice the very best and commit to sharing that message, the sky's the limit for the success of your business.

Content from Forbes https://www.forbes.com/