Based on statistics, we know that 80% of your revenue is more than likely to come from 20% of your patients. We also know that a meager 5% increase in customer retention can increase your profitability by 75%! With that said, maintaining your loyal customer-base can sometimes be a major challenge in our highly competitive aesthetic market!
As medical spas and aesthetic physicians are popping up on every corner and with the entry of day spas into the aesthetic medical market, we frequently field questions from members as to the best techniques to retain patients. Here are a few simple tips, all of which require very little investment of your time and resources, to ‘keep ‘em coming back’!
- Education. An educated patient is a valuable patient! Taking the time to educate your patients will help them see the value of your guidance. When a patient comes in for a consult, educate them on the entire process from A-Z. This is your artistry, share your knowledge. It will make both your new and prospective feel comfortable. In addition, this form of early education will help you to establish the correct patient expectations. You’ll be more likely to have satisfied patients after every treatment or procedure.
- Contact Information: This is probably the easiest step to implement, yet so often aesthetic practices forget to Collect email addresses and contact information at every opportunity. Doing this will give you an instant opportunity to add to your marketing lists. Marketing can be a powerful tool; patients may be persuaded to book an appointment after receiving an offer through your emails or text messaging.
- Every encounter is important: Must we say it again? Every encounter counts; this includes patients, referral sources, vendors, and suppliers, etc. Consider anyone and everyone that you communicate with as an audience for internal marketing.
- Stay in Touch: Send your patients quarterly newsletters, birthday, and holiday cards with incentives. Customized messages and hand-written notes always go the long-mile in showing your patients that they’re special.
- Incentivize! Incentivize! Incentivize! Everyone likes to think they’re getting a deal (this doesn’t necessarily mean discounting). Your patients may be more likely to book an appointment with a competitor if there is an incentive to do so. Keep in mind that you can offer your patients access to a rewards program or a treatment ‘add on’ for pre-booking their next appointment within a specified time frame.
