Three Ways: New Year, New Profit Margins

It's that time when we all make New Year's resolutions about what we will do more of, less of, and better in the coming year. And while many resolutions are personal, your practice likely deserves a little love, too. Our marketing pros share their advice on how you can up your game in 2019. Happy New Year!

Bring It!

For 2019, look at what you need to do to stay competitive in your market and bring it! If you have some old devices or products that aren't selling and are taking up valuable square footage in your practice and precious real estate on your marketing materials, rejuvenate them or trade them in. The New Year is the ideal time to recycle and reinvent your practice.

Move out skincare brands that don't provide good customer service or products that don't get high marks from patients. Ask a brand you want to bring on if they will do a trade in. Do the same with your devices. Is that tattoo removal system not paying for itself yet? You have choices. You can start up a marketing program to get busy with tattoo removals, look into adding a new handpiece to your system for pigment, do a trade in, or sell it.

Think about what is missing from your current offerings. Are your patients interested in nonsurgical facial rejuvenation? Look into bringing on suture lifts to add to your arsenal of injectables. If you don't already offer non-invasive body contouring, consider adding this highly popular profit center to your practice STAT. In fact, if your body device is busy 24/7 and patients have long lead times, consider bringing on a second system to avoid losing patients to your competition. Vaginal rejuvenation, although under scrutiny at the moment, is still uber-popular and fits well in most aesthetic practices.

Note: The best time to buy a new piece of capital equipment is New Year's Eve when everyone is looking to make their year-end numbers...so move quickly to get a great deal and set your practice up for success in the new year!

Wendy Lewis
• Founder/President of Wendy Lewis & Co. Ltd., a marketing communication and social media boutique in New York City.
• Founder/Editor-in-Chief of beautyinthebag.com. Author of 12 books including Aesthetic Clinic Marketing in the Digital Age
• WL@wendylewisco.com

Update Your Website

Make sure all of the procedure content on your website is up to date, particularly if you are offering new technologies or services that you want to generate revenue from in the new year. Too many practices invest significant amounts of money and time in new services, and then never prominently place information, pictures, and/or graphics about these new services on their websites. Advertise these new services around other parts of your site.

Also, ensure that you are publishing your positive reviews on your website and social media. This content already exists online, so all you have to do is pull it onto your website, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Many marketing studies now show that sales and conversions increase significantly when reviews are published next to product or service information on the website.

And the cost is minimal because you are taking advantage of content that has already been generated by your patients.

Use automated software that scrapes the reviews and sites and then feeds them to your website and social platforms. The automation provides for a continual flow of the most recent reviews and saves staff time.

Most practices generate 80 percent or more of new patients from Word of Mouth (WOM) referrals. This means that patients are searching for you by name online (i.e., a prospective patient receives a WOM referral and then searches on Google to check you out). It is imperative that you rank No. 1 for your name. Check your rankings and call your marketing company immediately if you don't. It's great to rank for the search terms “dr name + reviews” too. Being No. 1 for both types of searches is a revenue builder.

David Evans, PhD, MBA
• CEO of Ceatus Media Group, based in San Diego.
• devans@ceatus.com

Go, Team

Strengthen your practice's team in 2019.

Too often, we're seeing that you (the doctor or practice manager) tolerates insubordination, thinking that turning the other cheek is easier than change. You feel you don't have the time to hire a new team member, or you feel your “problem child” (or problem children) are holding you hostage.

In 2019, make your team either shape up or ship out… and finally establish your practice's dream team.

Here are a few tips:

• Invest in mandatory training for your current team.
• Make sure all team members have a written job description, so each knows what's expected of them on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. In addition, set goals and metrics so there are specific numbers to reach for when it comes to bonuses.
• Perform quarterly evaluations for your team members. These evaluations will make sure that your team is on the same page.
• Be sure to have the hard conversations and privately call out bad behavior. Don't turn a blind eye. Put each team member on a “three-strikes-and-you're-out” system, working with your attorney to make sure that you understand employment laws in your state.
• Finally, follow through with what you say you're doing, including bonuses, employee reviews, and the three-strikes policy.

Jay A. Shorr, BA, MBM-C, CAC XIV
• Founder and managing partner, Shorr Solutions, assisting medical practices with the operational, financial, and administrative health of their business.
• Professional motivational speaker, advisor to the Certified Aesthetic Consultant Program, and certified medical business manager from Florida Atlantic University.

Mara Shorr, BS, CAC XIV
• Partner and vice president of marketing and business development for Shorr Solutions.
• Level II-XI certified aesthetic consultant, utilizing her knowledge and experience to help clients achieve their potential. She is also a national speaker and writer.