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Make Your Practice a Star, In Print and Online

You're ready to grow and reach more potential patients through an effective and sophisticated marketing strategy, but with so many outlets for your marketing dollars, where do you turn? Recently, Catherine Maley, President of Cosmetic Image Marketing, and Ryan Miller, President of Etna Interactive, sat down to discuss the recipe for success in print and online medical marketing. Their discussion highlights some of the current hot topics in healthcare marketing.

How does a cosmetic surgeon keep their practice growing in today's tricky marketing landscape?

Catherine Maley (CM): Well, for starters, effective marketing is more important than ever. For example, the print advertising game has totally changed. It used to be that a surgeon could pick a few local publications, run some ads in heavy rotation, and feel pretty good that they got the word out to a sizeable portion of their patient base. But with more competition and growing costs in all media, advertising has to stand out and have immediate impact.

Ryan Miller (RM): That's right. The most recent stats from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show that over the last decade, advertising for cosmetic services has spiked 2,000%. But of course profits in the industry don't come close to that increase. There's almost a market saturation in some areas, and that means surgeons have to work that much harder to get noticed.

CM: Ryan's really hit on it: for effective ads, you need to know what you want from your advertising, and what patients want from you.

RM: I'd add one more thing to that mix: you need to know how you can market your practice effectively, ethically and legally. As many of my surgeon clients know, the Internet age of advertising has created a wealth of new opportunities, but there are some grey areas where the law is just now catching up. Sometimes doctors have to take a step back and really think about how to portray their practice in a compelling way while still protecting their medical license.

CM: I've definitely seen some of that as well. Some surgeons want to play it safe, with the understanding that at most all they'll get is "safe" results. Thinking creatively can give you a big competitive edge and make the most of your marketing investment, but that style is not right for everyone.

RM: Getting back to Catherine's point about knowing your audience-I just think that's essential. The first thing any doctor should do before investing in marketing is to literally go out to the reception area of their practice and envision who they want walking in the door. I mean it. How old are they? What's their income level? What are they seeking from a cosmetic surgery procedure? You have to know exactly who you want to reach.

CM: One great tool to determine how to market to your target audience is to ask your current patients about where they turn for information on cosmetic enhancement. You're likely to find out that they use a variety of print and online sources, maybe some fashion magazines, maybe some cosmetic products Web sites. Once you hear from enough patients, a trend should emerge and you should be able to pinpoint where they go for information. You can even ask them upfront about how receptive they'd be to certain marketing techniques, like monthly newsletters, radio ads, or an online directory listing, for instance.

RM: Yes, and once you know more about your current patients, you can tweak your focus if you'd like to go after a slightly younger patient, or change up your gender mix, or reach patients in a nearby town.

Ryan, you mentioned the ethical and legal aspects of marketing. Can you tell me a little more about that?

RM: Glad to. You know, as a medical marketing professional, I operate in a unique marketspace. We're not selling packs of gum or sweaters-in many cases, this is high dollar surgery with a lot on the line, including most importantly a physician's medical license. I consider it my primary duty to make sure every client is promoting their practice ethically and following their state's laws and medical board regulations. The cost of getting it wrong is just too high.

CM: I see the same thing in my company, surgeons wanting to market their practice, but unsure about how medical marketing restrictions affect them.

RM: That's why we've developed a national medical marketing law database that's totally free for anyone to use. We want to help doctors do the right thing when it comes to advertising. A surgeon can go to our site [www.etnainteractive.com] and click on the blue Medical Marketing Laws graphic at the bottom of the page. Within minutes, you should be able to tell if you're complying with your state's laws.

CM: Ryan's right that this is a tremendous resource for the healthcare field. In the past, this information was scattered all over the Web or hidden in the dusty drawers of a state medical board's compliance office. Now it's out there and easy to use.

RM: Once we compiled the laws, we quickly realized that just publishing them all in one place wasn't enough. That's why we took the next step to actually sit down and analyze each state's law, developing what we call a "Compliance Checklist" that highlights what things doctors must not do in their advertising.

CM: I looked over the database the other day and I found the Checklist to be extremely helpful. When I'm working with a client, I can tell them to go to the site so they understand the marketing limits they face.

RM: As an example, there are four states that forbid the use of patient testimonials in physician advertising. You just can't use them, period. You might think that doctors in those states know about the law, but in New York for instance [where testimonials are banned], there are dozens of surgeons whose Web sites contain testimonials. These physicians are just waiting to get sanctioned by their medical board.

CM: I'm really glad Ryan brought up this topic, because it's something many doctors, and even many medical marketers for that matter, put on the back burner. For bigger campaigns, it obviously makes sense to run your drafts and mock ups through the legal wringer. But even on smaller projects, your day-to-day patient communication, you need to keep your legal advertising responsibilities front and center.

RM: I would almost say especially on smaller projects, you need to make sure to dot all the i's and cross all the t's. The disciplinary arm of a state medical board isn't going to differentiate between a whole Web site or print campaign and a one-time mailer, and often smaller projects aren't reviewed quite as extensively.

So let's say I'm a surgeon, I've done my homework on advertising restrictions in my state, I've got a gameplan for how I want to my message to my target audience, and I'm ready to put an ad together. Now what?

CM: Well, you've hit on the hardest part now. No one has come up with the "perfect" ad. There are things you can do to help put together a coherent and powerful message, and to connect with potential patients, but advertising still is a lot about trial and error, fine-tuning your advertising as you go along and measuring the results.

RM: I absolutely agree. In fact, the Web can be a perfect environment for testing an ad. My company has helped physicians "split test" creative campaigns-varying the imagery, taglines, and copy styles-to uncover what's going to provide the strongest return before moving the campaign into print.

CM: That's a good approach. And surgeons should know upfront that marketing professionals have quite a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to putting together a successful marketing or PR effort. Ryan, do you mind if I share a few of those?

RM: Go right ahead. At Etna, we're big fans of telling anyone who'll listen how we do the work we do, in the hopes that more innovative, responsible, and exciting marketing will enter the marketplace.

CM: A huge part of connecting with patients involves writing engaging copy. I have a lot more to say about that. But in terms of graphics, I've seen several studies showing that ads with before and after photos of real patients consistently get a higher response rate. People are curious. They want to see what other people look like and they want to gauge a surgeon's results for themselves. Make it easy for them with photos of patients to highlight the procedures and demographics you're looking for.

RM: We see the same phenomenon on the Web, with surgeons' photo galleries consistently ranking as some of the most popular pages on their sites. Cosmetic surgery is about improving your looks, so it makes perfect sense that pictures and graphics resonate with people considering cosmetic procedures.

What are a few of these copywriting "tricks" that you'd each like to share?

CM: One thing I'm always telling clients is, "You cannot bore people into using your services." You have to write in a way that connects with their needs and touches on the emotional aspects of cosmetic surgery.

RM: We do have clients who want to be as thorough as possible, but in many cases I push back on these surgeons, trying to help them understand that a potential tummy tuck patient, for instance, isn't going to take the time to read a lengthy page on potential risks and complications following partial abdominoplasty. If you want to make sure your patients are making informed decisions, give your full disclosure during the consult.

CM: Exactly. Highly technical writing is a nonstarter. There's a saying out there-"You Sell More When You Tell More"-that I think many doctors take too literally. Marketing through education is a great approach, but like they do on Sesame Street, you have to make the learning fun. When you write, talk with your patients in the second person, using the word "you" to keep the tone intimate. Use action verbs-discover, learn, explore-to keep energy levels high. Pose questions to engage the reader, and use bullets to quickly summarize relevant information.

RM: One thing we always advise doctors is to mix in real patient stories, examples, and testimonials throughout their Web site. Next to photo galleries, real patient stories are probably the most popular pages on most sites. Online, most people are too busy to read lengthy copy, so you have to be concise and you have to give them easy ways to access the information they want most.

CM: People interested in cosmetic surgery want to know that you're talented and professional, and that they're going to have a high-quality, satisfying experience in your care.

What do you tell a client who wants to go the extra mile and really stand out from the crowd? How does a doctor become the "go-to" surgeon in their market?

RM: Well, I can tell you that online, the competition is fierce. We constantly evaluate our search engine marketing efforts-strategies to stay on top of the rankings at Google, Yahoo!, and MSN-so that our clients remain ahead of the pack. We'd need another half hour for me to tell you all about our strategies for high Web rankings. Bottom line is, if you want to stand out online, make sure you team up with a Web services firm that understands the cosmetic surgery field and stays on top of the latest search engine optimization techniques.

CM: My firm also does Web site design and development, but our focus is on reative marketing and tactical strategies, and there are some great ways to make a lasting impression. For instance, produce a practice DVD and offer it for free in your advertising. 'Free' is still the magic word in the marketing business.

RM: I like the idea of a practice DVD, and we can easily take a client's video materials, cut them into segments, and repurpose them on the Web. Video content is increasingly popular online, particularly videos that highlight real patient experiences.

CM: Another way to promote your practice is through special offers. There can be some tricky issues with this, relating to the marketing laws and medical board rules we already discussed, but seasonal or even monthly specials can help position your practice as the one in the know and on the leading edge. No matter what, if you want to be seen as a top surgeon in your market, you need to reach patients with an effective, consistent message and offer reasons why they should contact you now.

Visit www.cosmeticimagemarketing.com for more marketing and practice development ideas, and www.etnainteractive.com for proven results in online advertising and search engine marketing.