Loading ...Our Next E-Newsletter Poll
August 25th, 2010 Loading ...Tips for Strengthening an Aesthetic Practice’s Brand
July 30th, 2010A strong brand is not created over night. In fact, a properly handled brand gets stronger over time. Your brand can become stronger by constantly keeping abreast of how your target audience perceives you, assessing your marketing plan, trying new strategies, and defining your goals. An ongoing, consistent brand-building process is important for creating a strong brand.
Project a positive and confident personality. Make sure your personality shows in every aspect of your practice and show that you understand the patient’s cares and concerns. Be genuine, and draw them in by listening first then be sure to communicate your unique skill set and knowledge base. Provide superb patient education. Prospective patients have a strong need to learn about the procedures they hope to have. They can learn some of this through reading patient stories or a more formal patient educational video.
Continuity in message and look of all your pieces and consistency in delivery is key to the success of your brand.
Wishing you a superb brand,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Reasons You Need a Brand
July 7th, 2010A brand positions your practice in people’s minds. Most patients make choices based on both emotion and intellect, but mostly by what they remember about their experience with you and your practice. By defining your brand, you help establish a network of associations in the minds of your target audience. For plastic surgeons, the target audience is your typical patient.
A brand strategy will positively draw your target audience to you. Creating a brand can be an excellent way to communicate how you can meet individual needs. For example, a physician who wants to be known as an expert in body contouring should have a consistent emphasis on the specific advantages the practice has to offer. Even if you want to be known as a practice that serves all plastic surgery needs, branding can clearly state to patients your services and communicate that you are a qualified plastic surgeon, if not one of the best in your field.
Having a brand that defines the quality and purpose of your practice sets you apart from the competition. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that the number of procedures performed per year has grown considerably. From 1992 to 2004, cosmetic plastic surgery procedures increased by 700%. In 2008, board certified surgeons performed more than 12 million cosmetic procedures, and almost 5 million reconstructive procedures. With so many more patients seeking these types of services, a plastic surgeon needs a strong brand to state clearly what sets his or her practice high above the rest.
Wishing you a week full of profitable work, joy, and laughter.
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Building Your Own Brand One Step at a Time
June 21st, 2010Would you rather spend your time in surgery, or marketing your practice? Does a brand really add value to your practice? Do you want to have a brand but don’t know where to start or who to trust? To many plastic surgeons, marketing appears to cost too much money and take time away from surgery. The truth is that a strategic, well thought out brand will ease your load and give you back time in the operating room. Smartly invest in a branding strategy, and you will see an excellent return. Through working with plastic surgeons throughout the U.S. over the past ten years I have identified some basic principles that will help you create a successful brand for your practice. I am going to share with you a process to create that brand.
Medical branding strategies need to be different from other fields, such as retail or industry. Surgeons want to keep their marketing respectful and genuine. For that reason, some non-traditional marketing tools are the most effective and we will discuss some of these later in this blog. But it’s important to start with the right building blocks so you don’t have to start over and over again. It’s important to get certain key elements right the first time so your brand starts out the strongest it can be.
FIVE Steps to Building a Brand
You already have a brand whether you have purposely set out to establish one or not. With a little thought and planning, that brand can make building your practice easier. Here are five simple steps to follow to build your brand.
Step One: Define who you are and what you value. You (or you and the help of a professional marketing company) must decide how you want your brand’s identity to be perceived, before communicating it. Write a brand positioning statement that expresses how you want customers (patients) to see your brand. Think of this statement as the foundation upon which you will build your look and feel. For example: Paul Vanek, a board certified plastic surgeon, uses his training and experience to help people set realistic appearance goals and how to meet them. Dr. Vanek specializes in surgical and cosmetic procedures for the body, breasts, and face. Paul Vanek Plastic Surgery can help you “Celebrate Your Beauty”.
Step Two: Analyze your current situation. Before you start making any changes, take a look at how your brand is currently perceived. Who are your patients and competitors? Knowing which internal and external factors that affect others’ perception of your practice will help you to understand the context in which your brand will stand. Then, think about how you want your practice to be perceived in that context. Use your imagination to visualize exactly how you want to be viewed by your target audience.
Talk to your patients about their needs and perceptions. Think about what makes you and your practice unique. Then, clarify your brand concept for yourself and your staff. Always be aware of others’ perceptions of you, and think of ways to state clearly what sets you high above the rest. “Know the consumer” is a basic principle of brand management.
Step Three: Identify all your patient touch points. How do your patients experience your brand? All the steps that a potential or current patient sees, feels and touches along the way are touch points. Build a touch point map by making a list: the sign on your building, your brochure, a patient’s take-home folder after a consultation, your website, the way your receptionist answers the phone, your business card, etc. Then, prioritize them. Which touch points are most important? Which ones have real relevance to your patients’ decision making? Remember that, in the patients mind, it’s all about them. As you well know, a patient won’t book surgery with someone they don’t trust. So put more emphasis on touch points that help build a trusting relationship, followed by the ones that position you as the highly skilled physician and staff that your patients want.
Step Four: Communicate your brand identity internally and externally using professionally designed marketing materials that reflect your values and speaks to your potential patient. Everything about your practice should have an incredible look and feel that have emotional impact, and are contagious to your potential patients. Help them to believe in you by reinforcing your promise of excellence at each key touch point. Consistently reinforce your message — your goal is to have each touch point reinforce your brand promise.
Have a professional design your business card, practice brochure and website. Offer public patient educational services such as seminars, and make an educational system such as the Revenez program available in your office.
A total branding package is inclusive of every detail in your practice. By consistently printing your practice logo and tag line, and using your selected color palette and unique message on everything that your patients see, a strong brand will emerge. Carefully consider each piece of print collateral that your office uses. Every piece contributes to the image you want to exude. Start with your prioritized list and build your brand over time and as your budget permits.
Your brand is not just built by your printed materials but also by personal encounters. Each of your service encounters need to exceed the expectations of your patients; this builds brand equity. Create positive patient experiences and outcomes that result in referrals for your practice. Establish loyal patients by creating meaningful associations with them. Word of mouth, or relationship marketing, is one of the best ways to get referrals for your practice. Create awareness amongst your staff members about the brand identity you are striving to achieve. Remember that your staff is often the first contact your patients have with your practice. Educate personnel about proper handling of your brand and empower them to present a consistent message to everyone who calls or visits your practice.
Step Five: Assess your progress every couple of months, modify it and refocus if need be. Branding is the process of creating distinctive and lasting perceptions in the minds of your patients. A brand gives you a persistent, unique business personality. Check to be sure that everything about your practice–your print and web-based marketing materials, your staff customer service practices, and your own interactions with patients–works in harmony to support your brand.
Ask others. Get feedback. Decide which attributes of your brand you want to keep and which are not working the way you’d like them to. Simply surveying your patients is an excellent way to assess how well you are meeting their needs. Take time to listen to your patients and what kinds of information they need. Then use your experience and market feedback to focus on what makes you unique. Tailor your practice to these needs and make each contact with them an intimate, personal experience. Remember that going from your current brand to your optimal brand could take time, and don’t get discouraged.
Wishing you a week full of profitable work, joy, and laughter,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Your Brand Reflects the Perceived Quality…
June 17th, 2010Your Brand Reflects the Perceived Quality of Your Surgery
Being a plastic surgeon makes the appearance of your marketing materials especially important to your success. Good design contributes to higher levels of patient trust. When people see something that is designed well, there is an emotional trigger that affects how they think, feel, and behave. They correlate good design to quality. A thoughtful brand/image helps people know what to expect from you, just as they do when they see the Starbucks coffee cup.
Statistics show that people get meaning from about 7% of what you say, 55% from your body language, and 38% from the tonality of your voice. Since you can’t use body language and voice tonality in a website or printed materials, how can you convey your message on the Internet? We know that the typical patient wants to feel listened to, understood, and appreciated. The best way to convey this is through a quality brand appearance.
Wishing you marketing with great design,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Is Your Marketing a Disconnect?
June 10th, 2010Too many times the quality of surgeons’ marketing materials does not match their surgical abilities. This disconnect is then carried over to what their patients think about the quality of work they do. You dress for success; you hire an interior designer to make your facilities look warm, inviting and comfortable; you purchase the finest quality of instruments; and you attend premier industry conferences to learn and better your skills. The design of your website should demand professional time and energy, with the same commitment to excellence as other areas of your practice.
You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Often your marketing materials serve as the front door for a patient. With competition for patients at an all time high, you cannot afford to lose a potential patient with a poor first impression.
Wishing you marketing that reflects your true ability,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Plastic Surgeons Need Unique Marketing Tools
June 7th, 2010Traditional marketing tools are TV, radio, and print advertising. These tools have been called “shout marketing” tools because through them you loudly tell everyone “this is what I can do for you!” Plastic surgery practices don’t need to shout, but they do need to reach out to patients more than ever before. Many advertising firms still do not understand that promoting a medical practice is different from the clients they are accustom to serving.
As a medical professional, you want to maintain the highest level of respect and standards. Loyalty programs, keeping in touch with consults and patients through email, mail, meet our doctor seminars, interactive patient education, and a video loop that features all of your services for your waiting area, are all great examples of non-traditional marketing. These efforts generally cost less, produce a higher return, and promote a respectful appearance.
Set yourself apart by offering exquisite images, videos, patient education, and procedural presentations that will have them wanting to know more about you. Your personal style and manner of communicating determine how approachable you seem to your patients. It is up to you and your staff to make them feel comfortable about asking questions, whether in-person, online, or outside your office door. Many successful practices include a combination of online, printed, and audiovisual materials in their patient education approach. Start with one solid element and build upon that, as needed by your clientele. The time and money you spend on this aspect of your practice will be repaid to you in the form of returning patients and referrals.
Wishing you success in your marketing approach,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
April Newsletter, REVENEZ Praised as “Moving Art” That Educates
June 4th, 2010How do you get patients in your waiting room to notice patient education that also gently markets your services? Well-known Eugene, Oregon plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Jewell feels that his new REVENEZ [REV-eh-nay] looping video does just that for his patients while they wait. “When you visit my office, you will see Candace Crowe Design’s REVENEZ product running on large screen video displays in the reception, medispa, and consulting areas… It provides lovely visual imagery that becomes very enthralling, [in fact] patients frequently comment, ‘Could I finish watching it before we talk about me?’”
Wishing you a week full of profitable work, joy, and laughter,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Look at Yourself Through a Patient’s Eyes.
February 22nd, 2010It’s easier to define yourself in the eyes of your audience when you know who your target audience is. In marketing for plastic surgery practices, the target audience is the “typical” patient. A recent study by the **American Board of Plastic Surgery shows that 92% of all plastic surgery patients are women — 8% are men; 75% chose to have a procedure to improve their physical appearance — 25% to advance their career. You can use this as a general guideline, but you will want to identify a more specific target audience based on your own practice.
This study also validated that women want to have good rapport, be listened to, and feel comfortable sharing their concerns. Other factors include the doctor’s skills, experience, and recommendations by others. So, in order to relate to this target audience, a good brand for a plastic surgeon would include images that reflect self-confidence and professional success. It would also present a physician that has the ability to connect with and listen to patient cares and concerns—one that’s trustworthy, credentialed, and experienced.
Take some time to think about how you look through the eyes of your typical patient. Here’s a little exercise I’d like for you to do. Gather together all of your marketing materials. Look through them and ask yourself these three questions: what do my patients need to see; what do I need to tell them; and does the appearance of my marketing materials represent the quality of service I offer?
Wishing you time to consider these questions,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
** ASPS: Influences on Decision-Making for Undergoing Plastic Surgery: A Mental Models and Quantitative Assessment, March 1, 2005
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Define yourself, or others will.
February 17th, 2010No one has direct control over what people think about you, but you can use a few simple marketing strategies to influence others’ perceptions. People judge you based on all of their points of contact with you: what they see on your website, how the person who answered the phone took care of them, what you look like, how you dress, how comfortable they feel in your office, and whether their questions were answered. Most importantly, as a plastic surgeon, people will judge you on appearances.
Even if you aren’t aware of having one, your practice already has a brand. Every experience a patient has with you, good or bad, creates an impression. How you interact with others influences the way they perceive you, and that is how they will remember you and your practice. You have probably experienced this yourself, as a consumer. The attraction to beauty and great design is a human mystery but very real. Have you ever made a personal decision based upon how something or someone looks? Do you spend more time considering things that are beautiful or designed well? Apply this concept to your marketing strategy, and you can gain command of how you are defined by the people you want to reach.
Wishing you a beautiful brand,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
