February 22nd, 2010
It’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
Tags: Brand Identity, Marketing Tips, Target Audience
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February 17th, 2010
No 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
Tags: Brand Identity, Marketing
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February 14th, 2010
Be purposeful about the image you project.
Plastic surgeons know, perhaps better than anyone, that image matters. People care about their own looks, and they care about the appearance of what they buy. Appearance counts not only to your patients but for your practice as well. (Just ask companies like Apple or Nike).
Change is difficult to many people. Making the jump to a new doctor or the decision to have a plastic surgery procedure can be stressful. One way to help prospective patients to feel more confident is by projecting a purposeful image, also known as a brand. A brand helps consumers to know exactly what they’ll get for the time and money they spend. Take Starbucks coffee for example. When you purchase a cup of coffee from Starbucks, do you know precisely what you can expect? Of course you do, because the Starbucks brand cares about their appearance – they add personalization, great graphics, and a well thought out experience to every cup of coffee. You see, a good brand adds trust, an emotional connection, and increases confidence in knowing what you’ll get.
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
Tags: Brand, Creative, Design, Return on Investment
Posted in Industry Trends, Marketing Tips, Powerful Thoughts | No Comments »
February 3rd, 2010
MARKETING TIP. Make certain that your website shows the personality of your practice, educates your patients, and welcomes viewers to book appointments.
Wishing you marketing success,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Tags: Patient Education, website
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February 2nd, 2010
MARKETING TIP. Beware of inconsistent use of your logo, color palette, and look and feel. It’s a hard mistake to correct down the line.
Wishing you marketing success,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Tags: Creative, Design, Marketing
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February 1st, 2010
Have a professional design your logo and help you choose a color palette that can be carried through to your other marketing materials.
Tags: Brand, Creative, Design
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January 26th, 2010
MARKETING TIP. Think for a minute, does your marketing show that you understand your patient’s cares and concerns?
Wishing you marketing success,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Tags: Conversion, Target Audience, Wisdom
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January 19th, 2010
MARKETING TIP- Does my marketing have personality? Your marketing should “pull” people towards you not shout at them, “This is what we do!”
Wishing you marketing success,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Tags: Brand, Creative, Design, Target Audience
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January 18th, 2010
MARKETING TIP. You have to hit a nerve with your marketing message for them to take notice. It needs to be emotional to be contagious.
Wishing you marketing success,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Tags: Creative, Target Audience
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January 14th, 2010
MARKETING TIP. With each marketing effort; are you doing it with a predefined purpose, such as to get the phone to ring?
Wishing you marketing success,
Candace Crowe
President, Creative Director
Candace Crowe Design
Educating Patients. Marketing You.
www.CandaceCrowe.com
Copyright © 2010 | Candace Crowe Design | All Rights Reserved
Tags: Call to Action, Target Audience
Posted in Marketing Tips | No Comments »
