Would you like to improve your conversions inside your practice to grow your patient revenue by $1.2M in 3 years? Here are five ways to improve your PCR without spending a dime.
In a richly competitive aesthetic industry, practices can spend upward of tens of thousands of dollars on digital marketing efforts each year without capitalizing on the basic essentials to secure these commissioned leads. In response to a recent article written by John Vakidis, Healthcare Marketing Expert, I was inspired to provide some insight related to tips for improving patient conversion ratios. John did a fantastic job illustrating the value of tracking and measuring inbound leads. But what happens if your practice is not as savvy at getting those leads closed? Do you know your lead-close conversion ratio? If the answer is No, you’re not alone. The good news is, there are simple ways to identify critical benchmarks and proven, low-cost strategies to improve them to ultimately grow revenue without breaking the bank. Here are my top 5 favorites:
1. Track, follow-up, and Schedule:
If your team is strong internally, a simple excel spreadsheet can do the job. There are some sophisticated programs out there that help to automate efforts, but all you really need is a reliable process to ensure you are tracking where each patient is coming from. If your EMR has the capability, implant a pop-up that requires the staff to identify the lead source before any other fields are accessible. Don’t neglect your routine social media posts as a lead source. If a patient likes or shares your post, it may be appropriate to proactively reach out to them to offer a consultation and/ or note their interest in your file to address with them next visit.
2. Bundle Procedures, focus on packages and maintenance plans:
When I work with established practices, I typically focus our initial business development efforts on strategies to grow “Per Patient Revenue”. It’s natural for a well-established practice who has traditionally focused marketing efforts on patient acquisition to overlook the basic value of growing a revenue pipeline from their current database of customers who trust them and have had a great experience with them. By selling procedures in packages, practices increase committed revenues while they offer patients a more realistic expectation for outcomes. This method tends to establish some mutual accountability (For example, patient will be measured, weighed, and photographed at each body shaping session so will be less likely to “slack off” between treatments). Another method is to build a maintenance plan for the patient that includes combining a variety of procedures to achieve desired outcomes over time.
3. Train Your Staff
Analogous to the old cliché “Happy Wife, Happy Life”, a highly motivated, engaged, and well-informed staff can make or break a patient’s experience. One strategy successful practices consistently employ is routine business training for their employees. If your staff needs help capturing and closing leads, upselling, and nurturing patients there are business consultants who can help with that. If you have invested in equipment or products from manufacturers, commission your local rep to provide educational trainings (not just at time of launch) on new and exciting features. Typically, reps have tons of valuable insight about expanded use of the product based on anecdotal feedback from other physicians, including bundling of procedures. Incentivization based on what motivates your staff is important (PS it’s not always money) so running staff competitions to reward them is a fantastic way to get everyone engaged.
4. Educate Your Patients
One of the top reasons patients leave is that their attention has been captured by another practice offering a new or interesting procedure. Leverage the time with patients to inform them about what’s new and hot in the practice and also what might be a good fit for them along the road of their maintenance plan. There are subtle ways to inform patients via TV loops, B&A photo books, and fully automated customer marketing programs. If patients believe they are part of the “family” of the practice, they should expect to have their next appointment booked before they leave and be eager to return. Patient education programs are another way to help inform them about what all is available to them (and also is a great networking/ relationship-building opportunity for the practice).
5. A Simple Thank You
Take a page out of Emily Posts, Etiquette Book. Remember that without patients, there is no Practice. Stand out by sending a hand-written note, follow-up with a phone call, or send a personal email thanking them for their business. Everyone loves being appreciated and this very simple way of showing acknowledgement will go a long way.
About Kaeli Lindholm
Kaeli Lindholm is the founder and president of KLC Consulting, a visionary business development & strategic coaching company bringing fortune 500 leadership systems to high-growth aesthetic practices who are poised to disrupt their markets.
Widely recognized as a brand revisionist, Kaeli believes achieving ‘category of one’ leadership requires taking a differentiated approach. Her coaching and teaching programs challenge the status quo, including the very construct of business success. Paired with significant revenue growth, clients describe the benefit of working with Kaeli as “game-changing”, “both guide and exceptional partner”, and “provides value well beyond monetary measurement!” When you partner with Kaeli you will make an empowered transformation in your business and life.
Kaeli’s signature programs include the POP Aesthetic Leadership Academy and the Aesthetic Business Accelerator Conference, POP|CON where aesthetic practice managers go to master the formulas to stimulate six and seven figure leaps in their business through mastery of controlled transformation to systems, strategy, and teams. Catch Kaeli on her award winning podcast, The Fierce Factor
Join Kaeli’s free Facebook group The Tribe of Fierce Aesthetic Leaders for access to weekly strategic advisory trainings, interviews, pdf downloads, and other value rich resources to help your business disrupt!