5 Patient Retention Strategies

Congratulations! You’ve started your own medical aesthetics practice after having completed one of the best aesthetics training courses in the country! Now what!?

It can be overwhelming when you embark on your ambition to open your own med spa or aesthetics business. Finding patients is one thing…retaining those clients and patients is completely different. In this post, we are going to go over five of our favorite patient retention strategies for aestheticians. Let’s get started!

Provide a Professional First Impression

Let’s face it, first impressions matter. And while making a good first impression may sound like a patient acquisition strategy, your ability to retain patients for repeat procedures relies heavily on the first impression.

Some questions to ponder when thinking about the impact a first impression are:

• How are the phones answered?
• Is there a standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling patient phone calls?
• Does staff know answers to commonly/frequently asked questions?
• Is every member of the team trained and capable of booking a patient within the scheduling software?
• How can we get patients to build trust with us?

By addressing each of these questions, you will no doubt build a rapport with your patients, even during their first interaction! This will allow follow-up and repeat conversations to become more personal, and open up different avenues for your patients by earning their trust.

Understand How Patients Prefer to Communicate

One of the keys to patient retention is communication. But you can take it to the next level by making every effort to make that communication as personalized as possible. This includes know how they would prefer you to follow up with them post-consultation and treatment sessions.

This is vital to know regardless if you are sending an appointment reminder, offering a new service, or asking for feedback on their experience. Understanding how each patients prefers to be communicated with, and subsequently tailoring your approach to each, will go along way in making your patients feel like you’re listening and taking an active interest in them.[

Utilize Effective Email Marketing

Piggybacking off of the “communication is key” message from above, we also want to point out the importance of on-going communication with your patients. While social media can be an effective tool (and should definitely be used to spread your message, information, products, and services), using consistent email marketing campaigns will see a high return on investment.

Building out an email list with current and potential clientele is one of the most powerful and effective means with which to keep your practice growing. Always be collecting email addresses from anybody who walks through the door, calls on the phone, and definitely try to capture their emails via your website through enticing offers.

Email campaigns do not have to be complicated or grand in scale. You can simply send out weekly or monthly skin care tips, lifestyle ideas, patient testimonials, product showcases, and new service offerings. Whatever you choose to include in your email marketing efforts, the most important thing to remember is to…well, do it!

Get Patient Feedback in a Timely Fashion

The lifeblood of a local business is reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc. Earning high ratings and reviews can make a local company thrive…while on the other end of the spectrum, poor reviews and ratings can slow a business to a halt. In order to get the most amount of feedback, it is important to follow up with your patents about their experience before they’ve written a review. Follow up via phone, email, or text, but make sure that you’re asking for their feedback, be it positive or negative.

Examples of asking for feedback can be a simple patient satisfaction survey sent via text or email, or even a follow up phone call after a treatment session. Do this after every patient visit and interaction. Then use the feedback received to make improvements where necessary, and cut waste where possible. This will help improve the patient experience and help grow a sustainable, consistent patient pool.

Take Advantage of Automation

Thanks to the world we live in, advances in technology have allowed us to automate a number of tasks. One of the biggest automated tasks that spa owners should take advantage of is automated routine patient communications. Automation, when applied correctly, can actually strengthen your relationship with your patients, while also enhancing their experience with your staff and practice. We recommend using automation for routine communications such as scheduling small reminders to help them be proactive about their skin care. This will no doubt set you apart from your competition and show your commitment to keeping your patients happy and healthy

Med-Surg Aesthetics Laser Academy: Aesthetics Training Courses in Arizona

The staff at Med-Surg Aesthetics Laser Academy in Arizona has done it all. They’ve started from the bottom, taken aesthetics training courses, worked their way up from entry level positions, to even owning their own medical aesthetic practices and businesses. Our trainers are here to help you take the next step in your aesthetics career, be it taking additional medical aesthetic courses to learn new skills or helping you launch your career to the next level. Contact us today to learn more about our program offerings.