I recently came across a really thought-provoking quote from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
He said: “I frequently get the question, ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ And that is a very interesting question.”
“I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’
“And I submit to you that this second question is the more important of the two, because you can build a business strategy around the things which are stable over time…
“When you have something you know is true over the long-term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it.”
It’s so true…
…And it’s particularly worth thinking about as your clinic or med spa emerges from the Coronavirus crisis.
I mean, right now, it feels like everything’s changing.
In fact, I’ve never come across a time when it’s so difficult to predict what the future is going to hold in just a few weeks’ time… How patients are going to behave, what the public mood will be… Or what financial conditions are going to be like.
As a business owner, it’s so pressurizing. It’s hard to make plans for the future when there’s no solid ground beneath our feet.
Everything we do is based on second-guesses.
And we must be so flexible. Clinics which take too long to react to changing market conditions are going to suffer terribly right now – maybe even fail entirely.
Given this tumultuous environment, it’s worth stepping back and asking, what are the things that you can say with certainty that your patients are still going to want in 10 years’ time?
What are the never-changing fundamentals in your practice that you must fight to preserve – and should be doubling down on?
Take your marketing.
Here’s a list of things it’s not clear whether your patients will want in 10 years’ time.
Facebook posts. Instagram posts. Cute memes. Videos. Brochures (already more difficult to deliver in a Coronavirus environment). Radio ads. Newspaper ads. Messages delivered through Facebook bots. Adwords.
There’s simply no telling whether any of these platforms or ways of communicating are going to be around or popular by 2030.
Chances are, by then we may all be posting to platforms which haven’t even yet been invented… Using technology no one’s heard of yet.
(That doesn’t mean they’re not worth investing in, by the way – just that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in any of those baskets.)
what are the things that you can say with certainty that your patients are still going to want in 10 years’ time?
What are the never-changing fundamentals in your practice that you must fight to preserve – and should be doubling down on?
So what are the constants in marketing? What is worth really investing in, doubling down on and building your marketing strategy around?
Here’s my list:
– Repeat business. New leads are great, but the easiest and fastest way to raise your clinic’s revenue is to nurture your existing patient base. Develop systems and processes to get the maximum value out of every single name on your database – it’s your greatest asset!
– Marketing to your patients with empathy and understanding, so that they feel that you understand and relate to them completely – and that they are safe in your hands.
Getting into your patients’ heads never goes out of fashion – it’s key to selling.
– Offering consistent value, so they feel that you’re not just selling to them the whole time, but that you are an authority worth listening to.
– Making sure your marketing feels personal. Patients don’t want to hear from “brands” or amorphous clinics. This is a relationships business! They want to feel a real connection with a real person – with you.
– Persuasion. Learning how to make a compelling, sustained case for your treatments and for your clinic in your marketing – one which your patients find irresistible.
This involves careful wording, saying the right things to your patients at the right time… Not random acts of marketing!
All these things worked before Coronavirus.
They’re more important than ever right now – when patients are going through a deeply challenging time and need support… sensitivity… human connection… and leadership.
And they’ll work in 10 years as well, no matter what platform your clinic is on and what technology we’re using, because they’re not a changing fad – they’re marketing fundamentals.
Sadly, these are not always easy to get right.
That’s why so many clinics (and aesthetic marketing agencies) are totally focused on passing tactics…
…like which platform to post on, which shiny app to produce and which offer to throw out next, in the hope that it will stick.
But there’s a better way to market your aesthetic clinic or med spa…
…One which allows you to build deep relationships with your existing patient base and communicate with them in an empathetic, authentic, personal way – all whilst driving new business effectively.
Miriam Shaviv is creator of Inbox Express, the library of marketing emails for aesthetic clinics and med spas, designed to make your marketing effective and easy – and send the right messages to your patients as you re-open after Coronavirus! Find out more here.
She is Director of Content at Brainstorm Digital, which helps aesthetic clinics and med spas get patients through their doors again and again – without the headache of costly online advertising.
