Plastic Surgery Marketing Is Like Sex

"I've tried advertising; it doesn't work."

"I redid my website; it doesn't work."

"I tried internet marketing; it doesn't work."

Does that sound familiar?

If it does, you're not alone. That's the number one excuse doctors use when I talk with them.

If you tried something that works for others and it doesn't work for you, it's your fault that it didn't work.

You don't know what you're doing so you probably did the wrong things.

I know that sounds harsh. It's time for some real-talk.

I'm not the kind of person to blow sunshine up your butt. You're not the kind of doctor that's looking for more generic advice that wastes your time and money.

Do you like sex? Of course you do. We all do if it's done right. But not if it's done wrong.

Was your first time the best? Probably not. But you didn't give up. Don't give up on your internet marketing just because you didn't implement it correctly.

The bottom line is that internet marketing works. The internet is the number one place patients go to make a decision about surgery.

I know because I've used it to make doctors multi-millionaires. We generated 90% of that income online.

Let's look at a few common pitfalls.

Doing something, for the sake of doing it, is wrong.

You know what I mean. You go to a meeting, and someone on stage tells you to do "social media." They throw up statistics about social media usage, and if you're not on it, you're missing the boat.

You go back to the office and get your team Tweeting and Facebooking and Instagramming. You become a social media god, or so you think.

After a month or two of trying, you pull out that same familiar phrase and say: "Social media doesn't work."

Did social media fail you, or did you do it wrong? I'd wager on the latter.

I'll let you in on a secret about social media.

Your prospective patient doesn't care about YOU.

That's right. Your patient couldn't care less about your weekend or your latest product. She cares about herself.

Now take a look at your social media effort. Was it a bunch of posts tooting your own horn or did you add value?

Did you educate and entertain your prospect? Did you make reasonable offers at the right time? Or did you just blast out self-indulgent information and "deals"?

The number one mistake doctors make on social media is not understanding that the user is there to meet her needs. She's there to qualify you and find out if you "get" her. She wants to get a deal when she wants it, and on products SHE wants.

Social media and marketing, in general, is about entering the conversation in your prospects mind. Engaging her in the medium and manner in which she expects to interact.

People don't go on social media to read about your latest exploits. They're there because they want entertainment, and they want to make a connection.

They want to feel like they can digitally touch your practice and connect directly with your staff. Engage her and you'll start to see the benefits of doing social the right way.

What about online ads? Did they work?

Before you say it, stop. Examine your campaign.

Did you track and record all your incoming calls? Do you know how your receptionist answered the phone?

Does your receptionist understand that her ONLY job is to book a consultation? Or does she think that her job is to answer all questions and hang up the phone?

Do you know what your customer lifetime value is and how much you can afford to spend on ads, or did you just come up with a budget that sounded good to you and your accountant?

Did you split test ads to find the best combination of words? Was your landing page fast and informative? Did you split test your landing page to see what converts best?

I think you get my point.

Just like sex, there can be a million and one reasons why it felt bad. Why it "didn't work."

Just because you tried it and it didn't work, it doesn't mean that there's something wrong with the tactic. It just means that you got bad advice and had poor execution.

So how do you know if you're doing any of it right?

Keep reading my posts. I'll get to that part in future postings.

Or better yet, reach out and ask me directly on LinkedIn or in the comments below.

P.S. That's an Indian, not an African elephant in the photo above. Do you know how to tell them apart?