Principles of practice management and social media for cosmetic surgery

Identifying your brand: a roadmap to your entire practice

A successful practice begins before a business plan is created, before the doors are open, and long before the first patient is even seen. As plastic surgeons, while we have an extremely specific and unique skill set, we must not only set ourselves apart from our colleagues but also from other specialties, in order to be truly successful. This starts by building a brand that highlights what it is that sets us apart. This brand should reflect our personalities, our goals, and how we want to be perceived by our patients and the community. The two major components of our brand are our brand identity and our mission statement . In brief, a brand identity is externally directed to the consumer in the market. The mission, on the other hand, is a statement that is internally focused to inspire employees from within the organization. Both should be consistent and reflective of each other.

Your medical practice is a business, and every business must have a clear image and personality among its consumers. This should be identified from the very beginning by you, so it is not identified for you by the market. It should identify what value you bring to the market and should be intentional and unique. As Jeff Bezos has said, “Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”. Your brand tells your consumer what to expect. Is this a high-end boutique plastic surgery practice where customer service is paramount and patients are paying a high dollar for their full experience, or is it primarily insurance and reconstructive-based and the extra frills are unnecessary? Three important questions that can help you identify your brand are the following: What specific services am I providing (cosmetic, non-surgical, general reconstructive, breast reconstruction, hand, etc.)? Who is my ideal consumer for these services (age, gender, zip code, profession, income bracket, etc.)? What do they value (expertise, price, efficiency, surrounds, etc.)? Answering these questions should be the first step when opening your practice.

Your brand can be further subdivided into brand strategy. This acts as a blueprint for the future growth and direction of your practice. Brand identity is how you convey your image to the public. It includes any visuals, marketing, or experiences. Your logo, colors, website, designs, and advertising identify your practice and should be consistent across all avenues. They should all invoke the same feelings among your consumers. Finally, brand marketing is how you communicate this to your consumer and inform them about your products and services. Consistency is important; there should be no question that the consumer is interacting with any other company other than yours, irrespective of where they see you.

Your brand and mission are the first and, arguably, the most important step in creating your practice. Once this has been established, it should serve as a roadmap for building the rest of your practice. The office staff, office design, website, marketing, and social media should be consistent and reflective of this brand.

Staffing

First impressions matter, and your staff sets the tone for the entire patient experience. From the very first phone call, the people they interact with should directly reflect your brand, your image, and your mission. This can be a taxing endeavor but having the right employees will help you work more efficiently and improve the overall patient experience. Your work does not end with finding and hiring your staff: it is then extremely important to retain them by offering support and promotion.

As the adage says, ‘hire slowly and fire quickly’. It is most important to do your due diligence with the interview process to vet the candidates for the proposed job. Reviewing references is an essential next step to ensure they have the skills to not only accomplish the job but that they culturally fit and will integrate well in your practice. An employee who is well qualified for their job, but a poor cultural fit, will disrupt the flow and efficiency of the office. Some practices have implemented personality testing to determine how the individual will work and perform alongside the current team.

When looking for new staff, it is often a good exercise to think about your best employee and list the attributes which make them exemplary. This will help you evaluate just what characteristics are valued and lead to success in your organization. It is a good exercise to choose three to five of these values, and to vet new hires against these core principles to make sure they are a good cultural fit for the job. This will help balance the typical qualifications looked for in applicants and help attract individuals that align with your values and will complement the team and mission of the practice.

Once you have hired the right individuals, coaching and managing staff to perform at the highest level also takes a consistent message. When dealing with an underperforming staff member, it is important to first evaluate that that individual is the right person for the job. Do they have the motivation, determination and the qualifications needed to fill that role? If so, then coaching that individual on their responsibilities and meeting regularly with them to give both positive and negative feedback will help cultivate a successful work relationship. When giving feedback, focus on behaviors and reactions to situations, and isolate the areas where further coaching is needed. Try to refrain from making feedback feel personal and focus instead on the job at hand. As a leader or manager in your organization, you want to cultivate the right individuals for your practice and support them to be successful at their jobs. It is also important to discuss their goals and career trajectory. By engaging them in this forward-thinking behavior and supporting them, you will more likely retain them and have the foresight to adapt and meet their needs as they grow with the practice.

A team is successful when there is a culture of safety and comfort which allows employees to take risks and reach their potential. Make the roles and responsibilities of each member of your staff clear and well defined. This will help in coaching these individuals to reach their potential and fulfill their jobs within the practice. Choosing individuals who share your values will lead to healthy relationships and effective teams. As a physician, it is important that your staff feels comfortable coming to you with questions or concerns, and with the authority our titles carry, this can often be difficult in the workplace. Remain open and approachable, and actively engage your team for their own feedback to foster engagement and equality. Breaking down typical barriers creates a more fostering environment for effective teamwork and workplace efficiency.

When dealing with a problematic staff member, the loss of that individual may seem daunting to the practice initially. But often in these situations, staff members who are a poor cultural fit require more time and energy, which hinders the team’s success. It is almost always true that the person who you eventually replace that employee with will bring more to the team than the underperformer who required such extensive coaching and intervention. Learning from mistakes with past hires and focusing on growth will continue to drive your practice to success.

Physical space

There are many reasons why someone may choose a plastic surgeon, including board-certification, experience, specialty procedures, and personality, among others. An often overlooked, but vital, component that factors into the selection process for the patient is the atmosphere created by the physical space of the office setting. This environment should reflect your brand and mission. It should be aesthetically pleasing. It should be tidy and neat. This is a direct reflection on your work and your attention to detail as a surgeon for the observer. The physical environment should reinforce your patients' trust in you and contribute positively to them choosing you as their surgeon. If a patient has an uneasy feeling about the appearance of your office, chances are you will not see them again.

Just as your mission statement and office staff should reflect your brand, so too should your workspace. Do you prefer a busy waiting area with a television playing, or a quiet space with soft music in the background? Put yourself in your patient’s shoes by sitting in your waiting room and asking yourself “Is this someplace where I would want to spend time waiting to see the doctor?” The color schema you select is a powerful way to communicate your brand and how it reflects your values. As examples, you may consider blues or grays for a calming and soothing environment, or you may prefer something more energetic and brighter if that complements your personal style and brand. Office décor can likewise convey your practice’s culture. Items such as furniture and artwork should be synergistic with your branding efforts and can make your office feel like a cohesive extension of you as a surgeon.

As with anything else, the location of your office and the local market will play a role in influencing the development of your brand. For example, a flashy office with sleek modern furniture may seem out of place in a rural area, while consideration to a more rustic appearance may be more appropriate. Your primary objective should be to create an ideal experience for your target patient population and integrate your brand into every aspect of your business.

Digital marketing and website

Historically, plastic surgery was a slow adopter to the use of a practice website as a valuable and ethical part of marketing. It is hard now to envision a successful practice without the use of digital marketing. Most potential patients begin their search for surgeons online, the way we search for any good or service. When searching for a physician, 93% of the population head to the internet to begin their search. Without a website, you are effectively only marketing and selling to 7% of the population, which is clearly not an effective way to build your business. A well-designed and informative website is essential to any new practice. It allows you to break into your market beyond word of mouth and referrals, allows for a broader geographical reach, and provides a way to collect data to continue to hone your marketing efforts.

Your website should be professional, informative, easy to navigate and reflective of your practice and brand. For most patients searching for their surgeon online, your website is their first glimpse into your practice. It also allows you to highlight your work; before-and-after galleries are arguably the most important aspect of your website. Patient reviews, blogs, logistical information about the practice, links to social media, and an easy way to capture leads are also necessary facets. Let us dive a little further into these key components of a successful website.