MedEsthetics magazines offers business education and in-depth coverage of the latest noninvasive cosmetic procedures for physicians and practice managers working in the medical aesthetics industry.
Issue link: https://medesthetics.epubxp.com/i/197556
HITTING A CURVE BALL OUT OF THE PARK surgery is like a retail practice. People pay their own hardearned cash to see you. So it has to run different from other medical practices," Dr. Calobrace says. His goal, he says, was to "elevate the patient experience, with a beautiful office, beautiful setting and pleasant staff. I want patients to have a great experience and feel safe. Patients are the ones who make our success; we are here to serve them," That may seem like a no-brainer, but in the'90s, most plastic surgeons hadn't embraced the notion of a consumer-driven practice. Patients loved the idea and put their trust in the youthful new doctor. He was on his way. Dr. Calobrace's medspa has expanded to become the CaloSpa Rejuvenation Center, which includes a luxe day spa offering mani/pedis, facials and massage as well as a growing assortment of medspa devices, procedures and products. From Newsletters to New Media Employees at the Calobrace Plastic Surgery Center are trained to deliver topnotch customer service. was on an island by myself. The first couple of years were very painful." In setting up his new office, he tried something that was different and daring for the mid-1990s, especially for Louisville. He added a medspa to his small practice, offering then-innovative services such as Botox, collagen fillers, microdermabrasion, endermologie, microdermaplaning, laser hair removal and glycolic peels. "I really am a history lesson in medi-spas," he jokes. "Here I was, the new guy in town, and people were saying, 'Oh my gosh, he's using botulinum toxins!" Still, he persevered, refusing to let the naysayers get to him. "If you are watching your colleagues, then you are not leading," he says. "So I never pay attention to what anyone else is doing. I only care about what I do. If you want to be a leader, you have to stay in the forefront of technology and education, figure out how to be great and lead by example." But there was method—and considerable foresight— to his seeming medspa madness. "I realized that cosmetic 56 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 | MedEsthetics The medspa also became a marketing tool for the plastic surgery practice. "It kept patients in my web, and allowed me to keep serving them," Dr. Calobrace says. "Marketing the spa is an indirect way to market the plastic surgery practice. Because I came to Louisville after spending seven years training in L.A., I saw the value of marketing early on." Spending 2.5% of his gross revenue on marketing, Dr. Calobrace uses a variety of techniques, including a magazine-style newsletter that is direct-mailed to his client list of 40,000; pamphlets announcing specials; and open house events, typically attended by up to 1,500 people. Radio and TV ads? "Almost never," he says. "We did a billboard just once." Lately, his practice has focused its marketing efforts on digital marketing and social media—connecting with potential and existing patients through the Internet and building a presence via Facebook, Twitter, blogs, a search-engine-optimized website and email blasts. "It's how people communicate today," he says. He admits, though, that social media isn't his personal strength, so he hired marketing employees to handle that. "I went to high school in the 70s! This is not my forte; it's not my passion; it's not my brain set. This is why it's important to hire good people. But everything