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.
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REWARDING LOYALTY Loyalty programs offer a variety of tools for practice owners, including point tracking, automatic appointment reminders and analytics to help track usage and fine-tune marketing efforts. Finding Success Whether your practice decides to implement a cloud-based point program, monthly membership program or a customized loyalty reward system, making it a success requires setting goals for your program and making sure your entire team is on board. Malan and his team tried several different models before settling on their current loyalty and membership programs, and one thing he has learned is that "it's all about the people on your team. If you explain the program to your staff and they're excited, it's a done deal," he says. "If they're not, you're either going to have to find new team members or make adjustments to the program." Once a loyalty program has been chosen, businesses will benefit from setting enrollment goals and communicating those goals to their staff members. "We want to enroll X number of members per week," says Merlo. "This gives you a goal to track, which then allows you to do strategic marketing based on the demographics of those who are buying in. This is a key feature to look for in a reward program. You want a program that can give you some analytics." At Allure Skin Health, Bertrang uses a POS system that allows her to track the customized gift certificates she offers clients. "I know how many I'm sending out, how many are coming back and where they are coming from—open houses events, special promotions or thank you notes," she says. Ease of use is another key feature. Any program you offer must be easy for both patients and staff to understand and operate. "It has to be easy to track," says Pruitt. "So you have to make 50 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 | MedEsthetics Inga Hansen is the executive editor of MedEsthetics. Strong credentials are only the beginning. Aesthetic patients also want to feel pampered and appreciated. © ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Fall and preparing for holiday galas in November. "We offer new clients a trial membership at a discount," he says. "They can sign up for one month for $139. The client gets all the benefits of membership, but she doesn't have to make a long-term commitment, she can try it for a month." (A typical membership is six months.) sure you have either the software or a system that allows you to do this seamlessly. You can burn through a lot of man hours trying to capture and track all this information. Simplicity is best." If you're working with a loyalty program vendor, ask about staff training, says Merlo. "You want someone from the company who is an expert to support you through the learning curve," she says. "Before you start promoting the program, you want to make sure you and your staff know how the system works and can relay that to the patients." Practice owners and managers must also be patient. Malan recommends that practices give new programs a solid year to measure results. "You may have only one person sign up for the loyalty program in the first month, and a lot of businesses will say, 'OK, we're going to scrap this, it didn't work,'" says Malan. "But you have to set real enrollment goals, incentivize your staff and do a lot of internal marketing through enewsletters, flyers, in-office signage and staff training. People aren't going to sign up the first or even second time they hear about it, especially if it's a membership program." For practices that want to test the waters of loyalty rewards, Pruitt recommends starting with a program that involves birthdays. Most systems already keep track of customers' birthdays, and people are more likely to buy something on that day. "You can send a direct mail or email piece with a special offer," he says. "Patients are going to love you for it, they're going to remember it, and they're probably going to buy something as well."