Aesthetic Advertising, Advertising for Cosmetic Patients

How to Design a Killer Ad That Gets a Response from Cosmetic Patients

Have you ever felt as if you were throwing your money away on advertising that just didn’t work? You knew it wasn’t working but you kept running your ad anyway, hoping that the repetition would finally kick in and prospective patients would call you? And, remember how the advertising sales representative kept insisting on the need for repetition and patience?

The growing competition has increased aesthetic advertising a lot. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ 2006 statistics show that in just one decade cosmetic advertising has increased by 2000%! That means you need to think more strategically about your advertising efforts. You will have to target your audience and appeal to them in a way that separates you from all the others.

It is difficult to write advertising that gets your telephone to ring and many variables go into the making of an effective direct-response ad. Do you currently copy what you see in the ‘social’ magazines or the newspapers in your community where the content is often no more than a photograph of a pretty girl with a list of the services you offer? Or perhaps you use a publication’s graphics department where ‘creative’ people design an ad for you and then hope for the best?

Perhaps now is the time to reconsider your advertising before investing another dime in it.

Advertising Objectives

What are you expecting your advertising to accomplish? Are you looking for name recognition, to build awareness of your services among prospective patients? Or reinforce your brand image, remembering that every ad is a building block for your brand? While all of that is nice, your true objective is to get the prospective patient to contact you – period.

You will need to commit to advertising and do what it takes to get a good response. I realize you may be averse to the whole “thinking outside the box” idea and prefer to play it safe, avoiding the bold advertising which might ruffle your colleagues’ feathers. If you play it safe, you will get safe results but is that what you want? What you really want is for your ads to be effective and provide a return on your investment. That means you will have to think creatively. You will need to consider how you can tell your target audience what they want to hear and then give them a reason to respond to you now.

Target Audience and Advertising Outlets

There is no point in advertising the wrong message to the wrong audience in the wrong media. First, define who your target patient base is. You need to know where they live, their age, income, life style, etc. Now, be where they are. Find out what they read and where they go for information about cosmetic enhancement. Most likely, the answers will be local social magazines, daily newspapers, national magazines such as “Vogue” and local and cable TV as well as the Internet. You can find this out by adding these questions to a survey you ask your patients to fill out or just simply ask them and then compile their responses.

Elements of a Good Ad

There is no one way to write a great ad. It takes an educated guess and then testing and tracking to see if it is working. Changing just one element in your ad can change its response so try different things and if it doesn’t work quickly, try something else. In my experience, I have found the following elements are what every great ad contains:

Tense

The most successful ads are written in the second person, using the word “you” because every reader is asking themselves the same question, “What’s In It for Me?” so be sure to tell them by spelling out the benefits they will receive.

Headline

Your headline is the most important element. The best headlines promise the reader a benefit. Also, specifics get better readership than generalities. By the way, people read the headline five times more than they read the body so be sure yours is eye-catching and memorable. An example would be, “You Could Look 10 Years Younger – Tomorrow!”

Graphics

Research has shown that ads showing before and after photographs had a better response than ads that didn’t show any. Your ad should show the end-resultof using your services. And, use photos that depict your preferred patient target. So, if you are attempting to attract the younger girl for liposuction, be sure to use that age in the photo. And, I believe you’re more credible when you use your own patients in your advertising and tell your readers it’s an “actual patient” rather than use a model.

Copy

You cannot bore people into using your services; you can only interestthem. Tell the readers what your services will do for them and tell them by using specifics. Here are some ideas:

Testimonialsmake copy more credible since readers find the endorsements of your patients more persuasive. It’s always more compelling when a patient tells another patient how great you are (rather than you tell them how great you are).
There is a saying that says, “You Sell More When You Tell More”. This is called marketing through education and prospective patients are thirsty for information about procedures they are interested in. So, if you are writing long copy, use bold subheads that state the benefit then explain it in more detail in the following paragraph.
Try a believable ‘how to’ statement – “How You Can Look 10 Years Younger …”
Use power words such as “Introducing”, “Announcing”, and “Free” – still the most powerful word in the advertising vocabulary
Use action words such as “Discover”, “Learn”, and “Enjoy”
Use a question to peek the readers’ curiosity – “Do You Think This Woman Had a Face Lift?”
Use your name in the headline to strengthen your brand and obtain additional name recognition – “Do You Think Dr. Smith Perform a Face Lift on
this Patient?”

Do Something Different!

Again, think outside the box. In advertising, you need to rise above the clutter. Try something different:

Produce your own DVD. Have a professionally-produced DVD made of you, your staff and your office. Offer a Free DVD in your advertising to identify people interested in cosmetic enhancement. Provide a toll-free number with a recording explaining some of your highlights and inviting them to leave their name and address so that you can send them a free DVD. That gives you enough information to follow up with them later.
Patients want information so offer them a special report on the details of a procedure. Perhaps the emotional roller coaster of a face lift before, during and after surgery. Have one of your patients keep a diary and take photos every day to chart their recovery. Prepare a report you can mail to the prospective patient and then follow up with them later.
Design your ad to look like a newspaper editorial. This format allows you room to explain a procedure in detail and can pass for a feature story, a health column or human interest story that involves a patient and their before and after photos.
Use a local celebrity or personality to tell their own story about how your services have improved their lives.
Advertise your participation in a local fundraiser to show your interest in helping your community in a selfless way.
Invite your readers to participate in a study or an educational event.

Special Offers

This is a sticky topic for many of you. Your particular specialty’s code of ethics and bylaws may prohibit you from “enticing” the patient with discounts. However, that should not stop you from creatively providing a special offer from your practice and from your staff. The point of the special offer is to get the readers to raise their hands to say they are interested. The offer is the single element in your advertising that gets your reader to stop, notice and act now rather than wait until tomorrow - or never. You need them to respond to you now. Here are some ideas:

Make your offer irresistible. Offer a free gift when, for example, they schedule a signature facial from your aesthetician
Announce if they register for your online newsletter, they receive a $20 Off coupon for retail products you carry
Offer a complimentary computer imaging or skin analysis session so the prospective patient can see herself, her concerns and the possibilities for
improvement
Offer a simple report that explains the various wrinkle fillers available so the reader can make an informed decision
Offer your own customized CD that shows you performing a particular minimally-invasive procedure and interviewing some of your patients who
have had it done. This helps take away the fear of such things as lasers and injectables when the patient can see first-hand how easy it can be.
Educating readers about solutions to wrinkles, crepe skin and blotchy skin using simple procedures will have them excited to learn more from you.
Again, you want to collect their contact information so you can follow up with them.
Cross promote services. Offer a free chemical peel (done by your staff) with every procedure performed during a specific period. Add a special
report about the hundreds of different peels available and include before/after photos.

Expiration Date

It’s imperative to include an expiration date to an offer. You want to instill a sense of urgency so they act right now rather than wait. Although they have good intentions, life gets in the way and you don’t want this opportunity to slip by.

Lastly, be sure to offer multiple ways for them to contact you – by mail, email, telephone or personal visit. While they may not be ready to schedule the consultation with you just yet, they would like a less intimidating way to learn more so give it to them in the way they are most comfortable with.

And remember, the aesthetic patient that responds to your advertising is golden. Nurture that new relationship with ongoing communications so the patient bonds with you. Your dialogue with them should help build a bond so when they are ready; they call you – and only you!

Sidebar: Elements of a Killer Ad

Talk in the “You” Tense
Eye-catching headline
Eye-catching graphic
Reader Benefits Copy
Call-to-Action
Special Offer/Expiration Date
Phone Number
Address
Website