Most marketing blogs repeat the same tactics to drive lead volume, like Content SEO, Technical SEO, PPC, and a Website Redesign. And you need a new website every few years, plus strong SEO and PPC to lead in most markets, so that advice is all true, but obvious to elite practices and med spas today.
Instead, we want to highlight four underutilized marketing tactics that can make a significant impact on your bookings. If your practice isn’t leveraging these strategies, you’re missing out on key opportunities to drive inquiries.
Meet Patients Where They Are with Live Chat
Some patients aren’t ready to call or you are closed when they have time to dial—and that’s okay. Don’t lose the opportunity to engage with them.
Most visitors struggle to navigate websites efficiently, so think of live chat as the librarian guiding users through your website’s information—just like how a librarian helps you find a book, even though you could technically locate it yourself. A key rule of thumb is that any information provided via live chat should already be available on your website.
As you can see in the example above, the ultimate goal of live chat is to drive those users to schedule a consultation with your practice. That way your PCCs can talk to the patients, handle any objections, provide relevant information, and get that procedure booked.
By integrating live chat, you create a positive, seamless first interaction with potential patients, answering their questions effortlessly, and ultimately help them choose your practice when they are ready to schedule a consultation.
Pro-tip: do not use live chat that connects directly to your business as your people are not available 50-90% of the 168-hour week. Make sure you select a team that can handle up to 24/7 service. Further, ensure the team uses real people, not exclusively robots or AI. Real interaction still matters for patient conversation. Not sure who to pick? Contact our team (note: we earn affiliate marketing fees from many of our Preferred Vendors) for an introduction at no cost.
Maximize Your Before & After Photos Across Multiple Platforms
Your before and after (B&A) photos are among your most valuable assets. They’re often the first impression potential patients have of your practice or med spa—not just on your website but across social media and search engines.
Every time you receive new B&A images, they should be uploaded across multiple platforms. This includes your website, social media channels like Instagram and Facebook, your Google Business Profile, and any relevant online directories. While most patients will come across your B&As on your website, you never know where someone will discover them, and that exposure could lead to a booking.
When posting B&As to your website, rename the files descriptively (e.g., “miami-rhinoplasty-results.jpg” instead of “image1.jpg”) and include alt text.
Pro-tip: make sure you follow all HIPAA and HITECH guidelines!
Here we show a random search (we are not featuring our own clients here, but just images that came up on Google Images based on a search in Miami). Google Images ranks these photos, and well-optimized B&As can appear in search results, leading to more visibility and patient inquiries. In fact, many practices underestimate just how much traffic and interest can be generated simply by making their B&As more accessible across multiple channels.
Spread Your Reviews Across the Web
Just like B&A photos, your patient reviews should be visible across multiple platforms—not just Google. While Google prioritizes its own reviews, it also aggregates reviews from various sites to build a complete profile of your practice. The more widespread your reviews, the more credibility and trust you build with potential patients and search engines. For years, while we agree that Google Reviews have commanded the most attention and visibility, we have preached against making it the sole focus, given at least a dozen important review sites that require your attention.
You can encourage patients to leave reviews on different platforms, but many won’t bother if they don’t have an account or if it feels like a hassle. We’ve seen this as a major pain point for practices, and that’s why we’ve made it a priority to find a solution to this problem.
Our Preferred Vendor for capturing reviews provides an in-office tablet that allows patients to leave reviews immediately after their appointment. The system then distributes those reviews across multiple platforms, increasing your overall review volume and reach. Patients are far more likely to leave a review while they’re still in your office, excited about their results, rather than later when they’re busy or forget. This small change can have a massive impact on how your practice is perceived online.
Invest in a Well-Trained Staff
You can spend all the money in the world on SEO, PPC, and website redesigns, but if your staff isn’t properly trained, you’re still losing bookings. Our sister-company, YellowTelescope achieves 65-95% same-day surgery booking ratios for its clients dating back around 16 years and over billions in practice results. If you are not already achieving a large average order at your med spa, or huge booking ratio percentages from your PCC (or if you do not have a PCC!) you are putting gas into a severely leaky tank.
Nothing burns money faster than mishandled leads. Consistent staff training is essential for everyone, from the front desk to patient coordinators.
Your front desk is the first human interaction potential patients have with your practice. If they’re not effective communicators, you risk losing a sale before a patient ever books a consultation. A disorganized or untrained front desk staff can cause more damage than most practice owners realize.
YellowTelescope’s Front Desk Training Programs (ReceptionScope and YT Mystery Caller) provide ongoing training for front desk staff at a very palatable cost, helping them master exceptional check-in and check-out procedures, advanced scheduling efficiency, sales techniques, superb phone etiquette, and review capture strategies.
While your front desk team focuses on capturing prospective patients at the initial interaction, your patient care coordinators (PCCs) are responsible for guiding these patients to scheduling a consultation and closing to surgery. Without a well-trained PCC team, you are simply wasting money spent on marketing.
If you’re looking to take your PCCs and turn them into a sales superstars, YellowTelescope’s Long-Term Consulting may be for your practice – we work with your PCCs weekly to bi-weekly to ensure they’re following best practices and increasing same-day booking ratios to well above industry averages.
These “other” marketing tactics are just as important as SEO, PPC, and website redesign—if not more so. Investing in live chat, B&A distribution, reviews, and staff training ensures that your practice doesn’t just generate leads but successfully converts them into bookings.
Need help with your marketing efforts or staff training? Reach out to us today!