LAS VEGAS – Dermatologists who provide cosmetic services are well positioned to build and maintain a steady-stream of cash-paying patients, according to marketing strategist Catherine Maley.

"You are in an enviable position," she told attendees at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. "Your audience is an aging baby boomer group, people with all sorts of needs and wants. ... As the years go on the needs and wants just keep piling up. You have a good target market."

Ms. Maley of Sausalito, Calif., shared "must-haves" for a successful cosmetic practice:

• Focus on targeting mature, "preferred" patients. "Go after the patient who has the income and the age," she advised. The mature patient "has more needs, more wants, and more financial wherewithal than younger people," said Ms. Maley. "Go after the ones in your own zip code; you can’t be everything to everybody. The riches are in the niches."

• Have an A team. Receptionists, patient coordinators, and other staff members "have to offer awesome customer service," Ms. Maley said. "The patient has to be happy, or they’re not going to come back, and they’re certainly not going to refer their friends." She went on to note that a receptionist "is easily worth a quarter of a million dollars to you if you have her scripted correctly and she’s the right person on the phone. She has to have a warm voice that makes it inviting for callers. You also have to have the right patient care coordinator, a buffer between the physician and the patient. That patient has to have a bond with somebody in your office."

Another key for optimizing cosmetic surgery practice is to have the checkout staff book another appointment for patients before they leave the office. "Always book a patient when they’re standing smack in front of you," Ms. Maley said. If a patient says, " ‘I don’t know what my schedule is; I’ll have to call you later,’ you can reply, ‘It’s okay. Let’s go ahead and schedule you for the same day and time 4 months from now, and if we have to change the appointment, we’ll change it later.’ You have to get them on the books. It’s too easy for people to wander off nowadays."

She advised practices to carry certain retail products such as antiaging creams to offer patients upon checkout, as well as gift certificates, since they are perfect add-ons for the day’s purchase. The goal is to ensure that "every patient leaves your office smiling," she said.

• Build ways to retain patients so they return. "What’s the only difference between you and your competitors? The relationship you have with your patients," Ms. Maley said. "Hang on to that. It’s golden. You want to retain them so they’ll return and refer."

You can nurture patient relationships with personal e-mails, greeting cards, invitations to special events or lectures, patient letters, and social media. Optimal times to reach out, she said, include birthdays, Mother’s Day, New Year’s, and during changing seasons.

One "prop" to help spread the word about a practice is a photo note card that contains a before and after photo of the patient, with a message that says, "Thank you for your trust!" she said. "Don’t forget to include your name, website, and phone number right next to those photos so when they open up the card to show their friend, there you are."

Another effective way to build retention is to offer current patients a $50 gift card good toward their next treatment or procedure for referring new patients who book an appointment. "Your No. 1 asset is not just your patient – it’s your patient’s friends, coworkers, family members, hair stylists, and business partners," she said.

• Form strong alliances with potential referrals. Strong referral sources include hair salon owners, noncompeting aestheticians, retail shops, women’s clubs, health clubs, personal trainers, and other noncompeting clinicians. Ms. Maley spoke of one hair stylist who referred 250 of his clients per year to a dermatologist and plastic surgeon right down the street. "That guy alone was a goldmine," she said.

She recommended forming a "VIP club" for customers of alliance referrals. This might include no waiting for appointments, last-minute appointments, a free monthly peel, valet parking (if applicable), 15% off retail products, and a free surprise gift each quarter. "There’s some great psychology in this, because the hair salon owner or other referral source looks like a queen, because she got a deal for her customers through you, and then you got new patients out of it."

Ms. Maley said that she had no relevant financial disclosures.

Expert Offers Insider Marketing Tips for Cosmetic Practices