<p class="d-table">As a healthcare provider, your job is to ensure your patients get the most appropriate treatment in a timely manner. But a patient's experience in a doctor's office is much more than a consultation or a treatment. Customer experience in healthcare drives patient satisfaction and loyalty and has a direct impact on sales. Small changes at healthcare organizations can do wonders for patient satisfaction and patient retention. Please continue reading to learn more about how you can make the patient journey a positive one and attract more patients to your practice.</p><h2 class="d-table">Why is it important to improve patient experience in healthcare?</h2><p>You might think that providing high quality care is sufficient to create a thriving healthcare practice. But in the highly competitive healthcare industry today, doctors also need to provide excellent customer service to bring in new patients and retain existing patients.</p><p>The patient journey from a prospective patient to a recurring loyal client is a long one. It starts typically with searching online for an aesthetic provider or doctor and continues after the visit. Each step along the way should be designed to ensure patient convenience and good customer service.</p><p>Surveys have shown that 7 out of 10 patients say they would change doctors based on overall patient experience. Therefore, making patient experience a priority at your practice is essential for a successful healthcare practice. It will enhance patient satisfaction and ultimately lead to higher patient retention.</p><h2 class="d-table">How can clinics improve customer experience and increase patient satisfaction?</h2><h3 class="d-table">New Furnishings</h3><p>Is your waiting room looking dated and worn out? Is the layout clunky? Most waiting rooms are basic with chairs, large tables, and old magazines. You can greatly improve customer experiences by making your waiting room warm and inviting. It is also a great opportunity to build your brand.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://d35gtrzsfcghde.cloudfront.net/3b7f8a86feab53c39594b9849224677c.jpg"></figure><p>Consider investing in new furnishing or changing the layout to make your waiting room more appealing. Some aesthetic practices are even going as far as designing their waiting room like a coffee shop with comfortable chairs and coffee tables. Anything that makes waiting a more pleasant experience will lead to a positive experience for patients.</p><h3 class="d-table">Décor</h3><p>Your waiting room should be an inviting, soothing, stress-free environment. You can accomplish this by paying attention to wall colors, layout, furnishings, music, and more. For example, something as small as aromatherapy diffusers can create a relaxing spa-like environment. Use a mix of decorative wall art in the waiting rooms and informative posters with medical information in the exam room.</p><p>Foliage is one of the most cost effective ways to improve customer experience. Green plants not only help to clean the air and increase humidity, but also add color and texture to your décor. Plus, they make patients feel more relaxed and reduce anxiety.</p><p>Pay attention to lighting. Soft white lights are inviting. A too-bright waiting room can be intimidating. A poorly lit or dim room is no good either because patients cannot read or fill out forms. Use lighting to set the ambiance at your practice. Try to maximize natural daylight as much as possible. If your windows overlook a space that is unattractive, create a natural daylight effect using artificial lighting.</p><h3 class="d-table">Reception Desk</h3><p>This is often the first thing patients see when they walk into your clinic - the reception area. It should be optimized for patient and staff convenience. Your team should have enough space behind the counter to work without feeling like they're falling over each other. The reception desk should be clean, organized, and free of clutter. The IT systems should be out of sight if possible. On the patient's side, there should be enough space to stand and fill out information with easy access to pens. Avoid placing brochures and catalogs on the reception desk - this can make it appear disorganized and cluttered.</p><h3 class="d-table">Waiting Times</h3><p>Despite your best efforts to keep up with your schedule, appointments can run over, leading to longer than usual wait times for your patients. If this occurs, have a staff member explain and apologize. Most patients are understanding and would rather have a healthcare provider who provides quality care than someone who rushes through appointments.</p><p>Design your waiting room keeping longer waiting times in mind. Go beyond the usual old magazines and brochures. Some practices add coffee table books, iPads, or games to keep patients entertained. TVs are outdated because the volume has to be muted and patients cannot choose what they watch.</p><p>Think about how you can make your patients' waiting time more productive. Depending on your patient demographic, and provided you have the space, consider adding charging stations or working desks. Provide free wi-fi; if you do not want to give full access to everyone, make sure the wi-fi name and password is available upon asking. Use the waiting time to give patients relevant information about your services.</p><h3 class="d-table">Luxuries</h3><p>Not all practices can provide patients with luxuries, but if you have the budget for it, this is something that can ensure patients keep coming back to your clinic. Luxuries can include things like free refreshments, healthy snacks, coffee machine, massage chair, free samples, really anything that makes a patient feel special and appreciated the minute they walk into your practice.</p><p>If your patient demographic includes young parents who bring their kids to their appointments, consider adding a children's play area with toys, books, and healthy snacks.</p><h3 class="d-table">Your Team</h3><p>Your medical and administrative staff play a key role in the patients' in-clinic experience. In contrast to the physical things like furnishings and luxuries, this is a psychological way of making patients feel appreciated. Make sure the front office staff is friendly, engaging, and caring. Also ensure the front desk staff keep the waiting room looking clean and organized. If possible, have your staff greet each patient by name, this can make people feel special and appreciated.</p><p>Your administrative staff should not only interact with patients at check-in, but also throughout their waiting time. Be sure to have the staff ask questions, offer refreshments, and make the wait time more enjoyable. This can greatly enhance the in-clinic experience.</p><h3 class="d-table">Online presence</h3><p>An essential component of the patient experience at your practice is your online presence. Make sure you are listed in the major online directories accurately. You should also have a professional and clean website that makes it easy for prospective patients and existing patients to contact you. Remember, your website is a key component of your overall branding. It is often the first impression patients have of your clinic. Provide accurate and consistent information and use good quality photos of your practice. It is also a good idea to to add some testimonials from existing patients. This provides valuable feedback and helps foster trust.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://d35gtrzsfcghde.cloudfront.net/996cb7c8f3b97e5f8fed532c03fbe2b3.jpg"></figure><h3 class="d-table">Online Scheduling</h3><p>The convenience and freedom to schedule appointments online at your practice is a good start to a positive experience. Some surveys suggest that over half of all patients like to make appointments online. The number is increasing every year. Make sure patients can easily book appointments via web browser, email, text, or an app like MeTime. Investing in&nbsp;a system that permits online scheduling will improve patient experience, keep your current patients satisfied, and attract patients.</p><p>Further, make necessary paperwork available online by offering patients the option to fill registration, intake, and other forms online. This allows patients to do it when its convenient and avoid completing it in the rush before an appointment.</p><h3 class="d-table">Appointment Confirmations</h3><p>Make it easier for patients to remember appointments by sending a booking confirmation and reminder. You can set up an automated reminders system to accomplish this. It makes a patient feel their time is valuable. It also helps to reduce (costly) no-shows. A recent survey found that 6-7 out of 10 patients prefer to get a text reminder before a scheduled appointment.</p><p>Set up the system to send confirmations by SMS/text and/or email after a patient makes a booking. Also send a reminder two days before an upcoming clinic appointment, perhaps asking for a confirmation. If they do not confirm, you can set up the system to send one more reminder on the day prior to the appointment.</p><h3 class="d-table">Follow-Up Surveys</h3><p>After each appointment, make sure customers have a way to give you valuable feedback. This can be done through an automated survey via email or text. Despite your best efforts to provide quality care, an occasional dissatisfied client is not unusual. Not all feedback is going to be glowing online reviews.</p><p>Negative feedback is helpful to healthcare providers. It helps you identify pain points of customers and address them. If customers leave online feedback, respond promptly to both positive and negative reviews. A thoughtful response builds trust and shows patients you care for their opinions.</p><p>Remember that while responding to online reviews or feedback, you should not confirm that the person who has written a review is your patient. You also should not disclose any personal information such as their name, age, location, condition, or treatment.</p><h3 class="d-table"><strong>Stay in Touch</strong></h3><p>Other than send appointment reminders to alert patients, another way to improve patient experience at your clinic is to stay in touch. You can do this by developing and sharing helpful content on your social media channels or website blog. This not only provides valuable information to your patients but also keeps you on the top of their minds. It can help attract more patients to your practice as well.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://d35gtrzsfcghde.cloudfront.net/456cb94e572595ac274500c629bbd3f0.jpg"></figure><p>Develop content around what services and treatments are popular and patients want to know about. Answer the most frequently asked questions. Use this as an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and authority. Use a combination of original articles and shared news articles or medical blogs from authority sites to provide healthcare tips.</p><p>You can also use email marketing to stay in touch by sending patients information about promotional offers, new services, and clinic news.</p><h2 class="d-table">Wrap-Up</h2><p>By improving in-clinic customer experience, healthcare providers can have happier patients and higher patient retention. The positive patient experience can help them retain current patients, attract new patients, obtain better reviews, and position their medical aesthetic practice head and shoulders above the competition.</p><p>High quality healthcare and results are both very important to an aesthetic practice, but it is the customer’s in-clinic experience that will bring your patients back for more treatments. And even more important, it will make it more likely that they recommend your practice to family members and friends.</p><p>So, think about your in-clinic customer experience and use these tips on customer experience. It will help drive more patients and improve your aesthetics or healthcare business.</p>

High quality healthcare and results are both very important to an aesthetic practice, but it is the customer’s in-clinic experience that will bring your patients back for more treatments. And even more important, it will make it more likely that they recommend your practice to family members and friends.

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By improving in-clinic customer experience, healthcare providers can have happier patients and higher patient retention.

MeTime - Ways to Improve Your In-Clinic Customer Experience

Ways to Improve Your In-Clinic Customer Experience

<p class="d-table">When you're in the aesthetics business (or any healthcare business for that matter), providing great customer support is not an option, it's essential to your survival and growth. With patients being spoiled for choice and armed with information from the internet, now more than ever, customer support can make or break your business.</p><p>But how do you keep your support team (office manager and admin staff) from drowning in a deluge of queries, while meeting customer expectations? The answer lies in conversational support. Please continue reading to learn more about the conversational support funnel and why it is such a critical element to the success of your healthcare business.</p><h2 class="d-table"><strong>What is conversational support?</strong></h2><p>Conversational support is a new-age method of resolving customer or patient queries through digital message-based interactions. You can think of it as a cross between phone support and e-mail support. Patients (customers) and your staff (support agents) are connected both in real-time like phone support and asynchronously like e-mail support.</p><p>A conversational support funnel gives customers the option to start, stop, and restart the conversation at their convenience, while aining context. Because the support is instant, it allows fast, efficient answers without making a call to your clinic. But there's added convenience for the patients because conversational support can be asynchronous, meaning the conversation can be stopped and resumed at any time.</p><p>Essentially, conversational support combines the best of both - the real-time answers of phone support and the asynchronous communication and written record of e-mail support - and delivers something that's superior to both.</p><h2 class="d-table"><strong>Why is a conversational customer support funnel important?</strong></h2><p>In a day and age when customer expectations are sky high, a conversational support funnel allows you to provide seamless, scalable support to every customer, which is essential for driving business growth. For your support team, it is a way to get off the treadmill of patient enquiries (customer calls and e-mails). The digital messenger model combines automated and human support to answer common questions with a chatbot, get ahead of problems, and resolve more complex issues by connecting customers to team members, i.e., patients to your admin staff (more on this later in the article).</p><h3 class="d-table">Multi-Tasking</h3><p>One of the key advantages of conversational support is that it allows both customers and the support team to multi-task. The funnel does not demand an agent's complete attention and does not force customers to wait in long queues when agents are busy. Also, the conversations become a written record of the customer's history with your clinic, which can serve as a reference point to build a personal relationship with every customer or patient.</p><h3 class="d-table">Chatbots</h3><p>What's more, the addition of features like custom chatbots and saved replies can make your customer support workflow faster, more efficient, and productive, resulting in not only a great customer experience but also a happy support team. A chatbot on your aesthetic clinic's website, for instance, can answer commonly asked questions and make it easier for patients to book appointments without your staff needing to answer questions on the phone.</p><h3 class="d-table">Proactive solutions</h3><p>A conversational support funnel is a proactive and efficient way to provide personalized support to your customers. Customers get the answers they want, when and where they want. Your support team has the right tools at its disposal to maximize resources, solve complex queries, and build long-term customer relationships.</p><h3 class="d-table">Benefits across the board</h3><p>A clinic that takes advantage of conversational support channels can expect enhanced clinic workflow and business efficiency, increased customer acquisition (new patients), improved customer satisfaction (happy patients), and better customer retention (existing patients stay with you), not to mention happy support teams (clinic admin staff).</p><h2 class="d-table">What are the different types of conversational support?</h2><p>There are three separate modes of customer query resolution that businesses can adopt as part of their conversational support funnel. The proportion of support dedicated to each mode depends on the unique characteristics of your business. For an aesthetic practice, for example, a mix of all three can work well.</p><h3 class="d-table">Proactive Support</h3><p>This mode of customer support is at the top of the conversational support funnel. It is the first-line of contact between you and your clients. It can help to drastically reduce the number of conversations between patients and your clinic (customers and your support team). Proactive support anticipates customer queries and answers them before customers even realize they have questions. It is one of the most important tools in onboarding and educating new patients about your products and services. By answering repetitive questions upfront, it reduces customer frustration (even regular patients can encounter issues and reach out for support). And when you face hurdles like website downtime, delivery delays, or products out-of-stock, by proactively informing customers, it addresses issues that can otherwise wipe out your support team's entire day.</p><h3 class="d-table">Self-Service Support</h3><p>This is a layer of customer support that does not involve interaction with a human member of your support team. Today's customers don't want to wait endlessly to speak to a human. They want instant answers to their questions and quick resolution of their problems. The self-service mode of a conversational support funnel answers simple, repetitive, and common questions through a response from an automated chatbot. The technology has grown by leaps and bounds and there is a growing contextual knowledge base. As a result, chatbots have gone from being potential irritants to fast resolvers of queries that can close a ticket faster than humans. By embracing modern chatbot-based self-support channels, businesses can increase the efficiency of their support team, avoid over-stretching the team, and reduce the need to scale up their support teams. At aesthetic practices, however, chatbots would only be cost-effective only for large practices.</p><h3 class="d-table">Human Support</h3><p>This is the holy grail of customer expectations. It is a mode of the conversational support funnel that involves direct interaction with members of your team at the support center to answer questions and resolve issues quickly and efficiently. It is the traditional way of having staff at your clinic answer patient queries on the phone or by email. A well-planned funnel can ensure customers only need to talk to team members when the nature of their issue warrants it. This is where you review customer wishes, get to the bottom of a complex issue, and build lasting relationships with high-value customers by adding a personal, human touch to conversations.</p><h2 class="d-table">What can conversational support do for my business?</h2><h3 class="d-table">Capture information from customers</h3><p>Messenger-based conversational support funnels provide faster support to customers and save time for your support team by addressing large volume repetitive queries. But there's an added advantage. The funnels allow you to capture valuable information about your customers and gain a deeper understanding of their behavior. A customized chatbot can automatically and seamlessly capture information about your customer without your support team ever getting involved. You can use this information to create a better experience for clients with more intuitive, personal responses in the future.</p><h3 class="d-table">Identify business trends</h3><p>Your conversational support funnel can serve as a database of customer queries. Using AI, you can then leverage this database to quickly and efficiently identify emerging trends and topics, questions that routinely confuse customers, or questions that ultimately require an agent to intervene. Seeing a surge in queries about a particular topic? This is a clear indicator of increased customer interest. But that's not all. By using AI analysis, you can be proactive and suggest emerging topics to customers during the chat. This will not only enhance their experience but also create additional sales collaterals.</p><h3 class="d-table">Create a seamless flow for customers</h3><p>The one thing customers hate is waiting while an agent connects them to the right team. With a conversational support funnel, this becomes seamless. The tool can automatically assign a specific type of query to the appropriate team (billing, products, complaints). The conversations with the customer are already on record, so other teams that come into the picture can see the support journey up to that point and focus on providing a solution that will deliver satisfactory results.</p><h3 class="d-table">Enhance customer satisfaction</h3><p>Customer satisfaction is critical for both new customer acquisition and existing customer retention. In the field of medicine, happy patients means your patients stay with you and recommend you. A conversational support channel has major implications for all these important metrics. The tool can help your business ain a high satisfaction rate even when query volumes increase or inbound conversations skyrocket. This is usually impossible for businesses to do if they scale with only a human support team in place. In other words, as your company grows, you can stay on top of customer (patient) satisfaction without increasing the size of your support team (admin staff).</p><h3 class="d-table">Improve support team morale</h3><p>Customer support is a complex, demanding job. The monotonous, repetitive work can take a toll on customer service reps, leading to dissatisfaction. Companies that deploy a conversational support funnel reduce repetitive tasks and free up agents to do more fulfilling work, such as building relationships with high-value customers or providing resolution for complex issues. In a busy clinic, freeing up admin staff by delegating repetitive queries to a conversational support funnel can improve efficiency and staff morale.</p><h2 class="d-table">The bottom line</h2><p>Now that you have a deeper understanding about the features of a conversational support channel, can you see how it will benefit your aesthetic business? An intuitively designed digital messenger based support system is the future of customer support. The MeTime app allows clients to connect securely with aesthetic providers. Clients can get answers to their questions, send photos across, make the right decision, and book an appointment when it feels right. We'd say MeTime ticks all the boxes as an excellent conversational support funnel for aesthetic businesses!</p>

An intuitively designed digital messenger based support system is the future of customer support. The MeTime app allows clients to connect securely with aesthetic providers. Clients can get answers to their questions, send photos across, make the right decision, and book an appointment when it feels right.

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When you're in the aesthetics business (or any healthcare business for that matter), providing great customer support is not an option, it's essential to your survival and growth.

MeTime - Why You Can't Afford to Ignore Conversational Support

Why You Can't Afford to Ignore Conversational Support

<p class="d-table">Mobile technology has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last decade. Mobile devices are ubiquitous with an estimated 78% of the world's population owning a smart device. It's no surprise then that mobile health apps (mHealth apps) or medical apps are on the rise. These applications for mobile devices are increasingly being used to manage diseases and track the exchange of key data between healthcare providers and patients.</p><p>Yet, with more than 300,000 healthcare apps available and some 200 new ones being added to the top app stores every day, the market is overcrowded, to say the least. From fitness apps to wellness apps, meditation apps to disease management apps, there is hardly anything that hasn't been done already. Yet, tailored mHealth apps that cater specifically to aesthetic medicine are relatively limited, especially those that tick all the boxes for both users and health professionals.</p><p>In this article, we'll talk about some of the trends in mobile health apps as well as some of the key features that patients look for in healthcare apps. The goal is to help you develop a deeper understanding of mobile health applications and digital health technology, so that you can gain a better handle on the digital transformation that is taking place.</p><p>Ultimately, healthcare providers in general and aesthetic medical professionals in particular need to understand why they should embrace mobile solutions in order to effectively plan their digital transformation strategy.</p><h2 class="d-table">What are some key mobile health trends?</h2><p>There is increasing evidence that patient portals and health apps have a positive effective on patient satisfaction, patient care, clinical outcomes, and cost reduction. As a result, the global&nbsp;mHealth market (healthcare mobile applications market) is expected to cross US$100 billion by 2023. The two key factors driving the growth in mHealth applications are 1) an increased adoption of smartphones and other mobile devices worldwide and 2) heavy investment in digital healthcare services.</p><p>Of the two types of healthcare apps, 85% are designed primarily to be used by consumers and 15% are designed for physicians. There are very few mobile health apps that are equally useful for consumers and healthcare professionals alike - the MeTime app is a great example of one such healthcare app.</p><h2 class="d-table">What are some mobile app development trends to benefit healthcare?</h2><h3 class="d-table">AI</h3><p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the healthcare industry and is one of the most significant developments in mobile healthcare. Some of the major breakthroughs of AI include self-monitoring, self-examination, remote procedures, and reduced cost of clinic visits. &nbsp;</p><h3 class="d-table">IoT</h3><p>Internet of Things (IoT) is another technology that is very promising for healthcare organizations. It will play a key role in optimizing mobile and portable medical devices to recognize situations and respond to commands. Innovations like the “intelligent pill” and "smart contact lenses" that use sensors to collect data and transmit it to a mobile phone app will enable patients to monitor vital functions. For example, Bausch and Lomb are developing smart contact lenses that will collect and send data to an insulin pump and inform the patient of their blood sugar levels and whether any action is required.&nbsp;</p><h3 class="d-table">Big Data</h3><p>The amount of data collected, stored, linked, manipulated, analyzed, and retrieved in healthcare is mind boggling. Big data will play a key role in the management and use of healthcare data generated by Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Other potential applications of Big Data that will likely make it a sought-after healthcare technology in the future include reduction in medication errors, preventive care, reduced waiting times, reduced costs due to better resource management, and predictive diagnoses.</p><h3 class="d-table">Blockchain&nbsp;</h3><p>A major concern associated with the digital transformation of the healthcare industry is keeping patient data secure. Given that in the decade leading up to 2017, there were more than 175 million breaches of patient records, this is a valid concern. Blockchain healthcare applications can keep important and sensitive medical data secure, incorruptible, decentralized, and transparent, with the identity of the patient concealed. Therefore, Blockchain technology is likely to be widely used in mobile technology and healthcare app development.</p><h3 class="d-table">Voice Recognition</h3><p>This is a disruptive technology that is already changing the face of many industries and healthcare is no exception. It is predicted that by 2030, approximately one-third of all web browsing will be done through voice commands. The application of voice technology is particularly interesting in apps designed for healthcare professionals. There is scope to reduce the workload of physicians through voice commands, such as to a virtual healthcare assistant, leading to reduced manual documentation. (It is estimated that voice-enabled mobile apps can create an encounter note in under 1 minute.) &nbsp;</p><h3 class="d-table">AR/VR</h3><p>Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies are seeing a big boost in the healthcare market. AR/VR have multiple applications, ranging from pre-surgical assessments and minimally invasive surgery to 3D simulated operating rooms to impart virtual training to surgeons, mental health treatment, and chronic pain management.</p><h3 class="d-table">Cloud</h3><p>The healthcare cloud computing&nbsp;market is expected to more than double between 2020 and 2025. While adoption of cloud technologies in the healthcare industry was initially slow, the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced and fueled the adoption of this wireless technology. Cloud technology can support healthcare in several ways, such as providing faster, decentralized, on-demand access to important health information (anytime, anywhere) for both healthcare professionals and patients. Moreover, many mHealth mobile apps are supported by cloud systems for data storage and inventory management.</p><h3 class="d-table">What are some key features in mobile health apps?</h3><p>Here are some of the key characteristics you should look for before embracing mHealth solutions:</p><p><strong>Design and usability</strong></p><p><strong>Testing and validation</strong></p><p><strong>Ease of use, convenience, reliability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness</strong></p><p><strong>Digital health capabilities</strong> such as access to medical records, ability to schedule appointments, appointment management, medication reminders, prescription refills, etc.</p><p><strong>Specificity of mHealth technologies for specific specialties</strong> such as plastic surgery, aesthetic medicine, and dermatology or specific health conditions such as diabetes (apps that try to solve too many problems at the same time are unlikely to find a market today)</p><p><strong>Availability in both the Apple App Store and Google Play</strong></p><h2 class="d-table">What do patients want in a mobile healthcare app?</h2><p>While both consumers and clinicians access health apps on mobile devices, consumers, i.e. patients or clients, are the key stakeholders in these digital tools. Here are some of the features of digital health technology that patients look for in mHealth apps.</p><h3 class="d-table">Ease of Use</h3><p>Nobody wants to use an app that takes ages to understand and navigate. The basic features of good mHealth apps should be easy to use for end-users. Consumers are looking for mHealth solutions that offer them digital access "right now" to their own healthcare on their mobile device. Therefore, you want a digital health application that is as simple as possible for patients to use and saves them time rather than being time-consuming. The MeTime app has an intuitively designed user interface that walks a patient through the entire journey of consulting aesthetic providers.</p><h3 class="d-table">Useful Information</h3><p>Patients are more likely to adopt mobile health apps and platforms that provide them with useful and actionable information. For instance, the MeTime app asks patients to choose the area they want to improve and then shows them possible solutions, including surgical and non-surgical treatments. Patients can then take actions based on the available possible treatments by contacting aesthetic medical professionals who offer these services in their area. The MeTime app is therefore designed to walk patients through all the information about a specific concern, keep them engaged, and gently guide them towards taking actions (contacting a provider).</p><h3 class="d-table">Communication with Medical Professionals</h3><p>Research has shown that one of the key features that patients want from a mobile healthcare app is the ease of communicating with healthcare professionals. Indeed, people love the convenience of avoiding a clinic visit when possible, not to mention it also helps to reduce costs. The MeTime app is a platform that provides easy access by allowing users to chat with experts. This not only provides a much in-demand service to patients but also helps aesthetic medical professionals save time and effort on unnecessary clinic visits. The chat feature in the MeTime healthcare app also allows doctors to get to know their patients on a more personal level.</p><h3 class="d-table">Shareability</h3><p>Many patients are looking for a community where they can interact and share information with others. A share feature in mHealth applications is therefore a big draw. The market potential of some healthcare apps can be further enhanced by allowing linkage to wearable devices that track the user's fitness routine. In a specialty such as aesthetic medicine, many clients want to share photos and discuss options with their friends and get opinions from others who may have tried similar treatments. The MeTime app has an in-app feature that is designed to help clients share and feel more comfortable and supported. It also keeps them engaged with the app.</p><h2 class="d-table">Wrapping Up</h2><p>The advancements in mobile technology have allowed smartphones to be used as gadgets that make health care more accessible. Therefore, a mobile app or mobile health device can be a very powerful health tool. The number of health apps available to consumers is expected to keep growing exponentially in the next few years as technology and health care develop hand-in-hand. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic and global health crisis has ushered the change sooner than it would have occurred otherwise.</p><p>For aesthetic medical professionals, these are exciting times with a huge potential to leverage technological solutions towards better outcomes and patient experiences. One thing is for certain, as an aesthetic medical professional, you cannot afford to ignore mobile health and mHealth apps. All that's left to do is choose from the hundreds of mobile health applications that are available. MeTime ticks all the boxes for aesthetic medicine and should be an easy choice.</p>

The advancements in mobile technology have allowed smartphones to be used as gadgets that make health care more accessible. Therefore, a mobile app or mobile health device can be a very powerful health tool. The number of health apps available to consumers is expected to keep growing exponentially in the next few years as technology and health care develop hand-in-hand.

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For aesthetic medical professionals, these are exciting times with a huge potential to leverage technological solutions towards better outcomes and patient experiences.

MeTime - Trends in mobile health apps and why you should embrace them

Trends in mobile health apps and why you should embrace them

<p class="d-table">In the cut-throat aesthetics industry, you need to stay on top of your game. If you are not making use of every opportunity to expand your business and bring your aesthetic services to more patients, your aesthetic practice may not thrive or even survive.</p><p>It goes without saying that digital is the future of marketing in the aesthetic industry. So, if you’re ready to grow your client base and build strong connections with existing and new customers, a comprehensive marketing strategy is the need of the hour. Many companies that offer digital marketing services can provide expert advice and get you started with tried-and-tested brand-building tips. But understanding aesthetic marketing yourself will help give direction to your marketing efforts.</p><p>If you find yourself wondering - How do I market my aesthetic clinic? Or... How do you advertise a cosmetic clinic? - Read on. Here are 10 marketing ideas for aesthetic clinics.</p><h2 class="d-table">Why do aesthetic clinics need a marketing strategy?</h2><p>Whether you are an aesthetic clinic that offers invasive plastic surgery or a clinic that specializes in non-invasive treatments, you cannot afford to ignore digital marketing. Yellow pages are a thing of the past. Surveys have shown that 8 out of 10 patients interested in cosmetic procedures start by Google shopping to find cosmetic surgeons. And today's consumers have vast choices, indeed. Given how competitive the aesthetics industry is, prospective aesthetic patients have an abundance of options. You need to be visible to new patients and you need to stand out from the crowd.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://d35gtrzsfcghde.cloudfront.net/35a1fe8a4e013b675839ce26d8078c4b.jpg"></figure><p>So, how do you ensure that your aesthetic clinic reaches new patients effectively? And how do you ensure patient retention? Read on for some digital marketing ideas for aesthetic practices. By making some of these strategies key components of your marketing plan, you can yield great results for your medical practice.</p><h2 class="d-table">A Professional Website: The First Impression</h2><p>A website is the first impression prospective patients get of an aesthetics clinic. Design your website intelligently. There is no point in paying to drive traffic to your website with Google ads only to lose new clients because your website is clunky or difficult to navigate.</p><p>Your website should be clean, responsive, and mobile-friendly.&nbsp;The first page should reiterate your brand. Use videos, images, patient stories, latest posts, and treatment information to make your website a vibrant place that keeps patients engaged and interested. Don't forget to leverage online reviews. Authentic patient testimonials and positive reviews are very important in medical aesthetics.</p><p>It is useful to have a clear and defined strategy about what you want to achieve from your website. Are you driving website traffic from search engines to get new clients? Do you want to engage with potential patients to try your service?</p><p>The behind-the-scenes software on your website should be optimized to capture new leads, respond to patient questions, store information, and give you strategic data insights.&nbsp;</p><h2 class="d-table"><strong>Social Media Campaigns for Aesthetic Clinics</strong></h2><p>Even the most advanced digital marketing techniques cannot attract every patient demographic. Your social media marketing efforts should be focused on the ideal target market for the aesthetic services you are promoting. They should also be optimized for a specific social media platform. For example, Instagram is a visual platform, while Facebook is better suited for patient engagement. Remember that many people will look at your paid ads on a mobile phone, so make sure they are designed to be mobile-friendly.</p><p>To obtain the greatest returns on marketing investments, identify your target new clients and offer them appropriate aesthetic services. Be sure to track engagement so you can spot opportunities to streamline and improve your aesthetic marketing efforts.</p><h2 class="d-table">Online Advertising is Key in Digital Marketing</h2><p>SEO and organic Google search are not enough for lead generation. For aesthetic clinics to realize their full potential, paid advertising is vital. Google ads and Facebook ads are a solid investment in your marketing plan. Design your ads carefully, using the correct keywords and compelling ad text.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://d35gtrzsfcghde.cloudfront.net/104dfa86429a34aac13a78356578f07c.jpg"></figure><p>But this is only half the battle won. Once you are driving traffic to your website from Google search and Google ads, you then need to convert the clicks into new patients. This means giving prospective patients relevant information through well-designed landing pages. An effective landing page is nice and clean and breaks down important information that patients are asking. What is this procedure? How does it work? How long is the downtime? What does it cost? Most importantly, don't forget a strong call to action, whether it is a contact form or a booking form for your aesthetic services.</p><h2 class="d-table">Database Software Tools for Your Aesthetic Clinic</h2><p>To maximize their digital marketing strategy, aesthetic clinics need to utilize software that can effectively manage interactions with leads and prospective patients. Meaning, when you capture information from a lead, you need database software tools such as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to store information in an organized way, send promotional emails, connect on social media, and follow up on inquiries. Aesthetic practices that are a medical clinic need HIPAA compliant CRM in the United States. Other countries may also have regulations to ensure that any patient health information shared with you online is handled securely.</p><h2 class="d-table">Automated Email Marketing: An Essential Strategy</h2><p>Email marketing is a great way to get your aesthetic marketing efforts off the ground. Write authentic, engaging messages that patients will truly love. Your emails should make them want your treatments now rather than waiting for a promotional offer or discount. As your aesthetic practice grows, you will need to graduate to using automated email marketing. This is one of the most effect ways to drive people to your website, convert prospects to long-term customers, educate your patients, alert them to new promotions, encourage them to book appointments, build trust over time, and increase referrals.</p><h2 class="d-table">The MeTime App: Bringing Prospective Patients to You</h2><p>An aesthetic business needs apps that connect prospective clients to them. This should be a priority for all aesthetic clinics and medical spas. Social media engagement is not enough. You should be able to take appointments and payments and share information smoothly. The MeTime app is designed to make things easier for you, your practice managers, and your patients. MeTime removes the need for patients to spend hours searching for cosmetic treatments on web browsers, trying to figure out what is right for them. There is no need for multiple physical consultations from different specialists. Prospective clients simply connect and communicate with you so you can provide tailored recommendations based on their preferences and profiles.</p><h2 class="d-table">Promote Treatments</h2><p>Your practice is defined by the services you offer. Focus on promoting your most popular treatments. Offer bundles of different treatments that work well together to increase sales. Demystify less popular treatments by highlighting their results in your marketing material.</p><h2 class="d-table">Cultivate Connections</h2><p>Technology can only do so much. Satisfied and happy patients are your biggest brand ambassadors. Don't miss the opportunity to promote exceptional results. Ask your aesthetic patients to write testimonials. Use them in digital marketing campaigns. Offer promotional prices or treatments to existing customers for referring your aesthetic services. Considering offering discounted consultations to referred patients.</p><figure class="image"><img></figure><h2 class="d-table">Streamline Workflow</h2><p>The MeTime app makes it easier for you to develop a relationship with potential new customers. You can schedule video consultations or in-office appointments for periods outside of treatment times. This way you can stimulate new traffic through consultations while also utilizing what are typically “down” periods for your practice. At the same time, growing your aesthetic business requires some degree of staying flexible, so you can seize opportunities when they present themselves.&nbsp;</p><h2 class="d-table">Communicate with Clients</h2><p>To convert prospects into patients, you should be able to engage and communicate with them. Effective communication helps you better understand what aesthetic services a patient desires and could benefit from and resolve the differences. Communication also helps to build trust and respect and create an environment for problem solving, setting the stage for a great relationship.&nbsp;The MeTime app makes communicating easy and clients can connect with you on their mobile phones.</p><h2 class="d-table">The Takeaway</h2><p>If you are a plastic surgeon, cosmetic surgeon, dermatologist, medical spa owner, or other aesthetic professional, you might be wondering how to create the perfect digital marketing plan for your aesthetic services that will get results. Hopefully this guide will provide you some aesthetic marketing ideas and tools that you might want to employ at your business. The key takeaway is that a combination of human approaches and technology are needed for effective marketing of aesthetic services.&nbsp;</p>

Whether you are an aesthetic clinic that offers invasive plastic surgery or a clinic that specializes in non-invasive treatments, you cannot afford to ignore digital marketing.

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If you find yourself wondering - How do I market my aesthetic clinic? Or... How do you advertise a cosmetic clinic? - Read on. Here are 10 marketing ideas for aesthetic clinics.

MeTime - 10 Marketing Ideas for Aesthetic Clinics

10 Marketing Ideas for Aesthetic Clinics

MeTime is quite unique. Many of the patients increase what they sign up for because they didn’t know what was available. They can securely make a deposit for the procedure through the mobile application

Prepare to grow your aesthetic practice by getting the most out of MeTime. We'll show you how during a personalised demo.

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