Dr. Adamson

Although that may sound elementary, Dr. Adamson, head of the division of Facial and Plastic Surgery, and his colleague, Matthew Zavod, M.D., formerly of the University of Toronto and now at Woodland Healthcare in Woodland, Calif., have published results of a study that shows that different types of marketing tools will attract different types of patients to make an initial visit. But what closes the deal? In other words, what gets someone to commit to the operating suite?

CALL TO ACTION Word-of-mouth referrals are the most important source for predicting which patients will go ahead with facial cosmetic surgery, according to the study published in the Journal of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery in June 2008. In the retrospective study, Drs. Adamson and Zavod reviewed the charts of 1,089 patients — new to their practice between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005 — to see what marketing tools helped patients to find the practice initially and which patients subsequently proceeded with surgery. They analyzed the data by age, gender and chief complaint.

NEW AGE VS OLD SCHOOL They launched the study in an effort to resolve the divergence between plastic surgeons who are comfortable with marketing, and traditional insurance-based practitioners, who often criticize marketing as being demeaning to the profession.

"So we thought we should look at this and say, what's really happening?" Dr. Adamson says. "What's marketing all about? We wanted to prove that it's not really a bad thing, but it's something we all do in our own way. What marketing is all about is providing the very best professional care and improving your patient's satisfaction." That also means, Dr. Adamson emphasizes, having complete buy-in from staff so that each and every patient encounter is an exceptional experience.

THE GENDER-GERI GAP While analyzing what first brought patients to their office, the researchers discovered differences between genders and age groups. Men and younger patients were more likely to come in for rhinoplasty and were twice as likely to find the physicians through the practice Web site. The study states that men's frequent use of a Web site is important since men seeking out facial plastic surgery has increased by 19 percent since 2000.

In contrast, women and older patients were more likely to want facial rejuvenation and were twice as likely to find the physician through magazine, television or newspaper advertising. Women made up 82 percent of their patients. The lesson, Dr. Adamson extrapolates, is that if your practice focuses on rhinoplasty or wants to attract more men, then put money into a great Web site. "If, on the other hand, you want to get your message out to women and older patients who are looking for rejuvenation surgery, then you might do well to put the emphasis into magazines and newspapers," he adds. While the research didn't analyze the pros and cons of each medium, Dr. Adamson says he has drawn the conclusion that choosing where to put advertising dollars can vary widely between practices.

ADVERTISING ROI "The caveat comes in that it costs so much more money to advertise in a magazine — or certainly if you get into television advertising — than it does for a Web site," he explains. "This is where it becomes more a business decision to make, how much money is it worth it to you? If you have to spend an inordinate amount of money in magazine advertising just to get more women, it may be that you're not getting enough new women from that to make it worth the advertising dollars spent."

Though the study tabulated the various media that drew patients to a practice, the researchers deliberately omitted analysis of the effect of the specific messages conveyed. That, Dr. Adamson contends, is the role of an advertising or marketing specialist — not a physician.

BUILDING PYRAMIDS Still, Dr. Adamson says he follows an old advertising adage. "Advertising or marketing people will tell you that it takes five times as much effort — or five times as much money — to generate a new patient or client, as it does to keep an old one," he says. "So, really, spend your time developing life-long relationships. Those are the people then that will be happy with you, and they're going to refer other patients, which brings us full circle back to what makes a great practice? Where do your patients come from? They come from other happy patients."

That's what he calls the "pyramid effect." One happy patient brings in others who bring in more and eventually form a successful business. While about half of all patients who came to the clinic went ahead with surgery, the single predictor of likelihood of scheduling surgery was whether they were referred by family and friends — proof that a practice can be built one satisfied patient at a time.

"I think the message from the study is that marketing includes everything — internal and external marketing — meaning everything that you deliver to that patient to add value to their life," he says. "If you always put your patients' interests first, and always look at every interaction, how you can add value to their life...then that is the ideal marketing. That creates a satisfied patient, and that patient will create more patients for you."