I’m always fascinated with how patients find our practice. Sure it could be as simple as googling “awesome plastic surgeon” and then coming in to see me ?! That’s a fairly straightforward trip through our sales funnel. But usually it’s an intriguing combination of psychology, associations/friends, habits, interests, marketing, social media, technology and on a very basic level, word of mouth. The patient I recently performed a breast augmentation on is no exception to that combination of factors. Here’s the story of how she found us.
Attribution through a Sales Funnel
It’s not always clear how a patient finds any practice. Often a patient attributes finding your practice to Google (ie gives Google credit for what helped them find you). But it’s possible a friend told them about your practice first and then they googled you. The more accurate attribution in this case would be a personal referral, not google. (Remember this word – attribution – because we’ll mention it again!)
And even if you know which lead source to correctly attribute to the patient sitting in your waiting room, you don’t always know the circuitous route that led them there in the first place. The route they took highlights different touch points that helped them make their decision.
A breast aug patient’s trip through our sales funnel
So back to our breast aug patient. In her case, it started with Current Clothing, a fashion-forward boutique on Union Street in San Francisco. The patient shopped there and followed them on Instagram. She saw that my practice was having a Botox/XEOMIN® night at Current Clothing just before Christmas and New Year’s. She was considering getting injections to smooth out the lines on her forehead for a while.
While she didn’t make that event, we had another event at Current Clothing on April 4th. This time she scheduled an appointment. This background is critical. It means she entered our sales funnel back in December but didn’t commit to an appointment for 4 months.
If you’re questioning a Botox/XEOMIN® event at a clothing store, question no more! It’s a perfect setup. We were in a dressing room with curtains and plenty of space. So we weren’t cramped and we could provide each patient with the privacy we would all want during a visit to the doctor’s office.
But back to our story. At some point, the patient started following my wife’s fashion blog. She appreciated my wife’s “petite” style and the clothes she would often wear from Current Clothing on her Instagram page. We met the patient on April 4th as scheduled and she loved everyone at the store (based on her Yelp review) and we loved her! Once she came in for treatment, she had gone through our sales funnel from top (awareness) to bottom (treatment). But it didn’t stop there.
A week later, on April 10th, the patient submitted a “wishlist” through our Price Estimator on our BuildMyBod Health profile page. Here, she was able check pricing immediately on a breast augmentation but only after providing her contact information. Once she submitted a wishlist, our office received an automated email with her contact info. Through multiple wishlists, we could see she was reviewing pricing on breast augmentation with several styles of implants (saline, silicone, or the IDEAL implant). She was already moving through our sales funnel a second time! With the Price Estimator, she could check pricing without having to call the office. And with the Price Estimator, we were made aware of her interest.
At the time of the consult, she booked. And why wouldn’t she…she already met our staff at the Current Clothing event. But more than that, there was no sticker shock by the time she arrived for her consult. She already knew the estimated cost of the procedure.
Her breast augmentation was on May 9th. You can see her “story” below!
Why is determining attribution important
While this same scenario won’t play out the same for every patient, a variation of it will. So knowing these potential touch points is critical for your future marketing. It helps in understanding how patients are finding you. It provides insight into what marketing collaborations work. Which you should continue and which you should stop. This leads to a more efficient use of your time and marketing dollars. But mostly, it helps you find the patients you enjoy treating and who enjoy and appreciate being treated by you!
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.
