Cosmetic Surgery Times - April 2009 - (Page 20) COSMETIC SURGERY TIMES 20 Renee Diiulio STAFF CORRESPONDENT ‘Permission Mobile marketing presents a unique opportunity during all of these stages because it’s permission-based. “You’re marketing to people that have asked to receive your promotions—a very receptive audience,” says Mike Dirmeikis, director of Web site and SMS services for Market-To-Cell. SMS stands for Short Message Service, a communication service standard allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices. SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application on the planet, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers sending and receiving text messages on their phones Cosmetic surgery practices can use the mobile medium to introduce new procedures, offer discounts and other promotions, conduct surveys, update insurance policies, provide health care information, and deliver reminders for appointments, follow-ups, and medical procedures. “If integrated into a practice’s inhouse system, [mobile marketing] removes the labor involved in reminder phone calls, brings immediate awareness of any new surgical procedures to the patient base, and makes practice more personal,” says Mr. Dirmeikis. WHEN TO GO MOBILE The key to mobile Mobiletexting personalizes your practice FOR MANY PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, the best way to reach them is through their cell phone. “A cell phone number is almost more important than a Social Security number because globally that [cell phone] number is a personal identification number,” suggests Michael J. Becker, vice president of mobile strategies, iLoop Mobile, Inc. Mr. Becker also sits on the board of the Mobile Marketers Association as well as the Mobile and Programming Advisory Council and Mobile Council of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Mr. Becker If someone wants to reach him anywhere on the globe, he adds, they can do so through his cell phone. With mobile phones in the hands of four billion subscribers worldwide, this is true for many others. This new reality presents a unique opportunity for personalized, enhanced, one-way and two-way communication, not only between individuals but also between companies and customers — or physicians and patients. Mobile channels can be used during any of the four marketing stages defined by Mr. Becker: customer acquisition, maintenance and retention, service and support, and evangelism (where happy customers spread the good word about a company). into return estimates. Cell phone, SMS/text messaging and mobile Internet adoption varies across age groups. Geriatric patients may be less likely to opt-in, but those differences are vanishing. “When you look at available statistics, you see the age group where texting is common getting older,” Mr. Dirmeikis notes. PERMISSION PLEASE The best way to drive patients to opt-in is to highlight participation benefits. “The text messaging program and how it will work to benefit the patient needs to be clearly articulated, by mouth or in print, in handouts or Web site verbiage,” Mr. Dirmeikis advises. Greater opt-in will be generated by highlighting these advantages. Patients are likely to appreciate unobtrusive reminders, quick access to new procedures, savings opportunities, and improved health care information. “The surgeon has to ask himself, why should the audience care? What enticement will he give them to actually engage?” Mr. Becker explains. The answers should be merged with the mobile campaign’s aims. As with any marketing program, it’s important to set clear business objectives as well as corresponding metrics to measure success. Mr. Dirmeikis notes these could include more efficient communication, reduced labor, increased business and improved patient-doctor relationships. Measurements can be evaluated with surveys and data analysis. WHEN TO MESSAGE Once a patient has opted-in, the program should deliver as promised. Messages should be brief and to the point — and they should have a point. Consumers should be able to opt-out of a program as easily as they opt-in. Although some services, such as horoscopes and traffic reports, deliver daily, most mobile marketers send fewer messages. The industry standard is about three a week, according to Mr. Dirmeikis. marketing is that patients opt-in. Regulations and industry guidelines require direct consent from consumers before connecting via mobile phone. Because of this, a mobile marketing campaign does not start with a purchased list. “People need to realize mobile is a channel to be built with one’s own audience base, not somebody else’s,” says Mr. Becker. Ideally, that audience base is big enough to permit a return on investment. A new practice with 50 or 100 patients may not find a mobile messaging system cost-efficient, but one with a thousand patients may be able to realize significant savings, Mr. Dirmeikis adds. Basic SMS services can amount to a one-time expense of approximately $1,000, says Mr. Dirmeikis. Messaging fees add additional cost and make up the bulk of fees. “Up to 5,000 messages per month costs around 10 cents per message,” says Mr. Dirmeikis. Patient demographics should also figure The timing of a text depends on its purpose. “If announcing new cosmetic surgery procedures, the timing is determined by when those are available to patients. If promoting an existing procedure that has reduced in cost, it should be sent as soon as the pricing is available,” says Mr. Dirmeikis. WHAT TO MESSAGE A “text” should also stick to text. Practices may be tempted
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