Prospecting and Recalling Patients After COVID-19

Woohoo! You’re FINALLY open after COVID-19 shutdowns! But now, how do you get patients to come in for treatments and procedures after being closed for 6-8 weeks? The answer is simple: calling your patients.

Calling your patients is going to be the #1 way to let them know that you’re back open and ready for business, and believe us, your patients ARE expecting to receive a phone call from you. Just as an example, the mother of one of our team members had no clue that essential medical practices are now open here in Orlando, FL (one of our offices is based here). Her response was, “Really, they’re open? How come I haven’t received a phone call from them?”. She wasn’t thinking about reading the latest news article for this update, she was expecting to receive a phone call to let her know. We’re sure your patients feel the same way.

So, who do you call and where do you start?

We suggest that you break up the task into lists. The first list of patients you’re going to contact are those who we call the “low hanging fruit.” These are patients and prospective patients who have been calling you, messaging you on social media, sending you email inquiries, leaving you voicemails and more. Now is the time to reach out them, answer their questions, and schedule them for consults and treatments/procedures (the goal is always to close them, right?).

Once you have called, emailed, and DM’ed the low-hanging fruits, you now want to target a different list: patients you’ve canceled due to COVID-19. If patients had a procedure/treatment scheduled during the time your office was shut down, and you needed to cancel or reschedule their appointments due to this reason, you want to call them as soon as possible and get their appointments back on the calendar.

The next list of patients you want to call are those who are overdue for their cosmetic/aesthetic treatments. These are treatments which have results that last anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months (e.g., neuromodulator injections, lip fillers, microdermabrasions). If it’s been 3 months since a patient has received their Botox treatment, and they haven’t been back to your office, it’s time for a phone call! Do not assume it’s too early. Have a staff member call the patient and give them the exciting news that you’re back open and ready to see them again for a touch up.

Finally, a list of patients you want to call now that you’re back open after COVID-19, are those who have purchased a package. Let your patients know that you would LOVE to have them come in to receive the next treatment in their package. If you’re thinking to yourself “well, this isn’t going to generate additional revenue”, it actually is. This is a PERFECT opportunity for you and your staff because once you have them in your office, you can talk to them about skincare and ask about other areas of concern. You always have to think about what else you can offer and how else you can help them. In the end, it benefits both you and the patient.

Loved these tips? Well, we have a whole bunch more on reopening your practice. In fact, we created an entire online course for you! Yes, our “Business Restart After COVID-19 Bundle” has eight informational videos, step-by-step checklists, and downloadable protocols that combine our award-winning expertise so you learn everything you need to do to successfully restart your practice after the crisis. The eight courses are on:

• Facility Management
• Front Desk Procedures
• Office Sanitization  
• Practice Inventory 
• Prospecting and Recalling Patients
• Social Media Plan
• Staffing Plan
• Virtual Consultations