Episode Details
Back to Episodes
How Smart Practices Grow During Uncertain Times — Catherine Maley, MBA
Description
📅 Schedule Your Practice Growth Strategy Review
⚙️ Restart your practice in 7 days
⬇️⬇️⬇️
Catherine Maley, MBA, with nearly 30 years in helping cosmetic surgeons and their staff, explains how smart practices grow during uncertain times.Hello, and welcome to "Beauty and the Biz," where we'll discuss the business and marketing side of plastic surgery.
As always, I'm your host, Catherine Maley, author of "Your Aesthetic Practice – What Your Patients Are Saying." and consultant to plastic surgeons, helping them get more patients and more profits.
How Smart Practices Grow During Uncertain TimesCurrently, something subtle is happening in aesthetic practices.
Specifically, it isn't dramatic. Instead, it is quieter than that.
Increasingly, consultations are taking longer. Meanwhile, patients are asking more questions. Consequently, decisions are slowing down. Similarly, negotiations are becoming sharper.
Even so, affluent patients — those who clearly have the money — are hesitating. Importantly, this hesitation isn't about affordability. Rather, uncertainty delays commitment.
Unfortunately, this is where many practices make a mistake. Typically, when they sense hesitation, they tighten operations. For example, they cut marketing. Additionally, they freeze hiring. Likewise, they reduce training. Eventually, they negotiate fees. As a result, profit margins erode.
In reality, expense cutting doesn't create growth. Instead, it usually slows decline.
By contrast, resilient practices take a different approach. Rather than asking, "Where can we cut?" they ask, "Where are we underperforming?"
Often, the answers are operational. For instance, missed calls reduce opportunity. Similarly, lost consult conversions weaken revenue. Likewise, weak follow-up limits growth. Additionally, dormant past patients represent untapped value.
In uncertain markets, you don't need 30% growth. Instead, you often need about 10% tighter execution. Therefore, clarity becomes a competitive advantage.
In this week's podcast, "How Smart Practices Grow During Uncertain Times," I explain:
- Specifically, why patients negotiate harder during uncertain markets
- Additionally, why cutting expenses rarely produces real profit growth
- Furthermore, where practices often underperform without realizing it
- Finally, why strong systems outperform aggressive discounting
Ultimately, uncertainty isn't a threat. Instead, it acts as a filter. Consequently, weak systems struggle. Meanwhile, strong systems remain steady.
In the end, profit growth doesn't come from panic. Rather, it comes from clarity.
Indeed, if you'd like an objective look at where your revenues may be underperforming — without adding more ads, more staff, or more chaos — request a private Practice Growth Review. Sometimes, one operational adjustment can influence the entire year.
Enjoy!
Catherine Maley, MBA
Practice Growth Resources: