L is for Location

As goes the adage, "The three most important points in real estate are location, location, location," such holds true for the consideration of where to open your anti-aging practice or clinic. First and foremost, your facility should be strategically located for easy-of-access.

Next, because your practice or clinic caters to a discerning demographic (see "D"), it should be located in a safe and professional part of town. It should also have accessible parking (either street-side or lot). Your patients, both prospective, and existing, need to be able to get to your location easily and simply, and feel secure in spending a half- or full-day at your practice or clinic. Your staff needs to feel similarly reassured, so they can focus on their work responsibilities in servicing your patients.

M is for Marketing

When opening an anti-aging practice or clinic, it is paramount to have a sound marketing plan by which you will secure new patients and maintain existing patients. Make the investment in print advertising and distribution. Create an informative, eye-catching newsletter, brochure, or postcard that you will direct mail to a selected target audience (the anti-aging demographic, a specific geographic area, etc.). The mail piece should compel the recipient towards the conclusion that it is absolutely imperative that s/he comes to your practice or clinic and initiates his/her anti-aging program without delay. It often takes six to eight iterations of a marketing message to be comprehended by recipients, so be prepared to create and mass-mail multiple times. You should expect a 1 to 5% response rate to direct mail campaigns.

Word-of-mouth advertising will commence once your patient base begins to become established, and your patients see the value (see "V") of your services and your expertise (see "C") in providing them. A well-crafted website (see "W") can encourage your existing patients to spread the word about your practice or clinic readily and effectively.

N is for Networking

Networking, in the form of community outreach, can be a powerful and cost-effective mode of marketing. Offer free educational seminars informing the public about the latest anti-aging diagnostics, therapeutics, or biotech advancements at your practice or at the local school or library. Advertise in a local publication and arrange for editorial content to be published in conjunction with the ad. These approaches both help to establish you and your practice or clinic as an expert in anti-aging medicine in your community.

Cooperatively advertise your practice or clinic at other businesses that attract the similar demographic (see "D"). Place your business card or mail piece (see "M") at surrounding restaurants, coffee houses, Internet cafes, fitness centers, gyms, bookstores, and natural grocers.

O is for Oversight

The most successful anti-aging practices and clinics are those overseen by a physician, often who is a member of A4M (see "A") and is Board Certified in anti-aging medicine (see "C"). This is because A4M physicians are among the most proactive preventive healthcare professionals, often routinely attending scientific conferences (see "A") to keep up-to-date with the latest advancements in anti-aging diagnostics and therapeutics that can readily be deployed in the clinical setting. There are also federal, state, and/or local regulations in-place stipulating requirements for operating equipment utilized for anti-aging diagnostics and/or therapeutics, and often these require the onsite presence of a licensed physician.

Additionally, the anti-aging practice or clinic will be well-served by appointing a management board, one comprised of adjunct physicians, healthcare practitioners, and business experts. It is the objective of the management board to keep the practice or clinic true to its Business Plan (see "B") and goals (see "G") and propose course corrections where appropriate.

P is for Personnel

Your staff can also serve as an important marketing outlet (see "M"). Management and key practice or clinic personnel should treat each staff member with respect, while engendering in them that each patient is to be afforded the highest level of attention and service. Be mindful that each and every employee affects patients and how they relate and perceive your practice or clinic. Such patient relations and perceptions are key in positive word-of-mouth advertising (see "M").

When your practice or clinic begins to grow, be sure to expand the staff as well. Doing so ensures continuity of the highest level of attention and service to patients while reducing the burden on existing personnel. Consider hiring Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to support the overseeing facility physician. With growth, be sure to supplement the administrative/support staff as well, to account for expanding numbers of patient records and scheduling tasks.

R is for Retention

It is estimated that it is six to ten times more expensive to gain a new patient than to keep an existing one. Retention strategies are paramount to the long-term success of the anti-aging practice or clinic. Each patient should receive complete and detailed post-consult instructions, which include at-home care instructions for post-treatment. Two to three days post-consult, a follow-up by telephone is conducted, during which your staff asks the patient about their consult experience schedules future appointments. This phone call is also an appropriate time for follow-on upsell (see "U").

S is for Services

Some of the most common treatments at anti-aging practices and clinics include:
• Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Antioxidant and Vitamin Supplementation
• Maximization of Immune Function
• Detoxification
• Cardiovascular Protection
• Cognitive Function Repair
• Metabolic & DNA Repair
• Skin De-Aging & Repair
• Lifestyle Modification
• Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation-Sports Medicine-Conditioning

Choose to offer those services that appeal to you based on your clinical expertise and interests, as well as the anticipated needs of your target audience (see "D"). Optimally, the anti-aging practice or clinic should offer a menu of services that are optimized for both client satisfaction and profitability. For example, skin de-aging and repair offers ongoing product needs by patients, visible and/or immediate progress to patients, and high-margins for the practice or clinic.

T is for Training

Postgraduate education and hands-on training are essential elements that define the long-term success of an anti-aging practice or clinic.

Consider enrolling in the Fellowship in Anti-Aging & Regenerative Medicine, offered by the A4M (see "A"). The Fellowship program affords anti-aging physicians with an intensive series of seminars as well as on-site training with a Board Certified anti-aging physician, complemented by teleconference discussion forums.

From the Fellowship program, physicians learn comprehensive, real-world diagnostic and treatment protocols from world-renowned clinical experts. Additionally, DVDs, videotapes, and MP3 recordings from scientific conferences (see "A") can further your medical education in the anti-aging medical arena..

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