Introduce new fat grafting liposuction services as consistent with your brand

Liposuction has been and most likely will continue to be one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures in the United States. With 265,209 procedures performed in 2019, it is second only to breast augmentation (nearly 300,000 procedures.) Plastic and cosmetic surgeons who perform liposuction services often find it’s their bread and butter.

In the last five years, cosmetic surgery publications have shifted their focus from the typical liposuction services (Mommy Makeover, gynecomastia) to highlighting fat transfer breast and buttock augmentation. Doctors are simultaneously embracing new technologies that increase fat viability immediately and long-term. Further, patients who are concerned about breast implant illness and BIA-ALCL are increasingly curious about the prospect of using their own fat to achieve their desired shape. Indeed, where demand for most other procedures remained stagnant,  the number of Brazilian butt lift procedures worldwide rose by 35.8% from 2014 to 2018. In the United States alone, from 2015 to 2019, these procedures almost doubled, increasing by 90% in those four years. During the same time period, American surgeons performed 37.3% more fat transfer breast augmentation procedures, where breast implant procedures dropped by 11%. Experts forecast the global autologous fat grafting market to rise “at a considerable rate” between 2020 and 2026. It’s clear that for any practice who wants to keep up with this ever-growing trend, adopting optimal fat grafting capabilities should be a priority consideration.

If you plan to add fat grafting to your liposuction services, presenting it as supporting your practice brand will reassure patients about your practice’s integrity and consistency. When a practice’s brand is clear, established and unique, consumers trust it because they know they can hold you to your brand’s promise, making their interactions with you less risky. Meanwhile , your ideal patients relate to it and recommend it because they feel it reflects their values.
On the surgeon’s side, a clear, unique brand attracts the patients you prefer to work with. It also provides a competitive edge and lends more value to the practice when you go to sell it.

Nine different ways to position your brand

Brand leadership expert and author, Denise Lee Yohn, has defined different types of brands.  Seven of these pertain to plastic and cosmetic surgery practices. While some overlap exists between them, finding a primary angle (also known as a “unique differentiator”) is critical.  Adding a new service like fat grafting can be a great time to revisit your unique brand. These examples should help you not only revisit your brand, but also find the optimal language to explain how fat transfer breast and buttock procedures are part of it.

⇒ Need help deciding what your plastic surgery practice brand is? Our LipoGuide quiz can help! Complete this eight-question quiz in under a minute to help crystalize your vision for your practice. 

Let’s take a minute to explore the different types of brands.

1. Conscious Brand — Doing good in the world.
Many reconstructive plastic surgeons are driven to help patients with diseases like breast cancer or genetic deformities feel better about themselves. These public servants aim for natural results rather than anything “celebrity-level” or extreme.
A conscientious Brand’s Language for the New Fat Grafting Option
We now offer fat-grafting because it gives us more options to:

  • Offer additional treatment to suffering patients
  • Restore natural shape
  • Restore balance
  • Bring more volume to affected areas

2. Service Brand — A concierge service where the surgeon themself, rather than a nurse or front office staff,  interacts with the patient most frequently.
Some plastic surgeons use a super service or “concierge,” high-touch approach. Patients have surgeons’ home numbers and are welcome to call any time during the day or night.  Most calls go to the surgeon. The practice often offers same-day appointments, transportation to and from the clinic, and home visits. Many patients are willing to pay a premium for these perks. If this is your route, prepare your staff to pamper patients and prospects from the minute they come in the door and take extensive time with each to ensure all questions are answered. Doctors and nurses make follow up phone calls to ensure recovery is going well.
A service Brand’s Language for the New Fat Grafting Option

  • We’ve heard your goals clearly and want to be sure to have all the very best options to meet them. So that you are comfortable, we want to offer many cosmetic surgery options so you can select what matches your aesthetic, risk tolerance, and goals.
  • We can combine fat transfer and augmentation if that’s the ideal fit for your goals.
  • We customize all of our procedures to your needs.

3. Innovative Brand — Daring surgeons known for developing their own procedures and protocols
Some doctors create their own products and processes, name them and trademark those names. These extra steps reveal their dedication to effective surgical procedures and the enthusiasm to go the extra mile to get patients the prosthetics that work the best.
An innovative Brand’s Language for the New Fat Grafting Option

  • You know we’re always looking for the best procedures for our patients. Today’s fat grafting procedures show real promise for..
  • Innovators ourselves, we research and test all the new technologies so our patients have access to the most cutting edge options. Here’s how we’ve vetted fat grafting…
  • We are one of the first practices in the area to use the new autologous fat transfer breast and buttock augmentation. We’ve done hundreds of these procedures where other practices are just getting started..

4. Value Brand — Reliable, basic services at reasonable prices.
Plastic and cosmetic surgeon websites that showcase people with more average results and their own modest, traditional attire make them approachable and reasonable rather than glamorous and expensive. This type of brand avoids terms like “celebrity-level results,” emphasizing “natural” results instead. Unlike a luxury or service-oriented surgeon that conducts all procedures himself or herself, these surgeons are happy to reveal that trained nurses conduct dermal injections.
A value Brand’s Language for the New Fat Grafting Option

  • Fat grafting is the common sense way to add volume to breasts and butts because it repurposes your own tissue.
  • Fat grafting today offers permanent results that often don’t involve check-ups and removals.
  • If the news regarding breast implant illness or BIA-ALCL concerns you, we have more natural options you may prefer.

5. Luxury Brand — The best for the best.
Some of the most luxurious practice websites exude luxury from the images to the clothes the doctors wear. While they may mention natural-looking results, they also mention celebrities and “celebrity-level results” all over their websites.
A luxury Brand’s Language for the New Fat Grafting Option

  • It’s not just Kim Kardashian who’s turned to fat grafting to get the curves she wants. It’s Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox and Kate Hudson.
  • Fat transfer is now the top-of-the-line breast and butt augmentation method.
  • Only the best surgeons have the talent to do it properly, however.
  • Our most discerning clients are using fat transfer procedures to get the most exquisite results.

6. Style Brand — a unique, even bold style aiming to resonate with a consumer base that shares or aspires to that unique style.
An artistic bent calls a sliver of plastic and cosmetic surgeons to the field. They use a natural sense of balance, texture, shape and volume to win the best results.  Some of these artsy doctors go hipster, displaying razor stubble and t-shirt-under-formal-jacket couture to telegraph the most modern styles. The slice of consumers who share that sophisticated aesthetic will know they’ve found a kindred spirit in the doctor who prioritizes current fashion.
A style Brand’s Language for the New Fat Grafting Option

  • Because you understand the trends, you know the more modern look emphasizes balanced curves.
  • Fat grafting manifests the latest shifts in the ideal feminine form. Study Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar to get some examples of the figure you’re aiming for

7. Traditional Brand — Professionals who’ve been in their industry the longest and have achieved status.
Established doctors have the luxury of mentioning that they are the former president of The Aesthetic Society or have been honored with awards given by the big plastic surgery organizations as well as peers. This information appears on the first few sentences of the website. These seasoned doctors are not shy to mention that they’ve been practicing surgeons for decades.. Consumers with low risk tolerance trust the more traditional brands.
A traditional Brand’s Language for the New Fat Grafting Option

  • I’ve seen procedures come and go, but this fat grafting is a real solution for people who want to add volume safely.
  • This is more than a trend. I’ve seen the trends. Fat grafting is a positive addition to the cosmetic surgery industry.
  • I know the fat-grafting innovators. In fact, I went to school with them / worked with them / appeared at a conference with them. I’ve looked at all their research and the science is sound. I believe in this new procedure.
  • Fat grafting is FDA-approved and considered safe by The Aesthetic Society and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. All the research indicates it adds desired volume with few negative side effects.

Adding Fat Grafting to Your Brand Platform

Cosmetic surgeons vary as much as those in any field. Not everyone wants to be a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon serving demanding clients with the highest expectations. A good portion of surgeons lean toward the reconstructive side, driven by childhood experiences with a family member having reconstructive surgery that invigorated their mood and outlook. Other surgeons feel they get to express their artistic skills through the art of liposculpting. It takes all kinds.

When adding fat grafting to your liposuction services, tying it into your brand helps keep your clients loyal and allows you to feel honest about your unique approach to your market.

Branding your medical practice brings you a competitive advantage, fills your client pipeline, and eventually ensures your patients are satisfied.  In the end, you must balance the cases you want with what the people in your area desire and build your brand around that intersection.

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