• Pramod Goel
  • Jul 20, 2023

There is always a steady demand for cosmetic/plastic surgeries globally. As the procedures are elective, the market mostly caters to the cash-paying consumers.

Plastic and cosmetic surgeries have been on the rise over last decade and continue to expand today. Key market drivers are:

  • Affordability: cost continues to become more affordable
  • Awareness: growing number of providers offering esthetic procedure
  • Lifestyle: people are living longer, healthier
  • Social Media: screen time, selfies, sharing of pictures
  • Society Acceptance: self-improvement, social stigma
  • Technology: laser, botox, newer surgical techniques

Global Market Size of Cosmetic Procedures

According to research, the global cosmetics procedures market is expected to witness robust growth and significant market valuation. It is expected to reach over $60 billion by 2026. There were over 1.5 million plastic surgery procedures and over 3 million non-surgical procedures in 2019.

Top five surgical procedures included breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tuck, eyelid surgeries, nose surgeries. While top non-surgical procedures include botox, chemical peel, hair removal, rejuvenation, non-surgical fat reduction. Men seeking cosmetic procedure such as liposuction, Gynecomastia, eyelid, tummy tuck, nose, etc. are on a rapid growth.

Key Decision Driver for Consumers of Cosmetic Procedures

When consumers pay cash for a procedure, the most important thing that they expect from the providers is transparency. This transparency is not just about the cost of the treatment, but also factors such as:

  • Brand value
  • Surgeon experience
  • Before and after pictures
  • Peer reviews
  • Videos of the clinic, procedures, testimonials, etc.
  • Surgeon certificates
  • Social media presence
  • Extent of online activities
  • Pre – in-patient – post care
  • Among others

For the providers, they must provide details about all these factors to establish complete transparency. They can do this by incorporating various digital media strategies and educate customers about their practice and offer competitive solutions.

Even when the consumers are well-educated and made aware of what they need to know, communicating directly with them is very important. The providers must include various modes of communication such as online video consultation, texting, email interactions, phone calls to explain expectations, differentiators, etc. to the patients to clear their worries and book procedures confidently.  

What Cosmetic Providers need to do?

Providing education, bringing transparency and communicating one-on-one with the consumers are effective solutions to tap this big market of global cosmetic procedures. But the challenge is how to do this. They need to make strategies and plans on how they can educate the consumers about the procedures, benefits, safety measures, center facilities, doctor credentials, treatment duration, after-care, etc.

Provide Hybrid Experience

What patients need nowadays is a hybrid experience. The providers must inform consumers about the treatment procedure, cost, recovery time, possible complications, doctor’s experience, etc. through effective means of communication. Incorporating online consultation can be a useful medium to overcome this challenge. If the patient can directly interact with the plastic surgeon or an expert from the clinic, it is easier for him/her to ask direct questions and clear all the doubts. Once, the patient gets a clear picture, the chances of booking treatment increase.

Innovative Marketing

Marketing is not just about shouting about your products/service anymore, it must be more innovative to reach the target audience. For the providers, to develop a suitable marketing plan, they must know what their target consumers want. For this purpose, knowing their interests, location, behavior and specific intentions are important. That is why incorporative behavioral marketing can be useful for providers. When a consumer visits your website and browses pages for a particular cosmetic procedure, you can tap that engagement pattern and offer relevant solutions. This will definitely offer more value to the consumer rather than regular marketing approaches.

Robust Communication

Nowadays, patients want to be aware of everything before they book a treatment. Communicating directly with them is the key to succeed in this vast self-pay market and for that incorporating omnichannel communication via emails, WhatsApp, SMS, messaging, AI, chatbots, etc. can be very useful. Such robust omnichannel communication can help providers improve transparency, flexibility and consistency, which will gradually lead to increased sales.

Incorporate Retail Healthcare

What patients now seek is more power to choose from the available options. Just like what they experience while choosing retail goods, they want a similar experience in healthcare. The providers need to create a retail-like experience for the patients where they feel the power to make the best decision for the cosmetic procedure by comparing prices, doctor credentials, clinic facilities, after-care and other benefits. The experience has to be customer-centric and transparent, which will create engagement and help to close the deal. Thus, incorporating retailing healthcare is the key to success.

Now, as we have discussed the global self-pay market of cosmetic procedures, its challenges and ways to overcome those hindrances, it is time to start incorporating the tips to gain maximum benefits. This is where PlacidWay can help you. We, at PlacidWay, serve as the leading healthcare marketplace for cash-paying patients and help thousands of providers with our innovative solutions. We implement a hybrid experience with AI-based omnichannel communication and behavioral marketing strategies. Our wide range of advanced solutions like all-inclusive packages, online consultation/second opinion, detailed center profiles, doctor profiles, videos, infographics, testimonials, case studies, etc. can help providers to reach and tap the huge potential of the self-pay global cosmetic market easily.

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