Cultivating Lifetime Patients with Dr. Regina Fearmonti & Dr. Stanley Okoro
Watch:
Listen:
Two successful (and entertaining) plastic surgeons share their hard-earned wisdom on the challenge of attracting new patients and building lifelong relationships.
With Dr. Regina Fearmonti and Dr. Stanley Okoro, we’ll hear:
How to attract and retain new non-surgical patients
The importance of staying authentic as a plastic surgeon
The value of lifetime patients
Turning one-time surgical patients into lifelong non-surgical clients
Why patient education is so important
What they wish patients knew before stepping into their office
Why patients should trust doctors more than what they see on social media
The surgeons also touch on the realities of before and after photos, stressing the importance of reminding patients that achieving the “after” involves more than just the procedure itself; there’s a recovery period too. It's not as simple as a quick car wash!
Plus, ever wonder what Drs. Okoro and Fearmonti would be doing if they weren’t plastic surgeons? Find out how they’d be using their creative talents.
About Dr. Regina Fearmonti
Board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Regina Fearmonti practices at Alon Aesthetics Plastic Surgery in South Texas, specializing in breast reconstruction, body contouring, and complex breast surgery. She is the medical director of SKIN@Alon.
Learn more about San Antonio plastic surgeon Dr. Regina Fearmonti
Follow Dr. Fearmonti on Instagram @drreginafearmonti
Connect with Dr. Fearmonti on LinkedIn
About Dr. Stanley Okoro
Dr. Stanley Okoro, known as "The Bow Tie Doctor," is a double board-certified plastic surgeon based in Atlanta, with international practices in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. He specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery for the breast, body, and face.
Learn more about Marietta plastic surgeon Dr. Stanley Okoro
Follow Dr. Okoro on Instagram @georgiaplastic
Connect with Dr. Okoro on LinkedIn
Guests
Regina Fearmonti, MD
Alon Aesthetics Plastic Surgery
Stanley Okoro, MD
Georgia Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Host
Tyler Terry, Director of Sales, MedSpa
Nextech
Transcript
Announcer (00:06):
You are listening to the Aesthetically Speaking podcast presented by Nextech.
Tyler Terry (00:11):
Hey guys. Welcome back to the Aesthetically Speaking podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Terry. This is brought to you by Nextech, and we are here in beautiful San Diego. I think I've been to this conference three times now in San Diego over the last 11 or 12 years, and this is always my favorite location. I have two incredibly special guests here today. I have Dr. Fearmonti, who is from beautiful San Antonio. And I have one of my favorite plastic surgeons, someone who I consider one of my really, really good friends, Dr. Stanley Okoro from Marietta, Georgia.
Dr. Okoro (00:47):
Thank you, Tyler. It's nice to see you. I believe we probably met in this city we probably met in this. I'm not sure.
Tyler Terry (00:55):
We did. We did. It was actually my first ASPS was in 2013 and it was in San Diego and TouchMD had a huge booth and I remember that's the first time I met you.
Dr. Okoro (01:06):
That's probably correct. That's probably correct. Yes. Yes.
Tyler Terry (01:09):
So how are you guys doing today?
Dr. Okoro (01:10):
We're doing great.
Dr. Fearmonti (01:11):
You can't be angry in San Diego.
Tyler Terry (01:13):
Yeah, you really can't.
Dr. Fearmonti (01:13):
Even overcast days are better than sunny days in Texas.
Dr. Okoro (01:17):
Yeah, I run into Gina at a talk. Oh, Gina, you're here. She's just a very fun person to be with.
Dr. Fearmonti (01:26):
So is Stanley.
Tyler Terry (01:27):
So Dr. Fearmonti, I'm going to let you answer this question first, but my first question is how do you attract new nonsurgical patients to your practice and keep them?
Dr. Fearmonti (01:37):
And keep them. Yeah. Retention's always the kicker. I think social media is such a big thing depending where and what time of day people are always on their phones. I think authenticity is the way to attract. I don't say yes to every patient and the patients in my office might be very different than the patients and Stanley's office or some of my colleagues in San Antonio. I think people kind of have to connect with you on some human level. They think you're funny. I'm a crazy dog lady, I have three Cavalier King Charles spaniels, so I tend to attract, always a little bit of dog hair on me and my patients seem to get it. So I think they, the personality, because you're engaging in a relationship with them, it's kind of a friendship that lasts decades. I operate on them and they're daughters and do their implant maintenance. And so it is a relationship we have to like each other and bond on some kind of human level. So I think social media, Facebook, Instagram really kind of lets them connect with me. I get them in the office and the magic happens.
Tyler Terry (02:30):
Yeah.
Dr. Fearmonti (02:30):
Then I think retention's the same way. Do good work, work hard, make 'em happy, get inside their head and see what they want and just help them be the best version of themselves and we both win.
Tyler Terry (02:40):
Wow. Authenticity is key. Find common ground. Relate to them.
Dr. Fearmonti (02:43):
Dog people.
Tyler Terry (02:45):
Dog people too. I have a dog too. We got a dog for Christmas. A little mini goldendoodle that my girls can't get enough of. So that's amazing. I love that. Thank you for sharing that. Dr. Okoro, I'm going to turn the time over to you to share your thoughts on that.
Dr. Okoro (02:58):
On how to attract new nonsurgical patients?
Tyler Terry (03:02):
Yes.
Dr. Okoro (03:03):
I totally agree with what Gina said. For me, the majority of my nonsurgical patients actually come for my surgical patients. Just like two days ago, a little secret, little secret reveal, I just had my Botox done.
Dr. Fearmonti (03:22):
It looks good.
Tyler Terry (03:23):
It does look good.
Dr. Okoro (03:24):
Can you see that?
Tyler Terry (03:24):
It does look good. Who's your injector?
Dr. Okoro (03:26):
My PA does my, I hide them so they can do my, I can't do it myself. So once they can do my Botox, but actually this actually Daxxify actually.
Tyler Terry (03:39):
Okay.
Dr. Okoro (03:39):
Yeah, I wanted Daxxify because it kicks on a little faster, so I forgot I was coming here and some wrinkles and stuff. Two days. Anyway, so we do a little video of her injecting me. We post it and then my patients come to my, listen, they had a tummy talk or whatever like, Hey, were you getting Botox yesterday? I said, yeah, I was. I like, you can too. So I will not tell you how many times that has come up and many patients that never thought about because they think Botox or Daxxify will make them look like Hollywood frozen and not talk. And people don't know that, no, you could look like normal just without the wrinkles.
Tyler Terry (04:26):
Yes, yes.
Dr. Okoro (04:28):
So many of our patients come from our existing patients. We just, how many times can you have tummy tuck. One time.
Tyler Terry (04:36):
That's true.
Dr. Fearmonti (04:38):
Sometimes twice after a pregnancy or weight loss.
Dr. Okoro (04:41):
Yeah. But in general, most surgical stuff is once in a lifetime. So they convert to injectables and Botox. And Botox is like keep coming back because you got to keep looking good. But I totally agree with everything that Gina said. Social media is a big deal. I only do procedures on people I like. If I don't like you, we usually don't get along that well. Yeah, it really is, I mean, only my patients are considered my friends. So this way it is. I like Gina, so that's why we hang out.
Tyler Terry (05:19):
Yeah, that's why we're on the podcast here.
Dr. Fearmonti (05:20):
I like and follow all of his posts too. I would pick Stanley as my doctor. I think he's funny.
Dr. Okoro (05:23):
You too.
Dr. Fearmonti (05:24):
And meticulous in his technique.
Dr. Okoro (05:26):
Thank you. Thank you. So yeah, I think that's it. Everything Gina said plus our existing patients. Yeah.
Tyler Terry (05:34):
So I love that they come in for a once in a lifetime procedure, sometimes twice in a lifetime, but then they become lifetime patients. That's amazing.
Dr. Okoro (05:42):
Yeah. Well, what is the value of a lifetime patient?
Tyler Terry (05:44):
Yes.
Dr. Okoro (05:45):
The lifetime of a patient is different for different the industries, right? Yeah. I've heard someone say it's a lot of money. So patients come in and become friends. We talk about, I don't have any dogs like Gina dogs, I have four kids though.
Dr. Fearmonti (06:02):
You win.
Tyler Terry (06:02):
And you can relate there.
Dr. Okoro (06:03):
Yeah. Yeah. So talk about life and stuff. Many patients we go through life, kids, the patients that have kids, we talk about kids, the dog people talk about dogs.
Tyler Terry (06:18):
And then the ones that have dogs and kids talk about their dogs chasing their kids or the kids chasing their dogs. Yeah.
Dr. Okoro (06:22):
That's right.
Dr. Fearmonti (06:23):
But you do kind of treat the whole family at some point because you meet them, they're like the caregivers.
Dr. Okoro (06:28):
Absolutely. I mean, many of my patients, I take care of their mom and their daughters and their husbands and of course their friends. It's like a tree.
Tyler Terry (06:37):
I never thought of it like that. That is true. It's true. Because of the loyalty. I trust who my wife goes to.
Dr. Okoro (06:42):
That's right.
Tyler Terry (06:43):
And then a lot of my friends trust who I go to. They're like, bro, I know that you at the gym, who do you go to man? And I'm like, I go to who my wife says is great.
Dr. Okoro (06:50):
Well, so social media is actually nothing new about social media. I would say social media has been out long time ago. Even in the Bible has social media. It's called word of mouth.
Tyler Terry (07:05):
Yeah.
Dr. Okoro (07:06):
That's what social media is.
Tyler Terry (07:07):
It is.
Dr. Okoro (07:08):
Yeah. There was no Facebook back then, but it's the same thing.
Dr. Fearmonti (07:13):
Good information disseminates quickly, but so does misinformation too.
Dr. Okoro (07:16):
Yeah. Either way.
Dr. Fearmonti (07:17):
There's a lot of unteaching or educating, I think when we get patients like that sometimes, because they come with a notion of something and you're like, no, no, it's not quite like that.
Dr. Okoro (07:26):
Yeah. So you are right. We spend a lot of time educating patients about anything. I mean it's so funny where people don't even know what Botox is or what filler does. What the big questions. What's the difference between Botox and filler?
Dr. Fearmonti (07:42):
Yeah.
Tyler Terry (07:43):
There's a lot.
Dr. Okoro (07:44):
Yeah, it's a lot. But people think it's the same thing.
Tyler Terry (07:48):
Yeah. Can I get some filler up here?
Dr. Okoro (07:49):
Exactly. Or some Botox right here.
Dr. Fearmonti (07:53):
My lips are thinning, I want Botox.
Dr. Okoro (07:54):
Botox. Yeah. But I mean they don't know. So there's a lot of misinformation and they don't understand.
Dr. Fearmonti (08:00):
But that's a compliment that again, your friends at the gym, they don't know what you had done, but they're like, wow, what are you doing? And they don't know, cuz you don't look strange and unusual. You look just maybe a really good version of you that got a good night's sleep and is drinking your water.
Tyler Terry (08:14):
Yeah.
Dr. Fearmonti (08:14):
I think that's our compliment when they come in and they're like, oh, I saw Tyler's face. What's Tyler got going on? And we don't tell Tyler's secret.
Dr. Okoro (08:21):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
Dr. Fearmonti (08:22):
We just look at the person in front of us.
Dr. Okoro (08:24):
Absolutely. I say they will notice, but they wouldn't know.
Dr. Fearmonti (08:27):
That's right. That's right. Unless they put it on their own social media.
Dr. Okoro (08:31):
Hey, once they put it on social media then we'll blow it up.
Dr. Fearmonti (08:33):
Yeah, that's right. That's right.
Dr. Okoro (08:34):
Wow. I love that tagline. They will notice but they won't know. I might write that. I'm going to write that down. That was good.
Dr. Fearmonti (08:40):
An "Okoro-ism".
Dr. Okoro (08:44):
Awesome.
Tyler Terry (08:44):
Okay, you guys got to come back tomorrow for another podcast. This is fun. I love it. I love it. Alright, so I'm going to go ahead and shift gears to our next question. And Dr. Okoro, we're going to start with you on this one. What do you wish patients knew before they came to see you?
Dr. Okoro (08:58):
I wish before they come see me, at least most of 'em actually do some research on us anyway. But maybe do a little more research on the procedures. A lot of times they spend time researching the technology like let's say smart lipo, something like that. The research wanted to, so a lot of times we spend a lot of time with education, stuff like that. I wish they knew more all of the, I mean they can't know the limitations of the procedures that they're going to get. Because a lot of times people come with all these unrealistic expectations and you're trying to educate them and walk back and they're like, they're like, are you sure? I saw my cousin did that stuff and she looks amazing. Somebody comes in, they want a breast aug, but they need the breast lift. But my cousin just had a breast implant and she looks amazing. Well, your cousin's breasts and your breasts don't look the same. Just because look good on your cousin doesn't mean is going to look good on you. So those are the things, I mean I wish patients came actually trusted their doctor. I think that's a big deal now, it's like there's no trust. People don't trust their doctors anymore.
Tyler Terry (10:22):
Really?
Dr. Okoro (10:22):
Yeah. They trust social media more than they trust their own doctors.
Tyler Terry (10:27):
Wow.
Dr. Okoro (10:27):
Because the thing social media is truth. Social media is true truth. That's it.
Tyler Terry (10:33):
Wow. That's the first time I've heard that. That's powerful.
Dr. Okoro (10:36):
I think most plastic, most plastic will believe that word mouth is a big deal. Yeah. They trust Google one on the trust their own doctor. And I wish it wasn't like that.
Dr. Fearmonti (10:49):
That's the truth, you know to answer, what do I wish they would maybe do ahead of time? They don't know about the recovery, bruising, swelling, downtime. And then maybe not just physical but emotional and psychological impact of having perhaps a big procedure. I do a lot of body contouring after massive weight loss. So it's often more than one procedure starting with maybe the abdomen, circumferential, belt lipectomy arm lift, thigh lift. There's some downtime. I give very specific instructions. We show videos of bruising. We show incision location. And I give very specific post-op recovery instructions too. I agree with what you said to echo that sometimes the recovery instructions, we have a reason we do things and they have it in writing and they still look online. Their brother's, sister's, cousin's, veterinarian's, dog's aunt had a faja, which is a compression garment. I learned that and I am like, well, I don't use a garment. I didn't do liposuction on you. I think it rubs your incision or for an abdominoplasty maybe can cause some thickness to your incisions, rubbing.
Dr. Okoro (11:47):
So I had a patient the other day, she's a nurse. She had some breast implant. No, no the breast lift, one of those are wound at the T junction.
Dr. Fearmonti (12:00):
Yes. Wound breakdown. Super common.
Dr. Okoro (12:02):
Very common. Over 90% of patient may have it. So she went to the hospital where she works. One of the nurses told her that she should have a wound vac on it.
Dr. Fearmonti (12:13):
And that's a burdensome dressing that sucks. And it sucks and it sucks. Yeah. That's a lot. If they would just call us with little things, we're here to guide them. But again, understanding that it's a journey and there's going to be some downtime and I say, you got to put the time in now so that we can get you back to the gym quicker. Don't go back to the gym day one.
Dr. Okoro (12:33):
Yeah. It's very, very interesting.
Dr. Fearmonti (12:36):
The paint's still wet and the paint's wet for a while, so don't put your finger, don't leave a fingerprint in the paint. But it's not one and done. And I think with social media, there is a lot of, with just a breast aug what is it? Fast recovery, rapid recovery breast aug. You're at the gym the next day. No you're not. You're not at the gym the next day. I don't know, that's just misinformation.
Dr. Okoro (12:53):
And then just like what Gina said, the before and after actually is a deceiving marketing for the patients. They see the think you just go in, you come out after. But I always tell my patients the question you should be asking what's in between the before and after. That's where the money is.
Tyler Terry (13:17):
Yes.
Dr. Okoro (13:17):
Not the before and after. What's the in-between?
Tyler Terry (13:19):
Yes. Because you're setting the expectations.
Dr. Okoro (13:22):
The in-between, I say this patient that you're seeing that this is like three months, six months after her surgery. This is what happened, we have slides in TouchMD for that actually.
Tyler Terry (13:33):
Oh good.
Dr. Okoro (13:33):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Dr. Fearmonti (13:34):
Is a good yes. Great tool.
Dr. Okoro (13:34):
We use TouchMD to show the photos. So it's very important because if you do the breast aug or we use breast aug. Why don't we just use liposuction. So but we just came BBL talk.
Dr. Fearmonti (13:48):
Yeah. Just a lecture about safety with Brazilian butt lift.
Dr. Okoro (13:50):
Exactly. So yeah, BBL you have swelling, bruising, stuff like that. Right. Then you're not going to look like it before and after you just saw my website. No, that's a time of healing. People don't know that. I wish they knew that.
Dr. Fearmonti (14:04):
Yes. The in-between can make or break their result too, sadly enough.
Dr. Okoro (14:08):
Yeah. And what they do in between, a lot of times
Dr. Fearmonti (14:10):
They just see the slider, the little slider video on social. That's it. When I walk out.
Dr. Okoro (14:13):
You walk out like that.
Dr. Fearmonti (14:14):
Bam. It's not a car wash. I know the spots are on. The spots are off.
Tyler Terry (14:20):
That's true though.
Dr. Fearmonti (14:20):
What happens inside? There's lights and there's different color foam and there's a lot of magic.
Dr. Okoro (14:25):
Yeah, it's true. Oh my god. Carwash. I like the carwash analogy.
Dr. Fearmonti (14:29):
That's a very good analogy.
(14:30):
That's a "Fearmonti-ism".
Dr. Okoro (14:31):
Yes. I like that. I like that.
Tyler Terry (14:33):
I like the isms.
Dr. Okoro (14:33):
A carwash is okay. Okay.
Dr. Fearmonti (14:35):
It's my thing, kind of my thing.
Tyler Terry (14:36):
You two are amazing. I'm like, wait, we should do a podcast, we need to go start a podcast. The three of us, we can just do this.
Dr. Okoro (14:41):
Yeah, I told you Tyler, we could bring excitement to your stuff. It's awesome.
Tyler Terry (14:46):
Yeah. You guys have a vibe. I love the vibe right here. And also I love respect that you two have for each other and also the amount and the level of professionalism that you take to what you do. So I know we're laughing at, we're having a good time, but you too are incredible at what you do and it's important for patients to know that.
Dr. Okoro (15:04):
Thank you.
Dr. Fearmonti (15:04):
Appreciate that.
Tyler Terry (15:05):
Of course, of course. Alright, Dr. Fearmonti, I'm going to point this question at you first and then Dr. Okoro, I'll have you answer after. So if you weren't a plastic surgeon, Dr. Fearmonti, what would you do instead?
Dr. Fearmonti (15:20):
So, great question. I think about this all the time. I would do nothing in medicine. I mean, going through medical school, this wasn't always the plan, but it became the plan very quick. Once my pathway, we all have different pathways in a plastic surgery, but dealing with patients post mastectomy, breast cancer reconstruction was just my passion very early on. I did, in my past life, a lot of the extirpated mastectomy surgeries and I just thought putting it back together at the end was a lot more interesting and fun for me. It's just a different side of it. And that also has kind of just shaped my life. So if not plastics, nothing in medicine actually. Well, I like decorating cakes and I like painting acrylic paints. A lot of us have artistic sides. There's the science component, which is fascinating. The technology is fascinating, but just the vision and creating something just great or aesthetically pleasing. I think a lot of us do have a little bit of a knack for that. Walking around this meeting, some of these outfits that are put together and the matching. This is a very artistic and scientific crowd. Everyone, and Stanley always has flare with the bow ie.
Tyler Terry (16:20):
It's true. The bow tie, every year since I first met you.
Dr. Fearmonti (16:21):
Somebody spent time on this. Yeah, this is not an accident, his dapper look. But I think something like that, that requires a lot of fine detail, working with my hands. But it was, plastics are bust for me as far as med school.
Dr. Okoro (16:33):
Wow. That's very, very interesting. I did not know about that in, about you. For me, if I wasn't a plastic surgeon, most plastic surgeon, after 15, 20 years, you start thinking about what you're going to do next. So I love computers, I really love computers and I love working on the website. If I wasn't a plastic surgeon, I probably would've owned my own IT company. I mean, right now I write most of the pages on my website. I write them myself.
Tyler Terry (17:11):
Wow, that's unique.
Dr. Okoro (17:13):
I used to literally write a page a week or rewrite a page. I mean, I get bored on what's on the website. I just change it.
Dr. Fearmonti (17:24):
It reflects your personality too. We talked about patients connecting with you.I think when you look at your website, to be honest, you do get a feel for who you are.
Dr. Okoro (17:32):
Thank you. wow.
Dr. Fearmonti (17:33):
That attracts,
Dr. Okoro (17:34):
So I just write it. And then so a good on a page, what would somebody want to know about this? The most important questions. And I use the questions that the patients ask in the exam room to write the website. That's what the most common questions are the most common things that people want to know about.
Tyler Terry (17:53):
Yeah, because you want them to be prepared and also get a feel for who you are and what differentiates you. I love that. Alright, well I know we're out of time. I want to say thank you again for being on the show. For those of you that are listening, if you'd like to follow and then connect with Dr. Fearmonti or Dr. Okoro, links to follow, subscribe, and connect with them will be in the show notes below. And until then, I hope you guys have a great rest of ASPS and we'll talk soon.
Dr. Fearmonti (18:18):
Thank you.
Dr. Okoro (18:18):
Thank you Tyler.
Announcer (18:21):
Thanks for listening to Aesthetically Speaking, the podcast where beauty meets business, presented by Nextech. Follow and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. Links to the resources mentioned on this podcast or available in your show notes. For more information about Nextech visit nextech.com. Or to learn more about TouchMD, go to touchmd.com. Aesthetically Speaking is a production of The Axis, theaxis.io.
