If there has ever been a medical specialty that is in need of competent marketing consultation, a cohesive and long-term strategy, and effective practice growing tools, it is dermatology. The fact is, dermatology marketing takes a wealth of experience to achieve proper results.

We have seen so many good dermatologists go down the same road to ruins... it is called "Playing the Commodity Game" and it is a good way to harm your business, your reputation, and your referrals.

How often do we see coupons offering a special lower price on common services, such as Botox? It seems every dermatologist and Medi-Spa is in a race to see who can lower their prices faster!

But here are some basic principals that should guide you, should you want to play this game;

* Price shoppers are not loyal. They will go to your competitor when their prices are better than yours.
* You need to give your patients and potential patients a reason to choose you, other than price. Are you the best in your area? Do you have some special training or expertise? Do you have a new piece of equipment that is the latest and greatest? Even if your competitors may have the same qualifications and services, if they are not promoting them, then the field is open for you to claim those "points of distinction."

There are many ways to determine how best to position your practice so that patients have a clear and compelling reason to choose you. However, use caution if you use price as your main method to attract patients... it is a recipe for long-term failure.

If you would like more information on our marketing strategies and proven methods of success for dermatologists, plastic surgeons, medi-spas, or any medical and healthcare specialty, please feel free to contact us. It never costs a cent to talk to us, and the advice is priceless.

Please visit our website at: www.healthcaremarketingpartners.com

Q: I was contacted by the city tax collector to say that my business is scheduled to be audited to see if I owe sales tax on items purchased on the Internet. Can they really make me pay sales tax on internet purchase? I thought you could buy things online tax free? -- Charlie B.

A: Sorry, but your local municipality is well within its rights to audit your business to identify items purchased online. The city can also demand payment of sales tax on those items if sales tax was not previously paid. DonA¢a‚¬a,¢t be surprised if the auditor asks for access to your books and to see purchase receipts and invoices for at least the past year.

One of my companies recently underwent such an audit and it really was not as painful as you might think. Being a software company, the majority of our online purchases were for computer equipment, technical manuals, and software development tools. Since we purchase computers from a large supplier who collects sales tax at the point of sale (ditto for the development tools), the only sales tax we ended up owing was for an inordinate number of technical manuals and books purchased at Amazon.com.

If your small business is like most, the majority of your large purchases are made locally from companies that already collect sales tax. Furniture and computer equipment are typically the largest ticket items a small business buys, so unless you bought your desks and computers off of Ebay (which is highly possible these days) you should be OK.

Internet sales taxation has been a topic of contention even before Amazon sold its first book and Priceline booked its first flight. One of the more controversial points is that no one, including our own government, seems to have a clue how to implement a fair and logical Internet taxation process. With over 7,500 different local, county and state taxation systems in the United States, you can understand the controversy.

In 1998, Congress did what it usually does when faced with a potentially explosive issue like Internet tax collection -- it decided to put off making a decision. Congress enacted a three-year moratorium on the collection of taxes to give an appointed advisory board time to come up with an acceptable solution. That moratorium ended in 2002 and opened the door for municipalities to begin collecting sales tax on their own.

Here in Alabama the state sales tax collection department has aired radio spots asking Alabamians to step up to - and toss dollars into - the proverbial collection plate. The commercial kindly suggests that if I have purchased anything from an online retailer, I am honor-bound to proclaim such purchases and submit the appropriate sales tax to the collection department right away. They thank me in advance for my cooperation.

So, Charlie, when the auditor shows up at your door the best thing you can do is smile politely and be totally forthcoming. The sales tax that you pay is a small price for the convenience of shopping online.

Or at least thatA¢a‚¬a,¢s what you should tell yourself as you write the auditor a check.

Q: Do I have to charge sales tax on orders placed on my Web site? What if I have international customers?

A: Online companies with a physical presence, or nexus, in a state are required to collect and report taxes on sales made to customers living within that same state. For example, if your online business is based in California, you must collect and report sales tax derived from fellow Californians making purchases on your site.

Internet sales taxation has always been a hot topic for those of us who make our living selling goods and services online. One of the more controversial points is that no one, including our own government, has a clue how to implement a fair and logical Internet taxation process.

There are more than 7,500 state and local entities collecting sales taxes in the United States, each with its own system of rates and rules. A solution that satisfies them all may be a long time coming, indeed.

Online taxation has been a thorny topic for years. Even before Amazon.com sold its first book or Priceline.com booked its first flight, foreword-thinking tax collectors knew the Internet might someday generate millions of dollars in taxable goods and services. The problem then--and now--is how the states would get their fair share of the pie.

In 1998, Congress did what it usually does when faced with a potentially explosive issue like Internet tax collection--it decided to put off making a decision. Congress enacted a three- year moratorium on the collection of taxes to give an appointed advisory board time to come up with an acceptable solution.

That moratorium ended last year, and, thus far, no one has come up with an efficient way for online businesses to easily collect and submit sales tax.

Some states have been working to simplify their sales tax structures to make it easier for online merchants to charge and pay taxes, but a consensus is still a long way off. In order for Congress to approve any standard process, there will have to be a major simplification of individual state tax codes and a consensus among the states.

And nobody knows how long that process could take, not even the states themselves. Many states are asking their citizens to take charge of the situation and voluntarily pay sales tax for purchases made online. It's sort of a "good citizen honor system" that I doubt few actual good citizens will willingly take part in.

In my home state of Alabama, for example, the sales tax collection department is airing radio spots asking Alabamians to step up to
--and toss dollars into--the proverbial collection plate. The commercial kindly suggests that if I have purchased anything from an online retailer, I am honor-bound to proclaim such purchases and submit the appropriate sales tax to the collection department right away. They thank me in advance for my cooperation.

Now where did I put all those Amazon.com receiptsA¢a‚¬¦

The good news for online retailers is, there's no evidence that people buy online to avoid paying taxes or save money, for that matter. If saving a buck were the motive, no one would willingly pay shipping charges.

People shop online because it's convenient to do so.

The Internet offers the ability to shop the worldwide market while sitting in the comfort of your own home - a convenience that most people are happily willing to pay for.