MEDSPAS THAT GROW DURING A PANDEMIC
This past year, we have seen thousands of small business’ close up. But, we also saw many business’ remain and some even thrive more than they have before the pandemic. What is the factor that separates a business that grows during a pandemic and one that declines?
SURVIVAL OF THE "MOST ADAPTABLE"
In the wild, there is a theory called “survival of the fittest”. The theory states that “animals best adjusted to their environment are the most successful in surviving”. In business, this can be taken a step further to say “business’ most adaptable and quick to innovate are most successful in surviving”.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING STATIC IN YOUR MEDSPA BUSINESS
During the pandemic, the whole country was either locked down, or had their business capacity reduced to barely survivable numbers. The public was afraid to go out, which decreased the business numbers even more. How then, could we possibly maintain, or even just survive this time?
No one knows how long a shutdown or decreased capacity will last and that can be scary. As a business owner myself, I always know roughly how long my savings can last if I simply stopped working completely. Many business owners only knew that if things continued the way they were, their medspa will fail eventually. They knew SOMETHING had to change.
THE BENEFITS OF CHANGE
Whenever we as business owners make a change, there is always a degree of risk. CEOs, CFOs, and any C-level position, lives here constantly. As a business owner, you have to be comfortable with CHANGE, comfortable with RISK, and comfortable with UNCERTAINTY daily. During the most stressful times like the beginning of the pandemic, these decision making skills are even more important than they normally are.
Most business’ will not change however, and will continue to live comfortably, but this always leads to stagnation and ultimately decline. On the flip side, business’ that begin to make changes start to see growth and sometimes at an exponential rate! Business’ that never changed die out, and the market becomes less competitive. Their clientele gets taken over by the business’ that decided to change and grow. Also, these adaptable business owners have innovated ways to make additional revenue which will continue after the lockdowns.
PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR YOUR MEDSPA'S GROWTH DURING A PANDEMIC
I have talked to close to 1000 business owners, and I have seen some nearly go out of business, some maintain, and some even thrive during this time. Here are some practical ideas to actually grow your medspa during a pandemic or crisis.
INVEST IN A MEDSPA DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
If there is any industry that has had the exact opposite to a decline, it would have to be the digital marketing and online space. Now more than ever, medspas, estheticians, doctors, and other industries are investing in a digital marketing strategy. Here’s why:
- They are able to get in front of their ideal clients. These are people who are actively looking for their services
- People are on their phones and screens now more than ever, making digital the best medium for getting in front of people
- Interest based targeting is much more cost-effective than print advertising
- Virtual booking saves time
- Developing email lists and databases provide you a gold mine of opportunity for future remarketing
- Its virtually auto-pilot and runs in the background 24/7
- No limits to capacity and can help you scale easily
One major difference I noticed between medspas that are thriving and those that are declining during the pandemic is that the ones that are surviving had a digital marketing strategy before the pandemic and continue to have one during the pandemic.
A healthy marketing strategy backed by real data overtime allows your medspa business to consistently predict the number of clients you’ll receive each month. It also allows you to understand your numbers and scale accordingly. The formula is simple: Increase your adspend and you will increase your medspa clients for that month.
The medspas that are declining usually have the same thing in common — they rely on referrals, word of mouth, and non-strategic posts. Consequently, they lack a proactive marketing strategy. What do I mean by proactive?
HAVING A PROACTIVE DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY FOR YOUR MEDSPA
A proactive strategy is a strategy that actively gets in front of your ideal clients. This can be done through media buying on different platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google. It can also mean doing SEO for your medspa business to make sure you are as visible as possible. This way, you are actively either improving your search ranking or showing up on your ideal client’s social media.
Branding can be powerful too, but can take a long time to establish yourself. During a time of crisis, we generally don’t have the luxury of time, and have to come up with a proactive marketing strategy that will get your medspa results quickly. Below is a list of strategies that fall into this category:
- Hire a digital marketing company to do lead generation for you or do it yourself
- Do client interviews, testimonials, and reviews. Post these on your social media platforms and increase your ranking
- Actively do outreach to your ideal clients on different social media platforms
- Join Facebook groups or create your own where you can give value, act as an authority, and brand your name in the industry
- Record Live with the client’s you do have when performing your next treatment
- Develop a compelling offer that fits your ideal client’s needs at the time
Develop a New Service For Your Medspa
When I talked to medspa owners who were thriving, they had a mobile service for their medspa clients. This may not be possible if you rely on large machines, but some medspas that were doing injectables, facials, spa treatments and some non-invasive lasers are staying busy. During these times, creativity and innovation are your best friend. You can have your consultations on Zoom to minimize contact and wasted time. You can also monetize these consultations and increase your pricing for traveling to the client as a luxury. Times like these call for “out-of-the-box” thinking and innovation.
Zoom Consultations For Your Medspa
To minimize exposure and get around the capacity issues, you can have consultations via zoom with your clients. This can save you time instead of having all your clients come in and you can even charge a fee for your consults.
Open Up An Ecommerce Store For Your Medspa Clients
Another great way to innovate is to open an e-commerce store to sell products. Let your clients know about your store with an email marketing campaign or text message. You can offer discounts for existing clients and even start subscriptions to these services for stable recurring revenue. A great website to easily setup a store without programming knowledge is www.square.com.
Recently, I’ve seen many FDA approved inventions that allow for self-treatments. Laser-hair removal devices, hair-growth stimulating devices, skin care products, lip care products and so much more. Consider partnering with these companies to get their products in your store during these times.
Sell Giftcards to Your Medspa
Another great way to continue to have cash flow is selling gift card. The gift cards can be used to purchase any of your products or services. Having gift cards gives your clients a reason to still spend on current or future treatments . Make sure to have policies in place for expiration and validity of use.
Start Teaching Classes & Develop A Course For Your Medspa Services
I’ve talked to many estheticians, medspa owners, and PMUs that train newcomers and students how to do treatments and procedures. These classes are extremely lucrative and can act as another revenue stream for your business. These generally occur in smaller capacity.
If your treatment can be taught through an online course, consider developing one here too. Online courses and coaching are HOT these days, with many being sold for thousands. From here, you can develop groups and establish yourself as an authority within the space. A great website for creating courses without needing programming knowledge is kajabi.com.
Create Educational Content For Medspa Email Marketing
Do you have clients that are curious about your services and treatments? Consider developing an ebook or short informational guide about your treatments to educate your clients. If you have an email list, this can be especially helpful and move you into a more authoritative position in the space. Educational marketing is one of the best ways to plant seeds and get “looky-loo” prospects into “hot” leads and clients in the future.
Sell Operating Procedures For Other Medspas In the Space
If you have been operating your medspa or have experience operating a business, consider being a consultant for new owners in the space. Similar to teaching a class or developing a course, you can sell the procedures, outlines, and documents to other medspas, esthis, or PMUs.
Look at Your Medspa's Expense Sheet
Look at your last month’s expense sheets. Are there any extra fees you are still paying for that are not relevant to your current situation? Software fees, overhead fees, subscriptions to vendors, etc. Unnecessary purchases can add up fast.
During the early stages of my business, I was trying to save as much money as I could! Before making a purchase or subscribing to some software I would ask myself, “Can I do this myself?” If the answer was “No”, my next question was, “Is there a free version to do this?”. There would usually be an option that would get everything I needed done. Try to go back to this mindset when removing unnecessary expenses from your medspa business.
If you have a contract or lease with vendors for expensive machines, see if you can ask for a 60-90 day extension. Many vendors are understanding of the current situation and are willing to extend payment if needed. Even some credit card companies are giving extensions on payments up to 120 days without penalty.
SAVING YOUR MEDSPA DURING THE PANDEMIC
Due to these restrictive times, going virtual is truly the best option when saving your medspa during the pandemic.
Stay healthy and safe, and if you need help implementing any of these strategies, you can contact us here.
