Boost Your Bottom Line This Holiday

Is your practice ready to set the stage for a successful holiday promotion?

Fall is in full swing which means Christmas is pretty much  tomorrow and it is time to get your holiday promotions started if you haven’t already done so. You know you should be taking advantage of holiday promotions at your practice, but gift cards are one item that tends to be forgotten about as a strategy to boost holiday sales. A great holiday gift card promotion can help position your aesthetic business for growth well beyond November and December into the next year as they can turn into an opportunity to also re-book clients between booking for follow-up treatments and asking gift card recipients to fill out a client card so they can receive future correspondence from your office.

Properly promoted gift cards can make an indulgent gift and terrific source of holiday cash flow to help boost your bottom line after slower summer months. As a start, set your office’s goals to 5% of your total service and retail revenue. Here are a few suggestions to get you started with reaching this goal.

Decide On Your Offer

While it may be easy to think to discount your gift card in order to get people to purchase such as offering a $100 gift card for the price of $80, in order to preserve the luxury of your aesthetic brand, consider offering a separate $20 gift card in addition to the gift card. This could help serve as bringing in two patients for the price of one if the person doing the gifting gives the added value gift card away as a smaller gift to someone such as a co-worker, or serves to bring them back in for another service if they decide to keep it for themselves. Who can resist a potential gift for themselves as they are gifting friends and family? One tip is to be sure to word your offering so that the value added gift card can not be used the same day.

Create Luxury Packages

It’s great to have gift cards for monetary amounts as an option, but consider putting together some luxury packages to help people visualize what they could be giving when purchasing a gift card from your office. During the holidays, you can be surprised at how generous purchases for their loved ones can be so don’t shy away from higher priced packages such a “A Year Of Botox.” It can also be profitable for you to combine services which customers can purchase at a percentage off to encourage the trial of services they may have typically never purchased. Entice your in-office customers with a few beautifully boxed and bowed items. If they are going to be spending top dollar, why not present their gift card in something worthy of the money they are spending instead of just a plastic card in a paper envelope?

Make It Easy

You have been collecting customer emails all year on your website and in-office so it is time to cash in on your office e-mail list with a holiday email marketing campaign. Typically the holiday season kicks off on Black Friday with people expecting great deals to pop up in their in-box so don’t disappoint! Be sure to schedule email and social media communication throughout your campaign such as teasers, reminders and last chance notifications. Get emails together now reminding your patients that the holidays are approaching. A sample of what that promotional plan would look like may include an email announcement which you will set to send out on Black Friday with an reminder email set to go out December 6th about your gift card promotion with the denominations and/or packages you will be offering. There are always the last-minute shopping bunch which are out there still searching for something amazing so be sure to set up two additional reminders right before Christmas on December 20th and then a final “last chance” notice set to deliver on December 23rd. This plan assumes you are setup to sell gift cards online, but if not, at least have an e-blast ready telling everyone where they can send an email to place an order.

When it comes to your office website, be sure to have the option for gift card purchases highlighted on your home page. Link this to a landing page stating the denominations, available packages, terms and conditions, and exactly how they can make a purchase such as link to buy or dedicated email address for purchase inquires if purchases must be done in person or over the phone and mailed. In your office, treat this promotion like any other promotion and be sure you have in office signage displayed in treatment rooms, the waiting rooms, and even the restrooms. Most of the people coming into your practice or medical spa are not even thinking about purchasing a gift card from you so don’t be afraid to put out a sign as simple as “Ask Us About Our Luxury Gift Card Packages.”

Get Social

Now more than ever, social media is making it easier for you to spread the word about your aesthetic business and letting your community know about your gift card promotion is one more way you can use platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to your advantage. It is very hard for any campaign to be successful these days without going digital whether it be through your email list, website, or social networking sites. If your practice or medical spa is on Instagram for example, you can create a beautiful post in Canva which is sized specifically for the platform. You can then post your new graphic creation and caption on your business Instagram account to promote to your followers.

To make your promotion go even further, if you have set up your Instagram account as a business account, you can pay to promote that post as an ad from within the Instagram application on your phone to a population segment of your choosing such as females between the age of 30-45 who are fans of Allure magazine on Facebook and are viewing your ad within a 20 mile radius of Calabasas, California. Did you know you could get that specific with your targeting now that Facebook owns Instagram? Perhaps you will even promote that same post again, but to men in the area on December 22nd and December 23rd as a last-minute gift option for panicked shoppers. The possibilities are endless with a clear promotional strategy and digital ads being in your control.

Jasmine Hill, MBA serves as a co-founder of Aesthetic Influencer, a Los Angeles based organization assisting medical practices with developing their brand voice and digital strategies. She can be reached at jasmine@aestheticinfluencer.com. You may also follow @AestheticInfluencer on Instagram for more tips on digital tools like Instagram and Facebook for your aesthetic business.

Should Your Aesthetic Practice Use Instagram Stories?

This article first appeared in Medical Esthetics. 

Instagram launched their Snapchat-like feature, Instagram Stories this week. The feature lets you share a series of photos or videos (up to 10 seconds) to your followers that will disappear from view in 24 hours. Some aesthetic offices have already adapted to Snapchat, and the platform has given rise to several plastic surgeons and cosmetic dermatologists becoming celebrities by dominating the Snapchat platform and solidifying their place as Aesthetic Influencers. Many of you know who ‘Dr. Miami’ is by now even if you don’t Snap! Yet most physicians and aesthetic offices, haven’t embraced or have been slow to make continuous behind-the-scenes content for Snapchat because let's face it, there are only so many hours in a day.


When speaking to offices about whether they should be on Snapchat—and why or why not they are not—one of the biggest challenges we often hear is that it is hard to find people to follow and difficult to browse content like on Instagram, so building an audience there has been tough. Even larger brands and influencers who have been on Instagram for years have had trouble converting those followers to Snapchat. With the introduction of Instagram Stories, you don’t need to build a new audience on a new platform and can instead continue to focus on one platform.

We always counsel that unless you have the team to be able to focus on multiple platforms and produce great content for them, it is better to focus on creating great content for fewer platforms. Many people we spoke with over the past two days with a decent following on Snapchat were surprised to see how much better the reach and engagement on their Instagram Stories were on the first day even though they had spent months growing their Snapchat audience.


Will Instagram Stories Catch On With Your Audience? We aren’t sure yet of how successful Instagram Stories will be because you still can’t face swap on it or make cute puppy faces, which was half of the appeal of Snapchat. For now it is pretty basic and all you can do on Instagram Stories is write doodles on your photos and shoot video. But we think the adult audience on Instagram will make Instagram Stories a valuable platform for aesthetic practices.
It offers an easy, cost effective way to market millennial services such as laser hair removal and lip fillers. The format of Instagram Stories allows you to also engage your more mature clientele by creating videos or image series that illustrate what to expect when coming in for your first filler appointment or providing an overview of CoolSculpting versus SculpSure.


Should You Give Up On Your Snapchat Account? If you are an aesthetic physician or office that has already found success using Snapchat, or if you are currently trying to attract a younger patient range for services such as lip fillers, breast augmentation or buttock augmentations, then we recommend that you continue to spend effort on Snapchat as it is an excellent way to reach this target base. For the rest of you who have not crossed over into Snapchat at all or have done so with minimal success, we recommend investing your time in growing your Instagram audience. Content that fits the Snapchat format can now be posted through Instagram Stories instead. Content that we find is the best fit for Snapchat and Instagram Stories includes introducing a new procedure, announcing an upcoming beauty night or special event, or online, pop up events that allows you to answer some common questions you get from patients.


A Strategy To Grow Your Aesthetic Brand Using Instagram Stories. Creating and building audiences is hard work, but there are few tools as valuable as social media in helping you differentiate yourself from the next doctor or office and grow into a true brand. Instagram Stories will give most aesthetic practices a way to add a more personal touch to their standard posts, which may sometimes feel stiff. We predict it will become a great way to show your audience that there are real people behind the scenes, something that could potentially help you build stronger relationships with your current followers while also attracting new patients to your practice. Slowly, more and more aesthetic professionals are recognizing the power of Instagram for marketing their business. If you haven’t already, maybe it is time to get serious about putting together a true Instagram strategy because the platform is continuously creating more tools and apps to help optimize your posts and increase your digital exposure.

Jasmine Hill, MBA serves as a co-founder of Aesthetic Influencer, a Los Angeles based organization assisting medical practices with developing their brand voice and digital strategies. She can be reached at jasmine@aestheticinfluencer.com. You may also follow @AestheticInfluencer on Instagram for more tips on digital tools like Instagram and Facebook for your aesthetic business.

$300 a Day in Retail in 5 Easy Steps

5 Steps to Selling $300 of Retail in Your Next Treatment

Once you start to delve into the numbers, it becomes apparent that having cosmeceuticals as the catalyst for significant growth of your practice really doesn’t take a whole lot.

Now, don’t take that to mean it doesn’t take any effort because it certainly does, we mean is it doesn’t take a lot of dollars.  For example, if you want to make $6,000 in cosmeceutical revenue per month, and your practice is open five days a week, that means you only have to sell $300 a day in cosmeceuticals, which, in the big picture, feels and sounds very doable. And that’s because it is. Here’s how to make that daily dollars goal a reality in just a matter of one treatment:

Step 1 - Build Trust

The saying is true, trust is the foundation of any strong relationship, and that goes for your clients, too. When building trust with your client, the key is customer service.

When you carry out top-notch customer service, you turn a “cold” consult into a warmed up client that’s ready to convert because they trust that you’re not just after their money, but their best interest.

Some ways you can demonstrate exceptional customer service is by taking time in the form of having a friendly conversation before jumping straight into business, taking adequate time to listen, and being thoughtful and helpful in your responses. Surprising and delighting your clients by going the extra mile to follow-up, giving samples, or doing whatever makes sense for your business is also a surefire way to impress.

Keep in mind, trust can be built right off the bat, but it often takes a few touch points to really solidify that trust. So, know that you have to stay the course to see the payoff of 1) a loyal client and 2) a loyal client that will buy more than just a treatment.

Step 2 - Give the Best Consult of Your Life

Consults are what kick off your relationship with your client, and are your first impression, so you have to make sure you nail this piece to set up yourself up for success with sales.

In a great consult, you’ll want to take in all of the client’s concerns, offer a very accurate skin diagnosis (the use of visual imaging here makes a huge difference because your client can see all of their sub-surface damage), and a strong recommendation for skincare.  

For a consult to result in a cosmeceutical sale, you’ll need to set the expectation for your client/patient that to get the results they desire, they’ll want to combine their treatment with the proper skincare products.

It’s also important to note that if your patient is having a more aggressive treatment such as needling or lasers, they’ll be required to use your post-care product recommendation, so set that expectation by asking the patient if they prefer to hear their product knowledge during the treatment or after.

This step also reinforces that your client is going to be educated (another key step to successful cosmeceutical sales) and that by using the products you as the provider recommend, they’re protecting their investment.

Step 3 - Stick to Solutions

As the provider, it’s easy to step into your expert role and forget to relate to your patient. However, one of the most crucial steps in building trust is in making your patient feel comfortable with having a conversation with you because they feel like they understand you, but more importantly, that you’re making an effort to understand them.

You can do that by providing solid solutions centered around the patient's concerns and fighting the urge to focus too much on what you see. As you continue to build trust and you’ve helped your client solve the most relevant issues for them, you’ll be able to expand your conversations more into the problems you see as important from your perspective.

Step 4 - Educate, Educate, Educate

Taking time to educate your patient will not only help build trust but also assist in overcoming objections your patient may have during your consult or after their treatment. Because when you educate your client, you have the opportunity to solidify your expertise and explain why you’re doing what you’re doing both with your treatment and product recommendations.

One of the best methods to use in regards to educating on cosmeceutical products is features and benefits. For example, rather than recommending a product that “contains retinol” for your patient's concern over signs of aging, you’ll find a more engaged response of you educate your patient on a product that contains retinol, which stimulates collagen and increases cell turnover, meaning it will immediately address their concerns of wrinkles and pigmentation.

See how that response shows them that you know what you’re talking about and you’ve tailored your recommendations and proposed solutions to their specific concerns and aren’t just giving them a blanket recommendation?

Step 5 - Recommend 3 Products

Three products. No more, no less. If you recommend more than three, it’ll be overboard, and you’ll lose your client by throwing too much product at them. Start with a good antioxidant, retinoid, and sunscreen, everyone needs those. And these are products that are game-changers for the skin and work more effectively than products such as lip balms and cleansers. By garnering excellent results for your clients with those products, you’ll create more opportunities to sell additional products in future appointments.

Bonus Tip: Manage Objections

Now we realize these steps make it seem simple to get a “yes,” (and sometimes that yes will be incredibly easy to get) but even if you do all these steps, you’re still bound to encounter some objections.

To get over those objections, you need to manage them, and you’ll do that by clarifying your client’s concerns and offering specific solutions to those concerns. Again, this may not dissolve your client’s objection today, but you’re setting the stage for making future sales consistently.

Once you put these steps into practice, you’ll quickly see that:

1) Securing $300 in cosmeceutical sales becomes easy once you get into the groove of your sales process.

2) If you can do this successfully with one client, there’s no reason why you can’t do it with two or three of your patients per day.

Do the math on that, and suddenly, with persistence and process, you’ll be bringing in an additional 5-figures a month and 6-figures a year for your practice.

And the sky’s the limit on how you can use that revenue to fuel your growth.

3 Digital Marketing Strategies You Need In Your Practice to Leverage for Increased Cosmeceutical Sales

We don’t have to intimately know the ins and outs of your business to make the bold claim that your entire audience is online.

Yes, your entire audience. Even if you cater to mid-lifers and those that are older, the largest growing population of internet and mobile-device users fall into this age demographic.

Gone are the days where digital marketing meant just having a functioning website and posting to social media semi-regularly. Embracing the full digital marketing landscape is important because your audience has come to expect being able to interact with you across all platforms, including social media.  American consumers repeatedly report that the information they find on social media has a direct effect on the decisions they will make, not only for healthcare, but also for their aesthetics purchases.  

When it comes to booking a consultation or purchasing a service or product, they will likely check social media to find others who have been made happy with your work and recommendations. Digital marketing, and specifically social media, give you the opportunity to interact and build trust with your clients without you physically being there.  It does the talking for you.  So, how do you tap into this and make it work for you?

And if you can meet them where they are, and use strategy to leverage your online presence, it can mean serious business by way of increasing your cosmeceutical sales!

1) Use Social Media As a Conversation Starter  

You know your business needs a social media presence if you want to keep up with today’s digital marketing standards…that’s a no-brainer these days. What’s not so intuitive is how to use social media to make an impact on sales. Maybe you regularly promote your services, monthly promotions, and products on social media, but all you hear are crickets.

That’s because social media isn’t really meant for selling, it’s meant for socializing (hence, the social in social media). The more you think of social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram as a place to meet and mingle with potential clients and customers, not sell to them, the easier job you’ll have of moving those people further down the sales pipeline a little later on. While selling directly on social works, it almost like a cold call.  You want people to be able to “warm up to you” so that when you do ask them to purchase, you already have a pseudo-relationship started, and your conversion rates will be higher.  

For example, rather than asking people to purchase their skincare regimen straight through social, use your presence to promote an open house-style event at your spa or practice, where you extend a welcome to come spend time and learn from you. Then, at your event, you’ve already sufficiently warmed up your potential clients and will be more successful with converting them into a paying customer.

You can also promote educational and entertaining content such as blog posts, demonstration videos, and client testimonials to build interest and credibility around your business without directly pushing for a sale. We strongly advocate this here at Aesthetic Influencer. People want to know who you are, and social media is a fantastic place to show off your best!

By using this predominately non-selling strategy, it makes your promotional posts, for example, when you directly promote a cosmeceutical product launch, much more effective because at this point, you’ve built anticipation and credibility within your audience.

2) Nurture and Sell Through Your Email List

Speaking of “warm” leads (aka people who are somewhat familiar with your business and are more likely to purchase at this point in their buyer’s journey), your email list is a fantastic pool of primed buyers.

Except…email, no one really loves email. Email may feel antiquated, but it’s still one of the best digital marketing tactics to get your audience to click “buy" or book a consultation with you. However, this still requires some strategic thinking.

It’s not enough to just ask for your potential client to buy with every single email you send; you still need to woo them.

One of the most effective methods of doing that is by bringing subscribers onto your list by providing high-value content that educates and informs and continuing to provide that nurturing content balanced alongside emails that directly promotes your products and asks for your subscriber to buy.

An example of this would be writing an email that educates on the wonderful benefits that growth factors have for skin, and if they are interested in experiencing those benefits themselves, you can purchase your full regimen by clicking “here”.  In our industry, education does many things, but most importantly, it builds trust, and helps you sell.

3) Generate Consultations With Highly-Targeted Ads

In case you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon already, know that this isn’t any rickety old cart that’s about to go bust with the next wave of digital marketing trends. We all know the power of a good aesthetic consultation when it comes to the opportunity to sell skincare products. Want a good way to have a consistent flow of them coming in? Read on.

In fact, it’s currently the most powerful advertising platform in the world…

That’s right, if you haven’t guessed, we’re talking about Facebook ads.

Facebook has the greatest targeting capabilities that have ever been available to business owners, making them a fantastic incorporation it into your digital marketing strategy.

From being able to target your exact ideal client demographics down to income and interests, to targeting by zip code and even to people who like the pages of your competitors, Facebook ads allow you to gather high-quality leads who you know will be interested in your offerings.

Facebook ads also allow you to track activity that you can directly tie to your cosmeceutical sales so you can determine the immediate return on investment of your ads (in case you haven’t learned by now, we are HUGE fans of tracking metrics here at AI).

The good news is when you consistently practice these strategies, your return on investment grows greater over time.

Because while someone might take three, six, or nine months to buy from you after being nurtured through meaningful and educational content via compelling ads, social media, or being on your email list, someone who only gets asked to buy over and over again not only isn’t going to buy, but will eventually tune you out altogether.

Of course, successful cosmeceutical sales are also supported by a variety of additional factors such as knowing your metrics and having a reliable sales process in your practice, but when you incorporate a multi-faceted digital marketing strategy, you’re ensuring your sales success for the long haul.

Any questions? Follow @aestheticinfluencer on Instagram and send a DM! Can't wait to see you there!