Ajay Prasad is the CEO of GMR Web Team , a healthcare digital marketing agency focused on patient acquisition and retention.
The ongoing boom in demand for medical spas is driving a $14.4 billion industry that is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.3% globally. Thanks to consumers' desire to look and feel better, and the availability of new treatments to make their dreams come true, the US market is valued at more than $5.4 billion. However, even with such strong growth, the success of medical spa practitioners in the digital age is not easy. Clear marketing, aligned with changing consumer health behavior considerations and care expectations, is critical to them.
Consumers have taken matters into their own hands.
We are seeing a dramatic shift in the way health care consumers seek and consume health care in the United States. As noted in one study, about 94% of them research a particular medical problem or condition, and nearly 60% get this information online before going to the doctor. This knowledge enables them to play a more important role in managing and enhancing their well-being. Combine this with a growing preference for virtual treatment options and closer doctor-patient relationships, and you can see why today's medical spas need a robust digital marketing strategy to target customers with the same precision as lasers.
So what's the best way to market medical spa services in the digital age? Based on my experience helping these types of clients with their digital marketing, I offer the four strategies necessary for practices to thrive in an era of competitive healthcare consumption.
patient acquisition
Strategies to make your spa more attractive to new patients in your area should include:
• A user-friendly website is the backbone of a strong online presence to attract, capture and convert medical spa prospects.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Content Marketing: A study of billions of search results shows that over 25% of internet users click on the first organic result. With an optimized website and SEO-driven content, potential customers can easily find attractive medical spa brands on search engine results pages (SERPs).
• Patient reviews: 84% of people consider online reviews to be "very important" or "important" in their treatment decisions. Be sure to regularly create positive patient reviews to attract more new patients.
• Make a promise. Medical spas may lose potential clients due to difficulty booking appointments or rescheduling online. Therefore, use effective tools to optimize appointments and synchronize appointment information for your patients.
• Referral program. Capitalize on your good reputation by encouraging satisfied patients to recommend your spa to others.
Building a medical spa brand
Clearly, medical spa marketing is a sensitive area. After all, you are targeting appearance-conscious potential customers, and the perception you create of your brand can be a determining factor. Medical spa branding allows you to present your practice as credible to potential clients, presenting a perfect personality for their aesthetic purposes.
To do this, use the following:
• Personal branding: start by exploring the health and beauty aspirations of your target audience. Build your brand around these expectations by effectively communicating your unique value proposition to potential customers through your digital marketing presence.
• Social media: Your brand should have a presence on social media such as Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. Consumers are increasingly returning there to find plastic surgeons, talk about anti-aging therapies and more. By regularly posting before and after photos or videos of what you do or offer, you can strengthen your online image as an expert and communicate your unique style to potential clients.
patient retention
Retaining loyal patients is five times cheaper than acquiring new ones, making patient retention critical to medical spa marketing success. Tactics that can help your medical spa retain more customers include:
• Patient Care Recovery Program. Disgruntled medical spa clients can hurt your practice if they tell others about their bad experience. With an effective recovery program, you can catch these patients to fix them before it's too late.
• Patient satisfaction monitoring: Tracking customer satisfaction levels allows you to continuously improve your patient experience. After-service surveys can tell you what customers want and expect to last.
• Means of interaction and communication with patients. Use technologies such as telemedicine and two-way text messaging to better engage your customers. This is key to surviving in today's competitive medical spa industry, where clients value a personalized client-provider relationship.
Measure the success of your practice
You need to measure the success of your practice in order to continually improve your medical spa marketing plan. Approaches that can help with this strategy include:
• Send patient surveys. Asking your customer a few questions after the appointment is a great way to gain more insight into the patient experience. You can provide answers that need to be continuously improved at each step of the maintenance process.
• Using AI-based sentiment analysis tools: follow-up surveys show what patients think about your practice. Analyzing AI feedback can quickly tell you what they think about each interaction with your healthcare system.
To take advantage of the industry's growth and become more competitive online, a solid medical spa marketing plan is essential. To do this, you need a strong online presence and a trusted brand. Done right, this strategy can make your medical spa practice easier to find and more attractive to new patients at the expense of your competitors. Take advantage of this by using a patient loyalty program and practicing success metrics (as described above) to closely monitor and improve patient care. By exploring these key areas of differentiation, you can build a loyal clientele for your medical spa practice.
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