Everyone wants to get more patients through the door for the New Year. However, before you throw more advertising dollars away in 2024, focus on these 3 fundamental best-practices to increase the ROI on your existing budget.
New year…same old excuses from your marketing agency: "If you want to get more patients, we need to increase your advertising budget for 2024".
Not so fast.
Before you increase your 2024 advertising budget, let's first examine how your practice is currently performing with your existing sales inquiries. Chances are, there are many FREE tactics that you are neglecting that could increase your ROI. In fact, many aesthetic practices can 2X their revenue simply by improving these 3 key areas in the patient sales process WITHOUT increasing their budget. Improving an inquiry-to-appointment Conversion Rate from 25% to 50%+ can increase your profitability much greater than simply increasing advertising spend but remaining at a sub-par conversion rate.
So, how can aesthetic businesses improve their existing lead conversion efforts at little to no cost so that they can 2X their revenue? Keep reading to find out.
Check out these 3 New Year's Resolutions below for your game plan to success in 2024.
RESOLUTION #1: OFFER “FREE” CONTENT ON YOUR WEBSITE THAT CAPTURES CONVERSION INFORMATION
Your website is the “storefront” for your aesthetic business. So how do you convince people who are window-shopping to take the time to actually look inside your store and agree to give you their contact information?
Simple…give them something they want.
Transactional relationships are not limited to money. If your practice’s website can offer “free” content on it that a web visitor finds valuable, then that visitor will be willing to give you their contact information. It’s a win/win for both parties.
That content that you are labeling as “free” is not as free as you may think. Patients who are browsing your website understand that by handing over their information in exchange for the content or tool on your site, they are agreeing to be contacted by your practice in some form or fashion.
Offering content or online tools/quizzes is a unique way for your website to stand out from the other run-of-the-mill websites that competing medical spas and aesthetic practices boast. This is a basic principle of B2B (Business to Business) marketing; one of the many B2B marketing principles that can be adopted by aesthetic businesses to dramatically scale their profitability and branding.
REAL WORLD USE CASE:
Aesthetic industry thought-leader and plastic surgeon Dr. Paco Canales has transformed his medical spa’s website into a lead magnet that actively engages visitors from the moment they click on it. People who visit the Allegro Medical Spa website are immediately greeted with an invitation to use their free AI facial simulator tool.
There is a notification bar that is strategically placed “above the fold” (located so that the site visitor does not need to scroll down to see it) that uses strategic verbiage appealing directly to the most common pain point that a potential injectable/filler patient has: “Wondering what you’ll look like with injectables? Use our AI Simulator to envision your desired outcome!”.
This artificially intelligent simulator tool is part of the EntityMed platform that aesthetic practices can subscribe to in order to increase sales conversion rates and lifetime patient value. Patients visit Dr. Canales’ medspa website and use the AI algorithm (developed by testing over 50,000 actual before/after patient photos) to customize and generate a clinically accurate preview of how they would look after fillers and/or toxin treatments.
This is a FREE online simulator tool white-labeled and customized for Allegro MedSpa. This free content/tool increases the number of sales inquiries from his website and also qualifies every new online inquiry by identifying where they are in the buying decision making process. In other words, every lead that the EntityMed AI simulator tool captures for the practice includes data on how serious the person is about booking a procedure.
The results speak for themselves. Dr. Canales’ medspa generated 120 leads within the first weekend of using EntityMed; and generated $25,000 in revenue within the first two months!
RESOLUTION #2: AUTOMATE THE SALES NURTURING PROCESS, REDUCING HUMAN ERROR
Aesthetic practice owners are always shocked when they actually investigate how their staff handles incoming online inquiries. Following up with every inbound sales lead as soon as possible is critical, with every passing hour dramatically reducing the likelihood of booking that lead for an appointment.
Front Desk staff can be forgiven for being overwhelmed with lead management and follow-up tasks. After all, they are only human. But those leads that “fall through the cracks” can amount to a significant amount of lost revenue.
Automation to the rescue!
The perfect dynamic of technology in staff workflows is as a modern tool that eliminates tedious, mundane tasks and increases the productivity of each employee. Automation is the solution to optimizing your practice’s online lead conversions.
Lead nurturing and lead management is a new concept that visionary medical spas and aesthetic practices are introducing into their workflows. CRM platforms (Customer Relationship Management) such as Hubspot and Salesforce have revolutionized other industries. While a CRM is the new “cheat code” that can be employed for your staff, it is important to keep in mind that your practice does not need a heavy-duty CRM software like Salesforce. In order to ensure that your staff understands and properly adopts the CRM platform and benefits from the CRM, it is critical that the CRM is very lightweight and easy to use, with simple features that are not overwhelming.
REAL WORLD USE CASE:
EntityMed is more than just an AI simulator. The EntityMed platform includes an intuitive, easy-to-use Lead Management CRM feature. EntityMed clients also enjoy lead nurturing automation that includes the ability for simulator users to automatically book an appointment with the practice; shop products directly from their eCommerce store; and even sends out lead nurturing email blasts automatically to follow up with every sales lead.
This robust marketing cloud platform prevents the online leads from the simulator tool from “falling through the cracks” in a simple, understandable manner.
RESOLUTION #3: POSITION YOUR PRACTICE AS CUTTING-EDGE AND MODERN
As the aesthetic industry continues to become more popular, the marketplace becomes ever more saturated. Competing solely on price is never a winning strategy for an aesthetic business. Your practice must position its brand as an industry leader in technology, techniques, and patient experience.
2024 presents a rare opportunity for aesthetic practices to capitalize on a technology lifestyle trend as it is trending: artificial intelligence.
The rise of ChatGPT has thrust AI into the national spotlight. Just as the COVID pandemic shifted adoption towards Zoom virtual meetings, 2024 presents an opportunity to kickstart your brand by aligning with AI. Incorporating artificial intelligence into the patient experience is a competitive advantage that erases price sensitivity and allows your practice to be perceived as an industry leader.
REAL WORLD USE CASE:
Plastic surgeon Dr. Renato Saltz summed up this sentiment perfectly: “I see EntityMed and its AI technology as the future of the aesthetic industry. With its cutting-edge capabilities, patients can visualize their outcome results with exceptional clinical accuracy. Additionally, EntityMed provides practices with a technological competitive advantage, empowering them to stay ahead in the ever-evolving field of aesthetics. It is my pleasure to endorse EntityMed as Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board."
CHEERS TO A SUCCESSFUL 2024!
Schedule a live demo of the EntityMed platform to discover how the AI-driven lead generation and management software can deliver immediate results for your aesthetic practice. Or visit https://EntityMed.com to learn more.
About Lior Yadin
Co-Founder and CEO, EntityMed
My passion in life is to integrate AI with the human body.
EntityMed was founded to catapult the aesthetic industry into the future by using a generative artificial intelligence algorithm to predict how skin tissues will behave post-treatments.
Comments:
More Stories
Most common misconceptions about AI in the aesthetic industry, debunked
From leveraging this technology to increase revenue and attract more new patients, AI offers clinics powerful opportunities that are often overlooked due to common misunderstandings.
Why your medspa needs promotional coupons
Promotions aren’t just enticing deals—they’re a strategic tool that can transform your aesthetic clinic’s marketing. Here are 5 reasons why your practice should include them in your strategy.