The 'Outside Perception' of Your MediSpa
is Key Factor in Luring Patients

By Judy Stelling

Last month, the MediSpa Showcase featured the first of two parts regarding marketing at your medical spa or skin-care clinic, with the emphasis on what the “inside reality” is at your practice.

If the "inside reality" is about what you do and what you are that allows your business to perform better, then the “outside perception” has to do with how clients and potential clients PERCEIVE your center.

The outside perception is developed by any and all interaction somebody has with your office. But here's the problem. It doesn’t matter if your customer service is great and your clients love you, if prospective clients 1) don't know you even exist as an option, 2) see your marketing and advertising and because of your lack of ability to market properly they perceive that you are no different or no better or no worse than anybody else. Because of the marketing ineptitude of just about every company, the result is that almost invariably, your inside reality and your outside perception are different.

When you get a moment, look at ads for hair removal or aesthetic services in your phone book. I think you’ll agree these are fairly typical ads. Can you tell which of the facilities listed actually does the best job of treating hair removal clients? Can you tell which one offers superior services for the money?

Most likely, you can't. It would be convenient if every business had complete honesty in their advertising. Wouldn't it be great if there were headlines like, "We’ve never done hair removal before but we’d like to try on you." Or "Our 20-year-old technician is so well trained… she went to a class for 3 hours!” or "Our equipment isn’t serviced or maintained on a regular schedule but it’ll probably work as well as others!" Unfortunately that's not the way it works. We have literally NO IDEA what the inside reality of any of these facilities is. We can only guess based on how we "feel" about their ads. Friends, you can do better than this.

Regardless of how good you are, or how good your "inside reality" is, your potential client isn’t going to be able to figure it out based on your current marketing. You're going to appear, on the surface level -- which by the way is the level the prospect is looking at -- to be just another medical spa or clinic that offers the same services as everyone else. The potential client will more than likely be apathetic at best. Ask yourself this question -- How many competitors, either direct or indirect (i.e. other physicians, medical spas, creams and lotions that promise results, dayspas, or even inertia… doing nothing) do you have in your business? Whatever that number is, that's how many choices your prospects have, and how many businesses they have to sift through to try to make a buying decision. And that's assuming they want to buy what you're selling! Because of the large number of competitors, marketing has to 1) interrupt the prospect, 2) facilitate the decision making process…i.e. educate and inform, and 3) lower the risk of taking the next step in the buying process.

Remember this definition and watch for future articles on how to do this in your medispa, and let us help you start working through this process with the Aesthetic Marketing Essentials program of our full Aesthetic Success Program at Bal-Tech Medical.

©Judy Stelling, Aesthetic Success, 2006 adapted from Rich Harshaw Monopolize Your Marketplace?

Having trouble getting the word out about your medical spa? A major facet of the Bal-Tech Medical Aesthetic Success Program is helping medical personnel with their marketing programs in an economical manner. This month, Bal-Tech Medical wants to introduce clients and patrons of its newsletter to a special direct mail offer that will help publicize your medical spa or skin wellness clinic to residents in your marketplace – at substantial savings. “We have used the Money Mailer direct mail program with great success at our own facility,” said Shawn Dunning, operations manager of the Ultimate Image Medical Spa and Training Center located atop the Bal-Tech Medical corporate offices in suburban Chicago. “We have the opportunity to share that success through an offer by Money Mailer, exclusive to Bal-Tech Medical clients and newsletter subscribers, to save as much as $400 off the regular rate of a series of mailings,” Dunning added. Those interested in the offer can click here for details, or contact Blake Barry of Money Mailer at BBarry@moneymailer.com or call him for an information packet at 630-397-4930.