Finish The Year Strong
We are headed into the last quarter of the year. Consumer sentiment is waning, and pundits are making things worse with their doom and gloom economic predictions. What will you do? Will you jump on the doom and gloom bandwagon or ride the lightning to a great finish?
If you’re an entrepreneur there is only one right answer. However, capitalizing on opportunities do not happen by accident. It takes time and effort. It takes teamwork. It takes strategic thought and planning. Below are some questions to ask yourself and your team as you prepare to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. We follow those with some ideas to help you finish the year strong so you can make it your best finish ever!
Questions
How are you preparing to finish strong and take advantage of the upcoming holiday season?
Have you laid out your strategy for capturing those consumers who will be looking for your services?
Have you put a plan in place to retain those who have been loyal?
If you have not taken the time to map out your strategy to address the opportunities that lie ahead, it is not too late. However, if you wait any longer you may find yourself at a disadvantage. Plus, it takes time to get the ball rolling and everyone on board. Promotion planning, marketing content and collateral, training and education, and acquiring everything you need to pull it off is a lot of work. Waiting until the last minute only makes life more stressful and will likely result in a less than desirable result.
Ideas To Spur Your Creativity
Below is a list of creative ideas to help you attract and retain clients over the last quarter of this year. These ideas also afford you an opportunity to express your appreciation to your loyal client base, while at the same time promoting the practice and benefiting from the season of giving.
PRE HOLIDAY SEASON
Halloween Fun: Plan a Halloween party at your practice and invite your clients to celebrate with your team. Have your team dress up and offer your clients ghostly concoctions and scary treats, as well as scary great specials. Bootox (neurotoxin), No More Skelton Face (Sculptra), Shed the Dead (Peels), Unmask Your Beauty (facial), etc. Get creative and have fun with one of the more fun days of the year.
Thankful Thanksgiving: Life feels better when you finish strong and celebrate with those who mean the most to your practice. So do not forget to say thank you to those who allow you to provide for your family and live the life you do. Do something non transactional for your clients. Send them a personal note, give them a call, send a text, offer a special gift with no strings attached. It takes time to do these things, but it means a lot. Anyone can offer discounts as a thank you. Few give their time or show their heartfelt appreciation.
HOLIDAY SEASON SPECIFIC
Holiday Season Event: Invite your clients to a special holiday themed open house/client appreciation event with light bites and cocktails (or holiday mocktails). Create “event only” pricing and giveaways. Request the support of your sales reps and business besties by asking them to be involved by attending and gifting items to your clients, which can be in the form of sample skincare products or free service. Holiday events serve as a great opportunity to meet + greet new potential clients and offer quick mini consults! Consider creating a free Eventbrite event and promoting it heavily on all social media, through email, via text blast, and personal invitation. Create an RSVP list and ensure your spa concierge is asking everyone who walks through your doors, “Have you heard about our holiday event? Who do you want to bring? Who else?” Be assertive and excited!
Member Only Event: Organize a member only event with member only specials and promotions. Make it red carpet and elite. Design it in such a way that those who are not members find their interest in becoming members peaked.
Personal Invites: Send direct messages (DMs) from your social media accounts to personally invite followers to come to a special holiday event. This feels more personal and more in the spirit of the season.
Private Parties: Offer your clients the opportunity to host private parties that are holiday themed for a small group of their friends and family (i.e., Botox and bubbly holiday party).
Holiday Gift Cards: Promote the sale of gift cards for your services. Encourage your clients to share their wonderful life-changing experience with their friends and family through the gifting of to purchase gift cards.
Problem Solver: We all struggle to find the right gift for that special person in our life. Have your front desk team guide your clients by asking, “Who’s on your shopping list that you are struggling to find a unique gift? A babysitter, teacher, hairstylist?” Offer suggested gifts, such as skincare products or gift cards to receive a facial.
Gift Sets: Consider offering prepackaged gift baskets wrapped for the season. Create gift sets or beauty bundles with skincare products, candles, masques, etc.
Holiday Cash: Offer “holiday cash” that grow in value as their purchases grow. Holiday cash would come in the form of an internal voucher with a specified value that increases as certain spending tiers are met. The client could then either gift them or keep for themselves…no judgment here!
Holiday Specials: Develop holiday-themed promotions and bespoke packages that cater to the needs of your clients during the holiday season. Offer special pricing, bundled services, or limited-time treatments that align with the spirit of the holidays. Consider doing a “twelve days” themed event (i.e., the “Twelve spa-lidays of the holidays”) Promote these daily specials internally with your clients, on your website, social media, and through email marketing campaigns.
That Jolly Ole Retail Shelf: Stock up on retail products for holiday season because they will be the easiest sale and require little additional labor after the sale. Make sure you focus on products that are easy to gift and not specific to a skin type (i.e., gentle cleanser, sunscreen, etc.). Create a visually appealing retail product display with all the “festive” feels! Reach out to your reps to offer a GWP (gift with purchase) with select services or products!
Share the Joy via Email and Text Blast Marketing: Keep your clients up to date on your holiday specials, events, hours, and open appointments throughout the season. Send holiday newsletters, update your website, and post regularly to your social media pages. By consistently putting yourself in front of your clients you will become top of mind when they are in a pinch for a great gift or when someone inevitable asks their gift giving opinion.
Schedule Early Success: You will be competing for the attention of your clients. Every business in your area will be vying for their business. As such, you need to be one step ahead. This is a little easier for a medical aesthetics practice than most businesses, because your clients will want to use your services before the events of the season as much as gift your products and services. As such, you will want to be sure that you start marketing your holiday events and promotions early in the season (NOW), so that your clients can get themselves prepped and ready to sparkle and shine at every party they attend. By doing so, you will ensure your clients have time to book their services before social events and family photos!
Bouncing Back Certificate: The season is an incredible opportunity to drive revenue after the holidays are over. Bounce back certificates can serve as a tool for getting clients back into your spa after the holiday fever has subsided. They can also help you avoid that post-holiday revenue dip. A bounce back offer could be as simple as $100 off any new service, in house cash to be used toward any service, or a discount on retail product. Be sure to put a timeline for use (i.e., Valid January 1-31). This will set an expectation and help create a sense of urgency. Don’t forget to send out reminders to use the bounce back certificates throughout the month.
Sales and Event Strategy: A great strategy for generating interest for your sales, promotions, and events is to market the sale, promotion, or event as one day only. When you employ strict adherence to a policy of “today only” your clients will value the sale, promotion, or event more, take your sale, promotion, or event seriously, and be more likely to participate because they know that if they miss it, they miss out. Failing to do so creates an expectation that you’ll give them the special anytime, which then makes all your pricing subject to negotiation all the time.
The last quarter can be a joyous time of year. Clients want to celebrate the season with you. They value you and all you do for them throughout the year. Embrace that feeling of appreciation by showing you appreciate them as well. Events, personal communication, unique offers, and parties designed to give thanks mean so much more than a transactional promotion that has little meaning other than generating revenue. All of the above take time to plan and put together, so start now so you can finish strong.
💌 Are you ready to take on an investment partner to help you grow your medical aesthetics practice? If so, we are here to partner with you every step of the way. Fill out the contact form or send us an email at info@baraesthetics.com and we will schedule a call to discuss the possibilities.
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