Leverage Vendor Driven Promotions to Grow Your Practice

From time-to-time product vendors will run promotions or sponsor special events to raise awareness of their products, grow their brand, or demonstrate appreciation for their customer base. Such activities may come in the form of “one time” or “one day only” promotions at various times throughout the year or as incentives to those who are a member of their rewards program.

For example, for five years now Allergan has run a BOTOX® Cosmetic Day promotion during the month of November. Allergan typically offers its customer base a limited supply of gift cards that are equivalent to a buy one, get one promotion through Alle, the Allergan Aesthetics loyalty program.  Allergan markets the day “as a way to commemorate the brand and an innovation that launched the aesthetics market."

Fundamentally, BOTOX® Cosmetic Day is a marketing and brand expansion strategy. Allergan is attempting to retain existing clients and lure new clients to its brand during the biggest shopping season of the year. Allergan is also attempting to force commitment, effectively taking clients away from competitors and securing loyalty from their existing base.

If Allergan can convince the masses to purchase a BOTOX® gift card or to engage the brand by participating in the many other activities they are sponsoring during this promotion, the odds of them not purchasing a competitor’s product significantly increases. While such behavior is a great short-term gain for Allergan, the long-term gain is even more important, especially when you consider the lifetime value of a customer in the aesthetics industry.

By requiring enrollment in Alle, Allergan not only expands the client base by which it can market promotions all year long, but it gains valuable insight into customer behavior. As a member of Alle, Allergan allows their customers to earn rewards when they purchase Allergan products, which is typically the case for most rewards programs.

However, Allergan takes the rewards program a step further by also allowing its members to earn rewards when they purchase competitor products. Why would they do this? For the data. The consumer behavior data is critical to future marketing and product development. Among other things, the insight can be used to spot trends and possible concerns with Allergan products.

So, how does a practice owner leverage the vast marketing power of big pharma like Allergan? It is quite simple. Follow their lead and use their marketing and brand presence to do exactly what they are doing for your brand. As surprising as it may sound, some practice owners will not do what we are about to suggest because they do not want to step on the toes of their other vendor partners, such as Galderma, Merz, Revance, etc.  

If that is you, you need to take a step back and think about the position you are taking. Each of your partner vendors will offer you the same opportunity to leverage similar promotions they run. When they do, use these same tactics to leverage their marketing. If they don’t offer similar opportunities, that’s their issue, not yours. You need to focus on growing your brand while they focus on growing theirs.

Below are some ideas and strategies for leveraging the BOTOX® Cosmetic Day marketing activities. Again, many of these strategies can apply to any vendor’s promotions throughout the year. It just so happens that Allergan is a marketing machine, and they tend to go big, which make it easier to go big with them.

Look at this as an incredible opportunity to help your clients take advantage of some spectacular offers, while also growing your brand.

• On Wednesday, November 15th starting at 11:00 am CT BOTOX® BOGO gift card sales begin. When an Alle member purchase a $50 gift card, they receive an additional $50. They also earn double Alle points on BOTOX® the entire month.

• SPREAD THE WORD to your clients TODAY. Get them signed up with Alle. They will thank you. Don’t forget to dig into your Alle client base. There are opportunities to not only remind them about BOTOX® Cosmetic Day promotions, but also remind them about points they have that can be coupled with these promotions.

• In exchange for the money saving insights you provided them, ask your clients to book their BOTOX® appointment with you before the month ends. Offer them an incentive if you think it will help to secure their appointment. Remember, this is as much about lifetime value of a client as it is an immediate sale.

• Post the BOTOX® Cosmetic Day promotions being run by Allergan to your social media.

• Create a BOTOX® Cosmetic Day promotions countdown campaign to your social media.

• Add the botoxcosmeticday.alle.com link to your social media bio and reference it.

• Send an email and text blast to your clients announcing BOTOX® Cosmetic Day and include the botoxcosmeticday.alle.com link in the body of the message.

• Offer prepurchase incentives to get clients to book their appointment with you immediately (i.e., “Buy 50 units get 10 free” or “Receive a free LED treatment when you book with us in November”...). Ask your Allergan reps to reimburse you for the free units of BOTOX®.

• Offer a free area of BOTOX® when they book with you (i.e., “Book your BOTOX® appointment with us and receive a free area on us. Up to 20 units.” or “Book your BOTOX® appointment with us and receive a $50 spa gift card”). Again, ask your Allergan rep to reimburse you for the free units of BOTOX®.

• Host a “Bubbly and BOTOX®” party in November. This will encourage your clients to use their BOTOX® gift cards with you. It also gives you a chance to discuss treatment options for their other related concerns.  

• Ask your clients to share your posts, text, email, and events with friends, family, and relatives. Use your client base to gain referrals.

• Finally, remind clients that they need to get their BOTOX® appointments scheduled if they hope to ensure a smooth wrinkle free look for the holidays.  

The goal here is to create a buzz, a sense of urgency, and to secure existing and new clients.  Leverage the marketing power of your vendors to gain an advantage over your competition!

💌 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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