The business of making people beautiful is a lucrative one. If you are making additions to your medical practice, like Botox or dermal fillers, or starting a business within the cosmetic industry, you’ve got to be aware of the fact that, since the year 2000, cosmetic procedures in the USA have increased by a whopping 200%. There are no signs of slowing down. As such, there is a lot of competition in an already crowded industry. This is why marketing is the essential tool to target the appropriate customers. What’s more, it’s not just about those that have an active interest in changing their aesthetics, but those people who have an inkling towards it, but have never had the time or the finances need targeting as well. With this in mind, it’s important to learn some of the best practices to acquire custom; let’s provide you with some of the best methods.
Online Marketing Tactics
While marketing on the internet can be broken down into numerous categories, from SEO to PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising and numerous ones in between, when we are looking to target a specific demographic, social media is, undoubtedly, the most important. When promoting a medical practice, it can seem somewhat overlooked, especially as cost is one of the defining factors. But this is where we can use Facebook ads to our advantage. We need to introduce customers to our practice, so this means we have to give them a great first experience. By using targeted Facebook ads, we can give away a low ticket service for free. By giving away one of these on a regular basis, and ensuring that the customer has a good experience during their visit, they can come back again and again. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive at the outside, it could just be a free filler to plump up their lips or just a general checkup, but this can generate more leads.
Media Exposure
Any publicity is good publicity. And while the aesthetic medicine industry has its fair share of detractors, by getting any form of media exposure, this can result in a higher volume of new patients. Because we can focus a lot on generating followers through social media, we don’t always tend to go for the grassroots press approach. Granted, generating media exposure can be time-consuming. But when you do it well, you can get more followers online and in person. The best way to do it is to use the abundance of tools out there to get in contact with journalists, editors, and producers. It’s all about that hook, that story. You can always target more influential papers in your local area to promote your practice, but if you can weave it in with a story that is doing the rounds, this makes your practice more relevant.
Targeting Social Media Influencers
It’s never been easier to get in touch with influencers on social media. But whether they will reply to you is another thing! Targeting specific social media influencers, by offering your services for free, they can promote your cause online. Be careful, because there are more restrictions being put in place. Advertising online is a very muddled water, especially through services like Instagram, but if you target influencers, by being associated with a specific person, this is the perfect way to get your services to a wider market. Choose your influences carefully, and look at their demographics.
Conducting Market Research And Analysis
While you can use Instagram as a way to target specific demographics, you’ve got to assess your current situation by undertaking the relevant analysis. This means looking at the products and procedures that you offer, as well as the location, and, most importantly, the cost. The aesthetics industry can seem like a wide-ranging market place, but if you cast your net too widely, this is unlikely to yield you the necessary results. It’s far better to understand the specific customer base, as well as researching the industry. As there’s significant growth in the aesthetics market, what is the defining factor of this? It’s to do with invasive procedures, coupled with insecurities about our looks. There is a wider public awareness of cosmetic procedures now, but you’ve got to drill deep into your geographical area. The major trend now is that style of drawn-on eyebrow, as popularized by the Kardashians, but if you operate in an area that doesn’t take these trends onboard, you will naturally be selling yourself short.
Capturing The Niche
Again, without casting your net wide, you need to research the industry in terms of your geographical area, but also an understanding of who your customers are. Are your customers going to be men, rather than women? It’s surprising, but there is a growing awareness about cosmetic procedures amongst men. Once you start to research your appropriate customers, you can then create buyer personas. This encompasses not just specific demographics, but the educational background, pain points, buying patterns, even their job. This means that you can set your budgets accordingly. By catching a specific niche, especially when using CRM systems to cultivate an important relationship with potential customers, you are going to capture a niche in a more focused way. It’s always about the gap in the market, rather than casting your net too widely.
Don’t Go For The Norm
Laser hair removal is still one of the most popular aesthetic treatments. And if you pride yourself on promoting this, then it’s time to go against the grain and stop doing this. Because sites like Groupon offer laser hair removal at low costs, why should you compete with these bigger companies? It’s far better to find something that nobody else is promoting in your area. Again, this is about the demographic. Look at a state like Florida, where the key demographics are well beyond retirement age. This naturally means that collagen loss is one of the more prominent complaints. When you think about it in terms of location, but also providing a different service to everyone else, you can capture the market better. By going to a state like Florida and actively not providing services to reduce sagging jowls, this may sound like commercial suicide. But every other aesthetic business out there will be pushing it.
Retain Authority On A Topic
To become an influencer in your industry, you’ve got to carve out your niche, but if you become an authority on a specific subject, this means you are going to get results in terms of search engine optimization, but also, you will have the right people coming to you. Because the aesthetic industry is oversaturated, what can you offer that nobody else does? When it comes to cosmetics, there are so many different subcategories, and this means that if you can provide a very niche set of services for a very specific problem, you can automatically become an authority on that subject. Blogging and vlogging can position you as an authority. When you become an authority on a topic, this builds trust with potential customers and existing ones. Ultimately, write about what you know. But you still need to provide that consistent drip feed so people will view and watch your content. This means you’ve got to put a face to the business…
Iconography And Imagery
In one respect, it’s about the logo and design, but on the other hand, you need to build a brand that has that relevant personality. While a personalised logo goes a long way when patients are looking for the right cosmetic business, having a unique logo make you stand out, but you also need to find a way to communicate your style simply. Video blogs work wonders in this respect, as do explainer videos, but think about other ways to communicate to target markets in ways that a little out of the norm. Podcasting might not be considered to be crucial in terms of the cosmetics industry, but by setting up your own podcast, and getting the right guests who are influencers in the industry to talk shop, this can turn you into an authority by proxy. And while podcasting is an audio art form, there is still a brand, identity, and image to put across. And because there are so many aesthetic businesses out there that deal in the business of looking beautiful you need to make your promotional materials look better than others.
When we are in the business of making people look beautiful, it can provide a quandary in terms of getting results and customers. You could always promote a unique product that you’ve developed yourself, or you can highlight the results that you have yielded through customers. But these days, because there’s such a choice, we need to gain trust with our target market. The aesthetic industry has to target new customers, and like any good business, it understands what its unique selling point is. The beauty industry is even more difficult to make a profit in now, even if the stars align and you have productive staff. This is why marketing becomes an essential tool to build bridges. Whether it is dermal fillers or rhinoplasty, it’s important that we build a strong foundation before we alter our customer’s.