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“As competition increases in the medical spa industry, it is important you continually grow your business and keep the customers you already have” says Jeff Russell, President of MedSpa Financing. Marketing is one of those often neglected items. Many times MedSpa owners view this as an expense rather than a revenue generating tool. You need to regularly review your current marketing efforts, and evaluate new options.

Evaluate your Existing Marketing Program
The first thing you need to do is evaluate your current marketing program. Evaluate what is working and what is not. Figure out the actual cost versus the benefit of each type of marketing you are doing. Did the postcards work better than the radio ads? Did the free media attention from the grand opening get you lots of new customers? It’s easy to get sold on a particular advertising option, and one often forgets to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. If you signed a long contract for an advertising option that did not work, cancel it. Often you can cancel without any significant penalty with a months notice (and if you can’t, make sure that clause is in all your future contracts).

Leverage your Current Information
When you take your customers information, you should be taking not only their mailing address, but their e-mail address as well. You may want to start a monthly e-newsletter about your MedSpa. Highlight an employee or a new procedure. Remind everyone that summer is coming, and that they need to get in for those hair removal treatments quickly. An occasional “Daily Specials” e-mail will allow you to respond to a lull in bookings by sending out a treatment special for the time slots you have available that same day.

If you don’t have the technical expertise, don’t worry you can use a third party software tool, like Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) , which allows you to easily create and send professional looking email newsletters, promotions, and announcements. The most successful newsletters are the ones that have good content, so make sure the articles are informative and educational. It’s also a great way to give your customers a subtle reminder to come visit you.

Cross-market to Complimentary Businesses
The next time you are driving to your MedSpa take a look of who is around you. I am sure you will find many businesses that share the same demographic customer as you, and are also looking for new customers. Visit the health food store, jeweler, or the organic store and create a marketing program with them, offer discounts at each others stores. Remember, no one has too many customers, they will be happy you stopped by.

Using Technology
When you opened your medical spa you most likely purchased a bookings management system. Are you using it to its full potential? These systems often allow you to run custom reports where you can see which treatment rooms are being under-utilized, and which clients haven’t been in the medspa in a while. It may be time to check out the software vendors website to remind yourself of other productivity features which can help with your marketing efforts.

Network at Local Events and Associations
You need to be known in the community where you do business. It is important to contribute to local charities and events. If your customers are Generation X, then sponsor a little league team. If your customers are primarily baby boomers, you may want to be involved with local charities. Remember, most people do business with people they like. So networking gives you an opportunity to connect with many different people in a short period of time.

By using these tips, you should be able to grow your MedSpa business to that next level. You can’t just hang out a “medical spa” sign and expect people to run in, you are going to need to actively market your MedSpa and be constantly aware of which options are working and which are not. Your marketing plan should be a living document that should evolve to meet new challenges, such as a new competitor or adding new treatments.