5 smart ways to grow your aesthetic practice in 2022
Beauty is a booming and a highly competitive business. According to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (March 2018), since the year 2000, minimally invasive cosmetic procedures have increased by 200%. From Baby Boomers to Generation Z, patients are constantly changing what they expect and demand from aesthetic medicine practices. So, how do you maintain and develop your foothold in this seemingly ever-expanding and evolving market?
1. Be proactive.
Fully embrace the Digital age and stay ahead of the curve. With the wealth of online information about aesthetic medicine, today’s patients are highly discerning and demanding. Using new technology within your aesthetic practice not only keeps you at the cutting edge of your offering but provides valuable support during consultations and in managing patient expectations.
Your patients naturally look to you for guidance and advice. As an expert, you will be familiar with reference measurements and beauty standards for a given treatment, but your patient will not. High quality 3D imagery using a viewer for visualizing facial ratios and angles on the profile, will enable you to interpret patient morphology and clearly explain procedures to patients before they commit. Going forward with clarity reassures the patient and generates trust in you and the chosen procedure.
2. Be specific.
As an aesthetic practitioner, recognise your strengths and only stick to what you know you can promise. Focusing on what you really do best will help you to differentiate yourself from your competitors and ensure your patient’s satisfaction.
3. Be seen.
You’ll want to build a durable relationship through social media with both potential and existing patients. Be open to customer feedback and act upon it. Being receptive to new concerns, comments and demands of patients can create a mutually enriching dialogue, build trust and lead to referrals. Plus, you’ll have a constant source of feedback which allows you to move forward and develop, in line with current and emerging preoccupations of today’s aesthetic patient.
Sharing your expertise and knowledge helps reassure and educate patients. Having content that is relevant, accessible and interesting boosts the quality and quantity of your website ranking. When building online traffic, maximizing the use of a high-quality 3D photography system for Before and After images will also mean you can establish and grow an impressive image catalogue that showcases your expertise online and to your peers at Congresses.
4. Be in tune.
In your aesthetic practice, a reassured patient is indispensable: a pathway to you becoming recommendable, getting future client referrals and most importantly, to building a loyal customer base. Using high quality 3D images powered by AI provides valuable and immediately understandable support during consultations. Staying in tune with their concerns and expectations is key. Having the possibility of simulating results directly on a 3D photograph of the individual patient allows them to project forward in a more realistic and reassuring way.
5. Be bespoke.
A successful aesthetic consultation really is about attention to detail and providing a truly personalised service. Using a bespoke or tailored approach as an aesthetic practitioner, you are acknowledging and catering for each patient’s uniqueness. Your patient feels listened to and this can help develop that all-important trust in your aesthetic practice.
A key element of personalisation is being able to track an individual patient’s changes over time – high quality Before and After images help them to get a perspective on what has already been achieved and helps them plan for a more realistic future. Adopting a bespoke approach should become an on-going feature of your aesthetic practitioner-patient communication strategy. Patient follow-up is so important – stay in touch, discuss any issues they may have, and keep them informed.
Conclusion: You Get the picture.
It’s not enough to have an aesthetic medicine practice with a presence on social media to survive and thrive. You need to be proactive, stand out from the crowd and cultivate a personalised, receptive approach. A game-changer in achieving this are 3D aesthetic photography systems powered by AI, which are easy to use, fast and effective. Instrumental in pre-treatment consultations, in monitoring results and patient follow-up, they will help you grow your business in many ways: attracting new patients, building client retention, generating trust and loyalty, as well as showcasing a high quality visible online presence … It seems that seeing really is believing.