Medical spas are becoming more widely seen across the country and the world. What could be better than having cosmetic treatments, but being surrounded by the relaxation and tranquility of a spa?
Spas are well known for their relaxing atmospheres and are a space where many people will want to while away their time. A medical spa provides that, but also a team of trained physicians and aestheticians to offer their clients a whole range of cosmetic treatments like chemical peels, CoolSculpting, and laser hair removal.
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Sounds great! And they are, but if you are considering opening your own medical spa, there are some things that you should take into consideration first.
Know Your Target Audience
It’s important to know who you want to target your med spa too. You cannot appeal to every single person out there, and it would be pointless to try. You can’t keep everyone happy, and if you try to do that, your spa will end up losing its way.
It’s better to have your spa known for something, and only you can say what that something is. Do you want to be known for only offering organic and cruelty-free products? Or do you want to be known for something else? Only you can answer this question, and it’s important to keep this in mind as you come up with your business plan.
On the flip side, you also don’t want to have too narrow of a brand, as this won’t bring in enough people to your business, and it will ultimately fail if you don’t appeal to enough people, and therefore bring in enough custom.
It’s a good idea to talk to other medical spa owners, to get ideas for what they do, and what is already available in your area.
Get a business plan in place, and talk over your business plan with a professional, and they can help you avoid the most common pitfalls when setting up a business like this.
Brand Your Spa
One of the most important parts of running a successful business is having a recognizable brand. As we mentioned above, part of this should be the services that your spa offers, and being well known for a certain level of service.
Another important part is to have a recognizable logo and a tagline. This will decide on the colors that you use, and the tagline should encompass the values of your spa.
Once you have a logo and brand, get it out into the wider community. Brand as many things as possible, such as business cards, advertisements, paper bags, towels, and anything else relevant to your business.
Another great way to get your brand out there is to use social media. Almost everybody is on social media now, whether that be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, or one of the many other available platforms.
Have an account for your business, and use it regularly. Having an active social media presence is a sure-fire way to have your brand become more recognizable, and draw in more customers.
If you can afford to spend the money, hiring a marketing consultant is an excellent way to ensure your spa is marketed in the best way, to the audience you want to see it.
The Youth Fountain med spa is a good example of a well-branded medical spa business that has built a recognizable brand.
Hire The Right Staff
When you are looking at employees for your medical spa, you will, of course, want to hire those who excel in their chosen treatment area.
However, it is important to look beyond the skill they have in their area. This is the most important quality but there are others that you should look for.
You want your staff to be driven, and keep up with new skills, techniques, and cosmetic treatments within their sector. They will also need to have a good bedside manner.
Some of the best doctors in the world have an atrocious bedside manner, but in a situation where they are saving your life, that doesn’t really matter. However, in a medical spa, an excellent bedside manner is extremely important and will add to the relaxing feeling of your spa.
Your staff should also be good team players. A medical spa is, after all, one big team, and so it is important everyone gets along and is willing to help and support their colleagues.
It may be worth you looking into management courses to find out how best to treat your employees, and keep them with you for longer. Appreciating and incentivizing your staff is so important in staff retention, as is learning how to resolve disputes and generally look after their wellbeing.
Be Sensible
Now that you have your spa, you are going to want to decorate it. However, be careful here. Whilst, of course, you want a beautiful, welcoming spa, you do not want to spend all your budget on making it the best it can be – yet.
Start off with a welcoming, relaxing decor, and as your business becomes more profitable, you can add to it, making it more luxurious as you go along.
Have a good look at your business plan, and find other areas where you could potentially be spending too much money.
Another area that’s worth looking at, are the medications and other drugs you are going to be stocking. Get talking to the brand reps, and you may find they will do you a deal, and give you discounts if you stick with their company.
It’s very tempting to buy every bit of technology and gadgetry available. Now, whilst you do want to be up to date with the latest technologies, make sure everything you are investing in has a use and a place in your business and will pay for itself.
These are just some examples of areas to examine.
Stay Up To Date
Everything moves quickly in the medical world, and your customers will likely be up to date with the latest treatments too.
Make sure you stay present by reading the latest journals, going to conferences, spa shows and generally keeping up with the latest trends.
If you want to bring in new products, try them on yourself, or on a testing panel, to make sure you are bringing in a good product.
Good luck!
