Trying to grow your business can be overwhelming, and hard to know where to begin. But with the right plan, products, and determination, you can get on the right path and begin to see an increase in your business.
How to choose the best skin care products for your business
Choosing the right products for your business is the first step in building a name and a brand for your business. Picking the wrong products can negatively impact the face of the business and in the worst case scenario create a negative image of the company. This is why it’s so important to vastly research the types of products you want your business to be known for, and the reviews, results, and reliability of said products.
Have a niche
Before you start researching different types of skin care products, narrow down exactly what type of product it is you are interested in and want to be known for. For example, if you really want to build a name for yourself within the sunscreen industry then this is the type of product you need to be researching and sticking to. Doing this may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to become distracted by other interesting products that look like they will bring profit. The further away you divert from your original brand and product ideas the slower your business may grow.
Do your research
Once you have decided on the types of products you want, or even the specific brand you want to stock and sell, now it’s time to do your research. Look around to see what consumers are searching for. What skin care product is standing the test of time and is not just a passing fad? Research is important not only to find the right products but to target the right consumers as well. For example if you are a young business focused on selling to young consumers, stocking a range full of anti-aging products may not sell as well as your other products.
Trial period
After you have purchased your products and you are ready to sell them, class this as your trial period. See how well the products do, what type of consumer is buying them, and if you have any returning customers. If the product ticks all the right boxes then it’s safe to say the product stays. If for some reason the product is not doing as well as you anticipated, then it could be time for some more research and a change.
How to create a marketing plan for your aesthetic clinic
When thinking of your business and creating a successful marketing plan there are many things to consider in order for you to gain the best results. We’ve put together a guide of the best practices when creating your marketing plan.
Competitor research
You may have already been doing this without realising, but looking at your competitors, their website, what they sell, how they sell it, what works for them, the ads they run etc. is all part of competitor research. Have a look at the companies similar to you that are also near-by and see what works for them, the parts you like and would like to bring into your own company, and the parts you want to steer clear of. At this stage it is easy to get overwhelmed, maybe even disheartened if your competitors seem to be doing really well. You need to remember that your business, although in the same industry as theirs, is completely different and you should not compare, you should only gain ideas from the way they market their business.
Think of your USP’s
USP stands for unique selling point. Once you have done your competitor research you may start to find your ideas are flowing. You can see the differences between you and your competitors and what you can bring to the industry that they don’t. This is your unique selling point. After you have narrowed down your USP you can then begin to create your marketing plan around this. Having a USP is what will set your business apart from the others in the same industry and drive traffic to you.
Target audience
Knowing your target audience AKA target market is especially important when growing your business. When creating your marketing plan you need to know exactly who you want your brand to reach. For example, if your business is mainly suited to middle-aged women then that is who you need to be targeting in your marketing plan. Bringing fresh, younger customers to your business might sound appealing but it will not not match the business aesthetic or the brand you are trying to create. This could end up damaging your marketing strategy. Make sure you know exactly who your target audience are, and create your plan for them.
Branding
All of the above points help towards building a strong recognisable brand for your business. Having a good brand is what will set you apart from other businesses in the same industry. Knowing your target audience and your USP will begin to create trust in your business as it is consistent. This consistency needs to last throughout the business. Your website needs to look sleek and professional – think clinical whites and clear crisp text. Your logo and name also need to match this aesthetic. Once you have built a strong brand and consistency your business will start to grow as it will become recognisable and trustworthy.
Focus on one thing
You know your target audience, you know your USP, you have a strong, consistent brand, and you have done your competitor research. It can now be easy to try and promote several things at once to try and drive customers to your business. However, the best marketing plans are focused on one thing. A great place to start would be your USP. Build a plan around this and use tools like google search campaigns and paid social media ads so you can track how well the plan is doing. It can take a while for traffic to be noticeable but be patient and track the progress to understand what worked and what might not have.
A guide to setting up your own aesthetic clinic
Starting a business can be difficult. But maybe you have an aesthetic clinic in mind but you aren’t quite sure what steps to take to set it up? We have put together a handy guide to help you along your journey.
- Train – If you are already at the stage where you are wanting to set up your aesthetic business then we assume you have already trained and gained your qualifications in that field. If not, this is the first place you need to start before you think of anything else.
- Build your reputation – No business can survive without a good reputation. Building yours early on before you start your own clinic may give your business the kick start it needs. If you already have a good reputation and people trust you and your work, it is likely for them to follow you to your own clinic and become regulars there. They may even recommend you to others which will increase your client base.
- Practical experience – To start your own aesthetic clinic you don’t necessarily need a business degree as well. But some basic knowledge is going to be useful. If you don’t have time, or simply don’t want to, take a business course, start by working in other clinics to get practical experience. Here you will see the ins and outs of the business and exactly what it might take for it to do well. This could also help you to decide if starting your own clinic is for you or not.
- Prepare – Before you start your own clinic you need to prepare. Make sure you have registered as self-employed, make sure you have stocked up on all the supplies you will need, make sure you research cosmetic insurance and choose the right one for you, and finally make sure you plan for any problems that may occur. Being overly prepared is never a bad thing and could just help you out when you need it the most.
- Build trust – Building trust is not only important with your clients, so they return, but also with possible future employees. To run a successful clinic you are going to need help. If you have done all the above steps you may find that people you have previously worked with, and who you can trust, want to come along and work for your business. Alternatively if you are seeking new people, having a strong trustworthy reputation will encourage more people to apply for the offered position. This will help you in narrowing down the right candidate for the job.
- Identify your target audience – This is important when starting up your business. You need to know exactly what type of client you want to attract. Once you have this narrowed down it is easier to build a relationship with the right clients and a reputation for your business.
- Decide on your pricing – Your pricing is a big selling point of the business, and may even change further down the line. However, you need to start out with a strong concise pricing that makes sense to you and your clients. Keeping a consistent pricing bracket will help build that trustworthy reputation that can enhance your businesses reach.
- Respect your patients – A clinic is nothing without its patients. Once you have a strong client base, no matter how small it may be, you need to put all your efforts into making sure they are heard. This will ensure they return to your clinic and gradually you will build a stronger, larger client base from there, increasing your brand reputation and your business as a whole.
Creating an aesthetic clinic business plan
A business plan is important when you want to plan out the journey of your business and how you will reach those desired goals. It is a document where you provide details on your business mission, its activities, and the vision you have for your business. It needs to be concise and straightforward, but most of all, simple. Below is our guide on how to create a successful business plan.
Keep it simple
As mentioned above, the best practice for a business plan is for it to be short and simple. It does not need to be pages and pages long. A singular page can be enough as long as it documents exactly what your business needs to stay on course and to grow. If you were to give your business plan to a complete stranger, they need to be able to completely understand it. This is the best practice to follow and have in mind when creating your plan.
Mention the important bits
No business plan is complete without documentation of the most important parts of the business.
- Information on your business
- Detailed descriptions of the products and services your provide
- Your marketing plan
- How you will produce the product you are going to sell
- How your business will make money through the business model you have designed
- Your financial projections – how much money you will need for the business, and how much money you expect to make from the business
What, who, how, and money
For a business plan to work you need to be 100% certain on the following things:
What are you selling?
You need to be confident in the products(s) you are planning on selling, and know exactly what your USP is. Your USP is what will set you apart from the competition.
Who you are selling it to
Knowing your target audience is a next step in the right direction. This will help you to focus any marketing efforts on this particular audience and create a strong, reliable brand through the consistency of your efforts.
How you are going to do it
This point can be as broad as you want it to be. At some stage in the business plan, “how” could mean: how are you going to market the product or service, at another stage it could be referring to: how you’re going to sell your product. Whatever stage you are at, you need to know exactly how you are going to accomplish it.
How will you make money
Money is the most important factor. You cannot run a successful business without making money. You need to know and note down in your business plan exactly how you will make money once you start your business.
Once you have been able to answer all the above questions, your business and business plan will be on the right track.
Promoting and selling your products
Starting up your business is one thing, but being able to gain (and retain) customers is another. It is hard to get traffic to your business if no one knows you exist. That is why it is so important to successfully promote and sell your products or services. We have a few tips on how to do this with ease.
Social media
Social media may be your best friend for easy and cheap ways to promote your business. Starting up a social media account or accounts for your business is the first step. With aesthetic clinics people love to see the pictures of results, before and afters and even the products that you’re selling. Instagram is a great way to get these images out there in seconds. The more people who see the images, the more reach your business is gaining. And you can sometimes do all this without paying a penny for paid advertising. Make sure to change your pages to the business option so you can track the insights of your posts (how many people it has reached and how many interacted with the post, visited your website, followed your page etc.)
Collaborations
With social media, collaborations come hand in hand. These can take some work and time to come by but once you have made strong connections with other businesses, and even some influencers, you or them might suggest a collaboration. These are great ways for other people to see your posts. The person or business you have collaborated with may have a different audience and reach than you. Once they share their post with your products or services, your business will start to reach new audiences and hopefully gain new clients. This is also a great way to network and keep in touch with other similar businesses.
Have a good website
Your website might be one of the first things people look at – after your social media pages. Making sure your website is clean, crisp, and easy to navigate stops people from instantly clicking off it. Make sure your branding is clear and consistent through the website and that the load time of each page is low. No one likes to wait minutes for a web page to load and this could increase your bounceback rate – the number of people you click on and then straight off your website. Having a strong brand throughout the website will bring authority and trustworthiness to your business, making it look more professional and concise. You also need to make sure that you have listed all your products and services with good detail and grammar, as well as a strong about page so people can get to know you and the business. Last but not least, list your qualifications on your website. Without these showing potential customers may lose trust in your website and business and not bother to reach out.
Blogs
When you think of blogs you may be thinking of the ones people create to use as their own personal diary. But this is not what we mean. By blogs we mean regular, relevant content to your business and industry that can drive more traffic to your website. Regularly updating your business page with a blog or two on things relevant to your industry can increase the traffic to your website as it makes your page relevant again in the google searches. For example, if you know that people are wanting to know all the positives about a certain product or service you sell, creating a blog on this will be 1. An easy way for them to gain this information, and 2. Something that is being regularly searched for, so your website should gain more reach resulting in more traffic.
Email campaigns and offers
Once you have a client base it’s good practice to entice them to stay. One way to do this is through email campaigns and offers. To gain a client mailing list you can set up a subscribed newsletter option on your site, or even just ask for their email address when they make an appointment – but make sure to give them the option to “opt out” of emails when you do. Once you have your mailing list you can then begin to maintain it by sending out information on new products and offers. This will keep your current clients interested and update with your business. Try not to email them too much though, we recommend once a week, twice at a push if you have something extra to tell them, as too many emails can cause them to click that unsubscribe button.
Once you have begun to successfully promote your business and its products you should start to see a rise in your sales. Organic sales can happen too, but don’t expect to make as much from these as you would from your promoted sales.
How to become a skincare specialist
If you are looking into becoming a skincare specialist it may be hard to know where to start. Luckily, here at AESTHETICARE, we have dedicated training, masterclasses and campaigns to help you do just that. We will train you on all of our products so that you know exactly how to use them and what benefits they have for different skin types. This will help you to sell and market them effectively. We will also train you to know how to use the right products for the right skin concerns. Again making sure you can sell them effectively, but also making sure you can use them correctly and advise clients.
Our aim is to give you all the knowledge, and confidence you need to work successfully in your clinic with the best products, in order to achieve the best results for your clients.
You can find out more about our partnership and how we can help you become a skincare specialist on our website.
