People love deals. That’s why sites like Groupon, Livingsocial, etc. attract so many customers. And when it comes to the medical spa business, that’s no different. Before I go any further, you might be thinking.. “I dislike Groupon, it brings me the worst clients”. Many of you have tried it and have had negative experiences with the type of people it brings in. ( Don’t worry we don’t like it either 😉 ) But let’s not confuse bad targeting with promotional offers.

The reality is everyone loves deals and we all want one, both the wealthy and not-so-wealthy alike. We feel good when we get one and it makes us feel like we came out on top. The problem with Groupon is not so much that it offers deals, but that it attracts the wrong type of people. So the issue isn’t the deal itself, but the targeting. Let’s keep that mind. 😃

Why do you need to have a promotional offer?

Have you been to the mall lately? Maybe you’ve noticed how each brand store has an ad on their window with:

• 25% OFF Entire Purchase
• 50% OFF Selected Items
• Buy 1 Get 1 FREE
• Etc…

They do this because they’re all competing for your business and they know that if you purchase with them once it’s highly likely that you’ll be loyal and you’ll continue to buy from them if you liked their product. Therefore, the promotions and special offers are factored into the cost of acquisition for the new customer and the returns are then calculated in the customer’s lifetime value.

The same principle holds true in the medical spa business. You’re talking about a $3 Billion industry with over 2,100 med spas in the U.S. alone. In order for your med spa to compete, you need to have a compelling offer and continuously build value with your clients.

Soon we’ll talk about how we can build value without discounting our services but for today’s purpose, here are the top 3 promotions our clients and other spas have used to rapidly gain new business.

1 - Free Trial or Service

Many places offer special prices on their services, though we’d go as far to say that you should offer something for free to get people through the door.

When someone is introduced to a medical spa, they’re typically hesitant to invest. They don’t know who the director or aestheticians are, what the spa style is, and whether or not it’s somewhere they’ll feel comfortable. That’s why a Free Microderm or Mini Facial, etc is huge for attracting new customers.

One of our clients offers a Free Microderm as a way to get people in and upsells them once they visit. Keep in mind that it’s important to have a system in place for in which making an upsell or cross-sell is seamless. If not, implementing a strategy like this is pointless.

2 - Gift Certificates

When consumers see a gift certificate for a specific service it creates motivation. This type of promotion works great for consumers who are thinking about doing a treatment but don’t have it top of mind at the moment and are just waiting for the right time to take action.

A gift certificate campaign has worked wonders for our CoolSculpting clients.

Bonus:

When you combine a gift certificate offer like this with a perfectly positioned Facebook advertising campaign, magic happens. 

3 - Free Consultations

You might already do free consultations, you might not. Don’t take them for granted. Our highest lead generation campaign EVER for a client was using a Free Consultation ad. We were able to generate 450 leads in 4 weeks with a ridiculous low ad spend!

Free consultation offers are great in specific markets and it’s definitely worth a shot giving it a try.

What other offers and promotions do you know of that have seen a huge success for their fitness marketing efforts? Let us know below!