If you’re reading this magazine, you’re likely a skin care professional. Do you also think of yourself as an entrepreneur? The truth is every skin care professional in a private practice has to be a self-starter to achieve visibility and credibility in order to win over clients. In my opinion, every top-notch professional needs to get his or her name out there. But, you need to be a crackerjack creative marketer and esteemed in your trade. Here are some ideas to make your marketing pop to entice new clients.
HOOK ONTO THE NEWS
A few years ago, there was big news story speculating whether the James Bond actor, Daniel Craig, had undergone an eyebrow lift. When news like that breaks, it’s vital to issue a press release, Facebook post, or a blog post on the particular subject matter involved and to get on social media to position yourself as the go-to expert who understands all things skin care. Did Daniel Craig have Botox or just a bad eyebrow lift? Similarly, when a new injectable filler comes onto the market, for example, make sure to call the local medical, health, or lifestyle reporter at your local television station to tell them all about why it is so great and why you should go on the air to discuss it. Have you noticed how many local television stations promote the hair salons that their anchors use in the ending credits? Why don’t you call your local station and offer to be the preferred skin care professional of the newscast? And, it goes without saying, but make sure to collect your clients’ e-mail addresses, with permission, so you can send them regular newsletters filled with skin care information and alerts.
CROSS-MARKET WITH ANOTHER UPSCALE PROVIDER
It’s always a great idea to position your practice with a similar upscale company or professional in a different industry. For example, cross-marketing with a luxury spa, a cosmetic dentist, or a posh fitness center is a smart way for both companies to build their brands. You, after all, are not just a leading skin care professional – you are an entrepreneur who has to keep his or her eye out for marketing opportunities.
GET ON SOCIAL MEDIA
When skin care companies promote special deals, make sure to broadcast them on social media and post about them all over your website. Remember, you can include up to 30 hashtags in an Instagram post. Similarly, on your blog, make sure to add a plug-in that allows you to effectively perform vital search engine optimization on your posts all by yourself.
HIGHLIGHT A PRODUCT
If there is a particular product in, say, your antiaging arsenal, which you really favor, make sure to tell your clients about it or issue a one-sheet to them all about it, which they can read in the waiting room. As I say, marketing is the art of making yourself memorable. Make sure to also create your own media list of local health and lifestyle reporters and invite them for a complimentary Botox session – provided they come with a confirmed assignment from a magazine or newspaper. Beauty and lifestyle writers, especially, like to write first-hand about their experience with a new product or service to tell their audiences all about it.
DON’T LET CLIENTS LEAVE EMPTY-HANDED
If you’ve been written up or featured in a media outlet, make countless print copies of the coverage and hand one out to every client that visits your office – don’t just hang it on the office wall. If you don’t have an article written about your practice, write one yourself that discusses what makes your practice special, unique, and different and give this tip sheet to clients, so they can read it while they wait for their appointment. You might not believe it, but with so much digital information, clients will appreciate getting a hard copy of an actual article or one-sheet discussing your practice, which they can hold onto or give to a friend. If you have samples of skin care products, distribute them to all your clients in a small gift bag and remember to include a one-sheet giveaway with news and information about your practice. Everyone loves getting a swag bag, and it’s an exit-strategy marketing opportunity that I believe most professionals overlook.
TAP INTO THE BRIDAL MARKET
Brides are great candidates for Botox and fillers a few weeks before their weddings. Don’t overlook bridal magazines, shows, events, and websites in order to target this key demographic. And, if you get a bride as a client, offer a special deal to her bridesmaids.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR PHONE MESSAGE
When clients are put on hold when they call you, make sure that you broadcast news and information about your practice that they will remember.
POSITION YOUR PRACTICE AS A LUXURY BRAND
It’s smart marketing to think about your practice as a five-star hotel with similar first-class service. Do you have a back door where VIPs can make a private entrance and exit? Do you serve imported water or coffee? Does your logo denote dignity and luxury? I know of professionals who feature all these things. In fact, the only thing missing is a chocolate on the pillow. I dare you to be different.
One last thought: do you have a limiting belief that you’re not good at marketing? Remember when you were single and put on a nice outfit, fixed your hair, and spritzed on fragrance? That’s not dating – that’s marketing, and everyone knows how to do it.
Debbi Kickham is former editor and on-air media spokesperson of ROBB REPORT MAGAZINE and the owner of Westwood Marketing USA, which specializes in marketing medical practices. She is the author of The Globetrotter’s Get-Gorgeous Guide, the world’s first health and beauty travel book for women. She is the owner of debbikickham.com and provides world-class print and digital marketing strategies to medical and luxury clients. Her expertise includes media pitching, press release writing and distribution, and writing of newsletters, blog posts, books, and radio commercials. Kickham is also an acknowledged expert at product naming and media coaching. She currently writes for Forbes.com. E-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit westwoodmarketingusa.com or debbikickham.com.