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Promoting yourself and your services is one of areas you’ll want to focus a big chunk of your effort on when you’re starting an aesthetics business. And to do that, you’ll need a range of promotional materials, including aesthetic business cards, posters, flyers and other key packaging.
But what type of business card is best for your aesthetics practice? Are they even a ‘thing’ anymore? And do you really need other aesthetic packaging in a digital world?
If you’re looking for more help growing your aesthetic business, check out more guides, blogs and articles in our Aesthetic Business Hub.
The benefits of aesthetic business cards and packaging
A business card is a calling card for your practice. It’s a physical representation of your clinic and your brand. It says: “Look at me, I’m here, I exist…. And I can help.”
It’s a valuable tool for your marketing because:
- It’s something quick and simple for your clients to take away with them, to remember your practice
- It sits in your clients’ purse, wallet, bag or on their table for a long time, reminding them of your services
- It’s easy to pass onto friends and family to recommend you
- It’s a low-cost, informal way to spread the word about your practice to anyone you meet
- It’s a hassle-free way to give someone your details if they’re interested in a treatment and want to find out more.
Aesthetic packaging works in the same way, but depending on the type, can be used for more specific purposes.
What does your aesthetic business card need?
Every effective aesthetic business card should contain a few essential elements:
- Your logo – to show off your brand
- Your name – if it’s not part of your logo, so everyone knows who you are
- Your address – so prospective clients can find your practice
- Your number – so prospective clients can call to book
- Your website – so prospective clients can find out more information
You might also want (or need) to include what you do. If your business name is “Ascott’s Advanced Aesthetics” then it’s fairly clear to a prospective client what you do. But if your name is “Inspired Rejuvenation” or “Barrie’s Boutique” then you might want to share a line of information on your business cards.
It could be your value proposition, like “aesthetics treatments to restore your skin”. If you specialise, you could simply say “specialists in Botox and Dermal Fillers”, for example. You can even add a short, snappy list of your most popular treatments.
Choosing your business cards
When you’ve got all the details sorted that you need to include on your business cards, the next step is to decide on the look and feel.
There’s a wealth of choice here, so base your decisions on your brand design. What works best with your logo and colour palette, and the overall style of your business?
- Shape – There’s a standard business card shape, but there are also other options, including square and rounded, if you want to stand out in a crowd.
- Thickness/Weight – How premium do you want your cards to feel? Do you want them on thicker quality paper, or something thinner for a lighter budget?
- Finish – Matte or gloss are the two standard options, but again, there are a lot of other options to choose from, including embossed, foil stamped, and even velvet.
When you’ve settled on a design and finish, choose how many you want (and if you want personal names/numbers, if you’ve got more than one practitioner in your business).
Why create a limited company for your new aesthetics practice?
All the cons of being a sole trader can make a limited company the more appealing choice for your aesthetics business.
The benefits of setting up as a limited company include:
- Looking professional. An official, registered limited company portrays an established, trusted look.
- No personal responsibility. You can run your company separately, safe in the knowledge that any debts won’t impact your personal life.
- No personal liability. Similarly, if there are ever any problems with clients or treatments, your company might be liable, but not you personally. Again, you’re protected.
- Tax efficiency. It’s much easier to manage your accounts and decide how you want to extract money from your business, reducing the amount of tax you might have to pay
- Business growth. When you have a limited company, it’s easier to expand your business, to hire staff and/or recruit a business partner.
A limited company might seem like a no-brainer for your new aesthetics business, but there are some other considerations and downsides you’ll want to bear in mind.
Think beyond business cards
Although aesthetic business cards are a great way to promote your practice, they might seem a little basic to you. They might be old hat, too corporate or unappealing to your target audience.
So instead, think how you can take the principles of business cards and apply them to something more relevant for your clinic.
For example:
- Use the back as a loyalty card
If you’re promoting repeat and regular visits, turn the back of your business cards into a place to record treatments. That way, it’s something your clients will hang onto and keep safe, always ready to be pulled out and checked to see if they’re due a discount or free service.
- Share top skin care tips
As your aesthetics practice promotes healthy skin, why not use the back of your business card to share two or three of the most important skin care techniques? A simple cheat sheet that might see your cards shared more frequently.
- Add a special discount or promotion
One surefire way to make sure your business card gets saved or shared – and not thrown to the side – is to include a special offer on there. A money-off voucher or special promotion that’s a deal too good to lose.
What other aesthetic business packaging and materials might your clinic need?
While you’re getting new business cards designed and printed, you might want to also look at other marketing materials and packaging for your clinic.
What you need will all depend on your operations, your processes and the types of treatments you offer.
Consider:
- Letter Headed paper – if you’re printing important documents to share with clients
- Customised receipts – to show off your brand and your professionalism
- Client welcome packs – if you share a lot of printed information with clients, a branded pack to keep everything together is a lovely little touch
- Medical forms – one of the most important documents for your practice, you might want to brand these to add another level of professionalism and trust
- Branded items – Pens, bags, or something completely different like a branded mirror are a great way to promote your business, add a layer of professionalism and give your clients a nice little gift to take home with them
- Branded packaging – If you’re selling any products or take-home treatment kits, boxing them in professional, branded packaging is a great way to showcase your value and reinforce your brand
Take your aesthetic business cards and packaging online
Of course, you don’t need to order any aesthetic business cards or print any branded marketing materials.
You could just take everything online and use your marketing and clinic management software. Software like Pabau.
With it, you can design letterheads and branded forms, share loyalty cards and promotions, encourage referral and promote your clinic to new clients.
With all your marketing materials all seamlessly matching your brand – and no need to worry about paperwork or printing costs – it’s a great way to market your aesthetic business.
Try Pabau yourself, for free, today, and see how it works.
And if you’re looking for more advice on starting and running your practice, head over to our aesthetic business library.
