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If you want to supercharge your aesthetic business’ development, grow your client base and increase your profits, you’ve come to the right place.
Whether you’re just starting up and getting ready to open a new aesthetics practice, or if you’ve been established for a few years and are ready to embrace new challenges, a good aesthetic business development plan is essential.
It won’t just help you turn your aesthetic clinic idea into a reality, it’ll help ensure your practice goes from strength to strength. It’ll help you continue to attract clients, to streamline operations, to grow your business and sustain your success year after year.
There are lots of areas to focus on for successful aesthetic business development. Lots of strategies to follow and tactics to deploy. These are some of the most essential, most effective ones that your clinic should be implementing right away.
If you’re looking for more help growing your aesthetic business, check out more guides, blogs and articles in our Aesthetic Business Hub.
Setting up an aesthetics business
1. Get your finances in order from the start
Any business, big or small, needs a solid financial base to stand any chance of success. Messy accounting leads to messy practices, and that won’t help you grow.
Clarity on your finances will give you clarity on your business, on where you are now and where you’re heading. If everything’s in order, you’ll have a crystal clear picture of your clinic’s assets, revenue and profits, alongside a forecast of what your bank account should look like in the near future.
Armed with that information, you can make smart decisions about what your aesthetics business needs to do to grow. You’ll easily see where things are going smoothly (where you can expand) and which areas need attention (so you can quickly address any rising challenges).
The key to good financial planning and organisation is the right set-up from the start. Start off with the right accounting and record keeping procedures, the right accountancy support and the right tax planning, and you’ll set yourself up for success as your business develops.
2. Don’t forget to focus on the right business set up too
As well as good accountancy practices, if you want your aesthetic business to grow successfully from the get go, you should also focus on getting all the legal business structures in place now.
It’s well worth investing the time and effort into deciding what type of business set-up is right for your aesthetic clinic at the start of your journey, because it could have a big impact on how your practice develops and grows in the future.
For example, if you’ve got plans to hire staff, to take on business partners and develop a full time, highly successful clinic, then you’ll want to get the right framework in place as soon as possible.
Take a look at some of the important differences between a sole trader or limited company here.
3. Write an actual business plan
A good business plan is essential for anyone starting a new venture or growing one that’s already established. A great business plan is the secret to a successful, sustainable aesthetic business.
It’s your roadmap to growth, keeping you on track whether you’re setting up your new aesthetic business or expanding your offer. It will help you quickly identify any problems or challenges, set appropriate targets and goals for success and lay out exactly how you’re going to get there.
A business plan is also a great way to clarify all your thinking, all your ideas and your vision for the future of your aesthetics practice. It helps you stay on top of what’s happening in your industry, your competition and your current business position.
And if you want to get funding from a bank loan or from investors to further expand and develop your aesthetics business, you’ll absolutely need a solid business plan to be taken seriously.
The 8 key elements of an effective business plan are:
- An executive summary
- A company description
- Market conditions
- Service offering
- Sales and marketing strategy
- Operations approach
- Financial details
- Relevant timescales
Part Two of our Ultimate Guide to Starting an Aesthetics Business details what you’ll need for each section of your business plan.
4. Choose your location wisely
Choosing your clinic’s location is no easy task, but where you set up your new practice will play a huge role in your future business development potential. You’ll need to consider a number of factors.
Reputation and professionalism should be top of your mind, but so too should accessibility, ease of operations and of course, cost.
Take your time to think through your options, research different areas and different types of set-ups. And remember, it pays to be picky when choosing a location for your practice.
You might initially decide to set up and work from home. This might save you money in the short term, but it’s likely to limit your options if you want to grow your business further. You won’t have space to expand, and will be limited to the number of clients you can treat in your own house.
If you decide to set up a mobile clinic, travelling to your client’s homes, again your potential for future development will be limited. You won’t be able to offer any treatments that require dedicated equipment that isn’t highly portable.
Of course, if you’ve set up a clinic at home or a mobile practice, then your first aesthetic business development step could be to look at a permanent, dedicated location.
Where you set up a physical clinic is also an important decision. Be sure to think about:
- The amount of available space, factoring in your plans for offering more treatments and more clients. Is there ample parking space, and ample waiting room?
- Your plans for additional staff. Are there extra treatment rooms in the premises you can take over if you bring on a second or third practitioner?
- Your proximity to other service providers. If you’re next to or nearby a salon or dental practice, you might have easier access to an established client base to help grow your aesthetics business.
Our FREE ultimate guide has more key questions to consider when choosing a location for your aesthetic clinic, whether you’re just setting up or looking for new premises as you grow.
Expanding your offering
5. Slowly introduce new services to your treatment list
If you’ve followed our advice when starting an aesthetic business, you’ll have focused on just a few core treatments. You’ll have niched in a specific aesthetics area to showcase your expertise and target your marketing most effectively.
That tight focus should serve you well, helping you to concentrate on providing just a small number of treatments in the best way possible. But if you want to develop your aesthetic business further, it’s time to expand your treatment list.
Don’t jump from three treatments to twenty overnight. That’s a recipe for disaster. Instead, pick one new treatment you think your clients (and your prospective clients would like to see).
Not sure what that might be? Ask them. Survey your clients and learn what their preferences are. Decide what types of treatments would be most beneficial and then weigh up your options.
Remember to consider the initial investment you’ll need to make (compared with your projected revenue). Focusing on just one additional treatment will make sure all your effort and resources goes into one area, so you can more easily promote and then track its success.
6. Add upgrades, packages and premium options
Another great aesthetic business development tactic is to take your existing treatments and put new spins on each.
Instead of a simple dermal fillers treatment, could you offer an upgraded version with a superior product? Or a combined treatment for multiple areas of the face?
Could you re-package a standard procedure for a specific skin condition, adding in at home treatments and additional consultancy for a premium price?
Or maybe you can partner with another practitioner in your neighbourhood to offer a comprehensive cosmetic make-over, tailored to your client with a personalised premium service?
There are lots of different ways to package your existing treatments to appeal to both new and existing clients. Try a few options out and see which generate results.
7. Stay on top of new industry developments
If you want to grow your aesthetic business quickly, you’ll need to be ahead of your competition on all the hottest trends and latest treatments. That means staying on top of everything that’s happening in the industry.
Take the time to read industry journals and magazines, attend aesthetics conferences and talk with other practitioners. Go to trade shows to see the latest equipment, talk with product reps to see what new developments they have to share, and keep up to speed with any new treatments that industry leaders are trialling.
And don’t forget to keep an eye on what your competition is doing too.
Staying up to date with industry developments won’t just serve you well with new treatment options. It’ll also help you maintain the highest levels of professionalism and trust.
If you’re in the know on all the latest developments, you’ll be able to demonstrate your insight and expertise to clients. You’ll be well aware of the latest regulations and the best health and safety practices, implementing any necessary changes ahead of legal requirements.
That will see you establish yourself as a trusted expert, one who clients will turn to and support – helping you develop your aesthetics business even further.
8. Consider further training at every opportunity
You’re never too old to learn something new. Along with staying up to date with industry trends, if you want your aesthetics business to develop and expand, you’ll need to learn all the latest new techniques and procedures.
That means further training.
There are hundreds of course providers up and down the country, each offering a wealth of training options in all kinds of aesthetics practices. New courses, new certificates and new treatment techniques are added every week.
Always do your due diligence by comparing prices and topics, outcomes and deliverables to see what you get for your money. Shop around, check out reviews and carefully decide what courses are worth your while.
The right ones will help you extend your knowledge and expertise, which you can then turn into new treatments and new service offerings in your clinic. This will help you both retain your existing customer base and attract new clients.
Boost your marketing and operations
9. Upgrade your business brand
To grow your aesthetics business, you need to grow your audience. To do that, you need a strong, powerful brand.
You might already have one. A brand that’s not just a logo, but a real identity as to what your practice is all about, what it stands for, what it offers, and who it targets. If that’s the case, it might simply be a case of exploring new messaging options, highlighting different USPs and different benefits in new advertising campaigns to engage a wider audience.
But if you don’t have a strong brand, if you just threw one together with a simple logo when you got started or built your identity around yourself, now’s the time for an upgrade if you’re serious about business development.
A strong brand identity is the key to attracting clients. It’s also essential if you want to grow bigger than yourself. While it’s entirely possible to build a strong brand around an individual, if you’ve got big plans for your clinic and want to bring on new practitioners you might want to focus on a more inclusive identity – one that allows you to expand and potentially sell your business with ease in the future.
10. Make sure your website is up-to-scratch
A great website is essential for success today, and you should already have one – regardless of your plans for future growth. Not just a Facebook or Instagram page, an actual website with clinic details, treatments lists and reasons why your prospective clients should choose you.
But if you’ve got big plans to develop your aesthetic business, you’ll need a website that supports all your goals. A website that:
- Is quick and easy to edit, so you can add new treatments, new staff profiles and new offers as you grow
- Ranks well on Google, with good keyword targeting and a good local SEO presence
- Attracts prospects at every stage of their journey, with content aimed at educating, informating, convincing and converting
- Can handle bookings and take payments, reducing your admin strain by automating tasks wherever possible
Prioritise getting your website sorted now, laying all the groundwork and ironing out any bugs, and you’ll be able to capitalise on a wider audience as your clinic grows. Neglect your website, and you risk losing that potential new business.
Our Marketing Your Aesthetic Clinic guide has more details on how to get your website up to scratch (along with lots of additional marketing advice to help grow your aesthetics business).
11. Leverage existing clients (and re-engage old customers)
Another essential (but often overlooked) tactic in aesthetic business development is to take advantage of your existing client base.
Attracting brand-new customers takes a lot of time, effort and money. Retaining existing ones is far easier, and five times less expensive. You already have an active client base who trust you and value your expertise, so use that to increase your profits and grow your business.
Leverage your existing clients by communicating regularly with them, through emails and text messages, marketing your latest offers and newest treatments.
Use clinic management software like Pabau to remind clients that it’s time for another appointment if they want to maintain the effects of their latest treatment. Set up automated reminders to nudge those who haven’t booked in a while. Or trigger special offers for those clients who you want to entice back.
The key is regular contact to stay front of mind. If you want to grow, focus on building loyalty so you don’t take your existing clients for granted.
12. Improve efficiencies and streamline your operations
Finally, it’s important to remember that successful business development doesn’t just rely on new marketing strategies, new locations, new treatments and new clients. It needs solid, effective processes and operations behind it.
Without efficient clinic practices and streamlined operations, your aesthetic business won’t be able to handle any increase in clients or any expansion. It will struggle with admin procedures, paperwork, ordering and a whole host of other mundane tasks that will eventually impact the treatment you provide.
So when you’re planning your aesthetic business development, don’t forget to focus on how you’ll manage that growth, how you’ll handle that increase in bookings to keep your clinic operating smoothly and efficiently.
That’s where Pabau can help.
It can help you and your practice:
- Ditch the paper folders and spreadsheets
- Minimise time spent on admin
- Improve your patient experience from initial contact to repeat bookings
- Manage all your bookings, calendars and treatment plans
- Store all your confidential client data (and remind you of essential details you must collect from clients)
- Automate marketing efforts, client reminders and loyalty programs
Pabau can help you transform your operations and grow your clinic, and is a must-have tool for any aesthetic business development plans.
