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The medi aesthetics industry is definitely is a complex one.
You have to take the rough with the smooth, if you’ll pardon the pun. The positives are pretty obvious. Aesthetics practitioners are often running their own business for the first time, enjoying a much better work-life balance, and getting to do something they love – while making their clients happy. On the flip side, though, there are challenges.
And the biggest complications always arise when you’re not ready for them. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail goes the saying, and that’s especially true for aesthetics clinics and med spas.
Luckily, practice management software can help you manage these complexities so that you can get more headspace back and don’t have to endlessly worry ‘Did I do that?’
Let’s dig into the world of medi aesthetics and its challenges…
The medi aesthetic industry
This market is expanding at a phenomenal rate. In 2021, the aesthetic industry was valued at a whopping $62.8 billion, and it’s projected to grow even more, hitting a staggering $107 billion by 2028. That’s some serious growth on the horizon, with an expected yearly increase of around 9.3%. So why exactly is the medi aesthetic market growing at such speed?
Increased demand
Advances in technology in recent years have led to safer, more effective, and more affordable procedures, making these treatments accessible to a broader audience. People can effectively pop in and have a Botox treatment in their lunch hour with next to no downtime.
Advances in technology
New technologies like lasers, radiofrequency devices, and minimally invasive methods have broadened aesthetic treatment options, making them safer, less invasive and more effective. There’s always a new treatment in the pipeline to be excited about.
Minimally disruptive
Advances in technology in recent years have led to safer, more effective, and more affordable procedures, making these treatments accessible to a broader audience. People can effectively pop in and have a Botox treatment in their lunch hour with little to no downtime.
Growing ageing population
The ageing population fuels demand for treatments like dermal fillers, Botox, and skin rejuvenation. Recently, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) reported that about 3.8 million adults over 55 had minimally invasive cosmetic procedures in the US.
The ‘selfie’ generation
There’s a growing societal acceptance of cosmetic procedures, especially among younger generations who see them as a way to enhance their natural beauty, according to this survey. People are really open about getting procedures as part of their beauty regimen.
5 key complexities of the medi aesthetic industry
It’s clear that the target market for aesthetics has broadened significantly over the past few years. Older generations and younger generations are spending on aesthetic treatments and because treatments are now relatively affordable, they’re not just for the rich and famous. Some clinics even have payment plans so clients can pay for treatments month by month.
However, all of that demand comes with complexities. More clients, more medical records to manage, more appointments to arrange, and more risk of things going wrong.
Here are some of the main challenges in medi aesthetics…
1. Managing bookings efficiently
Quite often when aesthetics practitioners start out, they’re a team of one. And that means they need to be ruthless with their time. Making bookings over the phone or via social media gets time-consuming very quickly. There needs to be a better way, right?
2. Ensuring patient safety
Patient safety is paramount – especially when aesthetics practitioners are performing injectable treatments. They also have to collect detailed patient information, check for allergies and medical conditions, and make sure all consent forms are signed.
3. Complaints and compliance
Many practitioners talk about the dread of getting a phone call or email from a client who’s had a complication. That’s understandable. However, it’s even worse if you don’t have processes in place to evidence the steps that have been taken to mitigate risks.
4. Client satisfaction
Client satisfaction can be challenging because it’s based on subjective expectations, individualized expectations, and industry trends. One day we all want Kylie Jenner lips and the next minute a softer and more natural-looking appearance is more on-trend.
5. Standing out from the competition
There’s a serious amount of competition, and getting clients to choose your practice over the multitudes of others can be difficult – especially if you’re not sure where to start. How should you market your clinic? What makes what you do unique? It’s a lot to consider.
💡Did you know?
According to Hamilton Fraser Cosmetic Insurance’s 2019 annual survey, 60% of practitioners (as answered by 350 respondents) commented that their greatest challenge was increased competition within the aesthetics industry.
How practice management software solves these complexities
Challenge 1: managing bookings efficiently
The traditional method of booking appointments involves phone calls and back-and-forth messages over email, causing inefficiencies. It’s not great on the client side as clients have to call during business hours, which is inconvenient for those with busy schedules.
Practitioners may miss booking conflicts, causing appointment mix-ups, lost revenue, and wasted time. Manual payment handling leads to accounting errors and delays, causing dissatisfaction among clients seeking a seamless healthcare financial experience.
How practice management software simplifies this:
- Streamlined booking process: Instead of relying on phone calls, clients can use online booking to book appointments online. No more back and forth! Even better, clients can reschedule or cancel their appointments themselves,
- 24/7 booking: With Pabau, clients are no longer restricted to booking appointments during business hours. They can book at their convenience.
- Preventing booking conflicts: Pabau automates scheduling and has a real-time calendar, which helps practitioners avoid booking conflicts. This minimizes appointment mix-ups. ultimately saving time and revenue.
- Efficient payment processing: The online booking feature integrates payment and invoicing functionalities, reducing the risk of accounting errors and payment delays. This enhances the professional experience for clients when handling finances.
Challenge 2: ensuring patient safety
Of course, making sure that you’re treating clients safely is of critical importance. But it’s when you’re starting out that this can be the most challenging – when you might not have the right processes in place that can guide you and ensure you capture everything you need.
Manual record-keeping comes with risks – the risk of making manual errors, misplacing client records, file deterioration, etc. Plus, it takes more time to update a client record manually than it does with a practice management software that’s built to handle that stuff.
How practice management software simplifies this:
- Comprehensive client card: The client card serves as a comprehensive record of all interactions your clinic has had with each client. You can store everything from consultation notes, to email communication, to before and after photos.
- Allergy and medical conditions: Pabau will flag key allergies and contraindications to protect you from errors, such as a client with a shellfish allergy booking an appointment for a Hydra Facial. It’ll also help you keep medical details up to date.
- Built-in patient journey: Can you always be sure all the consent forms are signed ahead of an appointment? The client journey on the iPad has prompts for the client and for the practitioner and ensures you’ll never forget a step.
- User-friendly: At the click of a button, you can easily retrieve all relevant information, including personal details, photos, EMR, communication logs, financials and much more. Much easier than fishing out paper records!
Challenge 3: complaints and compliance
Receiving complaints from customers isn’t something that fills any aesthetics practitioner with joy. Regulatory compliance for certain treatments adds a layer of complexity. However, managing complaints and compliance doesn’t have to be as challenging as you may think.
As we said at the start – it’s only if you fail to prepare that you’ll be in trouble. A robust practice management software will protect your business and your reputation by creating a bank of evidence – emails, notes, photographs – that you can provide wherever needed.
How practice management software simplifies this:
- Robust electronic medical records (EMR): Pabau enables you to store detailed patient data and treatment records. Every treatment note, every photograph, every prescription, every consent form, it will all be safely stored in the client record.
- Comprehensive documentation. You never want to get into a ‘he said she said’ kind of situation with a client. The way to avoid this is by documenting everything. The instructions you’ve given a client, the advice, the recommendations – everything.
- Automated medical questionnaires and consent forms. Using software, you build this into the booking process so that you don’t forget to send a form. Everything is signed, sealed, and delivered by the time of the appointment.
- Setting reminders for yourself. You need to ensure that your staff are up to date which their training and certification. The best way to do this is to set tasks for yourself in the system that will pop up as a reminder and a prompt to take action.
Challenge 4: client satisfaction
How can you ensure client satisfaction at your practice? One way is to make sure that you align with the client in terms of goals and expectations. To do that, insist that every new client has a consultation before they go ahead and book an appointment.
Another key step is to make sure you send out detailed before and aftercare instructions. The best way to do this is through email so that there is a documented process – much better than a leaflet you hand to people that they chuck in their bag and probably never look at.
How practice management software simplifies this:
- Consultations: With Pabau you can ensure that only current clients can book appointments and that new clients need to book a consultation first. That gives you an opportunity to consult and check that everyone is on the same page.
- Documented pre-care and aftercare: Make sure the client knows exactly what they need to do (and not do) from their side to get the best results from their treatment with editable pre-care and aftercare templates you send via email.
- Quotes feature: Create a personalized quote for a client for clients who want a bespoke treatment plan so that everyone is agreed on pricing beforehand.
- Request feedback. If you’re just starting out you might not be 100% what you’re doing right and what can be improved. Requesting feedback can help with this.
Challenge 5: standing out from the competition
If you want to have an edge over your competition, it’s all about creating personalized client experiences. One way to do that, at scale, is through effective marketing.
Converting new clients into loyal ones isn’t easy. But fierce competition demands creative marketing. To really make you stand out, you need communications that look and feel personal, that help to make your clients feel like they matter, and ultimately build trust.
How practice management software simplifies this:
- Email campaigns: Create newsletters with Pabau’s all-in-one email campaign creator, featuring professional templates, easy design tools, and proven delivery.
- SMS campaigns: With Pabau, you can send targeted SMS campaigns to promote your special offers and fill last-minute availability.
- Reviews: You can enhance your reputation with current and potential customers by sending automated review requests to build your social proof over time.
- Birthday messages: It’s a simple automated feature in the system, but it’s something that can bring smiles to your client’s face and encourage them to rebook.
Why does every medi-aesthetic practice need Pabau?
In the medi-aesthetic industry, you’re not just a healthcare provider; you’re an artist, a scientist, and a business owner rolled into one.
Running a medi-aesthetic practice can sometimes feel like spinning too many plates at once. The appointments, patient records, schedules, and finances can pile up, making your work more complex than you’d like.
This is where practice management software, like Pabau, comes to the rescue, simplifying your daily tasks and helping you provide the best care possible.
Allo Aesthetics - powered by Pabau
Dr Jordan Faulkner founded his aesthetics clinic Allo Aesthetics two years ago. Managing his business with paper notes and Excel sheets really killed his and his practice’s efficiency – which led him to decide to invest in practice management software early on.
Because of that was able to free up a lot of headspace so he could focus on the most important thing for his clinic: delivering exceptional client experiences.
Read more about Dr. Faulkner’s experience with Pabau.
