Seeking Medical Spa Society Volunteers

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

I recently posted about reinvigorating the Medical Spa Society.  We are now seeking volunteers to serve on various committees including: membership, marketing and education.

If you are interested in getting involved, first join the MSS, and then e-mail us at info@medicalspasociety.com and let us know which committee you would like to join.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my career has been participating in not-for-profit trade organizations to help support the growth of the industry in which I do business.  Please give back to the world of aesthetic medicine and you will be rewarded.

FXA

Filed under: Marketing, Professional Associations | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

New Techology: Not a Field of Dreams

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

This coming Thursday, April 1st I will be holding a Webinar at 1:00 p.m. EST titled “New Cosmetic Medical Technology: Don’t Make it a Field of Dreams“.  It will review, first-hand a blog entry I posted back in September.

Essentially, I’m going to discuss what you need to do to insure when you purchase new technology it doesn’t just become dusty in the closet.  I will review the step-by-step approach Acara takes to introduce a new technology to a practice.  Starting with how to prepare your facility, team and of course the most important step: develop a marketing plan to launch the technology.

Register here for the upcoming Webinar.

If your in cosmetic medical device sales you should forward this information to your current and potential clients.  Physicians see their technology as successful not when it works but when it sells.

FXA

Filed under: Equipment, Events, Marketing | Leave a Comment »

It Can Be Done Without You: the Non-Physician Consultation

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

There are elements of a cosmetic practice that have to be actively managed in order to insure success.  The marketing process to drive leads and the sales process to take those leads and convert them to patients are two of the most important.

I’d like to touch on the sales process.  I speak regularly with physicians that believe they need to personally conduct each sales consultation;  I believe that this is not true.  I actually believe, based upon Acara’s extensive experience, that a cosmetic practice will do much better if the consultations are conducted by a trained patient coordinator.

Let me explain.

The goal of the marketing program is to drive leads to the practice.  The first goal of the sales system is to convert as many of the leads as possible into consultations.  What you don’t want your team doing is screening leads or conducting consultations by phone.  This will limit just how many potential patients walk in your front door to visit your practice.

If you have an effective marketing program and a team that is really good at converting leads into consultations you will end up conducting many consultations each day, hopefully at least 5 and oftentimes more.

In addition to conducting numerous consultations each day it is important to be following up with leads and unclosed consultations.  This is all part of managing the sales pipeline to build the business stronger.

As I’m describing this process, does anyone reading this actually think the physician should be doing this job?  Of course, oftentimes, the physician will stop into a consultation for a few minutes to provide his/her opinion or if necessary (when the physician is not available during the time of a consultation) a pre-op visit needs to be scheduled prior to the procedure being performed.

This past summer I was speaking at a conference and a physician asked me (skeptically) how can you do lipo consults without the physician.  I proceeded to describe how we recommend the consult being conducted.  He actually hired Acara soon thereafter and we implemented a non-physician consultation process.  It took a few months for it to really begin to take hold (culture shift) but once it did…the practice doubled its sales and this month it will have its record sales month in the 20 year history of the practice.

Even in a practice where the focus is on a non-physician approach to consultations you still have physician consultations taking place.  Typically for more involved procedures such as face lifts or when a potential patient requests a consult with the physician.  We always recommend that there is a charge for the consultations that require dedicated time with the physician.  When a consultation is scheduled with a patient coordinator it is important that it is complimentary.  The more potential patient flow through the practice the more visibility for the practice.

It would be great for others to share their success stories concerning this topic, please feel free to post.

FXA

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12 Aesthetic Practices & MedSpas Double Their Sales During the Recession

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

I just did a tally of how our clients performed during the recession from mid 2008 – present day and discovered that 12 medical practices and medspas within 8 months from the point in which they signed an Agreement with Acara doubled their sales*. This is 80% of the practices and medspas that implemented an Acara Business Boosting Program.

The secret to our client’s success is their ability to learn from our team’s extensive experience and knowledge.  We have a very solid foundation to work from having personally opened the first medical spas in the country and owned and operated over 75 locations.  In addition, the team has utilized the Acara Methodology to analyze, plan and implement marketing, sales and business strategies at over 100 aesthetic practices and medspas nationwide.

Deb Roberts, Acara’s VP Marketing thinks that “our client’s success occurs when there is a collaborative effort between the practice and Acara team.  The reason why our clients have experienced such great results is that they have been willing to absorb our pearls of wisdom and financially commit to a solid marketing program.”

Client Testimonials

“Acara’s work helped catapult us to become one of the most successful medical spas in Eastern Pennsylvania; keeping us on-trend with cutting edge technology bringing our clients the most effective treatments and procedures available.” states Paula Young, RN, co-owner of Young Medical Spa.

“In just 8 months Enhanced Image’s sales doubled working with Acara.” states Doctor Bruce Marko, Medical Director Enhanced Images located in Charlotte, NC.

“Acara was instrumental in helping us shape the foundation of our Medical Spa business. Their expertise in employee relations, sales, and MedSpa financial forecasting, has helped Amari see rapid growth.”  S.J. Shah, Chief Operating Officer, Amari MedSpa

Here is a more detailed look at our methodology:

  • Analyze the Business: marketing, sales, organization and financial review.
  • Assess the Market: target audience, demographics and competition
  • Forecast Sales: three years by procedure.
  • Develop a High Impact Action Plan: action items that will impact sales within 3 – 6 months.
  • Implement the Action Plan: utilize Acara’s online Project Management Software to insure accountability.
  • Track Results: monitor and assess the impact of the marketing tactics.
  • Repeat What Works: celebrate your successes and continue the program.

Typical tactics that we implement in our plans:

  • Install Acara’s Sales System: identify a dedicated sales consultant and train the team
  • Establish a Comprehensive Marketing Program: consistently implement tactics identified in a marketing & promotions plan.
  • Launch an Aggressive Online Marketing Campaign: e-broadcast, SEO website, SEO press releases, online listings, and social media (facebook & twitter).
  • Hold Educational Seminars: monthly seminars for potential clients/patients.
  • Leverage the Unique Selling Position: communicate to the audience all competitive advantages and points-of-differentiation.
  • Implement New Medical Technology: stay on-trend with the latest aesthetic procedures and treatments.

Upcoming Business Boosting Webinar

In April you will be able to learn firsthand from Acara’s CEO and Founder, Francis X. Acunzo how Acara’s clients have achieved their success as he presents a complimentary webinar for the Medical Spa Society: Business Boosting Strategies for Your Aesthetic Practice or MedSpa. This webinar will be held on Tuesday, April 6th at 1:00 pm, ET / 10:00 am, PT

Filed under: General Business, Marketing | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

MedSpas Must Hold to the Highest Standard

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal written by Laura Landro, “New Focus on Averting Errors: Hospital Culture“.  It starts by pointing out that it is estimated there are between 44,000 and 98,000 hospital deaths per year caused by errors made by doctors and nurses. Plus an additional 100,000 hospital deaths caused by preventable infections.

Recently a death occurred after a procedure at a Medical Spa.  This is one of very few deaths that have occurred since the inception of medical spas some 14 years ago.  I’d like to emphasize to the Medical Spa community, even one death a year should be considered unacceptable.  It is imperative that we hold the highest standard of protocol, training and sanitation within our facilities, including:

Documented Medical Protocol
Protocols that each Medical Service Provider is internally accredited.  Updated either annually or as needed and readily available at he location for easy reference.

Team Training
Regular team training on medical protocol, safety and sanitization.

Cleaning and Sanitizing
Staff trained in all sanitization techniques utilizing up-to-date sanitizing equipment and agents.  Frequent facility cleaning by a cleaning company that has expertise in Healthcare cleaning and sanitization.

Here a a few good resources to help:

Accretidation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare

JaniKing Cleaning Services

Medical Laser Dynamics

OSHA

Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare

In addition, as we work towards revitalizing the Medical Spa Society, I will make it one of our objectives to emphasize the highest standards in healthcare clinical and business practices.

FXA

Filed under: Human Resources, Online Resources | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

New York Times Says, “They want hips and breasts, phony or not.”

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

As many of my regular blog readers and webinar attendees know, I often speak about the importance of “staying on trend” as a medical spa or aesthetic medical practice.  When asked how to trend watch I tell my readers and listeners about the obvious such as trade shows and communicating with your reps but in addition, I always stress the importance of keeping your eye to mainstream media (Oprah, Good Morning America, CNN, etc) and very importantly monitoring the latest trends in fashion and beauty.

What we saw happening at Paris Fashion Week is a great example.  Some Designers are beginning to design clothes that accentuate the female body including breasts and hips…”phony or not” as stated in a recent New York Times article covering Paris Fashion Week.  Is this being driven by the increase in women wanting larger breasts and a “Brazilian Butt” or will this drive woman to want larger breasts and “Brazilian Butts”?  Either way this speaks to the demand for these services and potentially predicts the continued strength of this trend.

In addition, as the Haute Couture of Paris begins to filter its way into the mainstream (which tends to be a year or so behind) will we see even more demand by the everyday woman?  Will aesthetic medical practices need to do, not only, breast implants but more consumer friendly less invasive breast augmentation utilizing fat transfer?

Great questions to be asking ourselves in 2010 and most definitely a trend to watch.

FXA

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Mama was right when she said to share…

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Deb Roberts

At Acara, one of our core business philosophy’s is sharing and not just because it’s good manners. We find that people learn by having relevant dialogue – not just being told what to do.

We’re working on our new webinar series for aesthetic practices and during our team meeting this week, we asked ourselves what do the people want to know? Even though we’ve been at this for a while, we really don’t believe that being presumptuous is the best approach. You know what they say about assuming things…  So, we’d like to take this opportunity to hear your thoughts.

What will help you run your aesthetic business better?

Are there areas of business you struggle with regularly?

What baffles you? Marketing? Sales? Staff Management? Training? Social Media? PR?

What do you believe will make you more: Profitable,  Create More Phone Calls, Close More Consultations?

We’re listening. Post Your Comments Here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Revitalize the Medical Spa Society

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

I am seeking to recharge and revitalize the Medical Spa Society to make it one of the preeminent not-for-profit trade associations with the mission to provide education & research for clinical and business professionals working in the aesthetic medical industry.  The Board is excited to take this organization to the next level and we are seeking your help.

Please let me know via e-mail or posting here on the blog your interest in getting involved and/or joining the organziation.  Also, let me know how you believe the organization can support you and your practice.

FXA

Filed under: Industry Resources | Tagged: , | 8 Comments »

Marketing Presentation at AAD

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Deb Roberts

I spent this weekend at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) conference in Miami. With over 18,000 attendees, it broke a record for attendance. While at the conference, I was invited by Sciton Laser to speak about two of my favorite subjects: Effective Websites and Social Media (as it relates to physicians marketing their aesthetic practice). I was curious by some of the looks I received while talking – which ranged from blank stares to nodding heads. There wasn’t a classic persona that defined the physicians who listened intently – they were young and old, established and newbie’s; but there was one common denominator that came through loud and clear after speaking with some of them one-on-one. Overwhelmed.

Comments such as: “There’s so much to do and so little time. What’s the best way to manage all of this stuff? I hardly have enough time to treat my patients, manage my staff and occasionally attend a conference. I don’t have a lot of money to invest in advertising.” None of these comments shocked me since I work with physicians everyday on their practice marketing. What did surprise me was an acceptance of complacency. Oh well…. Oh well! Oh well what! You’re smart people. You went to medical school. No one expects you to know everything or be able to do it all. So when you don’t know everything and/or don’t have time to do it all – get help. Marketing isn’t rocket science; however it does take planning, goal setting and time. It’s an investment like most things.

You don’t want that shiny new laser collecting dust do you?

– Deb Roberts, Acara

Filed under: Industry Resources | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

ASAPS Statistics Point to Market Expansion of Nonsurgical Cosmetic Procedures

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Francis X Acunzo

It is that time of year again when the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) publishes its annual statistics on surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.

As Acara had predicted, nonsurgical procedures held their own with almost a 1% increase in 2009 over 2008.  This juxtaposed against an increase of over 3% in unemployment during 2009 clearly indicates what I have been saying over the past few years: there continues to be market expansion for nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.

It is now time to take advantage of these market trends and capture your share of the cosmetic market.  Once again, Acara clients are experiencing tremendous success.  This month alone, 2 of Acara’s clients (both cosmetic practices), will come close to doubling their monthly sales from when we started working with them; one in just 60 days and the other within 7 months.

FXA

Filed under: Industry Resources | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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