Business Booster Promotion

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

Hands_Coins_NewShootIf you want increased growth and profits for your business, you need the Acara Business Booster.

For a limited time we are offering $1,000 off our successful program. Many medical spas have implemented our program and their results are proof of our successful program.

Here are a few of Acara’s recent success stories:

  • Cosmetic practice in the Southeast:  Doubled sales in 4 months.
  • East Coast Plastic Surgeon: Doubled sales in 5 months.
  • Cosmetic Surgeon & Dermatology Practice in the Northeast: Doubled sales in 7 months.
  • Dermatologist & Medical Spa in the Midwest: Doubled Sales in 3 months.
  • Medical Spa in the Northwest: Tripled sales in 3 months.
  • Midwest Medical Spa: Tripled sales in 4 months.
  • Cosmetic Surgeon & Dermatology Practice in the South: Doubled monthly sales during a one-night event.

Join this premier list of successful cosmetic practices and medical spas that have doubled their business by implementing the Acara Business Boosting Program.

What does an Acara Business Boosting Program include?

  • Marketing & promotions plan with budget
  • Ad campaign to support the marketing plan
  • Sales training
  • Competitive & demographic analysis
  • High Impact Action Plan identifying tactics that have immediate effect on sales & profitability
  • Business review & recommendations on marketing, operations & sales
  • 3 year sales forecast
  • Website review & recommendations
  • Educational seminar power point presentation
  • Online project management portal
  • 2 site-visits
  • Weekly coaching calls (8)
  • * Not all locations are eligible, restrictions may apply.

As a special incentive, now through May 31, 2013,  Acara is offering $1,000 off our Business Boosting Program. Let us help you inject volume into your practice. 

If interested in this limited time promotion, please contact Colleen at 203-488-0028 x305 or e-mail her at cacunzo@acarapartners.com.

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Protecting Your Business From Social Media Fraud

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

social-media-protection

If social media fraud sounds scary, that’s because it is.  Identity fraud and misrepresentation online are concerns for businesses everywhere, and especially for medical spas and doctors. The major issue of social media fraud rests in the dissemination of incorrect information by a patient or someone pretending to be one.  Although there are no actual statistics describing how frequently or infrequently this occurs, many business do not have the safety nets in place nor the training necessary to combat this issue when it arises.

How can you deter social media fraud?  There is no way to prevent someone from impersonating you and posting as a client or patient who visited your business, however, there are certain safety measures that you can follow.

Here at Acara, our client’s online reputation and safety is one of our top priorities.

Lauren Levy, our Digital Marketing Manager, states “I devote my attention to online review sites and verify that reviews are being posted by real people.  Because we actively monitor them, we have found fake reviews and have had them removed.”

In addition to actively reviewing sites such as Yelp, Facebook, and SpaFinder, we also use Google alerts on all clients and implement other SEO strategies to keep our client’s online reputation in check.

privacy-protect

If you manage your own social media — you need to aggressively monitor your social media footprint.  Be sure to Google yourself and your business to ensure that the desired results are correct.  In addition, one may set up Google alerts with your name and business name to audit the online dialogue.  Another important note — claim your business or personal name on any social media platforms that you are not using, so that no one else does.  Finally, be sure to have all privacy settings properly activated on all platforms that you are engaged with.

If you are not sure how to manage your own social media platforms or how to protect yourself from social media fraud, consult with our expert team at Acara to put your mind to rest.

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Why Social Sharing is Important for your Business

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

imagesIn a recent article titled “Brands Favor Social Shares Over Likes” by Christopher Heine, he discusses how advertisers measure a company’s social media efforts. It is no longer merely garnering “likes” on Facebook, but “shares” have more weight.

” Facebook’s News feed algorithm gives up to 1,300 percent more weight to shares than likes when it comes to what’s shown near the top of a users feed.”- Dennis Yu, CEO BlitzMetrics

Sharing is your on-line word of mouth — the spread of information and getting your message out there. Advertising for likes is important, but working on your content to be relevant and engaging to your brand is critical.

Here at Acara, we work closely with our clients to promote their brand and ultimately gain a following and future client. Lauren Levy, Acara’s Digital Marketing Manager, provides some insight on how Acara works with our clients:

How do you view the difference between Facebook likes vs. shares?

A Facebook Like allows us to reach an individual and allows them to begin seeing our messaging on their newsfeed. A Facebook Share is when someone who likes our clients’ page shares the messaging to everyone on their newsfeed.  It extends the reach; increasing the likelihood we will get new Likes and further exposure to the brand, a very attractive prospect when we pepper in our promotional messaging. At the end of the day, shares can really drive new leads for the practice.

 How does Acara increase a brand’s shares on FB?

People don’t usually share explicitly promotional content, though we do promote posts that are promotional in the hopes that our Likes share the information, letting friends know about a new service, or a great upcoming sale.  We primarily increase brand shares with engaging information: quotes that inspire, interesting beauty trivia and facts, content that brings value .

How important are shares/likes on FB relative to other social media platforms?

Sharing is a common practice across all social media platforms and very important to all of them.  People re-pin on Pinterest, re-tweet on Twitter, and post images and share them on Instagram. Facebook is the most active social media platform for our clients and demographic, therefore is holds a lot of weight.  However, having a balanced social media platform secures shares across the board.

How does Acara measure a client’s social media efforts?

Social media is about engagement, brand building and driving leads. Success in social media encompasses all three components. If I see that people are engaging with our posts by liking them and commenting, we are doing our job. If I see they are asking questions like, “when is your next upcoming one-day sale?” (which often happens) or “what are your monthly specials?” that’s even better!

sharesocialsharingHere are a few tips for gaining likes/shares on Facebook:

  1. Photo, text, video and links receive the most interest
  2. Longer posts receive the most shares
  3. Content posted later in the day between 6-8pm
  4. Posts published on the weekends vs. weekdays 

How is your business gaining Likes and Shares on Facebook?

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How to Build a Customer Centric Medical Spa

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

Customer-Service2-300x179Acara visits medical spas and aesthetic medical practices on a regular basis. We see a wide variety of business practices and,  almost 100% of the time the quality of clinical services is outstanding. The ambiance is beautiful, however a majority of the time the quality of the customer service is mediocre to poor.

I know that sounds shocking, but it is true. (for the purposes of this post I am using the term customer: a person whom exchanges money for goods or services versus patient or client) How can a business be so successful in so many ways, but falter in their customer service?

Typically it is a reflection of deep rooted business customs and  practices that the business executes day to day.  This is not a situation where a set of new customer service protocols will solve the problem.  You need to take a look at a few areas, starting at the top then move through your business with a 360 degree approach.

Here are a few steps to begin the process:

  1. Do not even attempt to spend time improving customer service unless you, as the physician or manager, are willing to completely embrace the process and lead by example.  You must become a Customer Centric Leader. Practice makes perfect. 
  2. You need to show not just tell your team what excellent customer service looks like.  As an exercise, script each interaction that your team has with your customers (phone and in person). Write these scripts down and  hold a team meeting where everyone is involved in the role playing. As you move through this process you will uncover areas of weakness, and then have the opportunity to improve . Add these scripts to your Operating Procedure Manual. 
  3. Make every operating decision based upon the customer: hours of operation, quality of care, accounting practices and principals, phone system, staffing levels, equipment purchases, facility management, etc.
  4. Each time you make a business decision ask yourself and your team: “Will customer service improve with this change, will it remain the same or will it be negatively impacted?”  Based upon the answer to the question you should have your decision.

Being customer centric takes practice and then most importantly, execution. If you are thinking about how your business can be improved, a company to look at is Disney. They are at the top of customer centric companies. Your every desire, interest and wish is fulfilled. It has been anticipated before your arrival. You don’t need to be Disney, but you can sure get close.

Customer Centric Organizational Chart

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Maximizing Your Business Touchpoints

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATouchpoint: the way in which your customer engages with your brand, including literal interactions and external interactions such as web sites and automated systems. Touchpoints are the building blocks of your brand and your client’s experience.  

Think of all the ways in which your clients engage with your brand.  They may initially see an advertisement, get a recommendation from a friend, find you online, or see a sign and call your business.   Any particular person has an estimated 57 exposures to your brand before he or she becomes a client; truly a plethora of interactions.  Upon conversion to a client, however, he or she is exposed to an entirely new set of touch points.

The second set of touch points present themselves when your client is in your facility, serving to make an impact by physically communicate your brand.  Your goal is to ensure that every interaction with your client is maximized to its full potential.

Here are two touch point areas to examine in your practice: sensory and emotional.  They operate synergistically to create specific feelings and perceptions towards your brand with your client.

Sensory
This constitutes everything that your client touches, hears, sees, smells, and tastes.  Walk the path of your client and try to gather the “senses” all of these areas.  What music is playing?  Is the waiting area comfortable and clean?  Are the beverages tasteful, the decor appealing?  Are your retail areas engaging and treatment rooms inviting?  Is your front desk reception clean and organized?  What do clients see when they are standing there — an organized workspace or a mess of files on the desk?  Thoroughly examine these areas to identify avenues for improvement and correct lackluster presentation.

Emotional
This is how your staff connects and communicates with the clients. Do they engage in a personal and comfortable way? How does your staff get your clients at ease, and handle transitioning them to the treatment rooms? These personal touch points determine how a person feels in your space.

It is critical that the external message you communicate through marketing and social media aligns with the internal experience that the client has at your facility.  Everyone has had the unfortunate experience of going to a restaurant because the images and menu looked good online, only to be disappointed by their experience upon arrival.  The only way  to avoid a harmful disconnect is is to identify all of your touch points — people, process, and tools – that are involved in each area of your business.  When you have identified areas such as: the front desk, waiting areas, treatment rooms, consult room; map out the client’s journey and find ways to optimize their experience.

Small changes in how you engage with your clients, both inside and outside your facility, have greater impact on your brand and consumer perception than many tend to realize.

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Solta Acquires Sound Surgical Technologies

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

In February, Solta Medical acquired privately held Sound Surgical Technologies. The unification of these two companies creates, yet again, another global leader in the market of medical aesthetic devices for physicians and plastic surgeons.images

Sound Surgical Techologies has primarily focused on their VASAR body contouring product line, which use low-frequency ultrasound therapy to treat the fatty layer of the skin.  Solta has been the global leader in the fractional laser space,  focusing on skin rejuvenation and body contouring, such as Fraxel, Clear + Brillant body contouring, Lipsonix and Thermage.  The joining of these companies, not only creates a medical aesthetic powerhouse, but also expands the market reach and opportunity for Solta.

“With this acquisition, we have added another strong, complimentary product to our broad portfolio of leading aesthetic brands and we have expanded our market opportunity.”

-Stephen J. Fannins, Chairman, President and CEO of Solta

To read the full press release, click here.

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Hiring for Your Medical Spa

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

now-hiring

The success of any business is based upon its most important resource, it’s employees. You can have the most beautiful facility, best equipment, stellar location, but none of this will determine your success or failure.  What will, the staff you employ. They are responsible for your clients experiences from the beginning to end and ultimately your reputation.  With so much riding on your employees, hiring the “right ones” out of the gate is a sure step to securing your businesses success. Because hiring is a timely process, being efficient and organized will help to maximize the quality of hire.

So how do you hire right and smart?  

Try these following tips for building your companies team:

  • Have a detailed and thorough job description for each position in your facility.
  • Have a solid employment package.
  • Be constantly recruiting and keep a file of “potential employees” that you can tap into when needed. 
  • Pre-screen candidates extensively by phone. How they handle themselves over the phone will often determine how they will be in person with your customers.
  • Owners need to be involved in the interview process as well as other key employees. Having staff involved, gives more insight about how a person may work with the group and if they are a fit for the company culture.
  • Depending on the position, service provider or front desk, be sure to conduct practical evaluations of the candidates abilities.
  • Have a standard list of interview questions that you use for all potential employees. Be sure that they are targeted and detailed to reach the information you need. 
  • Always check personal and professional references.
  • Use your intuition when it comes to hiring. If you are unsure for any reason, go with your instinct, it’s usually right.

Finding the people with the right fit for your business takes time, persistence and energy, but the payoff will be well worth it. The staff you employ helps to shape and mold your company culture and temperament. When everyone is working together with passion & drive plus order & balance the success of your business knows no bounds.

Acara knows how important hiring is to your business and we have all the tools you need to do it successfully. If you would like to speak with us about how to hire right, you can reach us at 1-203-488-0028 ext 305.

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Nurturing Customer Relationships

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

imagesAt times it seems that we are so caught up in generating the next client through social media and online marketing that we lose sight of the clients that are right in front of us. The people who have invested their time and money to become a client at your business.  They are your marketing ambassadors, an actual walking advertisement for your business. As you know it is cheaper to keep a client than to advertise to reach a new one.  Your goal is to nurture, maintain and retain your current customers.

  • Repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers.
  • Referrals among repeat customers are 107% greater than non-customers.
  • It costs six times more to sell something to a prospect than to sell that same thing to a customer

So how do you harness your customer and not let them slip away?

Remember, a business does not make a buying decision — a customer does. Their buying decisions are a culmination of many factors, but once they have committed to working with you, your job doesn’t stop there. Personalizing their experience is where it matters most. Remember that people want to feel important; to know that when they walk in the front door of your business they matter and you care.

You want to build a sustainable relationship with your clients and the best way to do this is through effective client building.

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Key Points:

  • Be sure to gather enough personal information through your sales process
  • Record all birthdays, special anniversaries in your computer system
  • Follow through with personalized cards and notes from the provider or manager
  • Know about your clients children, family, pets, hobbies and interests, anything you can use for conversation
  • All desk staff should greet clients by name and ask a conversational prompt-such as ” Hello Mrs. Smith, lovely to see you, beautiful weather today, any special plans for the weekend?”
  • Always treat your clients with integrity and respect
  • Ensure that each client has the best experience they can, and that each visit has a consistent level of quality

There are many opportunities to reward and nurture the client relationship; the above are just a few. Nurturing your clients will be your best form of marketing. They will share their experiences and ultimately bring future business in your door.  If you would like to know more about how ACARA can help your staff with sales and client building, please contact Colleen Acunzo at 207-488-0028 x305.

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Do QR Codes Matter?

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

imagesQR codes, or otherwise called “quick response” codes are a call to action. They direct customers to link to specific information through their camera enabled smart phones. The use of QR codes has been slow to be embraced, as not all people understand how to use them and what they can provide. The future of QR codes has not yet been determined, but there is enough data indicating that there is an upswing in usage thus making them an important part of your advertising strategy.

The use of QR codes in health care and especially medical spas has great value.  Using QR codes in your ads, collateral material and even on in-house signage is a best practice.  It gives a direct pathway for your customer to reach specific and detailed information. Not just a link to your web site, but content specific information.

Medical Spas can use QR codes in the following ways:

  1. Introducing Staff/Doctors
  2. Patient testimonials
  3. Patient education on specific services
  4. Special event information
  5. Video link to either a tour of your facility or service.
  6. Before and After Portfolios
  7. Link to consultation booking
  8. A coupon or special incentive
  9. Contact information
  10. Micro-site (a targeted concise mini-website with a single focus)

QR codes should be used in your marketing materials, such as brochure, business cards, and generally anywhere that your customers have a chance to learn about your business. Although QR codes are not visually esthetic, they can be creatively incorporated into your marketing signage. You can encourage your desk staff to teach your clients how to use them, so you can further your reach. Provide clients a link application that they can download on their smartphones; people shy away from what they don’t understand, but knowledge is power.

Creativity and unique content is what customers want to see when they select a QR code. Acara can help with a strategic program for the use of QR codes with your business.

QR-code-location

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Yelp and Your Business

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Francis X Acunzo

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Yelp is an online reviewing tool and application that was founded in 2004 as a search engine for local business. Several million users use Yelp and there are an estimated 60 million registered users with 20 million reviews.  Yelp is used to find the best restaurant, aesthetic practice, or particular business in a market and customers select a business based on a star rating system from user reviews.

In the Local Consumer Review Survey (2012) created by Search Engine Land, one of the many take aways was that a high number of people are using the internet to find local business’s and that they use customer reviews to make their spending decisions.

Approximately 72% of consumers surveyed said that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, while 52% said that positive online reviews make them more likely to use a local business.

You ask, why do we need to use this social media tool with so many other tools such as Facebook, Linked In and Pinterest? The answer is that Yelp is a reputation management tool. It is critical to see if your business is already on Yelp and if it is, you need to claim the business page.  Yelp is yet another internet signpost for your business, and one not to be ignored. It allows you to communicate with your customers and continue with your brand building.

imagesResearch your competition and see what they are doing. Are they using Yelp? How are they presenting themselves? Are there photos, menus and links? Think about how you can represent yourself better. It is important that you have a completed Yelp business profile, as it can turn up in Google searches before your own web site.  Allow Yelp to be an intricate tool in building your business.

At ACARA we understand that navigating social media applications and tools can be overwhelming. We know how to properly set up your YELP business profile page, photo gallery, links to your web page, and all the detailed business information to make sure that you’re putting your best face forward. Don’t let your competition get a step ahead of you.

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