We’re now nearing the end of May 2020 and many aesthetic practices are just starting to recover from an awful two-three month stretch due to the Coronavirus. Some practices will take months to recover financially and some practices won’t ever recover from this setback.
If you’re still shut down, or even if you’ve recently opened, you should be working on your re-opening game plan. We’ve got extensive resources here to help you.
Now, more than ever, is the time to button up your finances. Like every business owner affected by the Coronavirus, you’ve likely applied for PPP and thoroughly went through your expenses to see what you can cut down on.
In order to succeed in 2020 and beyond your aesthetic practice needs to be nimble and minimize expenses whenever possible, without sacrificing the investment needed to generate a return and facilitate growth.
After all, if you’re not growing you’re dying, which is why the Coronavirus was such a tough blow for many practices. Leading up to the shut down of “non-essential businesses” many practices were in fact growing, so this was an unexpected gut punch.
Still, as we emerge from the chaos there are opportunities abound. Consumer demand for aesthetics has been rising since mid-April. Additionally, the average cost-per-click on Facebook and Google has dropped, meaning you can stretch your advertising dollars further right now.
This begs the question, in this new price-conscious era that we’ve entered post-Coronavirus, should I hire a digital marketing agency to help with my marketing?
Pros:
- Cheaper than hiring an employee or several employees: see the pay chart below. The math heavily favors the agency model, and for good reason. A skilled digital marketer you hire could easily run your 6 figures, and do you expect them to be blogging, making social posts, shooting video, creating emails, designing banners, and managing ads…all while overseeing strategy and analyzing KPIs (key performance indicators)? Of course not. No single person can do all of that.
- Experts at marketing: this goes without saying, but you don’t want an agency that checks boxes. You want an agency that’s innovative, adapting to the changing digital landscape. You want to work with an agency that is always looking to improve, adding new features, technology, and constantly re-evaluating the strategy even when the tactics stay the same.
- Experience in the aesthetics industry: it’s crucial to work with an agency that has experience in the aesthetics industry as there will be a HUGE learning curve if they do not.
- A sample size of other clients to duplicate successful campaigns: this is where working with an aesthetic digital marketing agency is also helpful. If you “strike gold” with a campaign, then you can tweak it and run it for another client with a similar practice type and service offering. The larger the agency the larger the sample size but be wary of an agency that’s “too large” as they might not be as hands-on, and you may run into issues with communication (see below in the cons section). Conversely, an agency that is too small may give you extra attention, but they lack the experts or campaigns to gain insight on what’s working best so they can scale these “wins” for all clients.
- Proven track record: review case studies and speak to other practices that have had successes with the agency you’re considering. Understand their practice type and everything the agency is doing for them. Also, understand their relationship with the agency and why they think they’re so compatible.
**Actual salaries paid by TRBO may vary.
Cons:
- Communication: unlike an employee, your agency will be not in your office every day. You might work with an agency that’s local, but you still may only see them quarterly, maybe monthly. The point is the vast majority of your communication will be over email, phone, or text. For some practices, this may be challenging.
- Timing/fit: you might not be ready for an agency based on your growth stage and the roles within your practice. Or, you may need a specific type of agency based on where you’re at. For example, a start-up med spa may need more consulting and sales training initially, so they need to look at agencies who either offer this or have partners who offer this. The best agency who is doing an outstanding job for your competitor may not be the best agency for your practice.
- Control: if you hire an agency you expect to be hiring the experts, not “yes men” or “yes women.” You shouldn’t be expected to give orders, you should expect to be directed toward what works best. This may not mesh well with aesthetic practices that want full control over everything.
- Lack of experience in the aesthetics industry: as noted above, working with an agency who has experience in aesthetics is a pro; therefore, an agency that “works with everyone” or who specializes in another niche is a con.
What Makes TRBO Different Than Other Agencies? We’re a Growth Agency!
TRBO ADvance only works with cash-based medical and aesthetic practices. We work with plastic surgeons, dermatologists, med spas, day spas, salt spas, cosmetic dentists, OBGYNs, and wellness centers, among others.
More importantly, we’re not just a digital marketing agency, we’re a growth agency. So, what exactly is a growth agency?
A growth agency focuses on your aesthetic practice’s growth, emphasizing campaigns to generate revenue rather than simply tactics. This means understanding revenue, cash flow, most profitable procedures, loss leaders, and quarterly goals, to name a few.
Our goal as a growth agency is to focus on both your marketing and sales funnels. We want to expand your marketing funnel, at the top, in the middle, and at the bottom, to generate as many qualified leads and consultations as possible. This means running ads to your target market.
However, leads alone aren’t enough. We need consultations, and patients booked, in order to generate ROI. This is where optimizing your sales funnel is critical. With a little training and the right software, TRBO can help you convert more leads into consultations and more consultations into patients.
Once you’ve generated new patients the journey isn’t over. Our goal is to not only generate a review from these new patients but also help generate referrals. This is what’s known as the “recursion code” and it creates an infinite stream of new patients simply from your existing patients.
Take the Next Step and Jump-Start Your Marketing and Growth
Is your aesthetic practice struggling with your digital marketing and sales? Still reeling from the impact of the Coronavirus on your revenue? Considering hiring an employee to help with marketing or debating hiring an agency? Talk to TRBO first!
Take the next step and reach out today for a free Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) analysis and we’ll walk you through what we recommend as the next best steps for your practice. Give us a call at 877-673-7096 x2 or simply fill out the form here.
