Solana Medspas, Inc. Marketing Strategy Provides Medspa Owners With Building Blocks For Success

The Solana MedSpas, Inc. marketing department plays a key role in the financial success of medspa client / owners, according to Judith Sikora, vice president of marketing. "As Solana MedSpas, Inc. continues to expand its national network of individually branded and owned medspa facilities, we believe that it is crucial to provide hands-on operational support for medspa owners once their doors have opened. This type of support is planned on a national level, then executed locally, with all activities synergizing with the needs of each individual medspa owner,"� Sikora notes.

Irvine, Calif.-based Solana MedSpas, Inc. is the nation's foremost medical spa developer, with a growing network of individually branded facilities and entrepreneurs across North America. Currently there are 40 medspas open to date and another 65 slated to open by end of year 2007. Solana MedSpas, Inc. plans to grow the network to a total of 100 locations by 2008.

"Solana MedSpas, Inc. has developed what we call the "�Four Building Blocks of Success"� for our medspa client / owners. We provide support for each building block and help our client / owners adapt these principals for their local market through our team of regional managers (RMs). The RMs are medspa operational specialists in their respective geographical territories and work with our client / owners on a regular basis in person and via phone,"� Sikora explains.

The Four Building Blocks for Medspa Success 1. Lead Generation. Simply put, if you don"�t have enough calls coming in, you won"�t book many appointments. Lead generation encompasses many different types of marketing techniques from traditional advertising to community outreach, guerilla marketing tactics and e-Search marketing. Solana MedSpas, Inc. has developed an exclusive Community Marketing Program to help medspa owners network and build relationships in their community, then harness the power of these relationships to drive people into the medspa. "The medspa industry is so new that educating the consumer is the crucial precursor to inspiring, motivating, and persuading the client to book an appointment,"� Sikora explains, noting that Solana MedSpas, Inc. has developed very methodical, successful techniques to make this happen.

In addition to aggressive community marketing, Solana MedSpas, Inc. provides client / owners with monthly themed business-building marketing campaign strategies and materials in electronic format including ads, newsletters, specials of the month, and compelling event concepts for new and existing consumers. "We host monthly launch webinars to help client / owners implement these campaigns and strongly recommend that the medspas have a designated marketing person on staff,"� Sikora says.

Susan Sequira, owner of Professional Skin Concepts in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., attests to the value of Solana MedSpas, Inc."� marketing department. "We were very fortunate when Solana MedSpas, Inc. implemented the Community Marketing Program,"� Sequira recalls. "We do not reside in the community where our medspa is located, so even though it was a big investment to hire a full time marketing person, we felt it was the "�missing link"� to the other marketing elements we already had in place. Our marketing director lives in the community and she's great at networking and interacting with the staff. When we have a special event, she already knows 90 percent of the people in attendance. Her personal networking has really made the crucial difference. She spends two to three afternoons a week in the field, handles data reports, and analyzes productivity. We have learned so many other things about our business as a result of her activities. The program has been in place for a little over a year and I can"�t imagine living without this vital area of our business,"� Sequira states.

Sequira's sentiments are affirmed by Lori Ann Taylor, owner of Belle Vie MedSpa in Lexington, Ky. "Receiving Solana MedSpas, Inc."� monthly marketing campaigns has been just phenomenal. I don"�t know what I would do without them. Their campaigns are extremely professional and are "right on"� in terms of what we should be promoting each month. We get compliments all the time from other doctors in Lexington. Solana MedSpas, Inc. has the experience and best practices regarding what works and what doesn"�t. I would never have the time to do this on my own - all I have to do is drop my logo into the monthly marketing collaterals and voila "" the materials are ready to go,"� Taylor describes.

2. Front Desk Manner. When a customer walks through the door, the front desk staff must make an indelible mark so that the customer wants to immerse herself in "the experience."� Front desk staff must be able to convert phone inquiries into appointments, answer questions about treatments and procedures, and inspire an aura of excitement about the medspa.

3. Customer Relations . Medical and aesthetic staff members must understand the importance of bonding with customers and striking the perfect balance between professional expertise, ethics, credibility, and personal chemistry, for higher client retention. "Medspa owners should leave no stone unturned in hiring the highest caliber of practitioners, taking into account their training, experience, credentials, interest in complying with state law, and interpersonal skills,"� Sikora stresses. "Above all, the relationship / bonding process is where the magic is begins - it's all about chemistry and trust."� Skip Saldan, owner of Esteem Med Spa in Tampa, Fla., adds his commentary regarding the benefits of Solana MedSpas, Inc."� operational support. "Right after we opened, Solana MedSpas, Inc. teamed us up with Janet, the southeast regional manager, who was a spa director herself and therefore provided a great deal of experience,"� Saldan notes. "Janet is really an extension of Solana MedSpas, Inc. - she provides hands-on support in our local market, but also plugs us into regional and national best practices. There is a tremendous benefit to being part of the Solana MedSpas, Inc. network in terms of the exchange of information, experience and creative ideas.

Tapping into the network saves time, helps to prevent costly mistakes, and provides valuable feedback. We broke even in six months, largely due to the help of Solana MedSpas, Inc.. Compared to going it on my own as an independent owner, I feel a sense of camaraderie and support; there is just no comparison!"� Saldan states emphatically.

4. Customer Retention. The growth and development of a customer into a client is a process that evolves over time. The client develops a sense of loyalty and devotion to the medspa which supersedes superficial attractions such as price, discounts, location, and other factors. Unlike the patient acquisition in medical practices, customer loyalty has to be earned. While doctors use insurance providers to drive patients in the door, medspa customers pay out of pocket for their services. As a result, the competition to win and retain this new breed of "retail"� aesthetic client is fierce. Solana MedSpas, Inc. makes a point to teach client / owners how to deal with this challenge by providing them with loyalty building programs containing special offers and events to take the relationship with each client to a higher level. "Analyzing the frequency of return rate is critical as well,"� Sikora notes, "as a successful retail business always has a true blue core of loyal clients that gives them ongoing business and referrals."� "Always focus on creating the experience,"� Sikora goes on to advise. "Happy, warm, diligent, articulate team members are the centerpiece of your business. If your team can"�t offer all this, the medspa can"�t create an experience that will keep the customers coming back for more,"� she emphasizes. "Solana MedSpas, Inc. and the regional managers provide the backbone of operational and marketing support for client / owners, but at the end of the day, it really takes an owner who is willing and receptive to assume responsibility for learning and enforcing the Four Building Blocks of Success. We can guide, coach, and create campaigns, but the ultimate leader has to be the owner,"� Sikora concludes.

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