It can be tough starting out in aesthetics, getting your first patients and growing your business.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a big budget for marketing and advertising at the start, you just need to be a little more inventive!!
We always recommend starting with things like getting a flyer done to tell potential patients you do aesthetics, get a basic website done and keep your website up to date and set up a business Facebook page/Instagram etc for your social media presence.
Open Days/Evenings
Aren’t as daunting as they sound to organise!! There a great way at the start of your aesthetic career to get your first patients in the door, for your potential patients to get to know you and what you are about too.
So how on earth do you go about planning and running an open day/evening without spending a fortune?
Photo – Jade Cattan, aesthetic nurse and owner of Jade Aesthetics hard at work with her first open day at The Glen Clinic on Glasgow’s Southside!!!!
Firstly put yourself in the shoes of your potential patients –
Ask yourself what would attract you to coming to an open day/evening?
What do you want to achieve from this event?
Planning Process –
Draw up a list of all the things you need to do
Who you need to help you
If you don’t have your own aesthetic clinic, find somewhere you can hire for a couple of hours, you probably need to do this a month/ 2 months in advance of your event.
Marketing –
Flyers –
You need potential patients, get a flyer designed A5 size.
Flyers don’t cost a lot to get designed and printed for your event and you can hand these out through local businesses and houses in your area.
Remember to add on your contact details, phone, email, website, your name, don’t add too much text, keep it to the essential info with a eye catching heading.
Engage the press –
Draw up a list of local newspapers and magazines and get calling!
For some of you this may seem daunting but your local newspaper or magazine is often looking to provide their readers with info on what’s going on locally. Have a good think before you call or email them why they should run your story, it needs to be a strong story otherwise they will sell you advertising!
Social media –
This a great way to promote your event and it doesn’t cost anything!
Through the use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Instagram etc… you will find yourself connecting with your audience in a very direct, personal and efficient manner.
Make some short videos filmed on your phone, visual it’s always great, telling everyone what you’ll be doing at the event etc.
Post on local forums and private groups in your area.
Social media is also a great way to document the day and you should also ask everyone who attends your event to share lots of photos online, making sure to tag you. This is such an effective way to network and advertise without costing a penny!
Sponsors / link up with another local business –
Think about partnering with a local business such as a hairdresser, gym, dress shop, beautician who might already have established clients that you can tap into as well.
Reach out for potential sponsorship! Talk to your local rep, local businesses etc. This can be beneficial as they can offer some financial support and you get a bigger reach and awareness about the event.
Goodie bags
Many of us can’t resist a freebie, talk to local company rep’s to see if they can help with some literature and samples, local businesses etc
Other things you could include are: Bite sized snacks, small bottle of prosecco, your own contact info, any branded merchandise, vouchers etc.
As a conference organiser’s as well as running our own aesthetic training company, we’ve helped many of our delegates run their aesthetic open evenings or days and in this blog we’ll share some top tips and guide you through the process.
Day of the event
Be organised, know who is doing what!
Draw up a programme with times, don’t under estimate time to get set up.
Keep the event running to time, make a schedule beforehand. It won’t look good to your potential patients if you look confused and things aren’t in your control.
Recruit a friend or family member for the day to help you set up and keep everything running smoothly and tidy and to make sure all visitors are where they’re supposed to be e.g. gathered for your live demo, talk etc
Take photos – video’s – It would also be beneficial to have a helping hand to take photographs of you and the event throughout the day for you to use for marketing!
Example of a typical 2 hour open day programme
2.00pm – Welcome and Introduction
Arrival of potential patients, refreshments & goodie bags and opportunity to talk to people informally
Do a talk to everyone – keep it short and sweet, tell them who you are, a bit about you, your training and what you are offering.
You may consider doing a power point presentation as well ( for the more experienced!)
2.30pm – Demo with a patient, talk through what you are doing
A demo is great to showcase your aesthetic skills, (remember if you are a medical professional you need to host the event in a HIS registered clinic).
Demo’s hold the audience’s attention and allow them to imagine themselves as one of your patients. They will get to see amazing results with their own eyes and find it hard to resist wanting the same for themselves!
3.00pm – Questions & discussion ( you may offer individual consultations if you have enough staff on hand)
4.00pm close
Over to you now!!!
If you would like any more advice on starting your aesthetic business and growing it, please get in touch on 0141 638 4098 or email carolyn@inspiredcosmetictraining.com.
