I’m Not Getting Any Bookings? HELP!
It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
You’ve done the aesthetics training, bought the products, sorted your sharps disposal, paid for your insurance and you’re posting on socials regularly…but you’re just not getting the bookings…what’s going on? And more importantly, what can you do about it?
Well, you could have a marketing problem. Or a channel problem. Or a positioning problem. Or a location problem. Or a branding problem. But how do you know which?
Here are six reasons you might not be getting bookings.
ONE: People Don’t Know You Exist
TWO: They Know you Exist, BUT You’ve Not Shown Them You’re Likeable Or Trustworthy
THREE: You’re Attracting The Wrong Type Of Patient
FOUR: It’s Not Clear How You Can Help Them
FIVE: They’re Not Ready
SIX: You Make It Hard To Book You
SEVEN: You’re Not Working on Retention
Let’s dive in…
ONE: People Don’t Know You Exist
You know who you are and what you do. And your closest family and friends know. Maybe your neighbours too. And colleagues. But who else does? How have you spread the word that you can now sprinkle some skin magic? Probably not that many people.
You need to spread the word.
Now, I imagine you don’t have a huge budget? Nor are you highly networked with influencers? So it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to grips with marketing! But before you do that, there are a few fundamentals to get in place.
Firstly, you need to understand, in detail, who your potential customers are. You aren’t right for everyone, but you need to know who you’re absolutely perfect for. Here’s how to drill down your Perfect Patient Personas.
Secondly, once you’ve done that, you can start to think about your branding - how you and your business will look, sound and feel in your marketing.
Right.
Now you can start to spread the word.
If you skipped those two things, and went straight into posting the minute you stepped out of training - probably on Instagram - didn’t get much interest, got dissilusioned, quit posting and are now thinking “What’s the point…?”…go back to the start. Spend the time building your patient personas and reassess how strong, relevant and memorable your brand is.
And remember, you’re not alone. This is an exceptionally common approach for clinicians who have never run their own business!
Now you’re ready to get into the nitty-gritty. I’m going to pose these as a series of questions you can work through. By the time you get to the end, if you’ve been honest, reflective and taken action, your business will be in MUCH better shape. Honestly.
Social Media
Do you know which platform/s your Perfect Patient Personas are hanging out on? A quick Google of “demographics of each social media platform UK” will get you close to the right answer.
Have you set up business accounts on the most appropriate platforms?
Are you posting content that is interesting and relevant (and in the correct formats) to your perfect patient personas?
Are you posting consistently?
Are you engaging with patients and potential patients on the platform? Or are you almost exclusively following and engaging with other practitioners?
Is your messaging on point? Is it speaking to the concerns your personas have?
Google Business Profile
Have you claimed your Google Business Profile? If not, here’s how to do it.
Have you completed all sections of your Google Business Profile and are they up-to-date?
Have you listed ALL your services in the relevant section?
Are you actively and routinely asking for Google reviews?
Have you asked reviewers to mention the name of the treatment they had in their reviews - if they’re happy to?
Have you added photos of you, your clinic space, your logo and branding and your best before and afters to your Google Business Profile?
Have you added your booking link, opening hours and contact information?
Do you regularly (weekly) update your Google Business Profile?
Website
Have you got a website?
Is your website mobile-friendly?
Does your homepage have:
Photos of you and your clinic?
Your booking link?
Copy that mentions your name, your credentials, your location, some of your hero treatments and how you can help people?
Links to other pages covering treatments, concerns and FAQs which include the keywords people are Googling?
Your before and after photos?
Your reviews?
Have you submitted an XML sitemap to Google Search Console to help Google discover and crawl your website?
Have you written meta descriptions for each page?
Have you used H1, H2 and H3 tags and keywords in your content? H1 are the main keywords and subject matter, what the overall post is about. H2 are the sections which break up content, using similar keywords to the H1 tag. H3 are subcategories to further break up the content, making it easily scannable.
Does the footer of your website have your contact details, your location, links to your policies and your social accounts?
Do you publish blog articles to your website about treatments, concerns, case studies and products that are helpful to your patients?
Are you emailing your patients regularly, informing them of new blogs, offers, clinic news or treatments you think might help them?
Are you sharing your newsletter subscription link on your website and your socials, and encouraging people to subscribe?
Offline
Is your signage visible? Interesting? Vibrant? Does it clearly let people know what you do?
Are you building relationships with other relevant local businesses - boutiques, hair salons, makeup artists, florists, coffee shops, delis - businesses your perfect patients use?
Are you getting involved in local events?
Are you delighting your existing patients to the extent where they’re recommending you to others?
TWO: They Know you Exist, BUT You’ve Not Shown Them You’re Likeable Or Trustworthy
Noone will tell you this, obviously. But when people are choosing a you, they are choosing someone they will:
be happy to be in very close contact with for potentially hours during the treatment
feel comfortable enough to allow you to put needles in their face
be confident that they can reach out to you to raise any questions and concerns before and after their treatment
trust you to not only do a good job in making them look good, but who will also keep them safe, put them at ease, whilst being friendly and approachable
Demonstrating all of this on a website and on social media is not easy task! But it is possible. Here’s how:
Make it clear WHO you are, WHAT you do, WHO you’re for, WHAT your credentials are and WHAT you look like.
Do this in written copy, in photography and in video content. This provides people viewing your marketing with a heap of contextual information about you. It helps them decide if you’re likeable, friendly, approachable and professional.
Share your WORK.
Not only does this help people see the kind of work you do, it also helps them to see themselves reflected in your existing patients. Someone who wants to have very visible and obvious work won’t choose someone who’s before and afters show subtle and gentle changes. And vice versa.
Similarly, a practitioners whose before and afters are primarily of middle-aged women, will likely resonate with other middle-ages women.
Collect and share your REVIEWS.
Building and maintaining a huge amount of trust between you and your patients forms the cornerstone of your business. When choosing a practitioner, reviews are one of the cheapest, easiest and most effective ways of building trust online.
97% of people deem reviews “Important” or “Very Important”
Higher star ratings and a high number of reviews together increase the likelihood that your business will be chosen over the competition.
Reviews answer questions, calm doubts and engender trust and confidence in you, particularly when the reader doesn’t know you personally.
Strategically placing reviews next to where patients book helps increase conversion to booking.
THREE: You’re Attracting The Wrong Type Of Patient
This is you if you’re getting bookings, but the patients you’re attracting are just not a great fit for you or your business. You might find yourself constantly having to justify your pricing? Or maybe they question your policies and procedures? Or they’re often trying to push you to deliver treatments in a way that doesn’t align with your ethics, morals or aesthetic?
If this is you, it’s likely that your branding - the visual elements, how you present yourself, your tone and your messaging - aren’t right.
Because you’ve not got a problem getting people through the door, but you’re getting the wrong kinds…it’s time to revisit your patient personas.
FOUR: It’s Not Clear How You Can Help Them
This is common when practitioners market their businesses by focusing on treatments.
They tell people they do Botox, or lip filler…which is great for those who are looking for someone who does Botox or lip filler. They make another elaborate reel showing them on a recent cryotherapy training course.
But what about Jane, who knows her eyes are making her look tired all the time, but has never heard of polynucleotides?
Or Steve, who has a skin tag that catches on his collar EVERY.BLOODY.DAY…but doesn’t know to Google cryotherapy?
Or Olivia, who has hated her acne scarring for the longest time, but doesn’t know that you have a range of treatments that can help her?
You must stop talking about treatments and products and start telling stories about HOW YOU CAN HELP!
FIVE: They’re Not Ready
We know that people live with their concerns for an extended time. Months and sometimes years.
Why?
Because they are worried about pain, concerned about safety, not sure they can afford it, feel guilty spending on themselves, or have family or friends that may judge them harshly.
This is why it’s important that you’re consistent in your marketing. You need to keep that drip-drip of evidence, on your website, on your Google Business Profile, on social media, to prove that you are safe, trustworthy, good at what you do and ready when they are.
SIX: You Make It Hard To Book You
Imagine working THAT hard to attract someone to your Instagram page, or website, and then making it difficult for them to actually book an appointment with you?! Seems bonkers, right?
People EXPECT to be able to book an appointment with you online.
67% of people prefer booking online.
40% of booking are made out-of hours…often on Sundays.
60% of people are more likely to choose a provider who offers the ability to book, reschedule and cancel online.
It makes sense to pop you booking link in as many places as possible to make it obvious, simple and as easy as possible for your patients to get on your treatment chair. Don’t make them jump through hoops just to get an appointment with you.
“DM to book” “Email to book” “Call to book” require your patients to do the work. Many won’t and will choose a provider who makes it easy.
SEVEN: You’re Not Working on Retention
Practitioners are so often caught up in attracting new patients, that often, they have a book of patients who already trust and like them, and have just fallen off their radar.
It’s far easier (and cheaper) to get existing patients booking back in than it is to attract fresh ones.
Here are some things you can do to help retain patients:
Set up automated re-booking reminder emails. Most aesthetic and skin treatments need to be maintained. Sometimes, people need a nudge.
Make your existing patients feel valued. It’s annoying when new customers are given perks and existing customers aren’t. Build a value-add offer for your existing patients only.
Invite your long-standing patients in for a free in depth consultation/review. Perhaps starting with a free mini-facial or peel. Provide them with a branded, detailed treatment plan document with a recommended home routine and in-clinic treatments.
Remember key information about them. People want to feel like you care and value them. Remembering their dogs name or where they are off on holiday helps you build rapport.
GlowdayPRO is a software platform that can help aesthetic businesses run and grow.
Patient records: Keep and maintain patient records
Online bookings: Allow patients to book online 24/7
Payments: Take payments seamlessly through the platform
Marketing: Collect marketing assets like reviews, before and afters
Reminders: Email and FREE SMS reminders to reduce no-shows and late cancellations
Reviews: Automatically collect and publish verified reviews on your branded booking page
Medical forms: Create, store, and send automated medical questionnaires and consent forms
Free mini website: Build a free mini website for your business
Before and after gallery: Create a gallery of your best before and after photos
Google indexing: Google indexes new reviews and before and afters, which can make your profile more attractive to new patients
GlowdayPRO is designed for practitioners by practitioners and can be used on all devices.