Medical spas are missing out on a lot of potential business by not capitalizing on current clients. In fact, repeat patients make up 70 percent of medical spa visits, reports the 2017 Medical Spa State of the Industry Report from the American Med Spa Association.
One way to increase the chances of a client returning for a follow-up visit is to start thinking about the follow-up at the consultation. “Follow up should be systematic for all laser treatments that require a series of treatments to be effective,” says Forever Institut’s Luigi L. Polla. “For laser treatments that require a series of treatments to be effective, laser hair removal or excess fat removal should be sold as a series and not a single treatment,” he says.
Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery’s Alan Durkin agrees that package deals work best in ensuring a return visit. Another way to keep clients coming through the door is to bundle laser therapy with neuromodulators and filler therapy. Durkin combines laser treatments with neuromodulators, Botox, Xeomin, dermal fillers, ultherapy, and surgical procedures, he says. Lasers may lessen wrinkles, but wrinkles form from muscle movement, so consider treating those muscle-caused wrinkles, as well.
“Botox will prevent muscle movements, improving and prolonging the results from laser treatment,” says New York Laser & Skin Care’s Arielle N.B. Kauvar. “The move towards combination treatments, lasers, energy devices, neurotoxin, and fillers can work together to achieve dramatic and long-lasting results,” she says.
If extended downtime is a concern for a client, Celluma’s Denise Ryan suggests offering LED treatments for follow-up and maintenance, which will, in turn, keep clients coming back. One way to improve the patient-practitioner relationship and increase the chances of repeat business is to educate the client.
“Any laser treatment does not stop the time clock, rather it resets the clock to an earlier time,” says Refresh Dermatology’s Suneel Chilukuri. “As time continues to advance, your client must return to keep their skin in an ideal state. I always educate patients on how many treatments will be needed to address their concern, and at what frequency they should return to maintain their ideal results,” he says.
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