Business Strategy

Importance of Grassroots Marketing for Your Med Spa

July 15, 2024 by Acara Partners

BLOG

Importance of Grassroots Marketing for Your Med Spa

July 15, 2024

In today’s competitive landscape, businesses like med spas are increasingly turning to grassroots marketing tactics to connect with their local communities and foster a loyal client base. While traditional and digital marketing efforts are crucial to building brand awareness and reaching a wider audience online, grassroots marketing is just as important to include in your strategy. This type of marketing focuses on reaching people at the local level by partnering with small businesses, attending events and physically going out into the community to spread awareness of your practice.

To help you stand out from the competition and gain the trust of your community, here are just a few ways you can effectively implement grassroots marketing:

Join your local chamber of commerce

The chamber of commerce in your community can offer a variety of networking opportunities with fellow small businesses, local leaders and potential clients. Being a member can cement your med spa’s credibility and visibility within the community, leading to referrals and local partnerships. Appearing in the chambers’ newsletters, social media and directories is another great way to boost exposure and attract new clients who prefer to support local businesses.

Connect with local businesses

There’s no better marketing power than word of mouth. Collaborating with local businesses is a surefire way to get people talking about and interested in your practice, whether through referrals or cross-promotional events or campaigns. In addition to participating in local events, advertising in a local magazine and sponsoring local causes, it’s also highly beneficial to visit your neighbors in-person to hand out brochures or flyers. If you’re just opening your doors, inviting local businesses, press and influencers to your soft and grand opening events is one of your first opportunities to build that relationship.

Implement call campaigns

A tried-and-true grassroots marketing tool, having one-on-one phone conversations can earn you greater lead generation, positive word-of-mouth referrals and enhanced client retention. Call campaigns allow you to directly reach out to your target demographic about your services, promotions or special events. For an effective, targeted campaign, messages should be personalized, educational and promotional, and client information and interaction history should be collected in an organized database.

Want to maximize the impact of your grassroots efforts? Acara Partners can help! Our marketing experts can provide the strategy for an effective grassroots marketing campaign as well as connect you with businesses and partnership opportunities in your area.

Increase Med Spa Sales and Profits with a Business Booster

July 1, 2024 by Acara Partners

BLOG

Increase Med Spa Sales and Profits with a Business Booster

July 1, 2024

When it comes to operating your med spa, don’t trust just any consultant to lead the way. You need the support of the most experienced team in the aesthetic medical industry! Acara Partners’ business consultants have decades of industry experience and knowledge to grow and revitalize your practice. Enhancing the profitability and overall performance of your business starts by gaining a deep understanding of your unique situation, vision and goals. From there, our experts can identify any challenges and opportunities for growth.

A business booster with Acara Partners’ business consulting and marketing teams provides everything from operations strategy and sales forecasting to implementation and ongoing support to help increase sales, profits and revenue — here’s how:

A proven three-step program

Market Assessment and Analysis: The first step is to establish a baseline for your business. Our consulting and marketing professionals will begin your business booster with a comprehensive evaluation of your market, operations, sales data, branding, website and social media presence. From our analysis, we will highlight potential growth opportunities such as optimizing lead capture systems or enhancing online user experience.
Operations Strategy and Action Plan: Based on your assessment, we offer a forward-thinking strategy, a customized action plan and a year’s worth of sales forecasting to streamline operations, boost sales and elevate your marketing efforts. The purpose of this action plan is to steadily drive leads, increase conversion rates and determine your estimated return on investment (ROI).
Implementation & Ongoing Support: Once we’ve implemented your action plan, you have the choice to continue with our ongoing operations support. Our business consultants are here to help optimize lead generation and conversion rates, provide a revenue-driven marketing strategy, refine your management structure, improve overall customer service and satisfaction and more.

Boost sales, profits and more

If you are interested in boosting your business’ profitability, performance and visibility, consider the value of partnering with Acara. Through the development and implementation of our strategic business and marketing plans, our business booster program has a proven track record of increasing sales, revenue, profits, efficiency, engagement and customer satisfaction.

Get your med spa ready to sell

In addition to developing new medical spas from the ground up and growing existing practices, we also specialize in business consulting for med spa owners who wish to develop an exit strategy that ensures their finances and operations are in order. If you’re looking to sell your med spa, our experts can help optimize the success and stability of the practice, including its sales, profits, operations and management structure.

Do you need a plan for your med spa? Acara can take your practice from where it is now to where it needs to be! Contact us today to learn more about our proven business booster program or schedule a discovery call to get started.

Looking to Add Aesthetic Services to Your Practice? Acara Can Help!

June 1, 2024 by Acara Partners

BLOG

Looking to Add Aesthetic Services to Your Practice? Acara Can Help!

June 1, 2024

By adding aesthetic services to your practice, you can stay competitive and be a part of a thriving industry with an ever-expanding client base. Med spa treatments like neurotoxins, fillers and lasers are not only lucrative, but also a natural fit — an extension of the medical care you’re already providing to improve the lives of your patients.

The demand for aesthetic services has never been higher, so why wait? Here are three reasons you should consider adding them to your practice:

1. Cash-based business

Most aesthetic services are deemed cosmetic and not medically necessary, so there is very little to no engagement with insurance companies. Instead, your practice collects payment at the time of treatment, making the addition of aesthetic services a more profitable and less complicated business venture.

2. Increases service variety

After completing the necessary training and certification, it is fairly simple for doctors and other medical professionals to practice aesthetic medicine. By expanding your service offerings, you can garner more interest in your practice and enhance your overall financial stability. Aesthetics are also an exciting opportunity to add variety to your career, breaking you out of your normal routine of care.

3. More attractive to more patients

Aesthetic services can attract a wider patient base, including those well-versed in aesthetics and those who may benefit from a new way to treat the concerns you already cover. Botox®, for example, can help relieve chronic migraines and excessive sweating. For many patients who are looking to boost their confidence through aesthetics, receiving care from someone they already know and trust is a huge advantage.

How Acara Partners can help

As the most experienced team in the aesthetic medical industry, we know what gets optimal results, has high client satisfaction rates and is most in demand in today’s market. Through a market assessment, our business consultants will thoroughly analyze and assess your current patient population, defined market area and competition to help:

Determine what are the best services to add
Decide what technology and equipment to start off with
Give recommendations for pricing, staffing needs and pay scales
Conduct sales consultation training, which is very different from an insurance-based practice

We’re eager to lead your business toward increased profitability and enhanced overall performance! Contact us today today to learn how Acara can help facilitate the addition of aesthetic services into your practice.

Partner with the Most Experienced Team in the Industry

May 15, 2024 by Acara Partners

BLOG

Partner with the Most Experienced Team in the Industry

May 15, 2024

When you pursue any business venture, who you choose to work with is a crucial decision. Within a niche, ever-evolving industry like medical aesthetics, experience matters. Instead of hiring an agency that outsources overseas or to freelancers who don’t understand medical aesthetics, partner with the most experienced team in the industry.

When you hire Acara Partners, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting: decades of industry experience, a proven track record of success and business consulting and marketing expertise. Acara prides itself on 21 years of business as a full-service agency, collaborating in-house at our Branford, CT office to deliver the highest quality of service to our clients.

History

We begin our story at the start of the medical aesthetic movement, when in 1996 our co-founder and CEO Francis X Acunzo and his wife and co-founder Colleen launched the very first medical spa through a business venture with their Boston-based spa company and a leading cosmetic laser company. After years of cultivating industry knowledge, experience and professional relationships, Francis and Colleen founded Acara Partners in 2004, the first business consulting agency dedicated to the aesthetic medical industry. Just four years later in 2008, Acara Partners expanded as a full-service marketing agency, the first specializing in the aesthetic medical industry.

Proven track record of success

Acara Partners has been creating and implementing business and marketing plans that drive success for over two decades. In that time, we have worked with more than 350 aesthetic medical practices, developed more than 180 med spas nationwide, written over 350 business plans and secured over $100M in total capital. Acara is proud to be one of the industry’s most preferred consulting and marketing groups for physicians and entrepreneurs who want to open a med spa and for new and existing practices that want to increase leads, sales and profits.

Med spa consulting and marketing expertise

We know what works best in this industry because we’ve worked with and learned from the best. Backed by a deep understanding of consumer behavior and industry trends, our med spa consulting and marketing experts can tell you which services are most in-demand in the current market, yield optimal results and have the highest client satisfaction rates. To bring your unique vision to life with proven results and success, we offer expertise in business development, business consulting, marketing strategy and implementation, website design and development, logo design and brand development and more.

Partner with the experts and we’ll get you where you want to be! To learn more about starting your own med spa or growing your aesthetic medical practice, contact us today.

FTC Rule Bans Non-Competes, What That Means for Your Med Spa

April 25, 2024 by Acara Partners

BLOG

FTC Rule Bans Non-Competes, What That Means for Your Med Spa

April 25, 2024

In a groundbreaking decision on Tuesday, April 23, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final rule to ban non-competes nationwide. Non-compete agreements are clauses within employment contracts that prevent employees from working for a competing business. This shift in U.S. labor policy will have a significant impact for employers and employees within the healthcare industry where non-competes are often implemented. These regulations will take effect in 120 days.

So, what does this mean for the hiring process and employment contracts for your aesthetic medical practice? Let’s break down the FTC’s ruling and what this means for each party involved:

Employers

Under the final rule, employers nationwide are prohibited from using non-compete agreements in employment contracts that restrict employees from working for or starting a competing business. Employers must now reevaluate their hiring process and employment contracts to comply with the FTC’s new regulations.

Employees

Both independent contractors and workers of an employer, whether paid or unpaid, are subject to this rule. Employees now have the freedom to pursue new career opportunities within their industry without legal restriction. This decision represents a significant milestone for labor policy and employee rights.

Existing non-competes

Existing non-competes can only remain in force for senior executives who earn more than $151,164 annually and who are in policy-making positions. While existing non-competes for all other employees do not have to be formally rescinded, employers will have to provide notice to those employees that the agreements will no longer be enforced against them. New non-competes will be banned for all employees including senior executives. We recommend consulting with legal counsel regarding proper compliance within your state as legal challenges are likely to arise.

Alternatives to non-competes

You have other options to protect your practice’s sensitive information, patient records and other investments without needing to resort to non-compete agreements. Employers can enforce trade secret laws and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to safeguard their business’ interests. To retain staff without non-competes in place, the FTC recommends shifting hiring strategies to improving the work environment and offering competitive compensation packages.

In conclusion

We reached out to our trusted healthcare attorneys at Dental & Medical Counsel, P.C. for their legal perspective regarding the FTC’s final rule:

“The FTC’s ban on non-compete agreements signals a shift in labor policy, prompting aesthetic medical practices to rely more on alternative legal instruments like NDAs and trade secret laws to protect proprietary procedures and information. Assuming the law is not challenged, practices must now prioritize creating an appealing work environment through investment in employee development with technology such as HR for Health and competitive compensation while bolstering legal frameworks for confidentiality and data protection to navigate the new regulations and retain top talent effectively.” – Ali Oromchian, J.D., LL.M., Dental & Medical Counsel, P.C.

By remaining informed, adhering to legal advice and using proactive compliance techniques, your aesthetic medical practice can adapt to this change and thrive. Contact us to learn how our business consulting services can help you navigate today’s ever-changing business environment.