Undoubtedly, medical spas have seen a huge growth over the past decade. As with any sector growth, the huge opportunities come with fierce competition. With more medical spas out there than ever before, spas that want to stand out must work hard to distinguish themselves.
Medical spas that fail to attract and retain clients risk losing out to the competition. This is why nailing your marketing is so critical. In particular, med spa email marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to attract new clients and bring back old ones.
Here at Artemis, we have more than 2000 partnerships businesses using our clinically-proven beauty technology. From these relationships, we've learnt that an effective email marketing strategy is often a contributor to the path to success.
This is why we'd like to share some learnings and encouragement for integrating or optimizing your email communications, which we believe can help your business grow.
Before we show you how to make a med spa email marketing campaign that sells, let’s look at why you should care about med spa email marketing in the first place.
Is Email Marketing Still Relevant? Here's Why You Shouldn't Ignore It
So, what are the benefits of med spa email marketing?
Well, med spa email marketing can make a huge difference to footfall. Without med spa email marketing, you rely on clients proactively calling for another appointment, signing up to your social media pages, or checking out your website.
With med spa email marketing, all your new clients will receive warm, inviting emails without having to lift a finger. When written well, your med spa email marketing will remind clients exactly why your services are best in class, and excellent value for money, prompting them to book an appointment soon.
However, increased footfall isn’t the only benefit of med spa email marketing. It also gives you the chance to promote higher ticket treatments. More people buying higher ticket services can boost your profits, without you needing to increase client numbers.
Your med spa email marketing should capture your brand voice and values, and speak to your clients in a way that resonates. Therefore, it helps customers feel more affection and trust towards your company, so you can build brand reputation and loyalty.
Finally, it must be remembered that email marketing is one of the most cost effective forms of marketing. Because you don’t have to pay for space (as with paid ads!), the cost of running just one email funnel is fairly low.
Furthermore, if the med spa email marketing is well created, it has much more potential to convert other kinds of marketing. 60% of consumers state that they have bought something as a result of email marketing. On the other hand, only 12.5% of them even consider a buy button on social media.
5 Types of Email Marketing Campaign Every Med Spa Should Use for Maximum Impact
Now we’ve seen why med spa email marketing is critical, let’s take a look at the different kinds of med spa email marketing. The med spa email marketing you need will depend on your spa’s needs and audience.
Promotional Emails
As the name suggests, promotional emails tell clients about a specific offer or new service. Normally, the emails are concise and benefit-driven, sharing exactly how the product will change clients’ lives for the better.
Newsletter Emails
Newsletter emails are sent regularly and feature curated content such as resources, tips, advice and new products. By sharing valuable content with your audience, you build up their interest and trust in your brand. You build a reputation as a company that enriches their lives, without asking them for anything.
Because you’ve built trust in this way, when you do tell clients about products and services, they are much more likely to feel comfortable parting with their cash.
Welcome Emails
Welcome emails - the first impression many clients will be getting of your brand's digital persona. They’re your chance to tell customers exactly how much you value them. Do these emails well, and you radically improve customers’ chances of opening any future emails from your brand. Since they’re one of the most important parts of med spa email marketing, make sure you put time, effort and resources into perfecting these.
Abandoned Cart Emails
Abandoned carts (or, in the case of med spas, abandoned online appointment bookings) can undoubtedly be frustrating for businesses. But if you have an abandoned cart email at the ready, they present a huge opportunity for new custom.
Customers who nearly buy are where you should focus most of your energy. After all, those who buy are already convinced, and those who don’t buy might take a lot of work to convince. The ‘nearly buyers’ are your sweet spot.
Your customers will have all sorts of reasons for leaving - not enough money, doubt about whether it's really worth it, being distracted by a competitor site, and deciding to buy it after payday. Whatever it is, you can craft an email to address it, and have clients calling back to book in an instant.
Referral Emails
Finally, let’s look at referral emails. These are emails you send to existing clients, telling them how you’ll reward them for bringing in new customers.
Just like promotional emails, you’ll want the graphics and copy to lean heavily on the benefits to the existing and the referred customers. Also, to avoid falling on deaf ears, make sure you send referral emails to customers who’ve already spent time and money at your med spa.
Tips for Creating Effective Emails for Medical Spas
Now that we’ve been through the different kinds of med spa email marketing, let’s look at how to make the content of your emails as compelling as possible.
The all-important subject line
We cannot overstate how important your subject line is. If this doesn’t compel your clients to act, they won’t so much as see your email, let alone read it and take action.
Keep the subject line short and easy-to-read. Further, make sure you get the benefits of opening the emails into the first two or three words (e.g. “Better skin on any budget”)
Keep it personal
There’s nothing worse than receiving an email that you know has been written to thousands of others. Make your customers feel special. Use your email campaign software to put your customers first name somewhere in the first few lines.
Lead with the benefits
Put two or three key benefits of whatever you’re offering at the very top of your email. Whatever you do, don’t go on and on about how you hope people are well, or how wonderful your company is. Get straight to the point - what are you offering and how will it help your clients thrive?
The CTA
Your email could feature award-winning copy and design, but if there isn’t a clear call to action, it won’t convert. So, have a big ‘buy now’, ‘explore products’, or ‘find out more’ in your email.
Ideally, have two CTA buttons - one at the top so customers see it as soon as they open the email, and another one at the bottom, so they can take action once they’ve finished reading.
Design that fits
Finally, keep your design on brand. Make sure it supports the content of the email, and directs people towards taking action. And most importantly, ensure it adapts to mobile and desktop interfaces.
The Risks of Email Marketing Every Med Spa Should Be Aware Of
While med spa email marketing offers significant revenue potential, it does come with a few risks. Fortunately, as long as you’re alert to these risks, you can take steps to avoid them, so your med spa email marketing reaches clients’ inboxes smoothly, and they take action.
Firstly, you don’t have any control over how your clients receive your med spa email marketing. Often, your email will show up in people’s spam or ‘promotions’ box. Even if it does come into their primary inbox, it will undoubtedly be competing with many other emails. Further, emails are very easy to delete, or (worse!) unsubscribe from.
For this reason, it might be worth making your med spa email marketing opt-in. Some practices will automatically sign clients up to their mailing list whenever they use their services. However, if you ask clients to opt-in, you can be sure they already feel some attraction to the brand. Therefore, they’re more likely to respond well to your med spa email marketing. Plus, you can reward their loyalty to your company by explaining that they’ll get exclusive discounts, early access to new products or services, and content that will enhance their beauty and wellbeing.
Finally, because med spas are medical practices, they are bound by laws governing medical advertising. To avoid getting caught up in messy disputes, ensure all of your med spa email marketing is rigorously checked for compliance.
What to Think About Before You Start Email Marketing
Now that you understand the benefits and risks of med spa email marketing, you’re probably feeling ready to kick off your first email campaign. Before you do, read our final thoughts that will ensure your med spa email marketing is top notch.
Choosing the Right Email Marketing Software for Your Med Spa
There are swathes of email marketing platforms out there. Before you choose one, think about your needs. If you already have a fully-fledged marketing team who can create design and copy for you, a simple tool will do. If you’re more of a one-man marketing band, an email marketing automation platform with a whole toolkit of services is better for you. Intuit Mailchimp is a good place to start.
Creating an Eye-Catching Design and Layout for Your Med Spa Emails
The design and layout of your med spa email marketing is like the clothes of a person. If they’re done well - aligning with your brand personality, conveying professionalism, warmth and trust - then people will be much more receptive to the content of your marketing. So, either use a designer, or the plethora of templates out there to create a polished and inviting design.
Crafting Compelling Email Content That Engages Your Med Spa Customers
Without a doubt, compelling copy can have people reaching for their wallets and booking services with you. And there’s a lot of bad copy out there. To make sure your med spa email marketing is inspiring action, hire a professional copywriter or marketer, or brush up your own copywriting skills with easy-to-follow books and online resources.
The Perfect Frequency for Med Spa Emails: How Often Should You Send Them?
How often you send med spa email marketing will depend on the type of email you’re sending. We looked at the different types above.
If you’re sending a welcome or promotional email funnel, you might send three emails in a week. But if you’re sending a regular newsletter, it might only go out twice a month.
As a general rule of thumb, if you’re advertising a particular service or offer, frequency works well. But if you’re sharing more evergreen news, products, and updates, a little less frequent will keep your customers in-the-loop, without overwhelming them.
Email Reporting and List Maintenance: Keep Your Med Spa Emails Fresh and Relevant
Lastly, when it comes to med spa email marketing, writing and sending the emails is only half the story. It’s also important to track the results of your med spa email marketing. You can do this through all the best email marketing software.
Keep an eye on the emails that get the most opens - these are the ones that probably have the best subject line. If a link to an email gets lots of click throughs, the copy and design have probably resonated.
On the other hand, if it gets lots of unsubscribes, check your copy and design for anything too garish, boring, salesy, aggressive or jarring! You might also think about dialling back the frequency of your med spa email marketing. Alternatively, you might need to include content, offers and services that bring much more value to your audience.
Conclusion
Email marketing is a low-cost, high-return way of sharing what you do, building trust and interest for your brand, and getting more clients through the door. It’s well worth hopping on the med spa email marketing gravy train.
It must be remembered that med spa email marketing isn’t the only way to stand out. For more ideas to outshine your competition and grow your business, check out our free webinar - how to compete in a crowded beauty field.
