Getting Found When Aesthetic Patients Start Looking: Aesthetic Search Visibility Ahead of the Year's Busiest Quarter

Getting Found When Aesthetic Patients Start Looking: Aesthetic Search Visibility Ahead of the Year's Busiest Quarter

DATE

6th October 2026

TIME

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM

CATEGORY

Digital Marketing & Visibility

PANELISTSMelissa DelFino · Jessica Wisner

Transcript

Lightly edited auto-generated transcript. Speaker turns, timestamps and wording are kept as recorded; only names, brand names and obvious transcription errors were corrected.

Angie (Host) 00:03

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Business of Aesthetics. I'm your host, Angie, and tonight we're talking about something that becomes especially important as we move toward the busiest part of the year.

Our topic is getting found when aesthetic patients start looking. Aesthetic search visibility ahead of the busiest quarter.

Aesthetic patients don't suddenly begin researching the week they're ready to book. Many of them start much earlier.

They're exploring treatments, comparing providers, reading reviews, checking social media, looking at websites, and deciding which practices feel credible. So tonight, we're going to look at where that discovery actually happens.

Why some practices become visible while others don't? And what can still be improved when you only have a short window before year end?

Now, today's session is being recorded, so please try and make this interactive as possible. You know, use the chat throughout the session, and we'll also open the flow for questions, too, at the end, so make sure you send in your questions as we go.

Now, before we introduce our panelists, I'd like to introduce and recognize the platinum sponsor supporting today's event, that is Ekwa Marketing. Ekwa Marketing works with aesthetic practices and industrial leaders across the United States and Canada, and has been doing so for over 15 years.

Their work focuses on helping practices strengthen digital visibility. and create sustainable growth, so their work connects very naturally with tonight's conversation. So thank you to Ekwa Marketing Team for supporting today's panel.

Our first panelist is Melissa DelFino, founder of Modern Distinction. Melissa brings a deep background in dermatology and aesthetic practice management, and works with practices around leadership, operational excellence, culture, systems, and scalable infrastructure.

A major theme in her work is that an exceptional patient experience begins behind the scenes with empowered teams and clear systems.

Melissa, welcome. It's wonderful to have you with us.

Melissa DelFino 02:28

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Angie (Host) 02:33

Joining Melissa is Jessica Wisner, Head of Client Education and Product Evangelism at Symplast.

Jessica brings more than 20 years across health, wellness, and aesthetics, including 14 years leading growth and operations inside a high-volume medical spa. So today, she works with practices around AI, systems, technology, and measurable growth, with a strong emphasis on avoiding shiny object decisions and focusing on what actually drives results.

Jessica, it's great to have you here.

Jessica Wisner 03:08

Thanks so much, Angie. I am excited to be back on the webinar, so thank you.

Angie (Host) 03:14

Amazing, alright. So, let's get into the main discussion. Jessica, let's start with you. I'd like to begin with something very timely, because you've actually lived this from inside an Aesthetic practice.

You spent years running holiday campaigns from inside Aesthetic Practice. So, what did you learn about when practices should start promoting holiday offers, gift cards, and year-end treatments, and what happens when they wait too long?

Jessica Wisner 03:46

Oh, gosh, this one, you know, I have lived this, like you said. the holidays were my favorite time of the year, because that was where I really got to, like, dig my teeth in as the marketing director, and get creative with the campaigns and the ways that I could drive business into the practice. So, it's all about planning, right? And Melissa, I'm sure this is something you can, you know, attest to. You have to plan early, plan often.

That being said, it's not too late. You can absolutely start your planning in October and start executing in November. So.

Everything from getting, like, a November VIP appreciation event going.

We had fantastic success with that, where it's right before the holidays, and you're starting to get people in, and it's getting that early buzz going.

So in-office events are great, and they're things that you can put together, you know, with a quick marketing campaign, spoil your VIPs, have them bring a friend, and that starts to boost sales and buzz even before the holidays hit. And then having a really strong campaign to, follow up with that hits right around that Black Friday. Now, I know there's a lot of noise during that time, but if you execute correctly, and you're using all of the channels that are available to you, they can be really, really effective.

I had great success, where we.

Did a 12 days of, you know, the holidays at my office campaign and every day was a different offer and it allowed me to kind of like cross promote all the different things that we did. So not only was it getting people to like get a coupon for, you know, a free enhancement with, you know, your facial or something like that, or you know, 20%, 20% off a skincare item or something like that.

But it got them aware of the different services that we offer. So then they knew what to purchase come gift card time. So all of that kind of built on itself. in order to have a really really successful gift card and holiday booking time period where that you know, end of December. Everyone's on vacation. You want them in your office, and then, following into January, I mean, we would get where we were booked out through, especially on, you know, the peak evening weekend times, on getting, you know, the skincare treatments booked during those peak hours, straight through January, might have, like, just a small lull, and then picking right back up for Valentine's Day. So if you plan it all, and you keep the pacing going, and you just keep dripping it to clients, they're gonna keep coming back, and they're gonna Get that buzz going so that they're referring your friends.

Might have gone a little bit in circles there. Hopefully I got to the point at the end.

Angie (Host) 06:26

So for someone listening tonight, if they haven't properly started their holiday campaign yet, what should they prioritize this week?

Jessica Wisner 06:37

This week…

Melissa DelFino 06:38

Well, I'd actually love to prior…

Jessica Wisner 06:40

Go ahead, Melissa. No, please.

Melissa DelFino 06:42

I was going to say I love what you're, what you're modeling here, because it's so important to also reiterate patient retention, because if you have just those gift card shoppers, they're only coming for promotions and they're not learning about the other services you have. So, jessica, that was like such a pearl. Guys, write that down.

Jessica Wisner 07:00

That was really good.

It starts with your current patient base, right? So, and I think the, the statistic I saw was, it was like 73% less cost or so. I can't remember what the statistic was, but the, the value of the patients you currently have.

They are your best marketing engine. So if you do something to take care of them, they will take care of you. They will refer their friends, they will buy more and more gift cards, they will come in for more services, and it just becomes, like, a culture that you build, a community that you build within your practice.

Where you have evangelists, and I know that's, you know, somewhere in my fancy title here, but, you know, that evangelism that starts with your patients referring people into you because they love the experience that you've created for them, and this is the time of year to really, like, show your teeth and what it is that you can do for your patients.

Angie (Host) 07:53

Now, Jessica has given us the timing side. So Melissa, let's move to the patient side of that journey. When Aesthetic Patients begin researching a treatment today, what has changed most about how they discover which local practices to consider?

Melissa DelFino 08:09

Absolutely. So I think the biggest shift is that patients are no longer simply looking for just a practice. They're researching the experience before they even contact you. So they might see a practice on Instagram. They might Google the physician, read reviews, look at before and afters.

They might even check the website, who knows? But when they are looking back at social media, it's just there's so many touch points now. So you want to really focus on what is your social media communicating to your patient?

And also your business listing. Your Google Business listing is actually like an extremely underutilized tool that many practices are unaware of.

So what practices need to understand now is that every single one of those touch points are part of your brand.

And your Instagram can look beautiful, but if your website's confusing, your reviews are inconsistent, and don't reinforce the experience that you're really trying to sell, there's going to be a disconnect.

And the modern patient is essentially trying to build a case on why should they trust you before they even pick up the phone. So your job as a practice is to really make that clear to them on multiple platforms.

Jessica Wisner 09:23

Yeah, Melissa, if I could just, you know, piggyback off that, I can't say enough for making sure that your branding is consistent throughout social, your website.

That Google listing, don't forget about that. If you're not optimizing that, you're missing out on a lot of that algorithm, and making sure that, you know, you're getting out blog posts and email campaigns. Omnichannel marketing is so important.

You know, obviously, we all know it's not just about doing fun TikTok dances. Those are cute. Those are fun. But what are you communicating? How are you educating your patients to then get them to convert before they've even come in the door?

Melissa DelFino 09:59

Yeah, and patients are not expecting you to dance in the room. They just.

Jessica Wisner 10:03

Oh.

Melissa DelFino 10:03

You want to make sure that you're building trust, right? So you can be as silly as you want, but at the end of the day, if they don't feel like you're comfortable with the procedures that you're offering or the experience that you can provide, they are going elsewhere.

Angie (Host) 10:18

Yeah.

Now, let's introduce the real constraint behind tonight's topic, that is time. So, Jessica, when a practice has only 10 weeks to improve visibility, how can an owner decide which search problems deserve attention first?

Jessica Wisner 10:35

So, you know, Search, if we're talking search specifically, make sure your website is beautiful. You have content that words both into the Internet. and the algorithm gods, and to the patients that actually land on your page to tell them what you offer, why you're good at it, why they should book with you, and a strong call to action, and an easy booking experience. So if I were to prioritize anything, look at your website.

What is that front door that your prospective patients are going to look at? What does it look like? How easy is it for them to book a service?

And how easy is it for them to get in touch with your practice and find answers? to the services that they're interested in, because it all starts with search, right? So they're gonna search, they'll land on your website, they may have seen your social media, that's beautiful, you need to have that, but that's very top of the funnel, right? So when they come to your website, what is that experience? To me, that's what I would prioritize.

If I were to go this week, look at the website, did I make online booking easy?

Can I answer questions through an AI chatbot or some other method to questions 24-7? And how is it that I am getting them to make those phone calls during business hours and giving them the information so they come in pre-converted?

Angie (Host) 11:59

Let's say you can give an owner a simple 3-point Visibility checklist for tomorrow morning. What would be on it?

Jessica Wisner 12:08

Online booking? that Google listing, 100%, make sure your business hours are up to date, make sure that your services are listed, all of those good things that feed our algorithm gods. And then I would also make sure that The, call to action is there, so it's easy to, like, you know, reach out to the practice, get that phone number right at the top, that book now right at the top, so that way, when they're ready, as soon as they land on your page, you're like, oh, great, quick, easy to click.

Angie (Host) 12:40

Melissa, I'd like to bring you…

Jessica Wisner 12:41

you.

Angie (Host) 12:42

Yes, definitely. Melissa, I'd like to bring you in as well. If the practice team is already stretched, right, how would you keep a 10-week improvement plan operationally realistic?

Melissa DelFino 12:54

So, I agree with what Jessica's saying here. If the…

Call to action is not there on multiple touch points on your website or even on your socials. Patients are going to go elsewhere. If you're making it difficult to book or even find what services you're able to provide, they are going to the next page.

So you want to make sure, one, the services that you're offering are extremely visible, the call to action is easy, and online booking is Easy, because you're… you know, now we're in a… in a place where even older folks are using the computer now, right? So even they are making online bookings. So if you're making it difficult for all of your patient demographics to access you, they will just not… You know, take advantage of any of the opportunity that they have at your practice.

Jessica Wisner 13:42

Yeah.

And I'd say even make sure that booking link is on your Google listing if we're gonna double down. Right. And I see a lot.

Melissa DelFino 13:49

practices.

Jessica Wisner 13:50

Forget to include that one crucial thing where it's like, and then they can just book straight from Google when they find you the 1st time.

Angie (Host) 13:58

I think that leads us nicely into what happens as we move deeper into the year-end buying period. So, Melissa, as year-end demands builds, what change in patient search behavior matters most for practices trying to become visible before competitors?

Melissa DelFino 14:16

Yeah, so patients become way more intentional with the way they're searching for services. They're searching for very specific things, whether it's…

Botox near me, lip filler near me, laser treatment near me, so on and so forth. And they're not necessarily seeking your practice name. They're seeking for a solution to their problem that they want solved.

So, the distinction is incredibly important here. So, if you want to capture year-end demand, you can't just tell people, hey, we're here. You want to clearly communicate what you do, who you do it for, and what makes your approach different from everyone else, because I will be frank, you know, med spas, practices, they're all a dime a dozen at this point, and it is a very saturated industry, and you want to make sure you're communicating what makes you stand out.

So, you know, I would start that work on, you know, you don't want to wait for everyone to just search for these holiday treatments. You want to make a mark on what your practice is known for and what stands you out.

Jessica Wisner 15:25

Yeah, Melissa, I, I can't agree with that more. I've been doing, a lot of consulting recently with our clients that are in our growth programs, and the number one question that I leave every single consult that I do is, what is your favorite service and why do you like selling it? And that.

Melissa DelFino 15:41

concern.

Jessica Wisner 15:41

I'm going to lean into and make sure it's in packages and make sure it's in all of the marketing promotions they have. So that way it's always top of mind because they can sell it the easiest because they're pretty passionate about it. So I can't agree with that more. You got to know what you love, what you're good at and just keep pushing at it.

Melissa DelFino 15:59

Yeah, and less is more, to be honest. Like, when we're talking about aesthetics, it's like, what's the biggest concern patients are coming in with? You want to measure these KPIs and say, hey, we have way more patients coming in with, like, acne scarring, or, like. hyperpigmentation, and what are the treatment plans for this, and how are we going to retain these patients in a period of 6 to 12 months, and get them to kind of share that experience with their family friends. So, you know, even memberships.

Having that as something that they can share with a family friend, it's giving that word of mouth and also not having to really pay for another marketing platform or even employee that is going to be going out and doing those things for you.

Jessica Wisner 16:44

Yeah.

100%.

Angie (Host) 16:47

I think maybe both of you could answer this one. What's the risk of waiting until holiday demand is already obvious before reacting?

Jessica Wisner 16:56

Oh, for me, if you're… you're waiting, you're behind the ball. Not that you can't make up time, but you're getting lost in the noise, and you haven't been planting the seed, where you will go Lower down in the search results, you will go lower down in those algorithms where you're not gonna get found as easily. So the more you can do now to build that momentum and get hits on your website, hits on your social engagement with your Google platform, listing, you know, that's the stuff that is gonna start bumping you up in the algorithm so that way you remain towards the top or at the top when it comes time for. for people to actually make those purchase decisions.

Melissa DelFino 17:37

Yeah, and I also feel like it's really important to kind of look at your patient database a little bit ahead of time, because you might catch them before a holiday, or even after, and you might be able to lock in a sale if, let's say, you are running some sort of promotion, and say, like, we can have you come in for said promotion when you come back from your vacation, and.

Angie (Host) 17:57

box.

Melissa DelFino 17:57

You know, we want to do right by the patient in the same respect and ensure that we're keeping them happy because let's say there is a promotion and they come in a week after their vacation. They're like, you did that while I was away. Like how they're going to be upset anyway. Yeah.

Jessica Wisner 18:13

Treat your.

Melissa DelFino 18:14

You're.

Jessica Wisner 18:14

Patients well.

Melissa DelFino 18:15

They're good people, good. And and, you know, they could have potentially missed out on something, and that would make them irate and say, you know what? And they could potentially just end up price shopping somewhere else.

Jessica Wisner 18:25

Yeah, and that's where, you know, to put together a promotion that allows prepay during the holidays.

It's a great way to get a good boost of cash flow. I mean, I know it introduces liabilities, but if it's for your VIP patients and your patients that are already loyal to you, it's gonna allow them to bank those bucks, come back in it, and then fill your books during those times of the year where you're slower. So even if they're not here, they can still get the promotion through email, text message campaigns, however it is you're, you're promoting it.

And allowing them to prepay and bank that service to come when they're back from vacation, you know, going to, you know, St. Bart's or wherever they are. Wishful thinking.

Melissa DelFino 19:07

you.

Angie (Host) 19:08

If you don't mind, I'd like to stay on this question for a little while. From the data side, is there an early Visibility or search signal that tells you seasonal demand is already starting?

Jessica Wisner 19:23

You know.

I'll just go to, you know, Amazon and Etsy and everyone are always doing Christmas in July. People start stopping shopping in July. The stores already have Christmas things that… although I did notice they were a little later than normal this year.

I was pleasantly surprised about that. But, you know, stores, you know, even your Walmarts and everything, they're putting out their holiday gear in August.

Match that. People are thinking about it. There's a reason for that. So even as a small business, you know, match that vibe. You know, pumpkin stuff will start coming out in August. No, no different. Match that vibe. There's a reason behind that, and that biz big businesses do that is because people are thinking about it that early.

Angie (Host) 20:09

Yeah. And Melissa, how should the team respond once those signals start appearing?

Melissa DelFino 20:15

I think it's important for them to also stay abreast of what the trends are, whether it's like, for instance, me, right? I had just told my boss, I'm like, we are seeing stuff in Home Depot and it is all Christmas related. And I'm like, how is it? It's not even Halloween yet.

You know, so it's important for them to also have a voice in it, because then they are enthused about it, and will be willing to convert that sale. You know, when you include staff in a way that they feel one, informed, two, part of the process in more than just a transactional way, that they're actually giving feedback and guidance to the business. It makes them part of a way bigger mission.

Jessica Wisner 21:00

Absolutely.

I'd add in there, too, one of the strategies that always worked really well for my practice was to work with our vendors, and they would give us end-of-year promotions, because they've got quotas to hit. They would give us killer deals on things, we'd be able to stock up on supplies, and then pass those savings along to our patients, so they think they're getting some big blowout deal, but at the end of the day, it was because my vendor gave me a really good price, right? So.

Melissa DelFino 21:26

Right.

Jessica Wisner 21:26

These are things that your vendors will work with you to hit their year-end goals so you can hit your year-end goals. You know, use all the resources that you have.

Melissa DelFino 21:35

Agreed.

Angie (Host) 21:35

That's perfect. Yes. Now let's diagnose why the practice isn't showing up. So, Jessica, when patients cannot find a practice for important treatment searches, how can the team determine what is actually preventing it from appearing?

Jessica Wisner 21:52

Oh, you know, listen, we're in the age of AI. Ask ChatGPT.

Ask Gemini. I would ask Gemini. Ask Gemini, why am I not showing up in search results? There is no need to even, like, you know. spend tons of money on big research and stuff. When AI is here, it can do it for you, and give you those immediate actions that you need, to start improving your website. It will tell you exactly why you're not showing up in search, and why your competitors are winning.

So competitive research that used to take months or years to do, you can now do just with a couple of sentences into Gemini, and you'll get everything that you need to know.

So, for me, if you're not showing up in search, Ask Gemini, take its advice.

Use those things to improve, and then build from there, and just keep iterating, iterating, iterating until you can get higher up in those rankings.

And if you're not looking at your Google Analytics, you can do that all day, every day. Make sure you have access to that. Look at it, because you'll be able to see some of those insights. It'll tell you what pages are hitting, which ones aren't.

Melissa, I don't know about your experience with that. That's that's how I usually look at it.

Melissa DelFino 23:01

Yeah, no, it's really important to be on top of your Google Analytics. And then also leaning into AI is a huge thing. You know, there's so many AI tools, you know, just aside from chat and Gemini, where we can look at what are people…

Normally searching and what are the key words that we need to work on on our website.

So, you know, it's really important to make sure that we're updating our Google listing to reflect what is the most commonly used search, creating blog posts on our Google business listing. I don't even know if that's like a newer thing, but I noticed it.

Like, a couple months ago, well, more than a couple months ago, but I'm like, this is a tool that is completely underutilized.

Jessica Wisner 23:43

under…

Melissa DelFino 23:43

So many businesses. Yeah. You know, just the blog post alone, put the keywords in and do a couple of sentences, a cute graphic, whatever you need to do, but have it active so that when people are searching, whether it's their geographic location that is near you or the keyword that they're searching, you're going to pop up.

Jessica Wisner 24:03

Yeah, and make sure those blog pages have those alt tags, keywords, SEO metadata, your slugs, make sure all of that is filled out. So if you're someone who is, you know, doing your blog post yourself, which some of us, you know, we're scrappy, and there's nothing wrong with that.

You know, if you're doing that yourself, just make sure that you're filling in those things, and again, go to AI, ask it what you should put in for that blog post. It'll tell you exactly what to put to get found in those algorithms.

Now, blog posting is something that, it builds over time, so the more consistent you are with it, the more it's going to impact that listing. So, if you haven't started on that, start today, make it a habit, you know, start with one per month, but ideally get one per week, and use AI to do it faster.

Angie (Host) 24:51

That's amazing. Now, once you've diagnosed the problem, the next question is where limited time and money should go. So, Melissa, how should a practice choose between strengthening Google Visibility and investing more heavily in social discovery when time is limited?

Melissa DelFino 25:09

Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, it's really a matter of… I wouldn't say it's Google versus social, because they really do different jobs. So, Google is intended to capture intent, and when someone is actively looking for something, that's where we're using AI to kind of See what the intent is of the consumer. Social trends…

You know, social media is really made to create awareness and desire and ensure that the person is looking for a service and we're able to match that and give them that experience, so someone who may not have been thinking about a treatment until they've seen an educational video.

That's where social media comes in, where we're educating them and then building that trust and showing them that we know that we are. You know, we're showing we're experts in what that treatment is. So if resources are limited, I would make sure that your foundation is strong your website, google business profile and reviews, your treatment pages.

Everything is there in that conversion process so that when they do find you on social, it's just amplifying the message. Because there really is no value in driving a tremendous amount of attention to a practice that isn't prepared to even really convert when a phone call is made to the office.

Jessica Wisner 26:31

Yeah. Melissa, you know what we haven't brought up yet, and I think we're both… we're just on our little, you know, paths here. We haven't talked about reviews.

Melissa DelFino 26:40

So reviews are so important.

Jessica Wisner 26:41

I was looking at my notes, I was like.

Melissa DelFino 26:43

We're gonna put another webinar on it.

Jessica Wisner 26:44

Jessica.

Melissa DelFino 26:45

So Angie, you're getting on the next one. We're going to get the next one because I'm telling you, reputation management is a whole nother thing.

Jessica Wisner 26:53

whole other thing, and I'm like, oh my gosh, we forgot to mention reviews! Yes, that… reviews, reviews.

Melissa DelFino 26:58

So important.

Jessica Wisner 26:59

It's.

Melissa DelFino 27:00

So important. And if you don't have a platform that allows you to get that really quick capture.

Utilize your staff because honestly, it takes a QR code. It takes just like something in the room. I even had someone, they had one in the bathroom.

Patients.

Jessica Wisner 27:18

Oh my god.

Melissa DelFino 27:18

Yeah.

Jessica Wisner 27:19

Work so well.

Melissa DelFino 27:20

Like, hey, did you know you can just, like, write us a review? Like, come on, it's simple, and… if you're a personable front desk, and you're having great conversation, I mean, I… I'm a yapper at the front when I'm at the front. They don't want me at the front, but if I'm there, I'm like, if you had a good experience, like, leave us a review. Like, I have no shame in asking, and I think it's a matter of getting the staff comfortable in asking, and just being super personable, and it really is like a gift of the gab in a way, and you can't really train that, but you can train experience. So, if it's part of the experience to ask. then do it.

Jessica Wisner 28:02

Yeah. And then I would even double down if you have a CRM that can automate some of that for you or allow you to like choose which ones you put in that you know they had a good experience, you know they're gonna do it. Double down. Do both hit points where you both verbalize the request.

And then send that follow up review request within a few hours after the visit or within 24 hours or less because you wanna get them when they're hot because then they're gonna give that glowing review. Oh my gosh, my facial with Angie was so amazing. My skin is glowing. Go see her for your hydro facial. You know, that's the, that's the type of stuff that people will do and if they've got that relationship with you, they will, they will fill that out for you left and right.

Melissa DelFino 28:41

100%. And what I do find is there are not a lot of companies that can tie it as quickly to check out.

It's sometimes 24 hours and then some, and patients are already out the door not thinking about it. So you really got to step up your game if you don't have a platform that's going to support your practice in that way.

And not to plug, but I do a lot of vendor matching, so I have a lot of wonderful clients, and… and… vendors that I work with, that we can kind of execute that in a really tight fashion.

Jessica Wisner 29:17

Yeah, and if your EHR, your management booking system, is tied in with that CRM.

Melissa DelFino 29:23

does.

Jessica Wisner 29:23

That automation, that's something we do. You know, it can automate it. Automatically and automate it automatically. But it, it can do that for you automatically after checkout at the time interval you set. And you can even make sure that it's not gonna like spam them with it. 'cause that's another cost.

Melissa DelFino 29:40

one.

Jessica Wisner 29:40

is if you set up that automation, and you forget to say, don't send it if you've sent one within the last, you know, 30 days, 60 days, whatever it is, you know, you want to make sure that you're… you're not overdoing it with the request, but you're sending them enough and often enough that you get those reviews.

Melissa DelFino 29:57

Correct.

Angie (Host) 29:58

That's amazing. We're getting some great insights from Jessica and Melissa. In the meantime, we're going to take a little bit of a break. Before we continue, I want to connect everything that Melissa and Jessica have been discussing back to your own practice.

Snyder talked about something that sounds simple but actually has several moving parts.

When a patient starts looking for a treatment you provide, can they find you? And once they find you, do they see enough to choose you over the other practices around them?

The difficult part for most practice owners is that you can't always see where that journey is breaking down.

You might have a beautiful website, you might be posting consistently, you might even be spending money on marketing, but when someone searches for Botox, fillers, lace treatments, body contouring, or another service you want to grow, the real question is.

What does that patient actually find?

And just as importantly, who are they finding instead of you?

That's why Ekwa Marketing is offering every practice owner joining us tonight a complimentary marketing strategy meeting.

Now, this isn't, meant to be, you know, a generic marketing presentation. The idea is to look specifically at your practice. your market, and your competitors. You'll receive a comprehensive growth plan, a Google overview audit to see how your practice is appearing in today's search environment, and a local competitor audit comparing your visibility with three named competitors in your area. So, instead of leaving tonight wondering, are patients actually finding us?

You'll have a much clearer picture of where you stand, what may be costing you opportunities, and what deserves your attention before year end.

Now, the session is complimentary, and it's valued at $900, so scan the QR code on the screen, or you can use the link that we're placing in the chat to reserve your session.

Now…

If there's one thing I would encourage you to do tonight, it's this that, you know, don't guess where your Visibility problem is. Find out.

So I'm going to give you a moment to scan the QR code or check out the link, and we'll get back into the panel in just a bit.

All right, let's get back into the panel. Jessica, I'd like to come back to you. I think we should zoom out again and look at the full discovery journey. So where do Aesthetic Practices most often lose visibility when patients, you know, move from discovering a treatment to actively searching for a provider.

Jessica Wisner 33:02

Oh, there's a lot of different places, that you can do it, and I think we've touched on a lot of them.

You know, if you get too focused on social media, I think that's a mistake that I see a lot, is that, you know, practices will just focus on the social media, and they'll forget to link back and get those you know, call to actions and all of that, and doing the ads that go with it. I think visibility gets lost.

Because we're not providing enough information at that time of discovery. So just kind of hearkening back to some of the things that we've already talked about, where it is, like, don't just choose one channel. Make sure that you are touching all of them. You need to take an omni-channel approach.

So that way, your patient search is optimized, you're hitting them at all stages of the funnel, and that you're making sure… I mean, if we want to go back to, like, you know, Melissa's realm of that patient journey in the office.

Are you making sure that your existing patients know the services that you offer? They may have come in for Botox initially, because that was what they were looking for at the moment, but are you doing a good job of giving them treatment plans?

Are you doing a good job of making sure that they're aware of the other services that you offer and doing remarketing campaigns to them?

That is all things that it signals across the board that is going to help to just make sure that you're not just pigeonholing yourself with a patient where it becomes transactional, but you're thinking about building a bigger relationship. That then boosts everything across the board. So, I want everyone… if I were to give you a takeaway when it's about boosting visibility, don't just think about social website. I want you to think about visibility in terms of, like, what are you communicating to your existing patients? What are you putting out, and how are you linking it back? You have to think full circle.

And then, if I were to give you one thing that I think I still see not enough people leaning into is long-form video content. I can't even tell you how much long-form video content can change the trajectory of your business.

Now you have to be comfortable in front of a camera, but if you can get someone that can film you talking about the thing that you're an expert at, you post it on, YouTube.

Link it back to your website, and then use it in all of your marketing. slice, dice it, get, you know, little things. That is going to boost visibility and credibility at the same time, and it becomes evergreen content that you can use forevermore. You spend a day filming, then you've got years of content. I have, my old practice is still running ads from videos I shot 10 years ago.

Angie (Host) 35:52

Melissa, I'd like to bring you in as well from the patient from the practice experience side. Where do you see patients getting lost even after they've discovered the practice?

Melissa DelFino 36:03

I want to piggyback on that. I think they are not always aware of what services are offered. That is a huge thing. So you want to make sure that in the consultation process, we're looking to one, identify the problem. Of course, the patient is going to say what their main chief complaint is, if you will.

After we've done that and after we've taken care of that patient. one, we're retaining them, but two, are they even aware that you offer other services? So, you want to have visibility of what your menu of services look like, and what are the other assets in your practice, whether that's another provider or esthetician. So, it's really important that you have that visibility with Everyone that works there, As a patient-facing provider.

So, agreed, Jessica, it's really important to make sure that we're making sure the menu of services is crystal clear.

Jessica Wisner 37:01

Yeah. And make sure your staff knows how to communicate what each one does, the benefits of it, you know, give them a free service. Like I, I still have fond memories of when I was on the practice side, miss that those days of like getting free services so that way I could experience what it was like. And it made it so much easier for me to talk to patients to be like, oh my gosh, I did this. You're gonna love it. Let me tell you what it does for your face, your skin, your body, whatever it is.

Melissa DelFino 37:26

Yeah.

Jessica Wisner 37:27

And that is something I… I think, you know, Melissa, I feel like we think exactly the same, where, you know, using your staff to cross promote for you is.

Just like, you know, that, you know, gem that, that is just sitting there.

Melissa DelFino 37:42

It truly is. Yeah. And it's funny, too, because you'll be surprised. Not everybody wants to be a guinea pig. I'm like.

Let's be getting… I don't care, because I love… I love learning about the new technology and all that, but everyone else has, like, other obligations. They're like, my face can't look crazy after… so, you know, it's so important to kind of also Get that one on one training, whether it's your in house providers, training them on just like a quick huddle of, hey, we have this new device and this is what it does, or get the reps in to educate. They love a lunch and learn. So.

Jessica Wisner 38:17

Everyone loves it.

Melissa DelFino 38:17

Yeah, and if we are in fact looking to bring on new technology, even if we're in that decision-making process, try to get the staff involved in it because now they are staying ahead of the technology.

So, it's… you really do have to make time for that, and even though it could potentially sacrifice some, you know, patient care time, you're still investing in your staff in some way.

Jessica Wisner 38:42

Yeah, which then you know returns itself tenfold. And if you can even get your staff to go on video afterwards, I can still think of one of the practices I work with. His practice manager did some laser treatment of some sort, and he still shows that video at every conference I go to, and it's all over their social.

That stuff does wonders for a practice.

Melissa DelFino 39:02

It really does.

Jessica Wisner 39:03

Because your employees get excited, too, that they're featured in your content, and then it's not only on social, but then you put it on, you know, YouTube or your website or whatever, and then it just gets everyone excited and bought in. It's community building.

Melissa DelFino 39:16

Absolutely.

Angie (Host) 39:18

All right, now once the patient finds you, the next question becomes what they encounter. So Melissa, when a prospective patient searches for treatment nearby, what should they encounter between the search result and the decision to contact the practice?

Melissa DelFino 39:38

Perfect. So they should really encounter consistency. This is a word I use all the time. The message that they see in the search results should match what they see on your website, on your socials. It should also match the experience that they have, or what they are hearing about the experiences of others.

So it's really like building a trust funnel, if you will. First, it's Can I find you and do you offer what I'm looking for? Do I trust you and do I understand what's going to happen next? So, You know, once they do decide to make that phone call, your staff really need to be able to communicate that, and this really goes back on, you know, the previous question that we had.

Are the staff informed of what you offer? How do they communicate that? And how do they make them feel safe? Because it's really important to make sure that we're building that relationship of trust.

And even if it's just redirecting the patient and saying, listen, I might not have the device that you're looking for because this device, listen, there's so many devices that do the same thing, right? And they're all over the place. So if we're talking about just an RF microneedling, just throwing that out there, yes, we have that device. it's not the exact one you're looking for, but we would love to bring you in for a consultation with one of our experts, so that they can assess you, ensure you're a candidate, and give you the right treatment plan. And it's just a matter of reassuring them, making them feel safe, and also you're credentialing the provider that you're about to book them with.

Jessica Wisner 41:17

Yeah.

Melissa DelFino 41:17

So.

Jessica Wisner 41:18

the.

Melissa DelFino 41:18

If there's friction in any of those stages, you're literally about to lose someone. But I really don't think it's a matter of just having a device that social media demand has. I think it's a matter of redirecting the conversation and reassuring and credentialing the providers that you have in the office.

Jessica Wisner 41:38

Yeah, Melissa, I think you hit on something so important, is making sure that your staff knows how to field those questions. So, it starts at the website, it gives them the high-level information, and then they make the phone call or connect somehow with the practice through, you know, text or whatever your mechanism is.

And you need to make sure your staff knows how to, like, navigate those conversations without giving away price, without making, you know, pre-qualifying people inappropriately, and making sure that they know how to say, no, listen, you need to get with the provider, because that sounds great, I'm so excited for you, but we gotta get you in front of the provider to make sure you're a good candidate for it. And that comes back to patient safety as well, and that credentials you further.

Melissa DelFino 42:20

But exactly, and that's what I was just about to say. When you communicate peace and safety over everything, and that's my biggest thing is I don't care what you think you're a candidate for.

But you need to be safe and make sure you're assessed appropriately by an expert because you may have had a treatment somewhere else. It is not the same exact thing that I have here.

And, you know, everyone is so informed with social media, and it truly is a scary time in our business. You know what I mean?

Jessica Wisner 42:50

Alias.

Melissa DelFino 42:51

Because people are just doing things willy-nilly that they're finding on Amazon and. self-diagnosing based on AI, and it…

It puts so many moving parts in the consultation process, as well as what comes in through the phone.

Jessica Wisner 43:07

Yeah, and I think the providers that are gonna make it long-term know how to keep themselves credentialed and protect their business in that way, you know, both through their digital presence and for that once the patient engages with the practice and make sure that they keep that, you know, top of mind and always the top priority is patient safety.

Melissa DelFino 43:26

Absolutely.

Angie (Host) 43:28

That's amazing. Now, Jessica, let's bring all of this directly back to holiday revenue.

So, practice is trying to drive, gift card sales and bookings before year end. How should search, email, social, and the website work together, rather than operating as separate campaigns?

Jessica Wisner 43:50

Yeah, you have to have a content calendar. Period, point blank, it's tried, it's true, it works. Make that calendar, make sure that you're not over-spamming them, that you have a good cadence where you have a nice interval between things. Mix up which channel is going on which days, so that way it's not…

Brendan Ash, Email, social, and text message all on the same day, and then 3 days later, the same exact thing. change up the messaging, change up the cadence, change up what you're focusing on. You know, build gift card campaigns that will incentivize those larger purchases if you want to. Don't give the house away. I'm a big fan of, like, you know, look at your revenue and don't be, you know, over-discounting. So, smart promotions.

Keep 'em targeted on the services that you really wanna push and have the profit margin to warrant giving away any sort of like freebie or something with it.

And then make sure that your content calendar hits consistently without overwhelming the prospect.

So that way, they're more likely to buy, and it's gonna… hit in other people's algorithms at the time that it needs to. So that consistent posting schedule and promotion schedule that goes across all of your different marketing channels is so crucial. So don't just, like, think you send one post and one email and one text message, and that that's going to convert. It's not. You've got to have a plan, and you have to make it consistent, starting before Thanksgiving.

And then all the way through the end of the year. I would even do up until the first week of January, because you get, you know, you know, was it Three Kings Day, the January 6th holiday.

Apologies that I don't know that one as well. But you know, you get people that are still celebrating and depending on your market, you gotta make sure you're hitting all the way through.

Melissa DelFino 45:41

I agree. I want to just piggyback on that. Having the cadence.

And having the different messages and the cadence is so important because people do truly believe they're just being spammed if you're just sending the same exact message. And then when you're not prepared for it, you're scrambling to send out these messages and it just feels rushed. And I feel like even the patients kind of think. feeling.

They feel it.

Jessica Wisner 46:06

Yeah. And it can be as simple and, and so that people don't get overwhelmed. It can be as simple as just changing the subject line and the pretext header in the email. It can be that simple and that nuanced. It does not have to be rocket science. You don't have to rewrite the book every single day. Just little, little tweaks, little changes.

Angie (Host) 46:27

Melissa, I'd like to know, from the team side, what internal coordination needs to happen so the patient receives the same message online, over the phone, and inside the practice?

Melissa DelFino 46:41

So I would say first things first is you want to really identify what that patient experience means to you.

And how do you communicate that clearly to your team? So even if it's a matter of, and I say this a lot, having a consistent greeting and having what I like to call an equation for booking. So some patients, they don't want to utilize an online booking tool, and that's fine. But when we are picking up that phone and booking that equation of making sure we're assessing appropriately, appropriately. and getting all the correct information on file on what they're coming in for.

Give them a provider who truly is an expert in what they're looking for and making them feel that they are welcome. And that really has to be consistent amongst all of your staff members before anything. And going back on ensuring that they are knowledged on the procedures that you Offer at your practice. That's number one, because if they're asking questions, and they will.

You have to be prepared because they're not going to always be able to reference a FAQ. They're not going to be able to reference a script.

And it won't feel like a human experience if they do. So it's like, give them the tools appropriate that they need to reference in the moment if they have to, but truly give them the knowledge so that they can just speak like it's a conversation, which it should be.

Patients experience human interaction, like they're not experiencing a robot. So if we wanted to just bring AI in to answer all of our phone calls, we would, but they are not always responsive to that.

Jessica Wisner 48:24

Yeah, and now's the time. If you want to talk about things you can do now. start listening to the phone calls that your staff is taking. You know, hopefully you're using a system that's recording the calls, you know, HIPAA compliant, of course. But, you know, you're using that type of system, so that way then you can go back and audit those calls, and do team training. Listen to one call from each person. give each other feedback, and really, like, hone in on those skills now, so that way, when the phones are ringing off the hook come November, December, they're ready, they can do it, they've already got those tools in their belt.

Angie (Host) 49:00

Amazing.

Melissa DelFino 49:01

Absolutely.

Angie (Host) 49:02

Alright, what we're gonna do now, we're going to open the flow for audience questions. If you'd like to ask a question, you can type it into the chat, or you can use the Q&A box as well. Anonymous questions are fine as well. When you submit a question, please try and include your role and the specific problem you're dealing with, because I believe The more specific you are, the more practical Melissa and Jessica can make the answer.

In the meantime, we also have received some excellent questions from people who registered, so I'll bring a few of those into the conversation as well. We have a question from Yonjin Nam. I hope I'm pronouncing your name right. The question was.

How should an aesthetic practice plan a special campaign with the right pricing when it offers several different device-based treatments? Maybe Jessica, you could answer that one first?

Jessica Wisner 50:06

Yes, this is something I did a lot of, and I'm actually… I'm currently in the midst of doing this for a couple of clients right now. It's about making sure that you are bundling services, so that way profitability is protected. I am a big fan of don't give the house away.

You want to make sure that the promotion makes sense for you. as the business owner, so that way it's protecting profitability, but it's still enticing to the patient. And that's, again, going back to where I said earlier in the call, work with your vendors. They probably have, like. offers they can extend to you, if it is something where it has, you know, consumables that you can buy. Device-based treatments that don't necessarily have consumables, where you can get that type of vendor discount.

You know, look at making sure that you are always selling packaged services. So, always sell in a series, if it is something that can be sold in a series. Sell bundles, so even if it's not something that's normally series, bundle it with other things. do a freebie that goes with it, as opposed to just a flat discount. It's better to do a value add most of the time, because then again, you're protecting that profitability, but you're sweetening the deal to be like, I get that special, you know, neck cream, or whatever it is with the, you know, Morpheus, or whatever it is that you might offer. And that does get patients to convert. They do love those deals, and any way that you present it and you bundle it and you make it where they are going to get results and it's not just a one-off treatment.

That is where you win at the end of the day.

Angie (Host) 51:43

Melissa, what do you think?

Melissa DelFino 51:44

I agree with that. You know, it's also a matter of ensuring that during your consultation process, we're not just treating one specific thing. It's what do we do after this? So back to bundling, same thing. We're talking about…

Treating, you know, acne scarring, and then we're talking about treating hyperpigmentation, and then you want to ensure that there's product that they can go home with, so we have more predictable outcomes, if you will, so that also builds trust and retention. So bundling, back to bundling, that's really important, because it's not just going to sell one service, it's selling most, and then you're going to have that patient retention and trust built.

Angie (Host) 52:30

Alright, thank you so much, Jessica, and thank you, Melissa as well. We have one more question, if you guys don't mind. This one's from Mark Hennessy. How should practices communicate the value of anesthetic procedure when patients are more cautious about spending?

Melissa, maybe you could go for that one first.

Melissa DelFino 52:52

Yeah, I mean, you know, communicating the value of an aesthetic procedure.

It really is up to the patient. It's how much do you want this and how much are we looking to really trust that? So it sounds like people are price shopping at that point. And that's where we're talking about building the trust and ensuring that the patient feels cared for. So we're talking about long-term outcomes here.

And if we're looking at a problem that Has been a long-term issue, then it really should be an easy sell if there's trust, so again, it goes back to looking at.

What is your Google business presence? What is your website communicating and what is your socials communicating? Because if they're not seeing these outcomes already on your socials.

Website, etc. They're not feeling confident in… buying an Aesthetic procedure.

Jessica Wisner 53:55

Yeah. And, and I would add on to that, Melissa, it's really about what was the patient's goal? Is this gonna.

Melissa DelFino 54:03

Right.

Jessica Wisner 54:03

Their, their goal, what was the outcome they were looking for? If this is what's gonna get them that outcome, you need to lead with that confidence as, as their provider. It's part of your credentialing yourself. You know, this is what they need, and then you just shut up and they'll make the decision now and don't.

Melissa DelFino 54:18

Yeah.

Jessica Wisner 54:20

Sometimes, you may need to offer financing or something, and there's different ways to, you know, because I know financing sometimes comes with, you know, extra cost. You know, make the offers make sense, and don't hesitate to use those tools, but be like, this is what you need to get to that goal, that's what you told me.

I think you should move forward with this, and then they'll make a decision.

Melissa DelFino 54:42

I had a doctor that I worked with who would be like, do you really trust Dr. Google over my 10 years and more of…

Jessica Wisner 54:49

the.

Melissa DelFino 54:50

And it's like, listen, I am telling you that this is going to help you and it's not going to be one treatment. I think managing expectations is the biggest thing and patients come in, we're in this instant gratification world.

And it's really a matter of having that hard conversation. Patients come in asking for specific devices, specific amounts of units of Botox, and it's like.

I'm sorry that you learned that on social media, but this is my expertise, this is what I'm recommending. Let's try it. If you truly didn't like it, then we're gonna revisit the treatment plan and get you back in.

Jessica Wisner 55:28

Yep, exactly, exactly.

I feel like we have.

Angie (Host) 55:31

same.

Jessica Wisner 55:31

Great, Melissa, I love it.

Melissa DelFino 55:33

Yeah, we should go out for a drink.

Jessica Wisner 55:35

I.

Melissa DelFino 55:35

with.

Jessica Wisner 55:36

laughs Angie, come with us. Yes.

Angie (Host) 55:41

All right. So we're going to close the audience Q&A. And while the QR code is still on the screen, a quick reminder that you can reserve the complimentary Ekwa Marketing session there. That includes the growth plan, Google overview audit, and the local competitive audit we mentioned earlier. Now, before we close, I want one final practice takeaway from each of our panelists.

Let's say, imagine someone listening tonight has 10 weeks left, limited bandwidth, and can make only one meaningful improvement before year end. What's the one thing you would tell them to focus on? Jessica, maybe we could start with you?

Jessica Wisner 56:22

Optimize the patient experience from the moment that they hit your virtual front door.

That… and I'm gonna say it that way, your virtual front door.

What does the experience look like the moment they land on your website, your social media page? Focus on that experience.

And optimizing it, so that way it removes as much friction in the conversion process as possible, and you're gonna end up winning at the end of the day. Because if you make it easy for the patient to interact with you, and book with you, and get the information they're looking for, they will convert time and time again.

Angie (Host) 57:00

Thank you, Jessica. And Melissa, you get the final word.

Melissa DelFino 57:04

You stole me there. So patient experience. But I will say operationally, right? Let's talk about my lovely word of an equation. equation, equation, equation. It's so important to make it simple. Don't make it too complicated. Don't have too many moving parts.

What are we identifying the patient experience as, and how are we going to execute it? And it needs to be, like, 5 steps or less.

And you want to make it as easy for your staff to execute so that that patient experience is consistent throughout, no matter whether they're medical or cosmetic. Like, let's just make sure that everyone feels welcome, and they leave smiling.

I always say it's a Broadway show, that's my line. Anybody who's worked with me, and they're joining, it's a Broadway show. I say it every day.

Jessica Wisner 57:57

It's so true though. It's so true.

Melissa DelFino 57:58

is.

Jessica Wisner 57:59

Yeah, love that.

I missed the.

Melissa DelFino 58:03

Oh my god.

Jessica Wisner 58:03

Melissa, I'm gonna steal that.

Melissa DelFino 58:05

Yes, yes, do it.

It's good, it works.

Angie (Host) 58:09

All right, Jessica and Melissa, thank you so much. One of the I believe the clearest messages tonight is that Aaron's success isn't created by suddenly launching a promotion in December.

I think it begins earlier, by understanding how patients are searching, becoming visible while their intent is developing, connecting your marketing channels, and making sure the practice itself is ready when those patients arrive. So, thank you to everyone who joined us and shared your questions as well. As you exit the webinar, a short feedback survey will appear, so please take a minute to complete it, because your Feedback helps us make these conversations more useful.

If you'd like to understand where your own practice stands, the complimentary Ekwa Marketing Session link is still also in the chat. And of course, Jessica and Melissa, if you could please stay with us for just a couple of minutes after we close, that would be amazing.

I'm Angie, and on behalf of Business of Aesthetics, thank you for joining us, and have a wonderful evening.

Jessica Wisner 59:16

Thank you.

Angie (Host) 59:19

All right.

Business of Aesthetics | Expert Panel Replay Transcript