Medical Spa Insider

This week, RepeatMD CEO Phillip Sitter and VP of Sales Chris Chomenko talk about how loyalty and rewards programs, paired with the proper technology, can level-up a medical aesthetic practice. They discuss:

How loyalty/rewards programs can help introduce new treatments to existing customers;

The importance of nurturing leads and building customer trust to boost retention;

The structure of a successful medical spa rewards program;

How loyalty/rewards programs can move past simple discount and point programs;

Ways to move patients through a journey toward more high-margin treatments;

The difficulty of scaling the patient experience; and

The growth potential of the medical aesthetics industry.

In the first episode of our Member Spotlight miniseries, AmSpa’s Membership Relationship Development Specialist Michela Bailey sits down with Jackie Spagnuolo, MSN, NP, of Beauty Nurse NYC, to talk about her experiences as a nurse in New York during the COVID-19 outbreak. She talks about:

First reactions to the pandemic in New York and patient reaction to the shutdown;

Leaving her aesthetics practice during the shutdown to work as a frontline provider at a hospital;

An average hospital shift during COVID-19 crisis;

Maintaining her aesthetics practice during the shutdown with private-label products and digital consultations;

The “adopt-a-health-care-professional” initiative;

Methods of self-care to combat burnout;

The increased demand for services during and after lockdown;

And more!

Erin Hennessey, APRN, stops by this week to talk about all facets of energy-based skin treatment. In this wide-ranging discussion, she covers:

Her path from energy-based treatments for burn injuries to scar treatment to skin rejuvenation;

The importance of listening to what the patient wants to improve first;

Steps to take before opening your own practice;

Ways she gets patients to adopt energy-based treatments;

The importance of social media in marketing energy-based treatments;

How to decide when to add devices to your practice;

What to consider when choosing which device to add;

Ablative vs. non-ablative lasers and legislative trends with regard to supervision; and

Who should be able to provide laser treatments.

On this week’s episode, Neela Sethi Young, MD, pediatrician and co-founder of Jaanuu, talks about how she branched out from practicing medicine into the world of medical fashion. The discussion covers:

Her desire for more comfort and style in medical attire;

The benefits of being expressive through clothing in professional settings;

The need for designer clothes with performance levels of durability;

How the meaning behind Jaanuu’s name guides the company’s focus;

The roles clothes in a professional setting can play in mental health and positive self-image;

The Jaanuu Cares and #AlwaysMind campaigns in relation to health care professionals and self-care;

The importance of advocacy to Jaanuu’s mission;

Lessons from COVID that changed the way Jaanuu operates;

And more!

On this week’s episode, renowned dermatologist Leslie Baumann, MD, discusses her experience as part of the clinical trial of the new filler Restylane Contour. She talks about:

What makes Restylane Contour different;

Methodology of the FDA clinical trial;

Patient response to the product;

Overcoming patient hesitation about fillers;

Needle vs. cannula with Restylane Contour;

Benefits of participating in clinical trials;

Benefits of Restylane Contour for a practice; and

Tips to introduce new products to patients.

In part two of this two-part series, Ben Hernandez of Skytale Group provides a step-by-step walkthrough of the sale of a medical aesthetic practice. He runs through what to expect if you’re approached by an investment company interested in purchasing your practice including:

The typical timeline for a sale;

What kind of information buyers are looking for initially;

How to structure the deal;

How long the owner may need to stay in the practice after the sale;

Pitfalls to avoid when selling your practice;

What to include in a Letter of Intent (LOI);

Things to look for in an investment partner;

And more!

In part one of this two-part series, Ben Hernandez of Skytale Group gives some insight into the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) side of medical aesthetics. In this episode, he reflects on the surge of outside financing looking to enter the industry, and he answers a host of questions, including:

What are your options when you’re ready to sell?

Why is the M&A market so hot in this industry?

What is driving more established medical spas to sell?

Why is the industry so attractive to buyers?

What are buyers looking for in a medical aesthetics practice?

How are medical spas valued and how much could owners get for their practice?

How does building a strong leadership team increases a practice’s value?

What does the abbreviation “PA” mean to you? Grace McLauren, PA-C, has extensive experience in internal medicine and women’s health, as well as more than 20 years of experience as a PA in the aesthetics space. She joins us this week to talk about the recent AAPA House of Delegates vote to change the title of the profession from “physician assistant” to “physician associate.” She covers:

North Carolina’s recovery from quarantine;

The background for the name change from “physician assistant” to “physician associate”;

The role of a PA in a medical practice;

Why the AAPA voted to change the name;

Response to the reactions from physician associations;

Benefits of independent practice for PAs;

Why practitioners shouldn’t be using the new designation yet;

Requirements to become a PA; and

The shortage of PAs in medical aesthetics.

This week, Kipper Doughty, co-founder of Job Snob—a medical aesthetic job board and recruiting agency—stops by to share her perspective on aesthetic recruiting, the current job market for injectors and tips for the hiring process. She covers:

The lack of industry resources for hiring and staffing;

Recruiting vs. job boards;

What goes into medical aesthetic recruiting;

The job market for injectors looking for placement;

Experienced vs. new injectors;

Pain points and solutions for the hiring process;

What to look for when hiring injectors;

Common compensation questions; and

How to find candidates.

This week, Melissa Rogne talks about starting her single-location medical spa in Fargo, North Dakota, building it into an 11,000 square-foot, multi-million-dollar practice, and selling to a private equity group to become president of a new multi-state brand. She talks about:

How she built huge volume in a small market by creating demand in her community;

The importance of understanding what resonates in your market;

The marketing strategies that worked best as she grew her practice;

Her keys to rapid growth;

Her approach when deciding to sell;

Being contacted by private equity representatives at Medical Spa Show 2020;

The process of the purchase of her practice; and

Her plans moving forward as part of a new, multi-practice brand.