Where did your regulars go?
You look at your diary for next month and it is lighter than you expected. Scrolling back, you notice a handful of clients who used to come every few months for anti-wrinkle treatment and have not been in for a while. Some might have moved to another clinic. Most, you suspect, just have not got round to it.
You meant to send reminders. You even have a note to do it. But working out who is due means going through last season's treatments one by one, and that never quite happens in a clinic that is busy treating people.
Why regulars drift
Aesthetics treatments are repeat treatments, and clients rely on noticing it themselves. By the time they notice, they may be seeing an ad from another clinic that week.
- No reminder is sent based on the last treatment date.
- Intervals differ by treatment, and sometimes by client.
- Reminders, where they exist, are generic newsletters rather than personal.
- Nobody has a list of who is overdue.
- Marketing consent and service reminders are not separated, so clinics hesitate to send anything.
What drifting regulars cost
| Symptom | Effect |
|---|---|
| Diary gaps | Empty appointments that regulars would have filled |
| Clients lost to competitors | Whoever reminds them first gets the booking |
| Marketing spend replacing regulars | Paying to find new clients while existing ones drift |
| No overdue view | Reception cannot follow up because there is no list |
| Generic blasts | Newsletters sent to everyone, ignored by most |
Regular clients are the steadiest part of an aesthetics clinic's diary. Keeping them costs a well-timed message; replacing them costs advertising.
Rebooking reminders that fit each client
- Each treatment type is given a rebooking interval set by your practitioners, and you can adjust it for individual clients.
- The last treatment date is read from your clinic software, so the reminder date is worked out automatically.
- A personal reminder goes out by text or email at that point, naming their usual practitioner and linking straight to booking with them.
- A second, gentle reminder follows if they have not booked, then it stops.
- An overdue list for reception, sorted by how long each client is past their usual time, for a personal phone call.
- Reminders respect each client's contact preferences, and service reminders are kept separate from promotional marketing, according to the consent you hold.
Toxin reminders are worded carefully. Whether and how you can mention prescription-only treatments in messages is for you and your adviser to settle, and we use the wording you approve.
A fuller diary, from people who already know you
Regulars get a personal nudge at the right time and book in a couple of taps. Reception sees who is overdue and can call the ones worth a personal touch. Your diary fills with people who already trust you, before you spend on finding new ones.
You also learn which clients have genuinely moved on, because they tell you when asked, and they can be removed from future reminders.
Seasonal peaks get easier as well. Before the summer and the Christmas party season, you can see how many regulars are due and plan extra clinic days early, rather than turning people away in the last fortnight.
Practitioners like it because the diary becomes more predictable. Regulars arrive at roughly the right time rather than in a rush before holidays and events, which makes planning stock and staff simpler as well.
A quick check for your clinic
- Regular clients sometimes go months without rebooking.
- You do not send personal rebooking reminders.
- Nobody has a list of overdue regulars.
- Reminders, if any, are generic newsletters.
- You are unsure what you can send to whom under the consents you hold.