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Medical Spa Medspa Advertising Marketing > Big Medical Spas & Bigger Advertising Budgets

Can anyone please confirm whether the big industry medical spa players us a national or localized advertising approach and the type of advertising used (i.e. radio, print, tv, etc.). I'm very interested in the following companies:
(1) American Laser Centers
(2) Dermacare
(3) Sona Medspa
(4) Ideal Image
(5) LCI Lasercom
(6) Permanent Choice

Thanks so much for helping me out!

06.11 | Unregistered CommenterP Martin

Patrick,
None of the Medispa companies are really big players in the advertising market. American Laser Clinics could perhaps be called the leader since they have an infomercial: (Read the posts on American Laser Clinics, Sona, Dermacare, and the rest on this site.)

The advertising that each of these companies use is generally third-tier and pre-packaged. Local clinics have some control of their markets. Pure Medspas has the best look and feel in my opinion (One that looks remarkably similar to ours...)

The Sona's and Ideal Image are less than remarkable. All of these companies have used local advertising where they were available and have spent a few thousand dollars on creative which shows. I'm sure that all the franchisees and owners have heard of "the 'hundreds of thousands' of dollars that have been spent perfecting the system". That's BS. I don't know where the $19,000 that Dermacare charges for branding goes but it's not to branding that I've ever seen. Staff is always the big cost for theses guys.

All of the companies above focus proximity to existing clinics, usually through direct mail, billboards, etc. It's generally not very good.

Surface runs or has run everything. Direct mail, TV, radio, print... In some cases I do this just because our competitors can't afford it to increase our footprint in a market. Surface SE has a rather large advertising budget per clinic that is generally about 10 times what an individual medical spa can spend. Size does, in this case, matter... but also quality. This market demands factors which create winners and losers which is why the market is tricky for doctors who are not used to this type of competitive landscape.

Hope this helps but it's rather a general question. Happy to answer something more specific.

American laser also advertises in national media magazines like People, Allure. No one else does any advertising, most spas are stuck at the local level.

06.12 | Unregistered Commentertif

Hmm.. National marketing... what a great idea. I wonder if dermacare ever thought of that? Oh that's right, we are paying every month for national marketing.

Does anyone have any idea where that money is going...?

06.12 | Unregistered CommenterDermaDoc

In our market, Charlotte, NC, Sona Medspa (lol) and Ideal Image have massive radio campaigns for laser hair removal.
Sona is now actually based in Charlotte.
These radio ads are very effective. It seems obvious that these commercials are funded nationally.
Potential clients do not seem to "search" the internet for LHR because they've already heard about Sona medspas a gazillion times.

Our other services do very well with internet marketing. I wish we had a budget to compete with them on the radio.

Elaine

Ideal Image really has a strangle hold on radio. They run endorsement campaigns with local radio personalities and have been doing this effectivley for years. My suggestion is to fish in a different pond if you are soley laser hair removal. If you have other services then Outdoor/TV/Direct Mail are extremely effective. We run all of the above for 2 of our medspa clients. Any questions on specifics, please fee free to email me.

Nick

I've seen many business fail because they worry about what the competition is doing to the point where it hinders their business from growing and thriving. A competition analysis should go into every business plan but once you open your doors, stick to your business plan and dont try to run your practice and the doctor down the streets practice at the same time. It's a recipe for disaster.

When it comes to playing with the big boys advertising wise - DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE! Recognize where you can compete and where you cant. Pick your battles, provide better customer service and reach out to your clients for referrals. Make things fun, do a great job and don't start slashing prices thinking that will help you grow. It will attract the price hoppers and they will not sustain a healthy practice you are trying to build.

I've been a business consultant for over a decade. For 9 of those years, I have been focused on taking clients on the journey where they can compete on the local level with the only media that lends itself where all business are truly equal in most regards. What is that media? Internet Advertising.

Cheers!

Alan Moore

06.19 | Registered CommenterAlan Moore

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