BUSINESS

ROADMAP STRATEGY FOR 2026

Lisa Kelly shares her insights on how to futureproof your clinic for 2026 and drive sustainable growth in a competitive landscape

As the market evolves, it will likely become progressively more fragmented as clinics adopt specialisation strategies and focus on developing treatment niches to give themselves an edge. In the January issue, we outlined a checklist to evaluate your clinic’s 2025 performance and provide insights on ways to differentiate your clinic and develop a strategy for success in 2026.

THE LOCAL LANDSCAPE

We suggested that you start by conducting searches for your treatments using Google. This exercise is the easiest way to get a list of your competition.

Your clinic should be listed near the top, and your website should compare favourably with your competition.

While reviewing the websites of your local competition, you should collect a detailed inventory of what treatments are currently available and identify market gaps that you can potentially fill.

Once these gaps are identified, you can develop new opportunities by improving quality, or delivering better value.

TAPPING INTO NEW MARKETS

The trend is to move away from transactional services to a more holistic approach by addressing specific concerns. This is a great way to develop a reputation as a “destination clinic” that can attract patients from further afield. Embracing inclusivity for minority markets is another way to differentiate and penetrate new and untapped markets.

Offer treatment finance to make your services and products more accessible to help attract these patients.

THE PERFECT PATIENT

Our checklist suggested conducting a detailed review of which of your treatments are the most profitable and the characteristics of the patients who buy them. This process effectively identifies your clinic’s “perfect patient”. Preventing churn, or the loss of your patients to your competition, means you need to actively recognise them. A loyal patient generates thousands for your clinic, and it costs more to replace them than it does to retain them.

Set about creating a loyalty programme if you do not already have one. Take a look at the various third-party technologies and apps where patients can earn points for number of visits, spend and referrals.

OPTIMISING BOOKINGS AND UTILISATION

Take a critical look at your clinic’s calendar and the booking history. Knowing when your clinic is busy and when you experience slow periods is fundamental.

Understanding the relationship between who and when certain patient demographics attend your clinic will enable you to optimise your operations.

Optimise and manage your booking system so that it offers the right treatments to each demographic group at a time that best suits their lifestyle.

TURNING “ZOMBIE ZONES” INTO OPPORTUNITIES

Your review of your booking history will typically identify “zombie zones”, which are times that are rarely booked by your existing patients. You need to transform these dead zones into opportunities, consider:

• Introducing custom treatments aimed at specific patient demographics where these slow times are convenient to them.

• Promoting premium treatments during these times as “marketing hooks” that serve to encourage existing and new patients to try services they ordinarily wouldn’t.

• Leverage expensive equipment that is lying idle.

RETAIL GROWTH STRATEGY

Aftercare products tend to have greater margins than treatments, and successful clinics can boost their overall profitability by 30% or more. Incorporating a retail strategy will not only provide a great financial return but will also be an important part of your patient retention strategy. Offering retail products online, creates a hook for new and existing patients to return to your website.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Remember, your local competition has also been identifying ways to differentiate their clinics from yours and will have started aggressively marketing reasons to drive your patients to visit their website.

Research shows that visitors to your website take just 0.05 seconds to form a permanent impression of your clinic, and for 80% of potential new patients, it will be the first place they look for more information on your business.

A poor online representation undermines your clinic’s professional image and prevents you from ranking in local Google searches.

You should now have a clear insight into where your clinic is positioned in the local marketplace and how you can differentiate by creating a tailored and targeted portfolio of profitable treatments and services for a strong 2026.

LISA KELLY

Lisa Kelly is the founder of Websites for Clinics by Salon Solutions, industry experts helping aesthetic clinics, doctors, dentists and nurses attract new clients and generate new bookings to grow their clinic business.