BUSINESS
CARE CONTINUED
Lisa Kelly explores why online aftercare is not a side hustle – it deepens your relationship with patients
An online shop is often viewed as a side hustle by many clinicians, but it is in fact a crucial part of the aftercare service you provide to your patients and can be a very profitable revenue line for your business. Most clinicians would agree that 80% of the benefit in supporting and maintaining healthy skin comes from the daily routine their patients follow at home and the products they use. Patients have made a significant investment in receiving treatment at your clinic and are naturally anxious to learn how they can prolong its benefits. You have earned their trust and are now their “go-to” skincare advisor.
THE CLINIC CASE
Your patient views you as the most reliable source of information on which products will extend their treatment longevity and which products contain the wrong active ingredients. Recommending and providing the right aftercare products should not be considered as upselling but as an essential part of the care you provide. You should treat your online shop as a digital extension to your clinic.
THE PATIENT CASE
If it is your strategy to move your clinic from transactional treatments to one that offers long-term outcomes, this involves extending the patient journey beyond one course of treatment. An essential part of the treatment plan you create in partnership with your patient should incorporate what aftercare steps are required and which products should be used to support them. Offering a convenient way for your patient to purchase these from your online shop is a key way of achieving this.
Your online shop has two key advantages over high street retailers
1. You can stock medical-grade products wnot available in high street stores that can only be sold after consultation with a qualified clinician.
2. The products you stock and sell in your clinic and online shop are not competing with mainstream retailers because there is an unbroken connection between you and the shop’s checkout page.
According to a recent report by Phorest, “Aesthetic clinic owners often assume that if a patient doesn’t buy aftercare at checkout, they simply aren’t interested. The data tells a radically different story. A massive 85% of clients want to buy their skincare from their trusted provider. Yet, only 28% actually do so in-clinic. Where is the rest of that revenue going? It is leaking to third-party online giants. Your patients don’t lack brand loyalty; they lack digital convenience.”
This indicates that you should use the time your patient spends with you in your clinic as an opportunity to educate and inform them, cementing this with a tangible takeaway.
THE BUSINESS CASE
The fact is that a well-managed online shop marketed as an essential part of the aftercare service you provide can increase your clinic’s monthly revenue by 15% to 30%. In many cases, the margins you can earn from retail can exceed the treatments you provide, with it not being uncommon for the gross profit on the wholesale price to be 50% or higher. The effort of setting up and managing an online shop is relatively low, and the initial investment required is relatively small compared to the returns. In addition, you should not ignore the importance of this strategy for client retention. If you do not provide these products, your client will identify an alternative source using a search engine or AI tool which will inevitably identify one of your competitors.
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Creating the online experience that drives new clients to your clinic and enables your existing patients to purchase products legally requires a specialised developer who understands the options and the legal requirements. There is no need to build your shop from scratch, as there are several excellent purpose-built online platforms on the market. A typical clinic will only stock two to three brands or 60-100 products, so select an option that is most cost-effective in the long term for a relatively small inventory. Particular elements to watch out for include:
• Transaction fees on top of processing fees
• Enable the patient to set up repeat orders
• Buy vouchers and gift cards
• Offer discounts and promotions
• Present complimentary products at checkout
• Financing options
• Abandoned cart emails
• Membership capabilities
An online shop will not generate sales on its own. You need to market your online shop in your clinics as part of your social media strategy and leverage the patient data the shop will provide you with by executing email marketing strategies.
An online shop is part of the range of services your patients should be offered via your website and an important element in the overall patient experience; it will generate an income for your business and extend the service you provide to your patients beyond your clinic treatment room and into the future.
LISA KELLY
Lisa Kelly is the founder of Websites For Clinics, industry experts helping aesthetic clinics, doctors, dentists and nurses attract new clients and generate new bookings to grow their clinic business.