In this article, I will give you several tips and tools to evaluate your laser centers culture and operations, so you can successfully navigate any economic downturn… And live to sell another day when the inevitable upturn comes around.

What is the Passion and Purpose of Your Medical Spa?

You reap what you sew. When you engage proactively and passionately in your business you will undoubtedly be successful and see your practice expand. It helps to articulate your passion for your medical spa.

At Assara Laser, our passion is to “help clients look and feel great, not fake.”

Why the Recession Drastically Affects Your Laser Clinics Bottom Line

You’ve probably noticed that generating revenue is not as easy as it once was. There are myriad reasons for this; from the decline in disposable income, to unemployment hitting record highs and tanking real estate valuations. As if these facts were not bleak enough, credit markets are virtually frozen so business owners are finding it nearly impossible to obtain small business loans and lines of credit. Refinancing current loans has become difficult for small businesses.

In short, we’re operating in the perfect storm.

Accepting Reality and Responsibility Today

The easy way out is to close up shop and blame the recession. This will not help you going forward, it will not pay your devoted employees their wages, and most of all, it will not help your clients “look and feel great, not fake.” So, accept responsibility.

The hardships of the recession create a fact-pattern, problem to be solved; not a reason for failure. To paraphrase Michael Jackson, start, first, with the man in the mirror. Think about the following questions. And pay attention – there will be homework at the end of this article!

Finding Your Medspas Winning Competitive Difference?

Let’s be honest. The quality of your laser clinc’s treatments are probably not drastically better than that of your competitors. The proprietary equipment and IPL or laser systems (Thermage, Fraxel, Titan) that you use are, for the most part, available to the competitive skin clinic market at large.

You may believe (and tell clients) that your microdermabrasion treatments are better because you use a diamond-tipped wand or aluminum oxide crystals. You may think that your IPLs or laser hair removal treatments are better because you use cryo-cooling or because you use chilled air cooling, or because you use a diode laser or because you use alexandrite lasers . . .

BUT . . .

Step in to your clients’ shoes. To them, the bells and whistles of your Thermage or Fraxel device don’t matter. Your clients already expect expert advice and cutting edge cosmetic lasers, IPLs and skin tighening equipment, so merely meeting this fundamental requirement is not a winning competitive difference.

What does matter to your clients are presentation, client interaction, customer service, reliability and consistency. Consider this carefully.

What is each of your medspas clients worth?

At Assara Laser, one of the most popular packages is our $449 per month Unlimited Laser Hair Removal Program. On average, a client that signs up for this program will remain a member of the Program for 7 months, depending on the results they wish to achieve. How much is a single unlimited client worth to us?  A client in the program for 7 months, making a monthly payment of $449 is worth $3,143. For many laser clinic owners, a single laser hair removal client is worth more than a home mortgage payment!

Do you treat every single potential laser treatment client that contacts your laser clinic as if they’re worth $3,000?

What is your time and effort worth?

Before my partners and I built Assara Laser, I was an attorney. I still practice corporate law as a labor of love, when a friend or business contact has an exciting deal. I normally discount my rate to about $400 per hour, as law isn’t my primary source of income.

Assume an hour of your time is worth $400.  Assume further that, every time your customers complain, you are willing to give a discount, or a free treatment and that, collectively, free and discounted treatments account for a 20% loss in your revenue. To make up for this lost revenue, how much more work do you have to do?

Well, let’s add 20% to your 10 hour day, which now makes it a 12 hour day. If annual sales are $1,000,000 per year, you’ve lost $200,000. This translates into 500 hours more of work you must do to bring your revenue back to status quo!

Is there a big difference between a day that starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 7:00 p.m. versus ending at 9:00 p.m.  You betcha there is!  Is there a big difference between a loss of $200,000 and a loss of zero. You betcha there is!  And these differences drastically affect your quality of life.

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Laser Clinic Operations

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Is click fraud costing your skin clinic or medical spa and driving up your prices?

The practice of “click fraud” began in the early days of the Internet’s popularity with software programs that automatically surfed Web sites to increase traffic figures. This led companies to develop policing technologies touted as antidotes to the problem. (Some marketing executives estimate that up to 20 percent of fees in certain advertising categories continue to be based on nonexistent consumers in today’s search industry.)

Don’t think it’s already happening to your skin clinic, med spa or laser clinic? Here’s a recent quote from Michael Caruso, CEO of click fraud services vendor ClickFacts in an interview:

“In particularly fraud prone verticals such as finance, class action lawsuits and medical, we see click fraud rates in the 30-45 percent range. These are all categories that see high keyword pricing in the auction model. That makes them particularly tasty for click fraud artists. “If you can make more money from the dark side than the light side of search, there are plenty of people who will take advantage. Plus, it’s not even technically illegal yet.”

There are two main ways that your skin clinics and medical spas marketing budget is being drained by click fraud:

First, your medical spas and laser clinics competitors who see your ad are simply clicking on it, draining your marketing budget and costing you advertising dollars. Second, fraudsters set up ‘affiliate sites’ that run skin clinics ads where they are clicked on by bots or employees. (These sites are the most damaging since you’re paying for every click without any return at all. Click fraud around skin clinics, med spas or laser clinics can be very lucrative since dermatology or plastic surgery clinics are becoming such a competitive market and the payment per click can be as high as $4-6.)

Unfortunately, to keep your medical spas budget safe you have very few tools. (Google just gave advertisers $90 million to compensate for click fraud as the result of a class action suit but you can bet they’re not that Google’s not interested in your individual account. Especially since they’re making money from click fraud when your ads are clicked on.)

Start by limiting your skin clinics exposure. If your dermatology or plastic surgery clinic is still running an Adwords or Yahoo campaign, they allow you to limit the maximum amount you spend in a day. Take advantage of this feature by limiting your maximum cost to what you can afford to spend. You can also look for the tracks of click fraud by examining the reports you might have available to you. Multiple clicks coming from the same IP address are a sure sign of fraud.

(Malaysia has become such a haven for click fraud around medspas and IPL laser treatments.)

If you’re going to run ppc ads, protect your skin clinic, med spa or laser clinic. You can be sure that you’re the only one trying to.

Related articles from Laser Clinic MD

• Yahoo Reaches Settlement In Pay-Per-Click Class Action Lawsuit (techcrunch.com)
• Smarter Healthcare: How Social Media is Revolutionizing Your Doctor Visits (mashable.com)
• Tatler Turns 300, Shuns The Web (huffingtonpost.com)

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Looking for a medical spa? Finding A Non-Surgical Specialist

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What happened in medical spas, skin clinics and laser treatment centers in 2009?

Cosmetic enhancements circa 2009 can be divided into three basic categories. Non Invasive includes wash and wear injections and resurfacing treatments such as IPL & laser treatments and chemical peels, and clinical skin care. Minimally invasive falls somewhere in between surgery with visible scars, and the non invasive category, and can be performed in a doctor’s office. Invasive procedures involve surgery done to reshape or refine parts of the face and body, typically involving an office or hospital setting and anesthesia. Most common are breast augmentation, liposuction, mini face lifts and pretty much anything that involves a scalpel.

In the overall scheme of things, there is no ideal time frame to jump on the Botox bandwagon, although the trend is certainly towards doing things earlier as a preemptive strike for maintenance and to forestall the day when everything goes south. But there will come a time when creams stop doing enough to make you content with the way you are aging, and you start to wonder what else is out there. You don’t have to take it lying down (although lying down does make sagging disappear – try holding a mirror above your head).

The next logical step from wrinkle creams and sunscreen are chemical peels, laser treatments, and intense pulsed light treatments (IPL) that can even out skin tone and improve texture.

Botox is brilliant for lines around the eyes, forehead and mouth. Dermal fillers such as Restylane, Evolence and Radiesse are de rigeur for plumping furrows, creases and deeper folds. Brown spots and sun damage can be helped with a course of Fraxel or Pearl. For slack skin, tightening devices such as Thermage and Titan can deliver a subtle lifting effect on droopy brows and necks. The final stage before considering surgery tends to be a combination of several of these to maximize the anti-aging results.

Of course, when the non invasive treatments stop delivering what you really want in terms of sagging, sinking and bulges, you might consider a short scar face or neck lift and some minor eye rejuvenation surgery to reduce excess skin and fat deposits.

Related articles by Zemanta

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Botox & Dysport are now offered at almost any laser clinic, medical spa or skin clinic that offers laser treatments. Why?

Botox Cosmetic is a purified protein produced by the Clostridium Botulinum Bacterium which reduces the activity of the muscles that cause glabellar lines (frown lines) that form between the brows. It’s available from nearly all medical spas and laser clinics. Botox can last up to 6 months but results may vary and you many need treatments sooner.

An initial consultation from the skin clinic physician or medical provider should be done prior to receiving treatment. This will also be the time the patient’s expectations will be set about the outcome of the treatment. Fortunately, Botox, Dysport, and Reloxin are among the most common laser clinic and med spa treatments and complications are very rare. This examination will include a review of allergies, medications and possible contraindications that could temporarily prevent or preclude this treatment.

Before an injection of Botox or Dysport, a cold pack or an anesthetic may be used to minimize discomfort to the client. The medical provider will determine the areas of injection by examining the patient’s ability to move certain muscles in the brow area. Tiny injections will be made into the muscles responsible for creating the lines.

Although there is no recovery time there may be some mild side effects at the injection site. A small amount of pain, infection, inflammation, tenderness, swelling, redness, and/or bleeding or bruising may occur. Other reported side effects include headache, respiratory infection, flu syndrome, temporary eyelid droop and nausea, and infection at the injection site.

Dysport Treatments (Reloxin)

Dysport is a paralyzing agent approved by the FDA that’s similar to Botox in that it’s effects and treatment are the same. It’s a botulinum neurotoxin A complex(abobotulinumtoxinA) and is approved for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adults younger than 65 years of age.

Reloxin was the previous name of Dysport. Although Botox Cosmetic and Dysport function in the same manner and have the same contraindications and results, it should be known that the dosing units of the two agents differ. Botox and Dysport cannot be combined.

Contraindications for Botox, Dysport, & Reloxin:

• Pregnancy or breast feeding or planning to become pregnant
• Diseases that affect the nerves or muscles
• Antibiotics (Gentamicin, Tobramycin, Clindamycin, Lincomycin)
• Heart medications
• Medications for Myasthenia Gravis and/pr Alzheimer’s disease

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Radiesse & Your Local Laser Clinic or Med Spa

Radiesse is a filler injection composed of very small and smooth calcium hydroxylapitite microspheres which are suspended in a water-based gel carrier. Calcium Hydroxylapitite is a biocompatible, biodegradable material identical in composition to the mineral portion of teeth and bone. Radiesse is used to fill moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds such as nasolabial folds. Radiesse is generally not used to enhance the lips or lip line.

The Radiesse gel and microspheres form a “scaffold” that stimulates natural collagen production and encourages tissue growth in and around the injection area. The body absorbs the gel carrier as collagen has begun to infiltrate the area thus replacing the gel with natural tissue. The microspheres continue to provide support while the body completes this process. Eventually, the microspheres are safely absorbed by the body. This entire reconstruction process can take anywhere up to 3 years providing additional injections are administered to maintain even results.

Radiesse injections are very similar other Hyaluronic Acid fillers.

After the injection the medical provider should provide the patient with specific post-care instructions which may include:

• Avoiding rubbing, movement or massaging of the area that could cause the Radiesse to migrate.
• Don’t apply makeup for the next 24 hours.
• No sun and heat exposure.
• Injections for Radiesse can typically last from 6 to 18 months with an average of 11 months for nasolabial folds.

Pain? Physicians use a variety of pain management techniques during treatment to ensure patient comfort. Ask your physician about which techniques are right for you.

Are there any side effects? There have been very few side effects reported in clinical trials and actual usage. However, you may experience some common injection-related reactions, such as mild irritation, edema, swelling, itching, discoloration, or tenderness at the injection site. These conditions typically resolve themselves within one to two days.

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IPL for Treating Cosmetic Dermatology Conditions

Medical Spas have embraced the IPL device to treat a variety of skin and aging conditions, from acne to wrinkles to age spots.

Since IPL medical devices use a ‘pulse’ of light they deliver their energy into the dermis over a longer time than a laser, providing different treatments and usually resulting in less pain for the patient.

IPL devices have been embraced as a preferred treatment technology by plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and aesthetic physicians.

The IPL is a non-laser flash lamp light source which has the ability to emit a broad spectrum, high-intensity visible and infrared light and is used to treat a wide variety of conditions from hair removal/reduction, to Rosacea and acne therapy, removal of dyschromias and telangiectasias, and softening of facial lines and creases. The desired wavelength is chosen by either selecting a particular wavelength filter or attaching a specific treatment head or hand piece that is configured with the filter attached.

When treated with IPL, the amount of visible improvement in treating wrinkles and creases is usually less remarkable than an ablative laser; but, there’s less pain and recovery time and significant improvement when treating dyschromias and erythema generally results in overall patient satisfaction.

The shorter, visible wavelengths are used to target hemoglobin and melanin with the longer, infrared wavelengths used to target water in the tissues. Because these devices operate with a pulsed light instead of a high-intensity focused beam, they emit more scatter and are considered to be less selective than a laser. Therefore, more treatments are necessary to achieve optimal results.

Intense Pulsed Light Devices can not treat all cosmetic dermatological conditions but for many plastic surgeons, dermatologists and medical spas, they’re a important tool.

IPL technology manufacturers include companies like Palomar, Cutera, Lumenis and Sciton.

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