The Growth Blueprint: Strategic Expansion for Medspas

Building a brand, achieving consistent care quality, and setting strategic goals can set the stage for a second location (or more)

For an ambitious medspa, success is only the beginning of the journey. Opening additional locations can raise the ceiling on your revenue, allowing you to double down on what you’ve built. But how do you know when the time is right to expand?

In a webinar recorded for the American Med Spa Association, Boulevard Education Manager Skya Jones set out to answer that question. The full webinar is brimming with insights from Skya’s time as a medspa manager, consultant, and educator, but we’ve picked out some of the key takeaways you should keep in mind if you’re hoping to grow strategically.

Brand building for engagement and awareness

Why branding matters

You don’t need a marketing degree to know that brands can drive purchasing decisions. Consumers recognize the brands they know as being good, and given the choice, they often choose them over alternatives.

If you’re just starting out in the medspa business, so many things are competing for your attention that branding can become an afterthought. Unfortunately, that can lead to forgettable, inconsistent branding that clients never connect with. That’s a huge problem if you’re planning to expand to new locations.

If you want to tap into the power of branding, here’s how Skya recommends you start.

Building your brand

The first step in designing your brand is to survey the landscape. What are other successful medspas doing with their brands? What elements of theirs speak to you, or might speak to your clients? Look at their logos, how they decorate their locations, how their marketing is written, the fonts they use, and everything else that makes up their identity.

This research helps in two ways. First, it gives you ideas for your own brand. When you’ve looked through your favorites, you can pick out the pieces of each brand that most resonate with you and incorporate them into your own identity. Second, you can use your research to differentiate your business. Find moments where competitors zig, and zag instead. Doing so will help you find your niche.

Your branding should be visually distinct and easy to identify. Clients should be able to know your brand at a glance. Here’s a litmus test: If you hand out goody bags, would people on the street recognize your logo on the side of the bag? If not, it may be time for a rethink.

Your brand should also be consistent — especially if you’re planning to expand. That way clients who already love your work know exactly what to expect when they see your new location.

Training and education for sustainable growth

Why training matters

Consistency is also critical on the treatment side, and training plays a huge role in that. Skya says that when she was a manager or consultant at a medspa, her goal was always to get every staff member as efficient and educated as possible. The return on investment (ROI) from that effort was the gift that kept on giving. By raising the bar for her teams and equipping them to be more consistent, she could drive growth that sustained itself.

When you expand, whether that’s by adding service providers or opening a new location, effective training helps ensure the quality of care you provide stays high. It also helps your team feel engaged and supported. Those are the seeds for a long, healthy business life.

To Skya, training breaks down into two categories: internal and external.

Internal training

Everyone who joins your team will bring a different level of knowledge and experience. If you want them to meet and exceed the standards you’ve set, you need to have a system in place that helps them build familiarity and expertise. Manufacturers you work with, products you use, treatments you offer — they need to understand them all, inside and out. The faster they do so, the better.

How you onboard your team can change according to your needs. An e-learning course might be right for learning about treatment offerings. A lunch and learn with a product representative is a great way to convey that product’s strengths and weaknesses. Webinars from industry partners can also play a part.

But training doesn’t end after onboarding wraps. By providing training on an ongoing basis, you can keep staff sharp and continue raising the bar for care. Consider having members of staff lead training sessions. For example, your lead injector could hold a lunch and learn to teach other team members about the different types of neurotoxins, the benefits they offer, and how to explain them to clients.

When a member of staff leads a training session, your other employees instantly gain a point of contact to ask follow-up questions later on. It also drives genuine engagement with the material. Training leaders are motivated to really learn their topics because they have the responsibility of teaching them, and the rest of the team gets to hear about it from someone they know and trust. That’s a win all around.

External training

Of course, not everything can be taught internally. Taking team members out into the world for events can also benefit their performance. Start locally. Sending employees to participate in local business events gives them a chance to promote their services. Going to industry events, meanwhile, can empower them to network, get excited about their industry, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends, products, and services. Plus, both give them a chance to hone their people skills.

Investing in your team’s growth can lead to increased revenue, as they’ll be able to work more efficiently even as they elevate the client experience.

Analytics for insight

Choosing the right moment to expand can have a huge effect on your chances of success. If you want to choose the right moment, says Skya, you’ll need to learn to read your analytics. That starts by using key performance indicators (KPIs) as your guiding star. Tracking this hard data is your best bet for identifying the opportune moment to grow. It also helps you identify — for yourself and your team — what areas need focus. When employees know the KPIs they need to improve, they can track their own performance and improve over time.

Here are the KPIs you need to focus on:

KPI #1: Utilization

Utilization measures the number of working hours in which staff or resources are being used. That can mean how much time a team member spends performing services for a client, or it can mean the uptime on a particular tool.

In general, a utilization at or above 80% is a sign you’re using your resources to their full potential. If you’re seeing those numbers, you’re likely ready to bring in more providers or equipment — or even expand to a new location.

On the other hand, a utilization rate closer to 50% tells you your business has plenty of unused resources. You should make sure you’re tapping those before you make moves to expand.

KPI #2: Average client spend

Average client spend (ACS) is exactly what it sounds like: the revenue generated by each client who comes in your door. The more you and your team can upsell or cross-sell products and service enhancements, the higher you can drive your ACS.

Even small improvements can have significant effects on your business, making it a critical indicator of financial health. Raising it indicates you’re making more money by performing the same amount of work. Those efficiency gains will lead to more comfortable margins. Get your ACS high enough, and you’ve likely got a strong financial base to expand on.

KPI #3: Pre-booking percentage

Your pre-booking percentage measures the number of clients who book appointments in advance of coming in. A higher pre-booking percentage indicates that your services are in-demand, and clients know it. They’re taking the time to secure a spot in the schedule rather than expecting to walk in day-of and get lucky. When they do, they become more dependable and consistent revenue.

Pre-booking percentage is also critical for providers, as it indicates a strong client base. The best providers hover around 85% or 90%. If you want to get your medspa’s numbers up, make sure your front desk is asking clients to book their next appointments before they finish checking out.

KPI #4: Sales

Good, old-fashioned sales will always be a critical part of the expansion equation. You need to know exactly how much revenue your medspa dependably makes before you can start thinking about a new location.

Remember, sales include both client services and retail products. You’ll want to measure your sales per client, per day, per week, and per month for a robust picture of your finances. You’ll also want to set targets around these numbers to get your team rowing in the right direction.

T​​o give yourself the best chance at a successful expansion, you need to build a powerful brand, deliver consistent and high-quality care, and read the signs that tell you you're ready. Keeping it all straight can be a challenge. But with powerful and comprehensive medspa software, you can make it that much easier. Good luck!