CST Web Exclusive: Change in consumer expectations necessitates medspa marketing makeover

Medspa market shift
Change in consumer expectations necessitates medspa marketing makeover

Nancy A. Melville
Staff Correspondent

National Report — As recently as 2004, the number of facilities in the U.S. calling themselves medical spas, or medspas, was estimated at about 250, according to the  International Medical Spa Association (IMSA), and the main marketing challenge was simply making the public comfortable with receiving noninvasive cosmetic procedures in a spa setting.
As of 2007, that figure has skyrocketed to an estimated 2,500 or so as entrepreneurs have seen the potential for big profits and have eagerly hopped on the medical spa bandwagon. But with all of the heightened new competition and shifting consumer perceptions, the medspa industry is still very much a work in progress, and the challenge to rise above the fray increasingly takes much more than an office stacked with the latest and greatest in technology.
Of course, that’s not what laser manufacturers would have you believe, Eric Light, president of the International Medical Spa Association, tells Cosmetic Surgery Times.
“Most medspas were created according to data provided by laser and equipment manufacturers and not based on consumer research that considers the total market perception,” says Mr. Light, who is also president and CEO of Strawberry Hill Consulting in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Laser companies may present lots of data indicating how many people want hair removal, for instance, but we know that there is a much bigger picture regarding consumer preferences.”
An emerging market
Recent surveys, in fact, show that as many as 87 percent of consumers say they would rather feel beautiful on the inside than look beautiful on the outside. “That doesn’t mean the 13 percent [who prefer to look better on the outside] don’t generate a lot of money, but it means many medspas are ignoring the other 87 percent,” Mr. Light says.
In fact, that largely ignored 87 percent represent an emerging market of results-oriented consumers who look to medspas for more of a holistic skin and body care program, rather than just singular solutions. Being aware of those shifting expectations presents the opportunity for savvy medspas to truly differentiate themselves.
“Most medspa ads look the same, pitching the same laser equipment and services,” Mr. Light says. “The marketplace is so filled with these facilities that there’s going to be a shakeout, and it’s going to be driven by the consumer.”
Thanks largely to the Internet, consumers are already taking the upper hand by showing up armed with much more information and education on what they want than ever before, says Alexander Z. Rivkin, M.D., a facial plastic surgeon and founder of the Westside Medical Spa in Los Angeles.
“Previously, people would walk into a doctor’s office not knowing what they were going to have done, and the doctor would sort of lead them down this road and there was an imbalance of information,” he explains. “Now people walk into the office knowing what they want and how they want it to happen.”
Attitude shift
Add to that much more coverage of the topic on cable TV programs, and consumers are not only more informed about the pros and cons of procedures, but the general stigma of cosmetic work is fading fast.
“Between the reality shows and the Internet, there’s really been a fundamental kind of attitude shift in the population,” Dr. Rivkin says. “It’s now okay to say, ‘I want to improve this’ and consumers don’t feel like they’re being vain and stupid because it’s so much more acceptable.”
Dr. Rivkin adds that offering consistently good results and being onsite for his patients is enough to set his medspa apart from the rest, and the prospect of having to compete isn’t even an issue.
“I don’t advertise and I don’t do price wars. I just concentrate on our own Internet site more than anything else,” he says. “I think in any business the best thing is word of mouth. If you do a good job and people are happy with what you’re doing, that should be enough.”
“Plus, I’m the doctor. I’m here every day and people have no difficulty in reaching me, and that really differentiates this place from many others. In some of these medspas the consultation is handled by someone who has no medical training whatsoever and is simply a consultant.”
The issue of professionalism — and safety — is the bottom line for most consumers, and plenty of efforts are underway to make consumers aware of the issues to consider and questions to ask before having procedures done at a medspa, says Hannelore R. Leavy, executive director of the International Medical Spa Association.
“Consumers are advised to be diligent in finding out the credentials of medspa staff and asking questions such as how often the staff person has performed the procedure they’re having done,” she says. “They need to know that this is not just like going in for a lunchtime massage.”
Consumers in control
The IMSA is working on a set of consumer guidelines and questions consumers should ask of medical spas that will soon be posted on its Web site, and organizations including the American Society of Plastic Surgeons already have such guidelines on their sites. (See sidebar: Consumer Tips.)
To give consumers an extra level of assurance that a medspa is operating with the proper training and licenses, the IMSA is putting together an accreditation program for medspas. The program will be based largely on criteria required by medical spa malpractice insurance companies, Ms. Leavy explains.
The organization is also compiling a CD for members that will include state-by-state medical spa regulations so that members are aware of laws that pertain to their operations.
Medspas that combine a strong reputation for safety and expertise with an emphasis on shifting patient expectations should complete the picture for success, Mr. Light says.
“We see as a hallmark of success a facility that doesn’t focus on things like how many lasers they have or how many Botox treatments they do, but on programs of care and long-term relationships.”
“The trend should play out as medspas begin marketing less based on technology and more based on the results they offer and helping consumers to understand their skin care needs.”

For more information
Eric Light
[email protected]
Alexander Z. Rivkin, M.D.
[email protected]
Hannelore R. Leavy
201-865-2065