Paying a subscription or membership for various services has become the norm over the past 10 years – gone are the days of loyalty stamps. Delivery services, TV streaming, Food prep services, Wine Clubs, Office hotdesking.. You name it, there is a membership club or subscription service available.
For good reason too – it’s a great business model. Having a membership option for clients provides a much more predictable and secure business, generating a reliable and steady income stream. Whilst historically in the beauty and aesthetics industry, loyal clients generally book a month or two advance, we are seeing more and more that Clinics are offering interesting packages/membership options to keep their clients coming back regularly.
The beauty of a membership subscription model is that the options are endless. You can be creative and tailor your offerings to suit what works for your business needs. Offering memberships will help your clients see that getting regular beauty and aesthetics treatments are just as important as their gym membership.
Benefits of setting up a membership program in your Clinic:
- Committed level of revenue each month coming into the business
- Forecast your revenue for the coming months
- Build closer relationships with your clients, increasing retention
- Create a community amongst your clients
- Increase lifetime value of each client by building trust, and upselling products/services
A successful membership-based program is one that not only offers great value to your customers, but also remains profitable for your business. As you set up a membership-based marketing system in your clinic, keep in mind the important benefits of using this strategy:
- Decide on the time frame of your membership, this could be a minimum of 3, 6 or 9 months.
- Monthly subscription fee – Start it simple with one entry level price per month. Then in the future you can add on a tiered scheme – the higher the cost the more included.
- Choose what is included for the monthly fee, which combination of treatments that will compliment each other and attract your ideal client
- Select the additional extras, for example:
- A discount on all skincare products that you retail
- Discounts on add-on treatments
- Free treatment on their birthday
The price that you set for the membership will depend on the type of treatments your own clinics offer and the current cost for each of these. Make sure you consider things like, allowing early termination or allowing them to freeze the membership for a month. Or what you will do in the case you or they cannot fit in all their appointments one month, will you allow rollovers or treatment switches.
To celebrate the launch of the membership program and generate interest, you could have an event evening. Invite your most loyal customers and offer a small discount on the membership fee if you sign up on the night and pay the first month fee.
Offering a membership is a great avenue to bring more people into your clinic/business, as well as thanking existing clients for their business. If the pricing is right, creating this enticing offer will ensure your prospects truly believe you are committed to supporting them gain the most out of their investment, and improving their health and wellbeing in their lives.
