How To Pivot Your Aesthetics Practice During Lockdown

Lockdown is likely to have hit your aesthetics practice hard as we shut up shop until further notice. That means now is the time to be dynamic, to be flexible – to get creative.

Here we explore some of the ways to pivot your aesthetics practice during lockdown. These tips and tricks should help you keep your existing patients engaged and reach out to your potential audience in meaningful ways that will have them queuing up when you come back!

Offer virtual video consultations via Zoom or WhatsApp

ust because you can’t see patients in person, doesn’t mean you have to stop carrying out services that don’t involve physical, in-person treatments. One of the easiest things to offer is a virtual consultation service over video calls using Zoom or WhatsApp, for example.

As with in-person consultations, all necessary steps should be taken to ensure the details are kept confidential and comply with the UK’s GDPR requirements.

These confidential patient consultations can be:

• injectables consultations for people considering botox or dermal Fillers; 
• cosmetic dermatology consultations for those interested in chemical peels, microneedling, dermaplaning or microdermabrasion; 
• or skin care consultations, especially if your practice carries products.

Some consultations may involve a little bit of everything!

Whilst you may feel inclined to offer these one-to-ones free of charge, this is an incredibly worthwhile service that you should feel comfortable attaching a fee to. You may want to make the fee redeemable against treatments to encourage participants to book with you once lockdown is over. This is a nice way to both keep income ticking over and build a post-lockdown appointment list.

Before you offer this, make sure you have a reliable internet connection as cutting out and breaking up won’t look professional to potential patients. If the worst happens, you can always ask the patient to email you photographs and call them back to discuss.

Offer skincare products for delivery or collection

Many practices now offer skincare products alongside their in-clinic aesthetic treatments. Now is a great time to make your audience more familiar with these products – who they are for, what they do, where they fit in a daily skincare routine, etc.

You can offer to put together bespoke skincare packages following a virtual consultation as a great add-on that your patient will really value. Alternatively, you may wish to tailor one-stop-shop packs for certain common skincare concerns, such as acne or dull skin, which are ready to grab and go!

For those without an online shop, you can ask people to message you via Instagram or email you with their phone number so you can take payment over the phone. Just ensure you do not write their details down or store them anywhere in line with UK GDPR regulations.

Offer a care package service

Birthdays and anniversaries continue throughout the pandemic so people will still want to purchase gifts for their loved ones. Another new gifting opportunity COVID presents is the care package.

Advertise your services in this respect – the skincare gifts you offer, whether tailored to the recipient’s needs or a host of “greatest hits” suitable for all skin types – using your social media channels and your website.

Don’t forget to mention that you can gift wrap them and include a handwritten message with their present, too; these are lovely, personal touches that differentiate your offering from that of a larger business.

Offer Q&A sessions on Instagram Live

Now is the time to introduce yourself to your patients and potential patients, as an expert in your field. Instagram is the social media home of the aesthetics community, so what better place to show off your in-depth knowledge than by using its Live video facility?

Talk through a different aesthetics or dermatology topic each time you record an Instagram Live, take viewers’ questions and answer them! This helps to build your credibility as a practitioner and adds to your reputation for really knowing what you’re talking about. 

Offer viewers a special skincare pack based on the topic of your Live in order to boost sales.

You can then also work on channelling this into more patient bookings for after lockdown.

We hope these ideas for how to make your aesthetics practice work during lockdown inspire you. Do leave us a message on the Harley Academy Instagram account to let us know how you’re getting on, especially if you try any of them. Also, be sure to share any other suggestions you have for keeping your business ticking over – or flourishing! – during this trying time.