Med Spa CEO Podcast Summary
Title: The Event Strategy to BOOST Revenue without Giving Away Tons of Discounts (or Losing Your Sanity)
Host: Heather Terveen
Release Date: April 23, 2025
Introduction
In the episode titled "The Event Strategy to BOOST Revenue without Giving Away Tons of Discounts (or Losing Your Sanity)," Heather Terveen delves into a transformative approach to in-person events for med spa and aesthetic practice owners. Heather challenges traditional event models, presenting a strategic framework designed to enhance profitability, reduce reliance on discounts, and maintain the sanity of practice owners.
Traditional In-Person Events: The Status Quo
Heather begins by outlining the conventional approaches to in-person events within the med spa industry:
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Annual Large-Scale Events:
These events are typically grand celebrations such as holiday parties or anniversary milestones. They often involve extensive discounts, numerous specials, and attract a broad audience, including personal acquaintances of the business owner. -
Product or Technology Launches:
Events centered around introducing new devices or technologies, usually supported by manufacturers aiming to generate buzz and visibility.
Heather's Observation:
"Historically in our industry, in-person events haven’t been hyper-focused on any sort of topic. They’re just kind of celebratory in nature." (02:30)
While these traditional events can be financially successful, Heather points out their limitations:
- Sustainability: They are often exhausting and difficult to replicate more than once or twice a year without significant team support.
- Discount Dependence: Frequent reliance on discounts can condition clients to wait for the next big sale, undermining regular sales efforts.
Introducing the Strategic Quarterly Event Model
Heather introduces an alternative: the Strategic Quarterly Event Model. Unlike traditional events, this model emphasizes:
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Focus and Specificity:
Events are centered around a specific theme or solution tailored to a distinct patient avatar. For example, a "Summer Body Sculpting" event targets clients interested in body contouring and weight loss. -
Boutique Style:
These events are smaller, more intimate, and designed to be held quarterly, making them manageable and sustainable.
Key Advantages:
- Higher Profitability: By focusing on specific services, practices can generate more revenue with fewer, high-value offers.
- Enhanced Expertise Positioning: Team members can showcase their expertise on focused topics, establishing the practice as an authority in specialized areas.
Heather's Insight:
"These events are highly focused, boutique style, are smaller, more profitable, and they are very much more high value, problem or solution driven." (07:15)
Implementation Using the SPA Framework
Heather presents the SPA Framework to effectively implement the Strategic Quarterly Event Model:
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Solution (S):
Choose a specific, high-value solution that addresses a particular problem for a defined patient avatar.Example: A "Clear Skin Event" targeting clients struggling with acne.
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Positioning (P):
Brand the event with premium positioning. Position it as a specialized, high-end experience rather than a discount-driven affair.Heather explains:
"Think of it like when you are choosing a restaurant that is like a Michelin star restaurant as opposed to going to like the Cheesecake Factory." (18:45) -
Activate (A):
Engineer the event to present two to three specific offers that encourage attendees to take action, preferably through value-added propositions rather than discounts.Example: Offering a bonus product with each package purchase instead of discounting the service.
Heather's Recommendation:
"Use the SPA framework to ensure your events are solution-driven, premiumly positioned, and effectively activate attendees to take meaningful action." (21:10)
Client Success Story: Transforming Event Strategy
Heather shares a compelling case study of a client who transitioned from traditional large-scale events to the Strategic Quarterly Event Model:
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Previous Approach:
An annual holiday event with 11-12 different specials, attracting a large but less targeted audience. -
New Strategy:
A summer event focused on contour and lifting with only two to three specialized offers.
Results:
Despite having a smaller RSVP list, the client nearly tripled revenue compared to the previous holiday event by focusing on high-value, specific offers.
Heather highlights:
"She had way less offers, okay. And she had less people at the event, but she did almost triple the revenue as her holiday event with less offers." (13:50)
Benefits of the Strategic Quarterly Event Model
Adopting this strategic approach offers numerous benefits:
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Sustainability:
Managing smaller, quarterly events is less exhausting and more sustainable over time compared to annual large-scale events. -
Client Engagement:
Events tailored to specific interests or problems resonate more deeply with attendees, leading to higher conversion rates. -
Authority Building:
Focused events allow practitioners to position themselves as experts in particular areas, enhancing the practice's reputation and trustworthiness. -
Premium Positioning:
By avoiding excessive discounts and focusing on value-added offers, practices can maintain a premium brand image.
Heather's Comparison:
"Think of it like choosing a Michelin star restaurant. It doesn’t need as many people, and it helps you build a premium positioning." (18:30)
Conclusion and Call to Action
Heather concludes by encouraging med spa owners to adopt the Strategic Quarterly Event Model to increase profitability, attract ideal clients, and establish themselves as industry authorities. She emphasizes the importance of being hyper-focused and structured in event planning to achieve sustainable growth without the burnout associated with traditional event models.
Final Takeaway:
"Consider taking a strategic quarterly approach to your in-person events so that you can position yourselves more premiumly, attract the dreamy patients and clients you want, and ultimately become more profitable in the process." (25:00)
Heather also invites listeners to join the MedSpa Advantage program, designed to help med spa owners grow revenue and profits while reclaiming time and reducing stress. She provides a call to action for those interested to apply via her website.
Notable Quotes with Timestamps
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On Human-Centric Marketing:
"You're building everything with a certain type of human in mind." (03:45) -
On Event Sustainability:
"Traditional large-scale events are exhausting and not sustainable more than once or twice a year." (05:10) -
On Premium Positioning:
"Shift to a quarterly event model helps you be able to actually get even more visibility and exposure for the certain types of things that you want to become known for." (19:20) -
On Value-Added Offers:
"I prefer a value add as opposed to a discount." (22:30)
By adopting Heather Terveen's Strategic Quarterly Event Model, med spa and aesthetic practice owners can revolutionize their approach to in-person events, driving higher revenues and fostering sustainable growth while maintaining a balanced personal life.
