The ROI on Paid Ads, If Influencer Marketing Still Works, and Turning Leads to Loyal Patients with Mike LeMieux

Summary

Med Spa CEO Podcast: Detailed Summary

Episode Title: The ROI on Paid Ads, If Influencer Marketing Still Works, and Turning Leads to Loyal Patients with Mike LeMieux
Host: Heather Terveen
Guest: Mike LeMieux, Founder of MedSpa Media
Release Date: February 12, 2025

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Introduction

In this enlightening episode of the Med Spa CEO podcast, host Heather Terveen sits down with Mike LeMieux of MedSpa Media to delve into the intricacies of customer acquisition for med spas. They explore the evolving landscape of influencer marketing, the efficacy of paid meta ads, and innovative strategies to convert leads into loyal patients. The conversation is packed with actionable insights tailored specifically for boutique, results-driven med spa owners aiming to enhance their profitability without compromising personal well-being.

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Guest Background

Mike LeMieux brings over a decade of experience in social media marketing, particularly within the influencer marketing space. Starting his journey in 2012, Mike transitioned from a corporate role to become an expert in leveraging social media for business growth. His expertise led him to become the first employee at a startup focused on influencer campaigns, which was later acquired by Disney. In 2021, Mike shifted his focus to consulting and executing social media strategies for med spas, eventually founding MedSpa Media to specialize in this niche.

[02:39] Mike: "I've been in the social media marketing space since 2012. I taught myself influencer marketing while working a corporate job that wasn't leading me where I wanted to be."

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The Evolution of Influencer Marketing

Mike traces the transformation of influencer marketing from its nascent stages to the present day. In the early 2010s, influencer collaborations were more organic and cost-effective, often involving gifting products to influencers in exchange for posts that significantly boosted sales.

[07:09] Mike: "In 2012, I could send three bracelets to someone with 100,000 followers for free, and they would generate $1,000 or $2,000 in sales with one post. It was fantastic."

However, as the space matured, influencers became professionals demanding payments, increasing the cost and complexity of collaborations. This shift necessitated a more strategic approach, especially for med spas seeking tangible returns from their influencer partnerships.

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Effective Influencer Marketing for Med Spas

Mike emphasizes that successful influencer marketing for med spas requires fostering long-term, collaborative relationships rather than one-off engagements. He outlines critical factors med spa owners should consider:

1. Authenticity of Followers: Ensure influencers have real, engaged audiences by analyzing engagement rates and the authenticity of interactions.

   [08:26] Mike: "If they have consistent and genuine engagement, like a 2-5% like rate, they're likely to have real followers."

2. Local Relevance: For med spas, partnering with local influencers whose followers are within the same geographic area is crucial for targeting potential patients.

3. Content Quality: The influencer’s content should align with the med spa’s brand and effectively communicate the services offered.

4. Ongoing Collaboration: Building a relationship over time ensures that the influencer’s audience becomes familiar with the med spa, fostering trust and increasing the likelihood of conversions.

[11:50] Mike: "It's a campaign, if you will, more than just a one-off. People need to see something seven times or more before they buy."

Mike also advises starting with low-cost consumables to minimize financial risk while establishing influencer partnerships.

[13:28] Mike: "Start with something with low consumables. Maybe give them some samples of skincare if you can."

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Transition to Paid Meta Ads

Recognizing the limitations and increasing costs of influencer marketing, Mike transitioned focus towards paid meta ads around 2022. He highlights the importance of selecting the right offers and creatives to ensure a high return on investment (ROI).

[14:17] Mike: "What works is you have to pick the right offers that people want. The right creative means the pictures, videos, copy."

He warns against simply boosting posts, noting that it can lead to inefficient spending, especially when ads are run from certain devices like iPhones.

[14:36] Mike: "If you're boosting posts on an iPhone, you're paying even more than you would be doing it as if you were using another device."

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Strategies for Effective Meta Ads

Mike outlines actionable strategies for med spas to optimize their paid meta ad campaigns:

1. Compelling Offers: Create enticing offers that provide clear value, such as free consultations or special packages that address common desires like Botox treatments.

   [15:14] Mike: "You could say, book a free consultation, $250 value, even if it's expensive. It offers a reason to click."

2. Targeted Calls to Action (CTAs): Utilize various CTAs like phone calls, texts, surveys, or lead forms to capture potential patient information effectively.

3. Efficient Lead Management: Implement structured follow-up processes to convert leads into appointments, ensuring a seamless experience for potential patients.

[16:08] Mike: "We ask them questions like, how soon are you wanting the service? And then we say, cool, your next step is to call us right now or text us."

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Lead Management and Booking with AI

To handle the influx of leads without overwhelming med spa staff, Mike introduced AI-driven solutions. This approach ensures timely responses to inquiries, even outside regular business hours.

[23:37] Mike: "We've started implementing AI to communicate with leads after hours. It works insanely well."

The integration of AI allows automated booking links and guides potential patients through the appointment process, enhancing efficiency and scalability.

[23:55] Mike: "We send them a booking link, walk them through the steps, and they book seamlessly."

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Importance of Client Relations and Trust

Mike underscores that the cornerstone of a successful med spa lies in exceptional client relations. Building trust through personalized consultations and demonstrating genuine care can significantly impact patient retention and satisfaction.

[24:59] Mike: "The most important thing you can do is make the person in front of you feel valued and cared for. If they trust you, they're more likely to become loyal patients."

He advises med spa owners to overcome self-imposed limitations by offering flexible payment plans and tailored treatment options that align with patients' beliefs and desires.

[26:05] Mike: "If someone believes your services will work for them and trusts you, offer them financing options or a 12-month plan to make high-value treatments more accessible."

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Process for Med Spa Owners to Engage with Mike's Services

Mike outlines a streamlined process for med spa owners interested in partnering with MedSpa Media:

1. Initial Consultation: Begin with a phone call to discuss the med spa’s goals, past marketing efforts, and potential strategies.

   [27:39] Mike: "I like to get on phone calls to ensure I can help you as much as you want me to help."

2. Content Creation: Conduct a content shoot to develop high-quality creatives that resonate with the target audience.

   [28:25] Mike: "We'll come out, shoot for several hours, and think ahead for future ads to save trips."

3. Ad Setup and Launch: Quickly set up and launch paid ads within one to two weeks of signing the agreement, ensuring a fast turnaround.

   [28:03] Mike: "It takes one to two weeks when the agreement is signed for the ads to be up and running."

4. Lead Handling: Utilize a combination of AI and human oversight to manage leads efficiently, providing timely responses and booking appointments.

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The Role of Organic Social Media

While paid ads play a significant role, Mike also emphasizes the importance of organic social media in building long-term relationships with patients. Consistent, engaging content helps med spas maintain visibility and foster a trusted presence within the community.

[30:39] Mike: "You want people to follow you who are your patients, share your content because it's informative or entertaining, and engage with your stories regularly."

He advises med spa owners to balance work-related posts with personal anecdotes to humanize their brand without oversharing.

[31:16] Mike: "Post about work and personal life moments, like a new fitness goal or a family outing. It makes a difference."

Additionally, incorporating common patient questions into stories can provide educational content that resonates with the audience.

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Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Mike LeMieux provides med spa owners with a comprehensive roadmap to enhance their marketing efforts through strategic influencer partnerships and optimized paid ad campaigns. Key takeaways include:

• Strategic Influencer Partnerships: Focus on authenticity, local relevance, and long-term collaborations.
• Optimized Paid Ads: Select compelling offers, utilize effective creatives, and implement targeted CTAs.
• Efficient Lead Management: Leverage AI to handle leads promptly and streamline the booking process.
• Exceptional Client Relations: Build trust through personalized care and flexible payment options.
• Balanced Social Media Presence: Combine paid efforts with consistent organic content to maintain visibility and engagement.

For med spa owners seeking to elevate their marketing strategies and drive sustainable growth, this episode offers invaluable insights and practical advice.

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How to Connect with Mike LeMieux

Listeners interested in learning more or partnering with Mike can reach out through the following channels:

• Website: medspamediagroup.com
• Instagram: @medspawmedia

For more detailed guidance and support, visit the website and fill out the contact form to schedule a consultation.

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Disclaimer: This summary is based solely on the provided transcript and aims to encapsulate the key discussions and insights shared during the podcast episode.

Transcript

[A]

When you get out of your own way and you realize that if somebody wants something badly enough and they believe that it's going to work for them, that's the key. They have to believe it's going to work for them too. If they don't believe it's going to work for them, they're not going to buy. But when they believe and when they feel like they trust you and they're going to buy so you get out of the way, you offer them financing options if they need it, you give them a 12 month plan. So instead of being $15,000 or 10 or 5 today, it's we're gonna do this over a 6 to 12 month period and this is where it's gonna get you. Yes, those are the people who are the most successful.

[B]

Welcome to the MedSpa CEO podcast where I teach you how to grow and scale your med spa or aesthetic practice so that you can have the income and impact you know you were meant for without overwhelm, stress or feeling like you have to sacrifice your personal life and happiness to do so. It's totally possible for you and your business. Plus simpler than you think. Keep listening to find out how well. Hello my friend. Welcome to another episode of the podcast. Today you are in for a treat. I have a special interview with my new friend Mike Lemieux of medspa Media. Mike comes on and we talk about everything from not only what he's seeing that is working when it comes to customers customer acquisition in the med spa space, but everything from influencer marketing to social media and more. I think you are going to love this honest conversation and all the incredible value that Mike dives into into this episode. Enjoy. Welcome Mike.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

To the podcast. I'm super excited to have you. You are actually the inaugural in person episode for me. Over 200 episodes at this point of the MedSpa CEO. Just started with Dani and Brianne, who you know as well too. They're in the room with us and recording these in person. I think this is our fourth or fifth time doing it, but you are the first person I'm interviewing. They've all been solo episodes up until this point. I'm so pumped one to have a local person here, so it's great to.

[A]

Have you feeling the pressure.

[B]

Yeah. So anyways, it's. I'm pumped to have you here. Thank you for coming.

[A]

Thank you for having me.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Can you take a moment and just like let my listeners, my community know who you are and what you're all about? Maybe A little bit of background, how you got into doing what you're doing.

[A]

Yeah, I'll give a really long story. Pretty short. So I have been in the social media marketing space since 2012.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

I taught myself how to do influencer marketing because I was working a corporate job that just wasn't going to lead me where I wanted to be career wise for very much longer. So Instagram was 2 years old. My wife had a company that was selling jewelry. And so I thought maybe if I learn how to use these people on Instagram that are gaining followers to help us sell more product, I'll be able to leave this company that I was at and join her and be her marketing guy and live happily ever after. So the problem was that I was working about 60 hours a week. I didn't have a lot of time to do that, but I learned a ton over the next year and it led me to be the first employee of a startup that was working with influencer marketing. So in 2013 I left and joined them. And then for a little less than two years, I ran the team that was executing all the campaigns with all the influencers. And we did really, really well. We ended up selling to Disney. And in 2015 everybody moved away except for me and a couple of other people. We stayed here in Phoenix. And then two years later, after the retention period was over, they said you either have to move down here to LA or you have to figure out what's next. And so we thought about it, my wife and I, and we ended up saying, okay, I'm going to figure out what's next. So I started consulting. I started teaching people how to use social media in order to grow their business. There was no specific niche or type of business that I was helping. It was product based or service. And I really enjoyed it. And then at the beginning of 2021, I happened to have two MedSpa clients that were both local here to the Phoenix area. And I just realized that they didn't have enough time to actually implement the strategy I was teaching them about making content stories, reels, feed posts, follow ups, anything like that. So I actually went to the med spas and started executing the content for them and posting it. And then I opened up to more clients. And then at the beginning of 2022, I started to do paid meta ads because I'm like, why am I making organic content and not doing paid meta ads too? So found a good, a good partner to help me with that. And we've been, we've been doing it for just about three years now and it's going really well. So well that about six months ago I said I think we're going to pivot from mostly focusing on organic content to paid meta and the implementation of that. And I'll explain kind of what that means and how we do it in a little bit. But the organic side is still something that we offer. But I'm not actively trying to grow that because it's a logistical.

[B]

It's a beast.

[A]

It's a logistical beast. And in order to do it right and to create really great content, it's pretty cumbersome. So yeah, focusing on paid meta ads is where we're at now. And there's other evolutions coming too, which we'll tell you about later. Yeah. I haven't even told you this yet. It's really new stuff. Going to be leveraging AI a lot and I'm really excited about it. So not sure how much I'm going to tell about it yet.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But it's going to be really cool to help with implementation and growing sales for the med spas.

[B]

Oh, I love it, love it, love it.

[A]

So that's where we're at right now.

[B]

Oh my gosh. You know, I just want the listener or viewer to think about how early you were. I mean 2012, 2013, like how long you've been. You are a dinosaur. I'm kidding.

[A]

No, I love it.

[B]

But like I remember even I had an E commerce business that I launched in 2015.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. And so you were pre that and I used, you know, Instagram and Amazon and all different things to sell. I did paid and organic and never did the influencer marketing thing really well. Attempted it, but I just don't think I did enough of it really at the time. I did some of it, but nowhere near what your experience was with it. I'd be curious before we even dive in, just giving us a little bit how you've seen that landscape change in the last over decade now because it's changed so much.

[A]

Yeah. So in 2012 I could send three bracelets to someone that had 100,000 followers for free and they would post about it.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And they would generate $1,000 or $2,000 in sales with one post. It was amazing.

[B]

Teary eyed.

[A]

It was fantastic. And I literally wouldn't even pay them. They were just excited to get something.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

And then today you have to pay a lot more because there are established content creators with large followings, there's established UGC or user generated content Creators as well, that do this for a living. And so I think what I would like to say is, how does it relate to a med spa owner? Because a lot of what I've seen is 99% of MedSpa owners get really frustrated at the word influencer because they're getting hit up all the time by influencers who are like, hey, I would love to collaborate with you. Give me some free Botox and filler and I'll post about you. And then some of them are like, okay, that sounds really cool. Let's try it. And then there's no return. There's nothing, like generated from that. There's no additional customers. They talk about it. Once they generate no new followers for them, they're left very frustrated.

[B]

Yeah, I've heard the same thing from my clients.

[A]

Yeah. So the problem that and the reason why it's not working for most med spas is because they're not treating this as like a collaborative, ongoing relationship. So if you want it to work for you, in a nutshell, here's what you have to do. You have to make sure that the influencer that you or the creator. I don't like the word influencer. I know the creator. The creator that you're working with. You have to make sure that their followers are real. And here's how you do this. You look at their engagement. If the likes that they have match sort of like relatively 2 to 4 or 5% of the amount of followers that they have, that's average engagement. If they hide their likes, maybe they have low engagement.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So you gotta look at that first. If they have the same number of likes throughout almost every post, like 1018 or 1023 or 1005, they're probably buying a thousand likes. You can still do that. You can actually still buy engagement. Yes, they do. So then if you're unsure based off the likes, a second thing you can do is look at the views that their reels get. If they have 100,000 followers, but they're getting 2,000 or 3,000 or a thousand views each reel, and there's none that are like in the teens or the twenties or the fifties or there's no real variation and there's no big ones, they're probably fake followers.

[C]

Right?

[A]

So those are the two main ways. If you see that they have a variation of reels views and they appear to have good likes, and you also look at the comments, and there's not like 12 comments with six of them being the creator responding back.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And it looks like they have good engagement, then you have to say, okay, how likely is it that they have the audience that I'm trying to connect with? Because with MedSpa, you want people who are local 100%. So a hair salon, like a hairstylist, a chiropractor's office, a personal trainer in the area that has a fitness business, on and on and on about the people that would likely have the audience that you're trying to reach. Right. So you gotta look at that. And then once you go through all of that, you have to say, do I like the way that they present themselves in their stories? Are they talking to the camera? Are they explaining things that they're doing?

[B]

Connection?

[A]

Is the content going to be good when they come to you?

[C]

Right.

[A]

And then if all of that checks out, then you have to say, creator, I want to work with you as well. Probably not so robotic. That sounded like I want to work with.

[B]

We're with you, we get it.

[A]

Yeah, I am a. I. No, you just want to be like, hey, I would love to work with you as well. Here's what I'm thinking, right. For the first like three months that we do this together. I'll give you this, this, this. In return, I want you to post all of these times, say these things about your genuine experience. And then let's also do like an in person thing, meetup where we have people and we're doing like Botox and bubbly or something. And we're talking about that.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Like that's an actual relationship.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That's how you do influencer marketing.

[B]

It's a campaign, if you will, more than just a one off.

[A]

Yep. It can't be a one off because you're not gonna. We know that people need to see something seven times or more before they buy. And not everybody's gonna see every post that you make.

[C]

Right.

[B]

In fact, majority of your followers aren't.

[A]

Right. So you actually have to do a lot of posting with this creator over time in order for their audience to know like, oh, this is where they go to get their treatments. I want to go here too.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So look at it as a longer term thing.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And I mean, it's nice to get the user generated content and that sort of thing, but sounds like it's nice.

[A]

But unless you know what to do with it, it doesn't really help you.

[B]

It doesn't really do anything.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's. Yeah, I think it's an. Most people underestimate what it takes to do a certain strategy like influencer Marketing, let's say effectively. And it sounds like it's, you know, you have to, if you're gonna do it, you have to put a lot of intentional thought into each part of what you just described. Thanks for sharing all of that.

[A]

Of course. Hopefully it's helpful.

[B]

It's so helpful because I think it'll, you know, bottom line is with a lot of med spas, aesthetic practices, what have you, it's going to save them a lot of time.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they will know next time when somebody reaches out to them how they can make that relationship fruitful, if you will. Because I have so many clients who have told me stories where there just wasn't a lot of thought put into it. And they give away, you know, and like, depending on the product, it's expensive for them to just.

[A]

Like you could be giving away hundreds of dollars.

[B]

Right.

[A]

With no anticipation or with an anticipation of a return. But if you're not setting yourself up for success, like, start with something with low consumables.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Like a laser.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Something that you're literally like, for sure, nothing. And then start there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Maybe give them some samples of skincare if you get a good. If you're. If you have a good price on that and they're willing to commit to it. I mean, stuff that's going to give them really good results.

[C]

Right.

[A]

That isn't gonna cost you a ton of money for sure. And that they can say, look at this, this is crazy.

[C]

Right.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

So Fast forward to 2022. Okay. And you have ventured off into paid versus just organic. Still doing organic.

[A]

Yep. Yep.

[B]

So what have you seen over the last few years and even in the last year is really working for your clients right now when it comes to getting consistent customer. Consistent patience from their meta ads.

[A]

Yeah. Not boosting posts. If you're boosting posts, you might be wasting some money. If you're boosting posts on an iPhone, you're paying even more than you would be doing it as if you were doing it like on another device.

[B]

Really?

[A]

I didn't know that they actually charge you more. So what works is you have to pick the right offers that people want.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

You have to pick the right creative and use the right creative, meaning the pictures, videos, copy. Okay, let's go back to the first one.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The right offers.

[B]

Let's talk about this.

[A]

The service.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That you're promoting and the deal that you're giving. Some businesses may hear this and say, I don't want to discount any services. We're high End I don't ever really discount anything. There's other things that you can do with an ad in order to not discount a service but still run a successful ad, you just have to be a little bit more strategic about it. And it does limit the amount of leads and bookings that you'll probably get. Because, for example, you run an ad and you see it and you're like, oh, cool, I can go look at this Paradise Valley Med Spa. And they do Botox, laser facials, wellness hormones, weight loss, and all these things. That sounds really interesting, like what I'm looking for. It's cool because you're showing them what you can do, but there's no real hook or reason for them to click. They're not getting anything necessarily. You could say, book a free consultation, $250 value if. Or whatever you charge. That would be an expensive. That's like what a plastic surgeon would probably charge. But you could say, book a free consultation so that we can come up with a plan for you and make you have your best skin yet. But generally, what I've seen is if there's a service that they've really wanted or they've gotten somewhere else but haven't gotten in the past 612 months, like Botox or another neurotoxin, and this offer shows up in front of them, they're more likely to click, they're more likely to do it. So you can go. And there's a lot of different calls to action that you can give them about what you want them to do. They can call you, they can text you, they can fill out a survey, they can fill out a lead form which gives the person who's running the ads, or in my case, us, because we're the ones running the ads for my clients. It gives us all of their contact information. And then we ask them questions like, how soon are you wanting the service? And then we get all that information, and then we say, cool, your next step is to call us right now or text us at this number so that we can help get you booked.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah, I want to just comment on. I talk a lot about not of something I call crash discounting, which is different than what you're talking about. And I recently talked about this on an episode. I forget how many episodes back it was. But there's a difference between incentivized pricing in certain circumstances that actually doesn't discount your practice. And what I mean by this is like the really premium yoga studio down the street still has a new client or guest Customer, whatever they call it, offer that is only available to new customers. Right, right. But once I'm in, I understand that they actually have a premium membership or I'm going to buy a premium pack that is going to be different than that price point that I initially to introduce me to it. This is not the same as crash discounting. Crash discounting is my little term for, you know, using crash dieting. Like the people that come to me who have gotten in a habit, their promo calendar is literally like seven treatments a week or. Right. Like what are we discounting this month? And they do it every month. And then there is a problem because their customer base has been built around and been primed every month after they've come in when they're not new anymore to wait for a discount. That is different than deciding you're gonna have a front end offer for new folks to come in. Like the, you know, buyers are smart, shoppers are smart and like we understand, like I understand that the yoga studio, I'm not gonna get that rate again once I've decided whether or not this is the place for me. And it's the same thing. So I'm actually like, you know, there are certain times incentivized pricing makes sense and for new patient or client acquisition it absolutely makes sense to have a really compelling offer and then having obviously we like, you know, I want you to have a really good signature menu and a really good consult process and what have you to be able to really sell or you know, convert folks into other things. Right. You gotta have that too. But it's absolutely okay I think to have incentivized pricing on the front end.

[A]

Yeah, I don't ever try to make an offer that we're running. Be a loss leader. Ideally you're at least breaking even on the initial service. Break even would be even if they don't buy anything else and they don't pre book for another treatment, you still didn't lose. But the purpose of this paid meta ad and this lead and the booking is to get you another customer in front of you so that you can give them a proper consultation. You can explain to them the reason about why you're different. You can really figure out what they're trying to do and achieve with their face, with their body, 100% and that is how you, you really win them over. And they feel different when they leave. Yeah, you have a great follow up sequence, you pre book them for a new treatment, you talk all about skin care, you show them your before and afters. You make a plan while they're there, not so that they feel like they're being sold, but so that they feel like they're being taken care of. So when we're running these ads, the way that we do it is we'll pick an offer and then when the lead comes in, at first. So beginning of 2022, I would give the leads to the med spas that we were running the ads for. A lot of companies do it this way, right? And I very quickly found that it was super overwhelming to the clinics. And I just. I felt bad. I was like, this isn't a good experience for them. I need to figure out a way where I can just communicate with the leads. So at first, I was the one doing it. I was texting people, I was calling them, hey, let's get you in for this appointment, for your talks, whatever. And then it started to work. We were able to start booking the appointments. So then I hired someone to help be an appointment setter. And it's progressed into what it is today, which I'll explain. But I have found that when we are the ones communicating with and booking them, and we take that off of the plate of the clinic, it is a much better experience because they don't have to deal with the leads that aren't answering the call. They don't have to drop what they're doing and walk over and make a phone call in the back room and talk to this lead who may or may not answer. And if they have a customer that they're talking to face to face, they don't have to worry and feel torn into two places because they're just able to focus on the person who's in front of them, right? So that's what we started to do. Now what we do is we have several days worth of automated texts, emails. We do a few voicemail drops where it'll ring once and then go straight to voicemail. And then we're like, hey, this is Heather. I'm calling you from XYZ MedSpa. You saw one of our offers on social media. Click or call me back and I'll help you book. And then everybody gets at least one phone call. And I know some clinics and some people say, you need to call, call, call, call, call. Seven calls, 15 calls. Call them every day for a month. Call them every three days. I have done a lot of the testing, and I like the way that we do it. We do get some people answering on that first. We do get some people calling us back after one Call. But overwhelmingly it's the SMS that people are responding to because people, we don't like numbers we don't know 100%.

[B]

So I'm like, don't call me.

[A]

Yeah, don't call me. Just text. Just text.

[B]

I'm just kidding. I have a standing phone call with my dad every week now, but outside of that one phone call, you better be texting me.

[A]

That's good. So then a problem came into play of what about off hours? What do we do after five? What do we do before nine? So we've started implementing AI to where if somebody replies on off hours, I can communicate with them and help them get booked.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Because we are a. We have. We are now socialized to expect that immediate response. Don't you think? Like, it's changed in the last even for sure, couple years?

[A]

Yeah, it has. So we leverage AI and it works insanely well.

[B]

It's getting better and better.

[A]

Oh, it's so good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We send them a booking link, we walk them through the steps, they book, and it's so cool getting in the, you know, having the setter get there in the morning and see bookings that came through the night before when we didn't even have to talk to anybody.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So it's like a hybrid.

[A]

Yeah. There's always going to be a person there monitoring. Always. And then the AI is doing the dirty work and figuring out. So we set it up. We set it up for every client and they have a bottle. Most of my clients are set up on it. Not 100% yet, for different reasons, but it's been working super well and it's allowed me to bring my costs down, which I then reflect and carry over to my clients. We're able to scale. We're able to scale faster. It's really cool.

[C]

That's so cool.

[B]

Yeah, I love it. I'm curious, when you look at your most successful clients, tell me some things that stand out to you about them, maybe about their practice, about, like, what they're doing or how they've partnered with you in a way that just makes it so much more effective for them.

[A]

The most important thing that you can do. This is literally the most important thing. I don't think that there's anything else. It's not how good of an injector are you? It's not how good of an esthetician you are or a laser tech. It's not. It's how good are you at making the person in front of you feel there's nothing more important because if they trust you, you do have to be good at what you do. But you could be the best and suck at client relations and you will have a business that's not what it could be. If you had better client relations, you have to give a really good consult. They have to feel and know that you really care about them. You have to give them that care. They have to see the results, you have to show them the results. The thing that's missing the most is that a provider will know what this person should could get in order to look and feel their best. But they don't recommend it.

[B]

Oh, because speaking my language, Mike. I know.

[A]

Because they assume the customer's budget.

[B]

Oh, I know.

[A]

And they think that. Well, I know you want this. This is a $15,000 package that's too expensive.

[B]

You know what they say about assumptions.

[A]

Yes, I do. I do. I'm not going to say it though, so we can keep the little E off of this episode. But when you get out of your own way and you realize that if somebody wants something badly enough and they believe that it's going to work for them, that's the key. They have to believe it's gonna work for them too. If they don't believe it's gonna work for them, they're not gonna buy. But when they believe and when they feel like they trust you and they're gonna buy so you get out of the way, you offer them financing options if they need it, you give them a 12 month plan. So instead of being $15,000 or 10,000 or five today, it's we're gonna do this over a six to 12 month period and this is where it's gonna get you.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Those are the people who are the most successful.

[B]

Thank you for that. So let's say I'm a med spa owner. What is the process like? You know, give us a little bit of like details into that. I think it's intimidating for a lot of people or people have past experiences. I mean, everything from they've tried it a little, they dabbled themselves in boosting or they've hired and spent a lot of money and felt like they didn't get a return and all those things. So what's the process like? I guess with me? Yeah, you don't have to give like all the details, but give us a little bit of an idea of what it looks like.

[A]

I still like to get on phone calls.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I want to make sure that I can help you just as much as you want me to help you.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

And Once we have that exploratory call, we'll talk about the things that you're looking for, what you have maybe tried in the past that didn't work. I'll tell you about my solutions and why I think they would be a good idea. If I do and I don't work with everyone that I talk to.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

I actually will say if I don't think that I can help you. And then once we talk about all of that, we discuss pricing, we discuss timeline, and generally it takes one to two weeks when the agreement is signed for the ads to be up and running, which is very fast.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But we'll come out and we'll do a little content shoot because the creative, like I was saying, is one of the most important things, along with the offer.

[B]

Oh, cute.

[A]

Yeah, we make it.

[B]

Oh, my goodness.

[A]

So either me or someone on my team will go out to you, even.

[B]

If they're not local.

[A]

I have somebody going out to D.C. in a week and a half.

[B]

So you find somebody in the area?

[A]

No, I fly them out. I've tried. I've tried. And there's nothing wrong with the people who I've worked with. And if you have worked with me, you're great. It takes.

[B]

This doesn't.

[A]

It takes a really. Yes, it takes. It takes a really long time to get up to the standard that I have. It does. And it has to be as good as I know that it needs to be in order to stop people. Scroll.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So we'll come out there, shoot for two, three, four hours, however many hours we need in order to get all the content that we want to shoot, and we'll think ahead. Maybe in six months, we're going to run this ad. Okay, let's shoot that now so that we don't have to make another trip. And then we come back, we edit it, we set up all the backend stuff, and we're ready. It's fast.

[B]

Yeah, that is fast. Total side question that just came up for me is our conversation up to this point won't do justice to how knowledgeable you are about organic social media, too?

[A]

Sure.

[B]

But I'd be curious, how much does it matter?

[A]

Remember how you said before we started that some people before they work with you, will listen for several years to.

[B]

The podcast, to your podcast.

[A]

It's the same type of funnel. It's just different. I've asked my clients, how do you feel like your organic social works? Because you can't measure it. The only way to do it is by asking every single patient that comes in. Do you follow our Instagram? Do you follow our Facebook, TikTok, whatever. And then like tallying it and then figuring out the percentage. But that's annoying. So I just ask them. I'm like, hey, do you feel like the people who are coming in, who, especially your big spenders, do you feel like they're following you on your Instagram and stuff and like engaging in your stories and they're all always, yeah, 100%. Yeah, they are. It's because when you follow what somebody's posting and you see what they're doing on a day to day basis, the walls are lowered without you even having to do anything.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're doing it at scale.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So you want people to follow you, who are your patients, you want them to share the content that you're making because it's funny or insightful or educational with people that are local, who could be their patient. Your patient too. But yeah, it's, it's super, super important.

[B]

Yeah. Oh my gosh. I think when you look at ROI like a return on ad spend, even, it's got to contribute in a not as easy to track way, if you will. But I imagine your clients who aren't doing it as well, like it impacts their return on ad spend in some way.

[A]

It does.

[B]

The long term, wise, absolutely.

[A]

And if you're one of the people out there who gets frustrated about what to post to make it as easy as possible, think about two things. What you can post about for work and what you can post about your personal life. You don't need to post about your kids. I don't post my daughter's face and won't. You don't need to post about everything. You don't need to show up and cry and be super vulnerable and open and honest. You don't have to do any of that stuff. But you can say something that you went and did and tried that was fun.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You can say a new fitness goal that you achieved. You can say that you went on a hike. You can say you went to dinner with a friend or had a family time. And that's two pictures.

[C]

Right.

[A]

It makes a difference. And then for work, at the end of the day when you're doing your charting, because we know everybody does charting every day and no one ever gets behind. Never, never go through and say what were some of the more commonly asked questions or things that people talked about with me that they're dealing with and discuss that in a story and make 60 seconds worth of footage and you're done.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's literally that easy.

[B]

Super, super easy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, I love that. Well, Mike, thank you for coming on.

[A]

Yeah, thank you.

[B]

This conversation's been so fun for the listeners right now. Where could they go to learn, like shout out, where they can kind of learn more about you, how to reach out to you and all those things right now. We'll put them in the show notes obviously as well too.

[A]

But yeah, if you want to reach out to me, Medspa mediagroup.com is my website. There's a form that you can fill out and then we can get on a call or chat. My Instagram is medspawmedia.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And you can DM me or follow along and we can chat there.

[B]

Love it. Thanks, Michael.

[A]

And my phone number is. I'm just kidding. I'm not doing it.

[B]

He loves sms so you can text him.

[A]

If we get on a call, you will have my phone number, but I'm not doing it right now.

[B]

Thanks, Mike.

[A]

Thanks for having me.

[B]

Hey, if you're enjoying this podcast and you're a boutique, results driven med spa owner who is looking to drive more sales profitably each month without hustling yourself into the ground to do so, then you should consider applying to join us inside of the Med Spa Advantage. It's the only program designed to help you grow your revenue and profits while gaining back more time so that you don't feel scattered and drained while running and growing your business each month. To learn more about whether or not you're a fit for joining us, you can head over to heatherterveen.com apply to. Apply to get on a call with us to learn more. That's heatherturveen.com apply to learn more.