Summary4 min read

Med Spa Success Strategies

Host: Ricky Shockley
Episode: Wednesday Thoughts: You're Being Lied to About Discount Ads for Med Spas
Date: March 25, 2026

Episode Overview

In this “Wednesday Thoughts” episode, Ricky Shockley addresses a common myth in med spa marketing: that discount-based ads only attract “bargain hunters.” Challenging recent claims from other marketing agencies, Ricky provides data-driven perspective, discussing the real pros and cons of discount promotions, their impact on patient acquisition and retention, and why the narrative that these campaigns only draw low-quality clients is both misleading and incomplete.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Discount Ad "Myth" ([00:00]–[01:30])

Misleading Industry Messages:
Ricky describes an ad from another agency warning med spa owners that discount-based ads are a bad idea because they supposedly only attract bargain hunters. He finds this narrative disingenuous and oversimplified.

"You're being told that these discount based ads only attract bargain hunters. You're being lied to. Let me explain."
— Ricky Shockley [00:00]
Emotional Resonance:
Ricky notes that this messaging is particularly seductive because it aligns with what owners want to believe—that there’s a shortcut to premium, high-retention clients.

2. Trade-Offs of Discount Strategies ([01:30]–[05:15])

Basic Market Mechanics:
Discount-based offers lower the cost to acquire a customer and increase the number of “at bats” (patient visits).

"With discount based strategies, the advantage you have is you dramatically lower your cost to acquire a customer and you spike your at bats."
— Ricky Shockley [01:50]
False Absolutes:
The idea that these strategies “only” attract bargain shoppers is inaccurate. Discount-based ads bring in a wide range of customers—not only deal-seekers.
Retention Reality:
The retention rate for discount-driven new patients is lower than patients who come in from reputation or word of mouth. However, because the overall volume is higher, the absolute number of retained patients is often greater.

“With discount based ads you are going to sift through some dirt to find the gold.”
— Ricky Shockley [03:45]
Data-Backed Insights:
Typical client retention rates for discount offers range from 33%–50%.

“If I can have 40 to 50% of those patients return, but I'm seeing triple the amount of patients because the offer is so good, I have a much larger number of patients back in my retention pool … than if I tried to win upfront on reputation alone.”
— Ricky Shockley [04:15]

3. Why Discount Ads STILL Matter ([05:15]–[07:45])

Perception Through Experience:
Ricky mentions The Advertising Effect, emphasizing that getting clients in the door is the first step to becoming their “favorite” med spa.

“Action changes attitude faster than attitude changes action, meaning the best way to shape perception is through interaction and engagement.”
— Ricky Shockley, quoting The Advertising Effect [06:10]

He argues this principle: People only have favorites after a real experience. Getting more people to try your services—regardless of their initial motivation—is a critical first step.
The Real Numbers:
Even at a 40–50% retention rate, with increased volume, the net gain of recurring patients outpaces slower, reputation-only growth strategies.

4. Frustration With Industry Narratives ([07:45]–[09:00])

Incomplete Analyses:
Ricky expresses frustration that some agencies present a one-sided view, which owners are eager to accept but which omits real-world trade-offs and data.

“It drives me nuts when I see agencies talk like this. It's not true. I understand it's what you want to hear and just drives me crazy.”
— Ricky Shockley [08:30]
Balancing Strategy and Reality:
Ricky reiterates there is no perfect approach: "you're picking your pain.” Each strategy has pros and cons, and leaders need to weigh these trade-offs for their practice.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"You're being told that these discount based ads only attract bargain hunters. You're being lied to. Let me explain."
— Ricky Shockley [00:00]
“With discount based ads you are going to sift through some dirt to find the gold.”
— Ricky Shockley [03:45]
“If I can have 40 to 50% of those patients return, but I'm seeing triple the amount of patients because the offer is so good, I have a much larger number of patients back in my retention pool … than if I tried to win upfront on reputation alone.”
— Ricky Shockley [04:15]
“Action changes attitude faster than attitude changes action, meaning the best way to shape perception is through interaction and engagement.”
— Ricky Shockley [06:10; quoting The Advertising Effect]
“It drives me nuts when I see agencies talk like this. It's not true. I understand it's what you want to hear and just drives me crazy.”
— Ricky Shockley [08:30]

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:00–01:30: Calling out the myth of discount ads only attracting bargain hunters.
01:30–05:15: The real trade-offs and why volume matters more than percentage retention.
05:15–07:45: Shaping perception through experience and real patient acquisition math.
07:45–09:00: Frustrations with industry “conventional wisdom” and the importance of nuanced strategy.

Conclusion

Ricky Shockley’s core message is clear: Med spa owners shouldn’t be swayed by reductive industry messaging about discount-based ads. While not without drawbacks, these ads can significantly increase patient volume, and, with proper retention strategies, ultimately yield more recurring clients than conventional, reputation-only approaches. The real marketing win comes from understanding and managing these trade-offs, not from chasing one-size-fits-all answers.

Note: The episode then transitions into a promotional segment for Ricky's digital marketing strategy calls, not summarized here per guidelines.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
Med spa owners. You're being told that these discount based ads only attract bargain hunters. You're being lied to. Let me explain. Let's talk about this ad on my screen for those of you watching. For those of you listening, I'll explain this ad because I'm sure you've seen ads like this. So this is sort of an inception moment because I'm, I have a screenshot of, of a marketing agency who's sharing a screenshot of an ad, one of which is one of our clients. So I take direct issue with this. But I want to explain why this is such a point of frustration for me. So there this agency is running this ad to med spa owners like you, I assume that are listening to this and they screenshotted a bunch of discount based promotions meant to acquire new clients and they have a basically a whole pitch telling you that this strategy only attracts bargain hunters and why this is a bad idea. And this is a major point of frustration for me because I understand that this is the exact thing that's going to resonate with you listening. If you hear a marketing agency, a consultant, a provider say don't do this thing, I've got a strategy that can allow you to attract better patients that spend more money. Of course that sounds good, like why would it not? But this is illiterate of the facts and the trade offs that we've talked about so often on this podcast. The reason that discount based offers can work, and I'm not saying it's always the right strategy for every practice or that there are not downside risks, there's a pro and a con to each option that you choose. With marketing or anything else, you're picking your pain. And with discount based strategies, the advantage you have is you dramatically lower your cost to acquire a customer and you spike your at bats. So let's talk about the trailing data. But that basic point is true on its on its face, right surface level, if you run a more attractive offer, you will lower your customer acquisition cost and you will see more patients. Just basic market mechanics there at play. So when you've got a really good promotion, what's going to happen? You're going to see more patients. Are these patients quote only bargain hunters? No, they are not. And to talk in absolute terms that these strategies only attract bargain hunters is either intentionally disingenuous or illiterate of reality. Because the truth is that these give you more at bats. And yes, there is on average relative, percentage wise going to be fewer of these patients that are retained versus a patient that comes in from a reputation based ad or a word of mouth referral. Right. So if somebody comes in because they just saw your good Google reviews, for example, that client is coming in based on no sort of price promotion offer. So naturally if the reason they came in as reputation, as long as you serve them well, they're going to maintain retain at a really high rate. With discount based ads you are going to sift through some dirt to find the gold. So typically with our clients we see 33 to 50% retention rates from the types of strategies that you see on the screen here. So one of these is an aggressive promotion for new patients for disport. If I can have 40 to 50% of those patients return, but I'm seeing triple the amount of patients because the offer is so good, I have a much larger number of patients back in my retention pool coming back for recurring service than if I tried to win upfront on reputation alone. This is just a basic reality of the trade off. So it really frustrates me when I see ads like this because I know this is the stuff that resonates with you med spa owners and, and it's a very incomplete and disingenuous analysis of the real trade offs. So these ads do not only attract bargain shoppers, what they're attempting to do is they're attempting to create perception through experience. There's a book that I love called the Advertising Effect and the quote that I use from that book all the time is that action changes attitude faster than attitude changes action, meaning the best way to shape perception is through interaction and engagement. If I were to ask you your favorite restaurant, some of you have heard me say this before. You inevitably going to name a restaurant that you've actually eaten at, right? You don't have a favorite restaurant you've never been to. So if we want to be someone's favorite preferred med spa, the best way to create that perception is through the interaction. So these types of offers give us the at bats and give us the opportunity to prove our value. Yes, there will be people that are just coming in for the deal that will not retain. And typically in our data we see that that's going to be 40, 50, 60%, sometimes more. So half or more of these people are coming in for a good deal and they're not going to become recurring patients. But if you can see triple the amount of patients with this strategy because the offer is good, even if you're only retaining 40 to 50% of them, you still have more patience at the bottom of the funnel in your retention pool. So it drives me nuts when I see agencies talk like this. It's not true. I understand it's what you want to hear and just drives me crazy. So this is my PSA for today and our Wednesday thoughts. Hope you have a good rest of the week. Feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts or additional questions. Hey practice owners and marketing directors interrupting this episode to invite you to schedule a one on one strategy call with me to discuss how we might be able to improve and level up your digital marketing efforts. So we're rated five stars on Google, we're HIPAA verified by Compliancy Group and we have a track record of taking clients from $30,000 a month to $120,000 a month and adding multi millions of dollars to in additional revenue for some of our bigger multi location med spas from more effective marketing strategies. So on the free strategy call, it's really educational. I basically spend an hour going through detailed reviews of all of our best performing plays that we run for our clients. You have it to take and run with it if that's what you want to do and if you think it might be a fit to work together, then we're excited about the possibility to partner with you. But if you're interested in better, more effective digital marketing solutions for your MedSpa, visit MedSpaMagicMarketing.com that's MedSpaMagicMarketing.Com to schedule your one on one strategy call with me.