Shorr Solutions: The Podcast – Ep. 156 – The Marketing Foundations Every Aesthetic Practice Needs

Timestamp: 0:31 – 2:13

Many aesthetic practices feel like they are constantly working on marketing but still struggle to see consistent growth. Between social media, websites, patient communication, and day-to-day responsibilities, it is easy to stay busy without knowing whether those efforts are actually contributing to more consultations, stronger patient relationships, and long-term practice growth.

In this section, Paige Hamilton and Ana Suarez explain why marketing challenges are often not caused by a lack of effort. Instead, they are frequently the result of missing systems, unclear strategy, and weak foundational elements. Before investing in advanced campaigns or additional marketing tactics, practices should first evaluate whether the core pieces of their marketing are positioned to support growth.

Transcript

Paige Hamilton:
Hi everyone! Welcome back to another episode of Shorr Solutions: The Podcast. My name is Paige Hamilton. I’m the marketing and advertising manager here at Shorr Solutions. And today we have a good episode for all of you practice owners, practice administrators out there who are dealing with your marketing and maybe having a little bit of complications with your marketing struggling just a little bit. And today I’m joined by Ana Suarez, who is one of our partners here at Shorr Solutions and our Director of Client development. So welcome, Ana.

Ana Suarez:
Thank you. I’m happy to be here today.

Paige Hamilton:
Yes. And both of us are very heavily involved in the marketing, both internally for Shorr Solutions and very heavily involved in our client side as well. We see all of the things that our clients have been struggling with. So we wanted to give you a little bit of hope if you’re running your marketing internally because maybe you’re just starting out, maybe you’re not in a position to hire a marketing agency just yet. We know that marketing can feel very overwhelming when you’re doing it yourself. Maybe sometimes you feel like it can be inconsistent or harder than it should be. So just trying to make sure you’re staying up to date with everything, staying in touch with patients and then trying to turn that all into growth. And so we want to focus on the foundation of things first, because without the right foundation in place, that’s where you’re kind of going to start to feel stuck. So it’s not that you’re not doing enough. Maybe you’re just not doing the core pieces to help guide you in the right direction. And a big part of that is your website. So we want to start there, because that’s the first thing everyone’s going to try and find when they search you.

Ana Suarez:
Yes. Paige and I completely agree with that. It’s not a marketing problem per se, but more more like a structure and strategy problem. So when there’s structure and things have organization and there’s a reason for which we’re doing them, and there’s also a strategy behind it, then it makes it makes more sense and everything is well thought through and kind of put in place.

Timestamp: 2:13 – 7:50

For many prospective patients, your website is their first impression of your practice. Long before they call, schedule a consultation, or walk through your doors, they are evaluating whether your practice feels trustworthy, professional, and capable of helping them achieve their goals. Unfortunately, many websites function more like static brochures than active tools designed to convert visitors into patients.

In this section, Paige and Ana discuss the role your website plays in the patient journey and some of the most common mistakes practices make. From difficult navigation and unclear messaging to hard-to-find contact information, even small issues can create friction that causes prospective patients to leave and continue their search elsewhere. They also share practical ways practices can improve their websites without needing a large marketing budget or a dedicated website team.

Transcript

Ana Suarez:
Yes. Paige and I completely agree with that. It’s not a marketing problem per se, but more more like a structure and strategy problem. So when there’s structure and things have organization and there’s a reason for which we’re doing them, and there’s also a strategy behind it, then it makes it makes more sense and everything is well thought through and kind of put in place. And when it comes to the website, many times we see that the practice owner or maybe the management team, they think that the website is more like a static brochure instead of a conversion tool, and that’s not necessarily the case. People want to know, you know, why should I go to this practice? What sets you apart from the competition? What are people like? You know, how am I going to be treated when I go to this specific practice? What type of services do you offer? Is this something that I’m looking for? And you can help me with that. And so these are things that most of the time they find it on the website by going to your website. It’s a very I would say like passive way of like learning about the provider, the practice. And it is a huge opportunity where when you have an organized website that the language that is used is like that the general public can understand instead of having tons of medical terms or even having them, but not really explaining what those are. It is an opportunity where the patients are going to be learning. Oh, okay, this is what this provider does. This is what the services that they that they provide. And this is exactly what I’m looking for or maybe not something else that we see is like like I was mentioning a lot of content that it could just be overwhelming. And then people get kind of like lost as it going through the website, there’s not a clear path of, okay, here’s information. What do I do next? Who do I call? I’m also call to actions. The other day we were working on a competitive analysis, and I remember we had to go to some of the provider websites, see what they look like, if they have been updated, and it was super hard to find a simple phone number to just call the practice. And so this is something that we have to keep in mind. Take a look at your website and see if you have a very easy way of finding the web, the phone number, or like a super easy way to like fill out the contact form. Because if that’s not the case, you’re missing a lot of opportunity right then and there. Because what happens.

Paige Hamilton:
They aren’t invested yet, they’re not going to search your website for 20 minutes finding your CTA. They’re not invested. They’ll go to another website that has front and center.

Ana Suarez:
That’s just what I was going to say too, because then people are going to be like, okay, I can find the contact information. I don’t have time for these. Let me just go and check out someone else’s website, or maybe someone call them, you know, as they were like going through the website or, you know, some like a message came through and they’re like, okay, I’ll do this later. And then they just leave and then they may not come back to it. So you want to make sure that the content on the website is listed with like common terms, that just like the general people, general audience, when they go to it, they can understand what it is that you do, the services that you offer. It’s really easy for them to pick up the phone and call the practice, or just click on a link and fill out the information that is needed so that someone can contact them. Or if you even have like a little chat, like now with AI, you could just have an agent, an AI agent, just kind of like answering the basic, most common questions that patients may have and just make that whole experience really easy for them to find information and to take action.

Paige Hamilton:
I would say to, if you’re doing this yourself and maybe you don’t have your website company behind you, or a big website company behind you, who’s going to do all of this design for you. You can still look at your website and compare it to other websites, whether it’s other medical practices, whether it’s fashion brands you really like, car brands you really like, websites you visit frequently, whatever website that you like or brand that you like, go to their website, visit it. Really analyze what works, what doesn’t. Why do you like this brand so much? How are they conveying themselves? And then try and replicate that on your own website? Usually the back end is very drag and drop friendly. It’s very easy to kind of go in and edit things yourself, make sure you have pretty pictures, don’t use something that’s outdated. You know, people are wearing current clothing. They’re not in something that looks dated because then that will also give the impression like, oh, they haven’t updated their website in ten years. So just there’s small things like that. If you are doing it yourself that you can make those improvements that Ana was talking about in an easy way that will just elevate your site, make sure it matches your branding. You know, people will go to a website, and if they just see a white webpage with text, they’re going to think, oh, maybe this isn’t like a reputable brand. This isn’t a reputable business that I want to go to. So just having different design elements using the drag and drop, maybe using a pre-built template, are little things that you can do to improve your website if you are doing this yourself.

Timestamp: 11:35 – 17:06

Many practices invest significant time and effort attracting patients through websites, advertising, and social media, but overlook one of the most valuable marketing opportunities they already have: the patients sitting in their office. Once someone has scheduled an appointment and walked through your doors, they are actively engaged with your practice and more likely to be receptive to information about additional services and treatments.

In this section, Paige and Ana discuss how brochures, signage, treatment room materials, digital displays, and team education can help practices create a better patient experience while increasing awareness of their full range of services. They also explain why customized, practice-branded materials are far more effective than generic vendor collateral and how staff members can become an important part of the patient education process.

Transcript

Ana Suarez:
Yes. And that’s another one that is is a big one, right? It’s a big missed opportunity because once you have the patient right, once you have the patient walking and have interactions with the team, the provider, there’s a lot of opportunities to communicate what it is that you’re offering. Right. They won’t be asking about services that they don’t even know that you’re offering. So assuming that patients know every single thing that you’re able and capable of doing is is a mistake. And so one of the ways of providing information, there’s multiple ways. But for example, the first one would be with brochures or marketing collateral. So having some signage promoting the services that you offer, we were just working with one of our clients, and she’s just getting ready to introduce a new service within her existing practice in. We were just talking about that. Do you have signage? Do you have some type of maybe like some type of sign for the room where you’re going to be doing those specific services or at the front desk? Is there some type of brochure about the specific service that you want to be introducing, or just in general? Right. Like a brochure about the the provider, his or her credentials, also some personal information in there so that they get a feel for what that provided may be like. Then always having the information about the procedures, or if you got a new equipment that now with that new technology, you’re able to do new procedures. That’s that’s just very helpful because by having those marketing materials, the patient is able to see it and to read it. Also putting this information in the the treatment rooms, because sometimes I started waiting to see the providers. They have free time. They’re looking around. And that’s just a great opportunity to have them read about the services that you offer, you know, and how that’s going to benefit them.

Paige Hamilton:
And make sure to that you’re using branded unique to your practice and your business. All of these marketing materials that they’re yours, that they’re not the generic ones that you’re going to get from the reps that have come in. You know, you don’t want the generic vendor information, although it’s easy, it’s done. They hand it to you and they say, here, put it on your counter. That’s not what you want to do, because it’s still good information for your patients to have. But it’s so much better, and it’s such a better experience for them to be able to see, hey, this is this is my doctor on the front of the brochure that you have or something along those lines, because it makes them feel that you’re actually established. You have a good brand, you know, it puts a different mindset, it gives them a different feeling, and it’s a little bit more memorable. It lets them take that home. It’s going to have your logo on the front, rather than them taking home a flyer with a vendor name on it, because that’s not important. That’s not going to make you money because they’re going to forget where they got it from, potentially. So you want to make sure it has your branding, your colors, your logo, your verbiage, and maybe a picture of yourself on it as well just to take it to that next level.

Ana Suarez:
Yes, that’s that’s a great point. Always customizing things to your to your practice, to your services, to your providers. Because everyone is different and everyone has different skill sets and experience. Another missed opportunity as well in the marketing for the practices. It would be your team. Just kind of like training them to be able to, you know, they don’t have to be an expert in every single procedure, but they do have to have a general idea. First of all, they have to know about all of the procedures that you are offering to the patients so that they can help and educate the patients about it. Right. And then just for them to have a general idea of what those procedures are, right. That by itself is a huge help. Kind of like remembering that patients will have questions. They need help. That’s what you’re going to your practice. That’s what they’re looking for an expert to meet with them, to talk with them. But even before they meet with the provider, they can still get some of the information from the staff. And so maybe they have in some scripts or maybe some guides that just have the procedures listed, and it explains what they are and how they could help patients. That by itself is super helpful. And it’s another great missed opportunity that, you know, that we have to consider as well. And then going back to some of the marketing collateral, even just having like digital screens with again, like some patient testimonials, some before and afters, that just helps and builds to the entire experience in makes the patient feel more at ease for them to just like trust the practice they provided the provider even more. And this are just simple things that you can just do, just kind of like, you know, nowadays with so many things, you could use AI to create some of these, some of these slides, and then of course you’ll review them and adjust them as needed. But it’s not as time consuming as what it used to be before. And it just it just sets the tone. And, you know, those first interactions with, with the with the practice, with the provider.

Timestamp: 17:06 – 23:00

Your website may introduce patients to your practice, but social media often determines whether they continue engaging with your brand. It gives prospective patients an opportunity to see your work, learn about your expertise, and get a sense of what it would be like to become a patient. More importantly, it helps build familiarity and trust long before someone schedules a consultation.

In this section, Paige and Ana discuss the importance of consistency, authentic content, and showcasing both the provider and the results. They explain why practices should focus on strong before-and-after photography, patient testimonials, educational content, and videos that highlight personality and expertise. Rather than striving for perfection, practices should focus on showing up consistently and providing valuable information that helps patients make informed decisions.

Transcript

Paige Hamilton:
Definitely. And I think this kind of is a good segue as well, because there’s many different journeys that people have finding your practice and then coming into your practice. So we’ve talked about your website, which is essentially probably the first place you’re going to find you then once they’re in your office. But then what about when they’re home? So whether they’ve come to your office, they’ve seen your website in the in-office signage, but now their home or maybe their home and they haven’t come in yet. So the next thing we want to talk about is social media. And Ana touched on having a gallery on your website. Social media is essentially a giant gallery. So you want to not only have your before and after pictures on social media, but you also want to make sure that you, the doctor, are on social media as well. Show your face. Show your personality. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy. It can be a video of you sitting down talking about your favorite procedure, maybe your featured procedure, maybe it’s a tour of the office. Maybe it’s a fun trend that’s going around. You know, I’ve seen a lot of blindfolded plastic surgeons. Oh, guess what the breast implant is. What CC is it? What type is it? So just fun videos like that where it shows your knowledge that you have. But it’s not a very hard video to create, but it’s going to show people your personality and that you do have that expertise. So that is a great option as well. Making sure that you’re utilizing your social media. You’re creating videos. Videos perform better usually on social media because, you know, people get hooked. And that’s a key as well as if you’re filming. Make sure you have a very strong hook. Do you have people to keep watching and then make sure other things that you can do as well is especially if you’re doing your social media yourself. The key foundations that you need to have are a good bio, consistency, and then a call to action on your post and in your bio. So you want to make sure you have a link to your website, your strong website, as we’ve already mentioned, and it should take them to like a booking page as well. So you always want to have in your captions, call us, schedule a consult, read our other testimonials. You want to encourage them to take action. If they’re looking at your posts, you don’t want them to just swipe and forget. So that is something that’s key. Also, making sure, like I said, you’re consistent with it so many times I think we get hung up on trying to be perfect. Oh, I don’t want to film this video. My hair isn’t laying the right way today. Well, otherwise your other option is okay. Well, you’re not going to film. You’re not going to post. People aren’t going to see you. So maybe film five videos when you’re having a really good hair day or you know, you’re not very busy, or something along those lines just so that you have a bank of videos to post so you can maintain that consistency. That’s another great thing that we like to tell our clients is, I may give you ten videos that you need to film, but that doesn’t mean you have to film them on ten different days.

Ana Suarez:
Yes, and those are all really great points as well, because that consistency creates that relationship, creates that trust. And even if they haven’t come in yet, they haven’t seen you, you know, they haven’t seen the provider or they haven’t been inside the office. They’re already creating an image, a perception in their mind of what that experience will be like. It’s a different social media and the website. Those are one of the first things that help to create that initial perception impression about the provider, the practice, the team. And it’s really important. Even like what Paige mentioned, it doesn’t have to be perfect. I mean, I know we all want to put our best foot forward, but at the end of the day, we’re all humans and it’s most it’s more important to get things done and to have that consistency than for it to be perfect. Right? Don’t let perfect get in the way of something good. The main thing that I would say is that keeping in mind that potential patients, one of the top things that they always look at when they go to evaluate the providers, the medical practices that they may go and see are definitely the patient testimonials, because they want to know what type of experience they had with you. And then also they want to see proof. They want to take a look at the the photos or videos and just see the before and afters, right. So that if you’re going to spend a lot of time on something, make sure that you’re spending time on, you know, when you’re doing those before and afters. Maybe you have the same consistent background that you that that’s the one that you use every time that you’re taking the photos, make sure that you have good lighting. There’s like really good angles so that people can see the before of that. You know, before we even had the procedure completed and then the after. And make sure that it’s properly label. We see many times on the website and even on social media as well, where they don’t put the before and the after. You don’t want to leave people guessing, just be straight to the point. Put the name of the procedure because again, they’re not the experts. They they look at themselves, they feel that they need help. Then maybe they need some assistance with their lips or their eyelids, whatever it may be. But they they don’t really know. And then when they go to your website, when they go to the social media, they want to get that education. They want to find out what it would be like to to go to your practice, to be your patient.

Timestamp: 23:00 – 29:19

Even when a practice has a strong website, engaging social media presence, and excellent patient experience, conversions do not always happen immediately. Most patients need multiple interactions with a practice before they feel comfortable scheduling a consultation or moving forward with treatment. Building trust takes time, especially when patients are making significant financial and personal decisions about their appearance.

In this section, Paige and Ana discuss the importance of creating multiple touchpoints throughout the patient journey. From email marketing and text message communication to consultation follow-up and patient retention strategies, they explain how consistent communication helps nurture leads, strengthen relationships, and encourage long-term loyalty. Rather than focusing on a single interaction, successful marketing creates an ongoing conversation that keeps your practice top of mind.

Transcript

Paige Hamilton:
And remember that it does take time to you could have really good before and after photos. You could be really consistent on social media. You would have a really strong website, but maybe you’re still feeling like this stuck feeling that something seems off. Remember that usually it takes about seven touchpoints for someone to convert. You know, it’s very rare that someone will see an ad on social media and then go to the website and check out within five minutes. I mean, sometimes that’s the case. There’s always exceptions, but usually people aren’t as impulsive, especially when it comes to something elective like this, especially if it’s surgery and they’re spending tens of thousands of dollars to get a procedure done, even if it’s something smaller, if it’s cosmetic injections or something along those lines, it’s still a big decision that people are making, so it may take them closer to that seven touch points to finally convert that they see that they have that trust through seeing your posts, through looking at your website a few times. And then the next thing we want to talk about is email and texts as well. You know, if they visit your your website and you have a pop up that says, you know, subscribe to our newsletter, get more information or we’re glad you’re here, let’s stay in touch. Something along those lines. And they’re if they are seriously considering getting something done, they might put their email in. And then it’s important to make sure that you’re following up with them, that they see you in their inbox, or even on their phone through text messages. That’s great as well. I know that people don’t like getting spam, and that a lot of people are tired of the very generic, you know, overwhelming marketing that is always surrounding us. But it honestly, it’s surrounding us because it’s effective. It does work. It does convince people to come in. So new patients, you want to send them appointment follow ups, you want to check in on them if they’ve called. You want to make sure you follow up with them, see if they’ve changed their mind, why they didn’t schedule a consult, or let them know, hey, your consult is coming up. Did you have any questions before you come in? Same thing with appointments. If they come in, follow up with them. How is their appointment? Are they ready to book their surgery? And then also, if you haven’t captured them as a patient yet and there’s still a lead, making sure you’re following up with promotions or even doing some sort of drip campaign where when they first join, you’re introducing the practice. It’s not very sales heavy at first. You’re introducing the doctor, you’re telling them about the experience which sets you apart. Then maybe the next email it starts to introduce like, hey, this is our featured procedure. You may be interested, what are the next steps? And then it goes on. From there you can have many different drip campaign styles. But you know, you want to be reaching out to them because that also is part of the seven touchpoints. So if, say, social media is one, your website is two, then they put their email in. So they get an email that’s three. Maybe it takes them a couple emails. So then they get a few emails. They’re finally in your office. They come in now they’re seeing the brochure you have on the counter. Maybe they only came in for a consult because, you know, they have a few wrinkles. They want some neurotoxins put in, but then they see your nice pamphlet that you have on your counter, and they’re going to open it up and they’re going to see, oh, well, maybe I’m actually interested in a mini facelift or something along those lines instead. So it’s just all of these things put together. Make a big difference.

Ana Suarez:
They certainly do. It’s kind of like going back to what we were mentioning at the beginning, where the problem is not the marketing, but it is the structure behind the the strategy behind it and being intentional with what it is that you’re doing. You know, we just don’t want to be doing these efforts just to do something fun or I just remember it to do today. So that’s what I’m going to do it. No, we need to have that consistency, that follow up in place. And it’s kind of like a layered approach that’s kind of like what we’re discussing here. Layer approach. And just keep educating and nurturing those those leads and those that people that you already have as part of your even as your patient base, because you want to retain that patient and extend that relationship because that’s going to bring many other possibilities in the future. Like maybe someone came into your practice for Botox or fillers, but then eventually when they get to their 40s or 50s, they’re like, okay, you know what? I’m ready for the surgery. Like, I’m ready to like, change this here or I really need that help. So it is a journey. It’s not a transactional relationship, especially when it comes to your doctor or whoever is doing your your fillers and your Botox. These are things that you are doing on a recurring basis. And so you want to make sure that you’re building that personal relationship and that you’re really caring for your patients and that they feel that they can keep coming back time and and time again because they trust you and because they’ve gotten to know you and because, you know, you guys have some things in common or whatever it may be, or because you’re, like, super knowledgeable on that specific procedure or whatever. But these are things to keep in mind. And yeah, this does just kind of like it’s a layered, consistent approach in at the end of the day, it’s not about selling. It’s about servicing your patients, educating them in helping them to get that opportunity to improve their, you know, whatever concern they may have. Because at the end of the day, that’s what it is. It’s a human relationship. It’s a service that you’re providing to others so that they feel better so they can elevate their lives and how they feel about themselves. And so the more that you can do when it comes to that, the more details that you take into consideration and have that overall strategy and then put a structure and a process in place and the better results you’re going to get.

Timestamp: 29:19 – 33:52

One of the biggest misconceptions about marketing is that success comes from doing more. In reality, practices often see better results when they focus on doing the right things consistently. When a website, social media presence, patient communication strategy, in-office experience, and reputation management efforts all work together, marketing becomes more predictable and easier to scale.

In this final section, Paige and Ana discuss how Shorr Solutions’ Marketing Foundations program helps practices identify gaps, create a structured marketing plan, and implement systems that support long-term growth. They also recap the central theme of the episode: marketing is most effective when it is supported by strategy, structure, and consistent execution.

Transcript

Paige Hamilton:
If you’d like help with that as well. I know we’ve covered a lot and Ana was talking about, you know, details, strategy. Trying to figure this out can be a lot on your own. So I wanted to share that we do have a program called the Marketing Foundations. And if this episode has really resonated with you, if you feel like these are points that you need to improve in your practice, we have the Marketing Foundations. It’s a 12 week course where we will help you create these solid foundations, making sure you have a strong brand, a good brand voice, getting these elements in place. So that way you can just keep building upon them. And Ana do you want to talk a little bit more about that program? I know it’s a little bit of your baby.

Ana Suarez:
Yeah. It’s actually a really fun program because we get the opportunity to work with the practices and if they’re just starting out, we can talk about, you know, everything that is going to be needed in a strategic marketing plan. So we pretty much paint the entire picture of like, okay, this is where you are. This is where you need to be. And these are all of the steps that you need to take in between. Right. And then if it’s already a practice that has been in business for, you know, a couple of years or whatnot, we evaluate what you guys have already done and then we provide suggestions as, as, like how you could do it better, how it could be improved, or if there’s like pieces, you know, there’s like gaps. We usually find a lot of gaps within the the whole marketing strategy and then the implementation as well, you know, because sometimes the team doesn’t get the training that they need, we would be able to identify those gaps and provide suggestions and even do some of the training as well. So is a really fun project that we have that we work with the practices and we can see the results like we the before and afters. Right? Like we we kind of like take note of where they are and we meet them where they are. And then throughout that process we provide, you know, our expertise and we help them to implement it, not only just talking and having a conversation, but also the most important part. How do you get that implemented and incorporated in your daily processes so that you see the results that you want to get? And with that comes along the goal setting as well. So it’s a shorter program. And so you’ll be able to start where you are, we’ll meet you where you are. And then by the end of the program you’re going to see the results. You’re going to have your whole marketing plan created, and then also the systems in place, so that once you finish the program, you can keep implementing it with your team as well. So it’s really rewarding because we see the the before and afters. We see the results. So that’s really fun.

Paige Hamilton:
It’s our art form, same as your before and afters with the patients. So with that I think that’s a great place to kind of wrap up this episode. You know, we’ve covered a lot of really good points and these are all your foundations. So we really want to build upon those. The program that we have is kind of what inspired this episode, just to make sure that everyone’s kind of thinking through the foundations of their marketing to make it as strong as they can.

Paige Hamilton:
So with that. Do you have any concluding advice?

Ana Suarez:
Yeah. I mean, I think that this is a topic we get these questions all the time, or sometimes we don’t get them right away. But as we work with our clients, they come up in different shapes and forms. And so we thought that this would be really helpful. So in a nutshell, we’re kind of like telling you this are the missed opportunities within your marketing and your implementation as well. At the end of the day, the marketing isn’t about doing more, but it is about doing the right things in a structure, strategic and consistent way as well. And when your foundation is strong, your website, your in office experience, your communication, even your reputation, having those reviews, having a system for that so you can increase them and you know, people can see what you’re able to do. Everything else becomes so much easier, honestly. And then your marketing becomes more predictable in your growth. It just keeps scaling and growing. So again, remember is that structure, the strategy, putting the processes in place. And then you’re going to see the results. And so this applies to marketing applies to your financials your human resources. But today specifically we wanted to cover the marketing topic.

Paige Hamilton:
So that’s perfect. And with that we thank you for joining us on this episode of Shorr Solutions: The Podcast. Before you go, new episodes are released every two weeks, offering perspective on the decisions, systems, and leadership behind well-run practices for continued insight between episodes. Follow us on social media @ShorrSolutions. This is Shorr Solutions: The Podcast.