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I am incredibly excited to kick off our 2026 series. This is not just a minor update; it is an entire rework and revamp of our marketing framework. Over the last year, we have discovered new strategies and refined our approach to help med spa owners market their practices with maximum efficiency.
Every year, the industry shifts. New “bells and whistles” emerge, and old strategies that used to be standard now require a total rethinking to put you in the best possible position for success. In this series, we are walking through the start-to-finish plan for 2026.
The 2026 Series Curriculum
Before we dive into the meat of today’s episode, here is what you can expect from this series in the coming weeks:
- Part 1 (Today): How to get clients to choose you over the competition.
- Part 2: Understanding ROI in detail and measuring marketing investment to produce substantial returns without negative cash flow impact.
- Part 3: Consistent client attraction using our updated Facebook and Instagram ad frameworks.
- Part 4: Solving the “bad leads” problem and maximizing lead-to-booked-appointment conversion rates.
- Part 5: Our updated Google Ads framework and a comprehensive SEO checklist.
- Part 6: PR strategies (how we got clients featured in GQ, Forbes, and Real Simple) and achieving true omnipresence.
- Part 7: Mastering retention—the strategy that makes or breaks a practice.
Why These Strategies Matter: A Proven Track Record
If you are new to our community, I have been working with med spas since before the category even had a formal name. For over 12 years, I have helped practices navigate the evolution of Botox and medical aesthetic services.
Our agency currently holds a perfect five-star rating on Google with nearly 30 detailed patient testimonials and case studies. We focus on measurable performance. One of the case studies I often reference features a client for whom we generated $1.89 million in revenue in just 18 months. This was directly traceable to 2,561 new patients brought in through our specific ad frameworks.
The Ogilvy Disclaimer
Before we discuss marketing, we must discuss the “product.” As David Ogilvy famously said: “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.” If you have a bunch of people finding out about your service and that service stinks, you are simply on a faster path to destruction. Marketing is not a band-aid for a bullet hole; it is fuel for the fire of a successfully operating business. Your business must be dialed in for any of these strategies to matter.
The Three Prerequisites for 2026 Success
Before spending a dollar on advertising, you must ensure these three pillars are foundational to your practice.
1. Impeccable Google Reviews
There is a harsh reality in the med spa space: if you have a 4.5-star rating on Google, you are underperforming. While that sounds like a good score, in aesthetics, it is the equivalent of a restaurant having 2.5 stars.
The range that matters is essentially 4.8 to 5.0. If you are sitting at a 4.0, you are functionally a “one-star” med spa in the eyes of a prospect. Most people—whether they find you through word-of-mouth, a drive-by, or a Facebook ad—will investigate your reviews. If you give them a reason to doubt your reputation, they will choose another practice.
- Ask for favors: Use favor-based language rather than “market research” surveys. Say: “Online reviews are vital to small businesses like ours. It would mean the world to us if you’d take a moment to leave a detailed review of your experience.”
- Address the bad reviews: Never get into an argument, but be direct. If a client misunderstood something, say: “I apologize for the misunderstanding. We’d love to speak with you to resolve this; please call us at [Number].” This shows you care and gives future readers a reason to doubt the validity of a one-sided negative story.
2. An A+ Patient Experience
Med spa customer acquisition is actually quite easy and predictable—I will show you the frameworks that put it on autopilot. The real challenge is retention.
If your experience is anything less than an A+, you are risking attrition. Be introspective: Have you done secret shopping? Have you visited your competitors to see what they do better? Identify where you are just “average” and fix it. People stay where they feel safest and most comfortable.
3. Personal Branding and Likability
Robert Cialdini’s Influence notes that likability is a key component of persuasion. We don’t have a “Unique Value Proposition” in the traditional sense because we are all selling the same toxins and fillers.
To stand out, you must show personality. Stop using stock photos on your website and social media. Have your providers on camera sharing philosophies and case studies. Connection creates a rapport that is unparalleled.
The EVA Framework: How Prospects Make Decisions
While the old AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) model still has some truth regarding grabbing attention in ads, it is outdated for the med spa decision-making process. Med spas don’t usually stimulate demand for an unknown product; we capture existing demand from people who have already decided they want a treatment.
For 2026, we use the EVA Framework: Exposure, Validation, and Affirmation.
Step 1: Exposure
You must be in the “consideration pool.” This happens through ambient awareness (driving by the office), Google organic search, SEO foundation, and social media ads. If they don’t know you exist, they can’t choose you.
Step 2: Validation
This is where the disparity in med spa performance is most visible. Once a lead is “exposed” to your brand—say, by filling out a Facebook lead form—the “Validation” phase begins.
- The Conversion Disparity: Our average client converts about 10% to 15% of leads into booked appointments. Our top 5% of performers hit 18% to 20%. However, we have seen struggling clients drop to 1% to 3% in certain months.
- The “Inundation” Factor: Once a user clicks your ad, their feed will be inundated with ads from your competitors. They are going to research 2–3 options. If you don’t win the “Validation” phase (website quality, social proof, and reviews), you will lose the lead you paid for.
Step 3: Affirmation
Once they have psychologically said “yes” to your brand, you must make it frictionless for them to take action. This means:
- Seamless online booking.
- No-fee or attractively priced consults.
- Flexible hours (after hours or Saturdays).
- Clear website navigation that doesn’t force them back into the “Validation” loop because they can’t find the schedule button.
The Subconscious Scorecard (Hierarchy of Choice)
How do clients weigh their options? I believe they use a subconscious scorecard based on three buckets:
- Reputation and Trust (60% weight): This is the prerequisite. If this isn’t there, you aren’t in the game.
- Convenience (20% weight): If two spas are equal, the one a mile away beats the one 10 miles away.
- Price (20% weight): This is the tiebreaker.
The Exercise: If you have 500 five-star reviews and are one mile away, you score a 90/100 (assuming a default 10/20 on price). If your competitor has fewer reviews but a much more attractive new patient special, they might break the tie. However, if your reputation is worse than your competitors, you will have to be much more aggressive on price to even stand a chance.
Your 2026 Action Items
To wrap up today’s session, here are your immediate takeaways to audit your practice:
- Audit Efficiency: Ensure clinical and administrative excellence at every touchpoint.
- Review Strategy: Automate your review collection via text and use favor-based language.
- Update Your Web Presence: Replace generic service recaps with provider videos and voice-over before-and-after case studies.
- Stop Being Generic: Tell your unique story and share your opinion on treatments.
- The Scorecard Challenge: Be objective—if you were a stranger, would you choose your med spa or your top competitor?
Next Episode: We will discuss discounting and pricing strategies in depth, sharing the hard data on the trade-offs of using price as a leverage point to acquire new clients.
