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Hey Med Spa Owners— today we’re diving deep into a crucial topic: branding—and more specifically, how to incorporate branding elements into your marketing and advertising initiatives to make everything you’re doing even more effective.
We’re going to move beyond the fluff and make this tangible. Branding can sound abstract, but in a commoditized market like aesthetics, where your services often look and feel the same as your competitors’, incorporating brand into your marketing can be the difference between being a “vendor” and becoming the go-to local authority.
Why Branding Matters in a Perfect Competition Market
I was listening to a podcast recently featuring a few seasoned marketing executives, and they were discussing branding through the lens of “perfect competition.” That term might sound academic, but it applies to med spas more than you might think.
Perfect competition is the idea that everything in your market is commoditized—same products, same pricing, and very little differentiation. It becomes a race to the bottom in terms of price. And while that podcast was connecting it to AI development, I couldn’t help but think how relevant it is to aesthetics.
As med spa owners, you’re often operating in something that feels like perfect competition. Most people offer the same injectable brands, similar facial treatments, similar promos. So how do you stand out and consistently attract loyal patients?
The answer is brand.
Branding Begins With the First Interaction
Historically, we’ve looked at loyalty and branding as things built after someone becomes a patient. We run direct response, offer-based promotions designed to reduce friction and get them in the door. That’s step one.
Once a lead converts and has a great in-office experience, that interaction builds your brand—on a one-to-one basis. The emotional connection forms when you do a great job, and the person now prefers you. But that’s a reactive process.
The challenge is this: how do we create those emotional connections earlier—in our website copy, marketing messages, and ads—before they ever walk in the door? That’s the opportunity we’re exploring.
What Brand Really Is: An Emotional Appeal Based on Shared Identity
At its core, brand is an emotional appeal rooted in shared identity or values. Think about Apple’s early ads. They didn’t talk about RAM or software specs. Instead, they were designed to emotionally connect with a very specific identity: creative rebels, outsiders, people who saw the world differently.
They didn’t say, “Here’s why our product is better.” They said, “If you’re this kind of person, then we’re your brand.”
As a med spa, you don’t have to go to that extreme, but there’s a powerful takeaway:
How can you infuse your brand into your marketing in a way that resonates with a shared identity, lifestyle, or set of values?
Why Hyper-Specific Personas Can Backfire
There’s a trap that local businesses sometimes fall into when trying to execute this.
You might feel the urge to get hyper-targeted with a brand statement like:
“We’re the med spa for busy moms in their 30s who just want to look and feel a little better.”
Sounds clear, right? But here’s the problem: when you get too specific in defining your brand audience, you risk excluding a much wider group of potential patients who might love your services too.
As a local service-based business, you don’t want to make anyone feel like your brand isn’t “for them.”
So, what’s the nuanced alternative?
Tell Your Story—Let People Opt Into Your Identity
Instead of carving out a hyper-specific target audience, just tell your story.
Share who you are, what you struggle with, your insecurities, and how the services you offer have helped you personally feel better. That kind of vulnerability creates authenticity—and people feel it.
That story will resonate deeply with some (and they’ll become your best clients), while others who don’t fully align will still like you more because they can sense your sincerity. It humanizes you. It adds dimension.
Step One of Branding in Your Marketing: Create emotional connections through personal storytelling, shared identity, and lifestyle alignment.
It’s not about being exclusive. It’s about being relatable.
Step Two: Be Cool Among the Tastemakers
Let’s talk about Nike.
When Nike advertises joggers, they don’t say, “Our fabric is 40% more breathable.” Instead, they feature elite athletes and high-impact visuals that end with one simple slogan: Just Do It.
They’re connecting with a belief system and ambition—and they support that brand message by being popular among the tastemakers.
That’s what makes the branding stick.
So how do we apply this as a local med spa?
Identify Local Tastemakers:
- Fitness instructors
- Popular stylists or boutique owners
- Realtors with big followings
- Yoga or Pilates studio owners
- Lifestyle influencers in your zip code
Build relationships with them. Invite them into your orbit. Let them experience your services. Let them become advocates for you.
This is how you become the Nike of your local community—not by talking about microneedling needle depth, but by being endorsed by people your audience already trusts and admires.
Step Two of Branding in Your Marketing: Be cool among the tastemakers.
Step Three: Back It Up With Real Quality
Here’s the truth: none of the emotional connection or tastemaker alignment matters if your product isn’t great.
If Nike’s joggers ripped after two wears, no ad campaign would save them. If Apple’s iPhones were glitchy and fragile, those emotional ads wouldn’t work.
It’s the same with your med spa.
If someone sees a beautiful ad, hears a glowing influencer review, and then walks into a mediocre treatment or an unwelcoming front desk experience—your brand crumbles in an instant.
Step Three of Branding in Your Marketing: You still have to have the goods.
Make sure your product or service delivers. Be exceptional. Treat every touchpoint with care. It all reinforces the brand you’re building.
Final Takeaways: How to Infuse Brand into Everything You Do
Brand is not just about logos and colors. It’s about:
- Connection: Shared identity, emotional storytelling
- Credibility: Local endorsement from tastemakers
- Consistency: A product or service that over-delivers every time
You don’t have to choose between promotions and branding. In fact, your ads and offers work better when they’re infused with authentic brand.
So start now:
- Revisit your website and add more personal story
- Review your ads—are they human or just transactional?
- Reach out to a tastemaker in your town this week
Branding can be the invisible engine behind everything you do. If you get it right, you’ll attract the right people, build loyalty, and grow sustainably in a saturated market.
You’ve got the goods. Now let’s build the brand to match.
A Marketing Offer for Med Spa Owners
At Med Spa Magic Marketing, we offer all new prospects a free 90-minute planning session. In this call, I’ll build out a real marketing plan tailored to your goals and show you everything we’d do to help you grow.
You’ll walk away with:
- A full blueprint of campaigns
- Audience and message strategy
- Actionable tactics you can use whether or not we work together
No pressure. No catch. You can take the plan and run with it or ask us to help execute. Go to medspamagicmarketing.com to schedule your free strategy session.
