If you’re ready to implement more efficient & effective marketing strategies for your practice, book your FREE strategy session & marketing plan: https://go.medspamagicmarketing.com/schedule  

During our recent team retreat, we revisited one fundamental question:

If we were choosing a med spa from scratch—totally unbiased, without our insider knowledge—how would we discover and select a provider?

This thought experiment turned into a deep-dive focus group, revealing a clear, step-by-step checklist of how real prospects think, evaluate, and ultimately choose a med spa. These insights shape everything that happens before ads, funnels, and automations even matter.

Below is a comprehensive overview of all the insights, examples, nuances, and action items we uncovered.

1. How Prospective Patients Actually Discover a Med Spa

Most people won’t find you through your organic social media.

Organic Instagram posts from local med spas do not typically enter a user’s feed unless the med spa is already followed. So, discovery rarely begins there.

Instead, the two primary discovery paths are:

A. Google Search

People proactively search terms like:

• “Botox near me”
• “Med spa near me”
• “Lip filler in [city]”

Or soon:

• “Best med spa near me” (via ChatGPT search)

B. Paid Ads

A prospect may have been considering Botox or a facial for weeks or months, and a strong ad brings them into the funnel.

Your organic social media becomes relevant only after they discover you and want to learn more.

This means branding, online reputation, social recency, website clarity, and positioning all matter far more than most practices realize.

2. The Google Business Profile: Your First Test as a Provider

When someone searches for a med spa on Google, the Google Business Profile (GBP) instantly becomes the patient’s first impression.

2.1 The Star Rating Thresholds That Actually Matter

In the med spa space, the real star-rating scale is not 1–5.
It’s effectively 4.0–5.0.

Anything below a 4.5 is a major red flag for prospects.

Here’s how consumers perceive med spa ratings:

• 5.0 or 4.9 → Excellent (A+)
  Signals top-tier patient experience and consistency.
• 4.8 → Strong (A-)
  Still highly competitive.
• 4.7 or 4.6 → Average (B)
  Signals inconsistency or unresolved issues.
• 4.5 or lower → Poor (C–F)
  In med spa terms, this is equivalent to having a 1-star rating.
  

Our most successful clients consistently hold a 4.9+ rating, which aligns with the patient satisfaction and retention we see across their campaigns.

3. The Photo Section: The Overlooked Branding Asset

We unanimously agreed during the retreat:
Photos matter more than most people think.

Patients look at GBP photos to answer two instinctive questions:

1. Does this place look clean, modern, and professional?
2. Does this place “fit” me?

Clinically sterile offices tend to attract older demographics.
Cute, pink, ultra-feminine offices often attract younger patients.
Your space should intentionally reflect your target persona(s).

Immediate Action Item

Pull up your Google Business Profile today and click through the photos.

Ask yourself:

• Are the cover photos compelling?
• Do the images reflect your target demographic?
• Are there duplicates, old photos, or unattractive angles?

After this retreat, we literally went and cleaned up our own Google listing photos and it made a massive impact.

4. The Truth About Reviews (and Why Most Med Spas Manage Them Wrong)

Reviews influence your patient acquisition more than almost any other factor.

Prospective patients look for:

• Volume of reviews
• Recency of reviews
• Negative reviews (and whether you responded)
• Themes or patterns in feedback
• How professionally you reply

4.1 Never ignore negative reviews.

One med spa recently told us they do not respond because they don’t want to “argue.”

This is a mistake.

Here is what prospects assume when you don’t respond:

“Everything written in this negative review is true.”

A response is not written for the original reviewer.
It’s written for the next 5, 50, or 500 people who read that review.

Your reply should:

• Acknowledge the concern
• Avoid a defensive tone
• Avoid getting into clinical details
• Demonstrate effort to resolve the issue offline

If you cannot reach the reviewer, a simple:

“We’re so sorry you experienced this.
Our team has attempted to contact you several times so we can make things right.
Please reach out to us directly so we can assist.”

…is extremely effective.

4.2 Use reviews as internal feedback—don’t get defensive.

If multiple patients mention:

• long wait times
• unfriendly staff
• lack of explanation
• inconsistent results
• feeling rushed
• unclear pricing

…those are not “dumb complaints.”
They are operational red flags that need immediate correction.

4.3 AI-generated review replies are killing credibility.

Those robotic responses like:

“Thanks Kristen! We are glad you enjoyed your Botox experience.”

…signal laziness and inauthenticity.

Patients notice.

Use AI for help—but customize every reply.

5. Pricing & Positioning: Don’t Force a Square Peg Into a Round Hole

Med spas often try to position themselves as luxury, premium-price providers…
while having:

• an average star rating
• poor branding
• little differentiating expertise
• a low-end office aesthetic
• generic messaging
• inconsistent results

You cannot claim “luxury” unless your experience supports it.

The easiest formula for high-volume med spas is:

Great reputation + Low price point

But if you want to maintain premium pricing, you must demonstrate:

• superior provider training
• a polished, upscale office environment
• a consistent, detail-oriented patient experience
• strong before/after portfolio
• clear rationale for the elevated cost

5.1 Put pricing on your website

This is controversial, but we strongly support it.

Benefits:

• Increases transparency
• Reduces price shoppers
• Builds trust
• Pre-filters the wrong patients

If your price is higher, explain why in clear, outcome-based language.

For example:
Instead of saying “Owner-injector with 20 years of experience,”
say:

“Our owner-injector’s advanced anatomical training allows for more natural, longer-lasting results with reduced risk of complications.”

Make it meaningful.

6. Your Ideal Client Persona (and How Your Environment Attracts Them)

Your:

• office aesthetic
• team demographics
• provider personalities
• social content
• brand voice
• imagery
• before/after gallery

…determine who feels comfortable choosing you.

Two example extremes we discussed:

Scenario A — Medical, sterile office

Attracts:

• older demographics
• conservative patients
  Not likely to attract 25-year-olds looking for “mini lip flips.”

Scenario B — Pink LED walls and neon signs

Attracts:

• young, high-frequency, lower-ticket patients
  Not likely to attract older, higher-spend, long-term patients.

The ideal balance:

Create a space that:

• feels modern, clean, and aesthetic
• isn’t too clinical
• isn’t too juvenile

Your space and provider mix should reflect your target mix.

7. Before & After Photos: Non-Negotiable for Conversion

Prospective patients want to see:

• diversity (ages, skin tones, genders)
  variety of treatments
• consistent results
• clear image quality
• unedited photos
• expertise demonstrated through captions or voiceovers

Bonus tip:
Short video walkthroughs with voiceovers explaining the technique massively increase trust.

8. Social Media: Not for Discovery — for Validation

We will do an entire upcoming episode on this, but the key takeaways from the retreat were:

People do NOT discover your med spa via your organic feed.

They discover you through:

• Google
• Ads
• Referrals
• Chat-based search
• Word of mouth

Then they go to Instagram to validate you.

What matters most on Instagram:

• Recency (not frequency)
• Quality (not quantity)
• Expertise
• Clear branding
• Professional, aesthetic visuals
• Educational content
• Personality
• Before & afters

What does NOT convert prospects:

• dancing trends
• irrelevant memes
• low-effort filler content

Your Instagram should act as:
a conversion tool, not an entertainment feed.

9. The “Snapshot Test” for Your Instagram

Ask yourself:

If a prospect looks at:

• your 3 pinned posts
• your last 6–10 posts

…would they think:

“Yes, I trust this med spa with my face”?

If the answer isn’t a confident yes, your feed needs tightening.

10. Final Thoughts: Build a Foundation That Makes Every Marketing Dollar More Effective

This retreat reminded us that ads alone don’t drive success.

Success comes when:

• your brand is clear
• your reputation is strong
• your imagery excites
• your pricing makes sense
• your positioning is authentic
• your space reflects your target clients
• your social media reinforces trust
• your reviews demonstrate credibility

Only THEN can ads perform at their full potential.

Strengthen your foundation, and every marketing tactic becomes exponentially more effective.