Medical Spa Treatments: The Complete Guide

Medical spas are a thriving pillar of the beauty community. The treatments they provide were once cast in the light of being the overpriced indulgences of the vain and idle, but now they’re seen for what they are: a suite of methods used to maintain mental and physical wellbeing.

Managing a successful medical spa requires many different skill sets, but none is perhaps more crucial than knowing what medical spa treatments to have on offer — and how to price them. Changes in social influences and technologies mean that no med spa can afford to assume what drove business last year will work in the years to come. 

Every savvy owner should take time annually or biannually to reconsider their medspa business plan. If you’ve yet to do that, or even if you just want a gut check that you’re still on track, this guide will walk you through key considerations for your spa.

Medspa menu must-haves

Defining (or redefining) your spa services menu is the most obvious starting point when you audit your medspa. These are the treatments that get the broadest range of clients in the door in the highest numbers: They’re your bread and butter. They’re not typically the most expensive treatments you’ll provide, but that’s ok. They serve as a low-risk introduction to your spa and staff. Think of them like a first date; make a good impression and your clients will want to see you more.

• Botox: Is there a medspa on the planet that doesn’t offer Botox at this point? Even clients who don’t consider themselves “medspa people” (whatever that means) aren’t opposed to getting a little pick-me-up in the form of this injectable. 

• Dermal fillers: The key to making plumpers like Juvederm work for your spa is getting the consultation exactly right. Clients who come in wanting to look like the Pop Culture Beauty Icon of the Week may not understand that different amounts of filler are best tailored to certain facial features. Your technicians’ expertise is invaluable in those consultations.

• Laser hair removal: Shaving sucks. You know it, your clients know it. Whether you’re helping a client live their best bikini life or just evicting the caterpillar that’s taken up residence on their upper lip, lasering that hair into oblivion is one of the easiest-to-understand — and market — medical spa treatments you can provide. 

• Body contouring: Non-invasive methods of body reshaping are gaining popularity over traditional plastic surgery. Your options may depend on the square footage of your spa, so make sure to research the field before committing to any one style of treatment.

For more insight on the top medspa treatments and how best to discuss them with clients, read The 4 Most Popular Medical Spa Services (and How to Nail the Consultation).

Gut check: How much should medical spa treatments cost?

No matter how hard you work to carefully balance your own costs against turning a reasonable profit, you always run the risk of freaking out your client base. Because while they understand that treatments cost money, they’d all prefer they didn’t cost too much money. 

But how much is too much? That’s the tricky conundrum all medical spas face when designing their roster of services. Divining the appropriate pricing isn’t as simple as undercutting the competition. Not only do you not want to reduce your profit margin, but also if you go too low, potential clients will assume you’re not offering a high-quality experience. 

The secret to pricing high enough to see a return but not so high that you send clients running is to establish the value of your services. The concept of “value” is nebulous but can be summed up by how your clients feel about their visit. In short, they can get Botox pretty much anywhere, so why are they coming to your spa?

There are many ways to skin that particular cat. Perhaps your spa offers small luxuries like deluxe robes or an array of product scents. You might have something no other local spa has, such as the latest tech. You don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune to stand out, either; keeping detailed client records lets you provide a highly personalized experience for each guest. Who doesn’t love feeling that they’re the center of a small and luxurious universe? 

Our post Plan a Medical Spa Price List that Avoids Client Sticker Shock has more about how to calculate prices and impart value to clients.

Y’all c’mon back now, ya hear?

Here’s the problem: You want your clients to visit several times a year. That’s not just for your bottom line (although yes, it’s partly that) but also because regular visits help keep them looking and feeling their best. But the average client is only making it to the medspa about half as often as they should. There are plenty of possible reasons for that, and while some of them will always be out of your control, some are definitely within your power to influence. 

One effective, but underutilized strategy for incentivizing clients to rebook is offering a membership program. While it’s up to the individual medspa to determine the specific terms of the membership, the underlying appeal is the same for all: to make returning to the spa as easy and pleasant as possible. Members might enjoy priority booking that enables them to always get the appointment slot they want. Discounts on popular services are another potential membership boon. The great thing about memberships is their flexibility; once you know the pain points of your clientele, you can tailor the membership plan to meet those specific needs. 

The Case for Medspa Memberships goes deeper into the numbers and best practices for designing a membership program from scratch.

Mo’ money, mo’ clients

Even after you’ve decided on the medical spa treatments you’ll offer and the appropriate pricing for them, there’s still room for optimization. Achieving maximum profitability is about creating the right mix of price points and treatment lengths so that every hour of spa operation is tuned towards the ideal return on investment. That said, it’s not just about the money; you also need to offer treatments clients want and give them the individualized attention that lets them feel pampered, not rushed out the door.

Fortunately, the top medspa treatments for clients are also the most profitable for spas. Botox, laser hair removal, dermal fillers, and body contouring are in high demand and provide a range of price points for clients. Microdermabrasion is another item to even out the affordability scale of your treatment menu. 

Don’t rely on intuition to complete your business strategy — lean on your data. Reporting is as important for the success of your spa as the level of your customer service. Tracking data over time informs you which treatments are most popular, which can probably be removed from the menu, how much time you’re spending with each client, and more. A careful examination of your spa’s data over time is how you zero in on the mix of treatments that makes the most of resources like your spa’s square footage, your hours of operation, and staff areas of expertise.

Read How to Design Your Medical Spa Services Menu for Maximum Profitability to drill down even further on optimizing your business.

The Best Medical Spas: 8 Business Lessons From World Spa Award Nominees

If you’re still struggling to find a way to differentiate your business from the competition, you can take a page from any of the 2021 World Spa Awards nominees. You may not be in the market to emulate them exactly — sadly, not every spa operates against a backdrop of picturesque mountains — but the philosophies behind their choices work in any location.

If you can only choose one way to follow their lead, adopt sustainable materials. Eco-friendliness is becoming a major differentiator for businesses of all kinds, but especially so in the beauty industry, which is notorious for creating a high amount of waste. Making the move away from chemicals, dyes, and other non-organic ingredients informs your clients that you care not just about them, but also about your spa’s impact on the environment. And that gives them a reason to feel good about their choice to frequent your establishment. 

If you can only choose two ways to copy the World Spa Awards nominees, you’ll also want to improve your booking. Michelin star chefs and personable staff are pointless if clients can’t stand trying to make an appointment to see them. An outdated or overly obtuse booking process will cost you business, period. 

For more inspiration from some of the best medical spas in the world, check out The Best Medical Spas: 8 Business Lessons From World Spa Award Nominees.

Managing a medspa requires focus and dedication, but there’s nothing wrong with asking for a little help, too. Boulevard’s medical spa software helps you unlock revenue and streamline processes without sacrificing your standards of care. Get in touch for a free demo!

Boulevard was built to help your business achieve profitability at scale without losing an inch of sanity. See for yourself! Get a free demo today.