There are a host of studies across industries that report acquiring just one new patient costs your business five to 25 times more money than retaining one current patient. While patient acquisition certainly shouldn’t be wholly set aside, deliberately budgeting greater time, money, and resources into ensuring your existing patients are happy and stay that way, a minimal five percent increase in patient retention could boost your clinic’s profits from at least 25% to as high as 95%.

Of course, as most medical aesthetics professionals know,  keeping your patients happy means listening to their concerns and delivering results. By following one simple formula to designing comprehensive, long-term treatment plans, you can do just that.

In an article in Modern Aesthetics , dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, outlines the “Skincare Pyramid” that stresses the importance of helping patients make informed decisions regarding their skin care and aesthetic treatment options. Beginning with a foundational layer built from daily skin care as prevention, the pyramid moves upward to a second layer that floats between prevention and reversal with facials, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and similar device-based treatments that may be utilized to reverse minor signs of aging every three to four months. Following these treatments, the pyramid’s third layer encompasses neurotoxins, lasers, and other non-surgical aesthetic treatments that help to reverse or target a specific aesthetic concern, often with maintenance treatments every six months to a year. Finally, the top layer is composed of surgical treatments as needed. Using this pyramid as a map when creating a long-term treatment plan for your patients can help boost patient retention by offering them a clear route to reaching their aesthetic goals.

For a clearer understanding of how to utilize this treatment plan approach, consider the following fictional case study. A patient books a consultation to explore their treatment options for reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles alongside the treatment of brown spots. They admit that they didn’t apply daily sunscreen in the past, have used the same or similar skin care products for some time, and while they have started to explore more of their options in the skin care aisle of their favorite beauty store, they are not seeing the results they want from topicals alone. They are in search of a non-surgical solution that can be easily incorporated into their busy schedule and are simply looking for natural-looking results to help them repair and rejuvenate their appearance.

Utilizing the Skincare Pyramid approach, after gathering information regarding the patient’s usual skin care routine, medical history, and the like, begin crafting a customized treatment plan that starts by offering the patient a clearer understanding of the skin care essentials they should be using daily for optimal effect. You may want to refer to the Skin Health and Beauty Pyramid™ to better explain what skin care items are considered essential based on extensive studies. For those clinics just getting started with offering retail, refer to this guide on how to effectively incorporate the right skin care lines into your aesthetics clinic. This is also the time to discuss the importance of sunscreen and offer tips on proper application and re-application. According to this patient’s aesthetic goals, skin care products that promote healthy skin cell turnover and improved cellular functions will help to support any outcomes seen through aesthetic treatments.

Moving to the second layer of the Skincare Pyramid, Venus Glow™ dermal rejuvenation treatments can offer immediate noticeable results, boosting skin hydration while plumping skin to smooth out fine lines and give skin a healthy glow. Venus Glow™ delivers ultra-hydrating tri-modality treatments that utilize an adjustable vacuum tip to gently pull the skin upward, opening up and deep-cleaning pores. A 360-degree rotating tip evenly spreads saline expelled from three ultra-fine jet streams, each smaller than the average pore, while micro-massaging skin to increase the spread of nutrients released from the bloodstream. This treatment will offer preventative and restorative support to the patient’s skin, improving its overall appearance and ability to fend off further signs of aging.

Brown spots and deeper wrinkles may be addressed in the third layer of the Skincare Pyramid, where there may be a couple of options a physician can recommend to this particular patient. Wrinkle reduction treatments harnessing the power of radio frequency (RF) technology are the first option. A dedicated anti-aging device, Venus Freeze Plus™ features cutting-edge patented (MP) ² technology, a combination of Multi-Polar RF and Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields (PEMF). Using this device, RF delivers thermal energy deep below the skin’s surface to stimulate fibroblasts, while PEMF kickstarts angiogenesis and induces fibroblast proliferation. Together, these effects result in increased collagen synthesis, improved skin elasticity, and an overall smoother, firmer appearance.

For treating brown spots, Venus Versa™ photorejuvenation treatments utilize Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) technology to target pigmented lesions and improve skin tone. Featuring SmartPulse™ technology and a real-time cooling system, the multi-treatment Venus Versa™ system, when equipped with the photorejuvenation applicators, deliver precise, consistent energy to break up melanin and spur skin cell renewal while optimizing patient safety and comfort. Alternatively, for a complete three-in-one aesthetics treatment that touches on this patient’s aesthetic goals and more, TriBella™ complete facial treatments, exclusive to Venus Versa™, may be a strong recommendation for those patients seeking a more streamlined treatment plan.

Taking the time to help patients explore their treatment levels within the three base layers of the Skincare Pyramid demonstrates to patients that their treatment provider is invested in informing them of their choices, while working with them for long-term results and support. It communicates to the patient that their satisfaction in their treatment outcome is a priority, allowing the treatment provider to further earn their trust. This also establishes you as a trusted authority—someone they can go to with questions or the first person they think to call when considering a new treatment or skin care trend. There is no better compliment than being a trusted go-to source of information for your patients

As well, by focusing in on a comprehensive treatment plan each time, aesthetics physicians can treat and educate patients, empowering them to take on a role in their aesthetics treatment outcome to ensure optimal efficacy, which can be of greater benefit when building out a quality portfolio of before-and-after photos. Creating a handout that outlines skin care tips and how to use your skin care product recommendations will help in offering unsure patients a reference tool to help keep them on track to optimal results.

Overall, the business benefits and importance of offering your patients a roadmap to a long-term aesthetics treatment plan is clear. However, it can be difficult to recommend and offer solutions that meet each layer of the Skincare Pyramid if your practice isn’t equipped with the right skin care products and medical aesthetics devices, particularly those designed to work together and complement each other. Take the first step to designing a menu of in-demand, complementary aesthetics solutions, perfectly customized to your business, by contacting an expert using the button below!