As we sit here now on the fringe of the COVID-19 pandemic we are still figuring out how to adapt to the unknown; we aren’t quite back to the old normal nor are we living in the new normal. But we are still certainly still living in uncertainty. We are sitting in a neutral, reactive state which I call the GAP.
For the past few months I have shared specific strategies to capitalize on a market branded for scarcity. Many businesses have flourished. Others by contrast have cut back on marketing, team development, and innovation in preservation of cash flow and protection of valuable assets. Based on past recession modeling we know that the actions we take today in our business will strongly impact future viability so there’s no question there some important decisions to make. Here are my observations and predictions for what I believe will set aesthetic practices up to thrive (or not) in the new economy.
Self-Preservation in the GAP
Here are my observations:
- We aren’t in the old normal or the new- We are in the GAP
- Practices are adapting and shifting their market messaging, regulatory actions, and operations “on the fly”
- Many businesses are learning for the first time what it’s going to take to run a lean, efficient operation
- Owners are experiencing surprise and “delight” OR unexpected “dismay” from employees
- Practices are experiencing a very different type of relationship with their patients
- Luxury businesses are still figuring out how to offer white glove service with layers of caution tape surrounding the $2000 sofa in their lobby
There are some businesses wondering if they will be able to keep the lights on and others whose dreams have just been flat out crushed. But there are also those who had already been contemplating a new future for themselves and perceive this time as a fertile opportunity for advancement. The GAP is a place for self-preservation but also a place where seed pollination takes place- ideas take root, new structures are built, and leaders emerge.
Disrupt or Be Disrupted
The question is, how do we both preserve & adapt during times of unnerving, unrelenting uncertainty yet also innovate with confidence to emerge peerless in our market?
As humans we find uncertainty to be a threatening state and we are instinctively motivated to reduce it. In fact, research has shown that people are calmer and less agitated when they KNOW that they are going to receive an electric shock than when they know there is a 50% CHANCE they might receive an electric shock. A threat to your business could induce a similar fearful response.
Emerging with confidence requires expanding our threshold for uncertainty by creating a plan for calculated transformation. This comes from making decisions that are epic. And epic doesn’t happen by accident. It is intentional. When we feel uneasy, it’s human nature to want to shrink back into our comfort zone. But this is a dangerous place to live. Without adaptation and innovation we are susceptible to costly disruption.
Are you waiting to do “business as usual”?
Here’s what we know:
- 73 million American consumers have radically shifted their personal buying values
- 60% of businesses have pulled back on marketing, innovation, and team development
- A consumer is 36% more likely to see an online marketing message right now
- Many practices are seeing a much lower volume of patients per week in response to safety and sanitization protocols
- Messages of Trust and Safety are by leading consumer responsiveness
Reinvent the tread, not the wheel
I believe information is useless without action. It’s time to create an action plan. It’s time for reinvention of modern tactics under the same timeless business principles that have differentiated and elevated elite businesses of our time.
Ex: Air BnB vs Hilton, both in the hospitality industry.
Hilton is a 100 year old $25 Billion dollar company. Air BnB is a 10 year old $35 Billion dollar company. What did Air BnB do to capitalize on such aggressive market share? They listened to the needs of their target customer and reinvented the consumer experience.
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, Reinvention is “ The action or process through which something is changed so much that it appears to be entirely new” So is there an opportunity to reinvent inside of your current business model? Or do you need to reinvent a new business model or within a new industry? If you asked Warren Buffet he’d say, “You don’t have to remake money the same way you lost it”.
Think of building and growing your business like a PhD course in life lessons. The path to success is learning and implementing (often costly) curriculum taught along the way. What could you have done differently 6 or 12 months ago to set yourself up for success during these unprecedented times? What will you do now to protect the integrity of your business in the future?
My predictions:
- Those who follow a historic blueprint for rebounding from turbulent times will prevail
- It’s time for inspired virtual infrastructure to build your platform & elevate your brand
- Creation of an unbreakable patient loyalty and long term treatment program is essential
- Only a high performing, profit warrior team will HUMANIZE automation and capitalize on connection making your patients feel significant
- A crystal clear, differentiated message and experience will position you to be peerless in your market
Think Different:
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple after being at Pixar between 1997-2015, Apple experienced a 17,000% increase in their share price. Research compiled by Marketwatch tells us that specifically between 2010 and 2015 Apple experienced a compound annual growth rate of 48% compared to half a percent for one of its largest competitors. They had similar products, they used similar marketing channels, but here’s the difference. This time Apple came back to the marketplace with a very simple, clear message.
In the late 80’s Jobs took out a 9-page ad in the NY Times talking about his computer. When he came back in the late 90s he posted on billboards with 2 words: “Think Different”
I work with brilliant doctors every day who have so much to offer. But they are getting lumped into the noise. We need to start thinking less about our “competition”. Our enemy is not the economy. It’s not a pandemic. It’s not another practice. Our enemy is in the mirror. It’s leadership, its lack of distinction, it’s obscurity. Without a clear, concisely differentiated message that rises up to expectation of our consumer, our marketing will be “vanilla” in any economic climate.
The Aesthetic Reinvention Bootcamp
I’d like to link arms to together and elevate the conversation to uncover a safe and strategic growth plan for the future of your business. Join me for my next Free 5 Day Intensive Bootcamp where we will discuss my 4 part framework to:
- Build your brand position, market authority and visibility online and offline to help you stand out as a market leader and become only choice in the mind of your ideal client
- Discuss how practice optimization impacts the way you build your team and your business
- Learn how to put a powerful team and structures in place to humanize automation and connect on a deeper level with your customers
- Create loyalty infrastructure to build unbreakable trust
- Develop a blueprint for growth that moves you from the GAP into a thriving business that is deeply satisfying, lucrative and sustainable.
Sign up today at: klcconsultants.com/bootcamp
About Kaeli Lindholm
About Kaeli Lindholm
Kaeli Lindholm is the founder and president of KLC Consulting, a visionary business development & strategic coaching company bringing fortune 500 leadership systems to high-growth aesthetic practices who are poised to disrupt their markets.
Widely recognized as a brand revisionist, Kaeli believes achieving ‘category of one’ leadership requires taking a differentiated approach. Her coaching and teaching programs challenge the status quo, including the very construct of business success. Paired with significant revenue growth, clients describe the benefit of working with Kaeli as “game-changing”, “both guide and exceptional partner”, and “provides value well beyond monetary measurement!” When you partner with Kaeli you will make an empowered transformation in your business and life.
Kaeli’s signature programs include the POP Aesthetic Leadership Academy and the Aesthetic Business Accelerator Conference, POP|CON where aesthetic practice managers go to master the formulas to stimulate six and seven figure leaps in their business through mastery of controlled transformation to systems, strategy, and teams. Catch Kaeli on her award winning podcast, The Fierce Factor
Join Kaeli’s free Facebook group The Tribe of Fierce Aesthetic Leaders for access to weekly strategic advisory trainings, interviews, pdf downloads, and other value rich resources to help your business disrupt!
Learn more about Kaeli’s next Reinvention Bootcamp