Alice Henshaw, the owner of Harley Street Injectables and Skincycles Skincare reveals her strategy and mindset that has helped her develop a successful business in London with international clients who fly from the Middle East, India and America to visit her.
Alice single-handedly built her business into a thriving top London cosmetic Injectables clinic while being nominated and a finalist for the safety in beauty award two years in a row and becoming an Injectables practitioner to the stars. Celebrities and runway models choose her over the competition and she shares with us what makes her business stand out in a competitive market.
Here she shares her top 6 tips for building a successful brand and business.
1. Know Your Value
It’s easier said than done, but you have to be able to strut your stuff – and put your knowledge of your own value into practice. For Alice, this important lesson came about when she decided to make the jump from working for clinics to working for herself after noticing that patients followed her.
“It felt pointless and unfair giving away a share of my profit to the clinic when I was the one bringing in the customer and providing the service,” she shared. So, she did something about it – starting with reminding herself of her value.
2. Referrals
The best compliment to you can get is a referral. You can market all you want – the best marketing of all is word of mouth. Someone is far more likely to go with a referral from a trusted source (even if that source is their next-door neighbour) than with someone they see an advertisement for.
Giving every client an individualist bespoke consultation and treatment will make you stand out from the “high street” clinics or competitors. It’s so important in this industry for your client to trust you.
3. Customer service excellence
“I started by ensuring I’d provide a service that was worth referring,” Alice reflected. “I knew that the only way to build a large, loyal customer base was to give a top of the line service.” As Seth Godin (American entrepreneur and author) often states, something “remarkable” is something worth making a “remark” about.
When you provide value to the people coming through your door, they are going to tell their friends, and their friends will tell their friends. Go above and beyond for your customers or clients. Ask yourself: “How could I make this experience so great for the customer that they’ll tell their best friend about it later?”
4. Never Stop Improving
Even when business seems better than ever, don’t stop thinking of ways you can improve in your customer service, your website, your social media, your injection technique and your knowledge. To think you know it all is dangerous. I am forever learning new skills and new techniques to deprived my clients the best results.
5. Feedback
When making improvements, solicit feedback from real clients or customers. Ask them to write reviews! I often ask my clients how they found out about me or my clinic and the most common answers are that they had a friend who is a client of mine, they looked me up on Instagram and saw the before and after results I delivered and they read my google reviews. Think from a human perspective.
6. Competition
Your competitors should be your inspiration, not your insecurity. Look at people in the industry who have done well and be inspired! Competition is healthy if used positively. I admire many men and woman in the industry and I aspire to be just as successful.
There are enough clients in the industry for us all to make it so we don’t need to feel intimidated. Know your value and own it. Ultimately, there are many parts required to make sure your business is attracting and retaining clients and customers despite all the competition. It is the right enthusiasm and effort that can make all the difference.
It may be overwhelming to see all that is required to improve but focus on what you and your business are becoming. Set goals for the next month and next year of your business, and continue to set your gold standard higher than where the competition sets theirs. Never give up!
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