Customer Service Director and SkinViva Co founder Miranda talks Facebook, Richard Branson and maintaining your ‘authentic self’…
Can I get a “Hell yeah” from anyone who’s lost sleep because a new clinic opened up down the road that’s charging less than you; or because that competitor everyone’s talking about came up on your Facebook feed again; or because it seems like everyone is offering that new-fangled treatment and you’re not on the band-wagon yet.
Yeah, me too.
In fact, I was losing sleep over that kind of thing before Facebook for businesses was even a thing.
I swear, a little piece of me died every time I saw a poster advertising aesthetics in a salon window, or I rang a new salon and found that another clinician had already got in there last week!
You feel so vulnerable and under threat, like everyone has discovered YOUR secret. The secret you paid £1k + for and are pinning a lot of hope on.
Well, I’m here to tell you: DON’T BOTHER. Don’t bother losing sleep like I did. Not even a few winks…. not even a cat nap! Here’s why:
1) IT’S A USELESS WASTE OF PRECIOUS ENERGY.
Think about this for a minute – if you asked a business guru like Richard Branson whether you should spend an hour a day on one of the following 2 activities, which do you think he’d choose?
- A) Obsessively stalking competitors’ facebook pages/websites, then lying awake in bed worrying that you’re doing everything wrong compared with them.
- B) Spending an hour brainstorming marketing ideas with a couple of friends over a glass of wine and then making a plan to implement one small marketing tactic per week for 6 weeks e.g. texting that client who was happy with treatment last week and asking her to pop a review on your Google listing; or texting all your clients to explain that the pre-summer holiday slots are going fast (that works REALLY well by the way).
WELL, SIR BRANSON, which option would you choose? No-brainer, right?
And that’s the point – whilst it’s healthy to keep an eye on your competition, it’s definitely not a good use of your precious time to be obsessively stalking them and then worrying about the results.
Focus on your own bloom!
2) DON’T FLATTER THE COMPETITION.
You think they’ve got it all sorted and you’re lagging behind, right? I’m here to tell you that my 9 years in the industry would suggest otherwise. I’ve watched competitors come and go, and SkinViva is still standing strong.
And, before you say “I could never be as good as SkinViva”, I’ll tell you a secret……… there is no hidden formula for success in business. It is just perseverance, hard work, and actually implementing the tactics you’ve been taught (very few do).
So, don’t spend energy comparing yourselves to an imaginary idol – just get your head down and crack on with becoming a success yourself.
3) YOU WON’T BE YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF IF YOU COPY OTHERS.
To be successful in business, you’ve got to find out what you’re good at, and hammer that skill over and over.
E.g. Tim is ludicrously skilled at sculpting faces (artistic); very entrepreneurial (the balls to start projects); and has the creativity to come up with genius ideas all day long.
Lee has communication skills to die for; the work rate of the Duracell bunny; and a logical brain perfect for designing stonking systems.
And me? If I do say so myself, I infuse our business with the heart that has been the backbone of our 1000s of successful client and staff relationships over the years.
BUUUT, we all have deficiencies too and it’s about knowing what those are and getting help. Are you rubbish at maths? Well, get a bookkeeper to do your tax return. Are you a tech-phobe? Well, employ a geek to create your website.
SkinViva is all about natural treatments, so we don’t waste energy marketing to clients who want massive trout pouts. We know who we are and what we’re good and bad at, and we hammer that over and over again.
Local competitors can gladly have the trout-pound (see what I did there?!)
This article originally appeared on our Facebook SkinViva Trainee Network.
SkinViva Training Academy Manchester
SkinViva Training Ltd offer a range of professional training courses for cosmetic and medical skin treatments.
Their courses in cosmetic treatments directed at suitably qualified and registered medical professionals who wish to learn and build on their skills in delivering these procedures.
See our full list of forthcoming training course dates.
SkinViva Training Academy was established in 2013 by Dr Tim Pearce MBChB BSc (Hons) MRCGP – learn more about us. The SkinViva Training team upholds high standards of clinical training providing a combination of fully-supervised practical experience together with essential theory.
For further information, to discuss which course is right for you, to enquire about availability or to book a training course please call 0161 850 2491, or email info@skinvivatraining.com.
