Value-Led vs Volume-Driven Clinics: Which Model Will Thrive?

As the aesthetics market becomes more crowded, clinic owners are being forced to make a strategic choice: will chasing volume or building long-term value set my business up for growth?

The decision they make will determine how clinics approach their marketing and digital strategy.

Using insights from a recent report by Hosted Aesthetics, we’ll explain why focusing on and investing in what patients value will put clinics in a better position to survive market saturation than those driving customer volume.

Patients are reshaping ‘premium’

All aesthetics clinics want to offer a premium experience. By listening to what patients expect and desire from their clinical service, teams can start to meet these needs and attract greater loyalty. Findings from this survey show that patients have three priorities:

• 24/7 access
• Responsiveness, and
• A seamless experience.

All-day access

It’s been known for a while that patients want to be able to conduct their own research in their own time. This survey has shown that 82% are more likely to rebook if they can sign up to an appointment at any time of day. Alongside this, they ranked the speed, availability and responsiveness of service as what matters most.

This means 24/7 access is no longer a nice-to-have, but a baseline expectation for modern patients. From online booking to after-hours messaging, the ability to engage with a clinic at the moment of intent is now a critical driver of conversion, loyalty and long-term value.

Key to this are virtual receptionist solutions, which means the 83% of patients who prefer to call always get an answer to their enquiries. Often AI enabled, tools such as Lety, My AI Front Desk and Aunoa mean tasks such as instant treatment FAQs, appointment bookings, reminders and follow-ups can all be run automatically at any time of day.

However, it’s important to note that these types of systems don’t integrate well with off-the-shelf template websites. Instead, to harness the full potential of these systems, it’s essential that you have a custom-built website which can meet your specific needs, plus those of your patients.

Seamless engagement

Alongside the ability to get in touch with clinics at any hour, when they do, patients want to enjoy a seamless, straightforward experience. With 79% of customers abandoning a booking if it’s too difficult to reach someone or complete online, and the second priority in any interaction being accuracy, it’s key that clinics minimise digital friction.

More than this, a seamless experience enhances the whole brand. Skincare specialists Inky do just that with website features that allow customers to take the lead on their own skincare.

They can create a bundle of products based on their routine, take the intuitive skin quiz or analyse their breakouts. By using AI systems to meet customer needs, Inky shows it’s a brand that cares – and is convenient.

However, it’s not enough to put the right digital systems in place. Brands need to fill any gaps in the customer experience. If your setup generates slow responses, creates unclear booking journeys or uses incorrect information, then it will slowly start to erode the trust and loyalty you’d otherwise build.

This could push your customers towards competitors who are there immediately, reliably and create a sense of always paying attention. So, it’s essential that you run regular audits and checks on your website and make sure any tech is integrated correctly. That way, you can quickly fix any niggles and build real value.

At-scale experience

Although patient volume might not be the main focus, it’s important to keep scalability in mind. A manual process run by your team limits the number of patients you can take on. It also puts emphasis on them to own the process, which can have huge repercussions if a colleague leaves the business or takes on other responsibilities as part of their role.

Although outdated processes may keep diaries full for now, they cap growth potential and put pressure on clinic owners. To successfully expand, it’s important to design and develop a purpose-built website, supported by the right systems, to assist leadership and prevent bottle necks.

More than this, some systems can enhance in-clinic processes. For example, Revieve is an AI beauty and skincare platform used by major global beauty brands.

By integrating this into a custom-built site, clinics can deliver more personalised service and deeper engagement, while gaining vital insights about their patients to inform their wider business.

This means teams don’t need to do more treatments to achieve sustainable growth. Instead, they can satisfy what their patients value and build a clinic experience that is responsive, seamless and delivers consistent service at scale.

Volume or value: which do you need?

Do you want your clinic’s digital experience to be built for volume, or to be built to last?

It’s a key question clinic owners need to ask themselves.

To get a purpose-built website and digital system which can help you achieve both, call us on 01926 754038 or drop us an email at hello@designmc.org - let's start your clinic's digital transformation today.