Reducing Patient Churn in Your Medical Spa

Customer churn or attrition happens to all businesses and your medical spa is not immune to it. It can’t be helped, there are patients switching to other providers for reasons. However, you can reduce the incidence of patient churn.

Know why patients leave your medical spa, and how you could reduce patient churn or attrition. It is a common occurrence, but some medical spas fail to realize is that you do not keep track of patients who never return. According to Solutionreach, most patients leave due to indifference. This is caused by poor customer service, so it is imperative to improve your service.

Running the numbers on churn rate would help give you an idea how many patients you are losing. HubSpot argues you should measure customer satisfaction so you can know who are the unhappy patients. In turn, if you do not account for those who never return (and if there are more who churn), then it is likely your medical spa will fail.

Here is a simple calculation that businesses use, that could be applied to your medical spa, on how to measure churn rate:

Annual Churn Rate = (Number of Patients at the Start of the Year - Number of Patients at the End of the Year) / Number of Patients at the Start of the Year

For example, you have 3000 at the start and 2000 at the end.

3000-2000 = 1000/3000 = 33%

As for the monthly churn rate, just change year to month.

As for an ideal churn rate, it seems there is none, but according to some experts, it is less than the example we demonstrated. However, these numbers should only serve as a guide while it does cost a lot to acquire a new patient, it still is good for business to acquire so long as you are measuring your numbers often.

What Actions You Can Do to Reduce Patient Churn?

Prioritize Communication in the Patient Journey

Aside from these metrics, communication is a huge factor in reducing churn. Patients appreciate it if you communicate with them in every step of their journey. They need to feel valuable to avoid being seen as “indifferent”.

Always ask for feedback from patients, regularly send them personalized emails, and remain transparent with them. Do not forget to thank them also.

Learn how to build high-touch patient journeys >

Emphasize Value

The reason patients could be returning to your medical spa is because of the value you provide. According to Sam Suthar, you could show testimonials to your patients to prove to the others about why patients keep coming back to your medical spa.

Not only the value of your services, but you should value your relationship with your patients. Engage with your patients, and strategize how you can retain your current patient base. Offer incentives or make sure they are getting their value for money in your medical spa.

Strengthen Customer Service

In NGData’s article and in other blogs, customer service is vital in reducing churn. Your staff has a huge role in making sure patients return. One of the things your staff can do while patients are in your medical spa is to be attentive and responsive. Make sure they treat patients nicely as well.

Birkett, A. (n.d.). Customer Satisfaction: The Ultimate Guide. Retrieved from https://www.hubspot.com/customer-satisfaction

Bulygo, Z. (2018, July 13). 6 Ways You Can Improve Churn Rate and Increase Revenue. Retrieved from https://neilpatel.com/blog/improve-churn-rate/

Edgar, H. (2017, May 31). Importance of Patient Retention: 8 Benefits That Every Practice Loves. Retrieved from https://www.practicebuilders.com/blog/importance-of-patient-retention-8-benefits-that-every-practice-loves/

Gandolf, S. (2014, July 11). 9 Essentials of Improving Patient Retention. Retrieved from https://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/medical-marketing-advertising/the-9-essentials-of-improving-patient-retention.html

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Shewan, D. (2017, March 27). How to Calculate (And Lower!) Your Customer Churn Rate. Retrieved from https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/05/12/customer-churn

Smart Insights. (2016, July 20). 17 unbeatable ideas to reduce churn rate. Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/integrated-marketing-communications/17-unbeatable-ideas-reduce-churn-rate/

Solutionreach. (n.d.). 6 Ways to retain your patients | Infographic | Solutionreach. Retrieved from https://www.solutionreach.com/infographics/6-ways-to-retain-your-patients

Stringfellow, A. (2018, June 28). How to Reduce Customer Churn: Tips from 32 Gurus – NGDATA. Retrieved from https://www.ngdata.com/strategies-to-reduce-customer-churn/

Suthar, S. (2018, June 25). 11 Proven Strategies to Reduce Customer Churn Rate Proved By Experts. Retrieved from https://acquire.io/blog/reduce-customer-churn-rate/

Vardhan, H. (2017, December 13). Reducing customer churn: A complete guide | Hiver blog. Retrieved from https://hiverhq.com/blog/reducing-customer-churn/