Stronger together

Sara Cheeney on why the relationship you have with your suppliers is one of the most important things in your aesthetic business

SARA CHEENEY

Sara Cheeney is a nurse practitioner and owner of the award-winning Pure Perfection Clinic in Chester, North Wales. In 2019, Sara was awarded the title of Aesthetic Nurse of the Year at the Safety in Beauty Awards in London. Through her business, Clinic Success, Sara offers coaching through weekly calls and regular WhatsApp messages for as long as needed. To find out more, or sign up for her mailing list, email sara@clinicsuccess.com

A san aesthetic clinic owner, one of the most obvious relationships to prioritise is the one you have with your patients. After that, you’d probably focus your time on the relationship you have with your team.

Beyond that, though, do you leave any real time to work on relationships with your suppliers?

When it comes to an investment, there’s so much more to gain than just a machine purchase and a wave goodbye. Any supplier worth the price tag they give you will be there to support you throughout your working career together.

What matters to your customers matters to you. And that’s why your suppliers are so important. Here are a few key benefits to that clinic-supplier team-up:

#1 LONG-STANDING SUPPLIERS

In order to protect your business, it’s important to choose longstanding suppliers who know what they’re doing and care about it too. Choose to invest in those with experience under their belts and a supportive team to match.

#2 QUESTION THEIR ETHICS

Stocking a brand name in your clinic means that what matters to each supplier will soon rub off on your business.

That’s why you must ensure a supplier’s ethics are in line with your own and that their devices are safe, FDA approved and led by outstanding patient results. It’s also good to read up on any clinical trials they may have.

#3 MARKETING SUPPORT

This is undoubtedly something you should talk to each supplier about before you choose to invest in one of their products. Do they have a team who can walk you through your key Marketing questions? What’s their image stock like? Do they help with social media?

In order to make any investment work, you need to promote, promote and promote it again and a lot of that is reliant on your supplier.

#4 TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

A company that continues to support your growth with training is one that will help to make your business a success. You can never know too much in such an ever-changing market, so a constant stream of refresher and new product or protocol training from each supplier is important to keeping you and your team at the top of your game.

#5 THOSE UNEXPECTED MOMENTS

Holding a good relationship with suppliers is crucial to those unexpected breakdowns and downtimes that could result in cancelled treatment sessions. The better your communication lines, the more likely you will be to get someone out quickly who can fix the issue and get you back up and running.

#6 PRICING STRUCTURE

There’s no denying that having a good working relationship with a supplier can bring a few little perks. People buy from people, and if you can build a good rapport and level of respect, then there may be a discount or two to be had on future purchases.

#7 FOR YOUR EARS ONLY

With more than 1,000 aesthetic clinics in the UK, it’s never been more important to find a genuine USP and sell, sell, sell it. Being on the best possible terms with your suppliers can often mean you’re the first to hear about new product launches, giving you early or first access and therefore putting you ahead of the competition. They can also invite you to exclusive events that may open up new doors of opportunity.

#8 SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

In a world swamped by social media, it can be harder than you expect to be seen. Every aesthetic clinic is playing the same game on social media and trying to stand out. If you can build a positive online relationship with your suppliers and tag them in everything you share, you’ve got a great chance of them resharing your content organically and helping to widen your reach and potential customer base.

#9 CONSISTENT STOCK

As much as we all try to keep on top of our stock count, sometimes things go wrong or get missed. If you have an open communication line with your supplier and keep in regular contact, you are more likely to get what you need when you need it – even if it is a little last minute!

#10 LOOK TO THE FUTURE

Simply put, a good supplier opens up opportunities for you. They care about your future, and they invest their time into it. Speak to each potential supplier about what extra opportunities they may have for you, like becoming a KOL, trainer or speaker for their brand.

As a UK Trainer and Speaker for Wigmore Medical, Global KOL for HydraFacial and Brand Ambassador for InMode, I can’t stress enough the importance of these supplier relationships. So much of my career can be accredited to the enormous opportunities offered to me by these suppliers, most recently speaking alongside Dr Obagi at FACE Conference 2022.

From the products I offer in clinic to the exhibitions I speak at and the products I train on, I have, over the last 15 years, developed a huge passion and belief in the brands that believe in me too, which makes our relationship the most natural and easy thing to sustain.