Should I open one or more branches? It’s a million-dollar question that every aesthetic clinic chain owner seeks an answer for. Well, there’s no sure shot answer to that as it’s a multi-factorial and multi-faceted question. Many a times, the answer can be ‘yes’ but at the same time it can be a big ‘no’ if the circumstances are not favorable or you are facing challenges in your current practice.
As a chain clinic founder with over 25 years of experience and having established 9 branches myself, I have been pondering over that question time and again. With Alive Wellness’ one-of-its-kind and state-of-the-art flagship center recently opened in South Delhi, I think it is the right time for me to answer that question. I have come up with a checklist that would help anyone who is trying to solve this jigsaw puzzle keeping their ambitions and circumstances in mind.
- Controls – Do you have better controls – financial, operational, efficiency mapping, clinic SOPs and other administrative measures in your current practice?
- People – What’s your attrition rate? Do you over depend on a few colleagues? Maybe doctors, clinic managers, consultants or therapists?
- SWOT – Do you have your strengths and opportunities overpowering your weaknesses and threats?
- Patients – What’s your new patient acquisition cost, CLV and average ticket size?
- Smart Work – How good are you at delegation and distribution of work?
- Finances – How quick can your finances break even?
- Are you an early adapter and good at adding new segments like body contouring, intimate healthcare, etc.?
- How do you rate your marketing skills or your agency’s performance on managing your Google reviews, SEO, social media pages and YouTube channels?
- Technology – How tech-friendly are you? Have you tried to introduce new ways of managing your clinic?
- WhatsApp – Do you have an integrated WhatsApp manger? WhatsApp is going to be the growth engine for any business, this is my observation though, but seemingly becoming true gradually. WhatsApp can be a powerful tool in customer engagement as well as communication management.
Sometimes, you learn while you are on the job, and nobody is born perfect. Having said that, if I must propose a formula, just try to honestly answer the above questions. If you score 60% or 6 points out of the above 10, then you are in the positive zone or you are showing favorable trends. In case yes, and you have the willpower to put that extra effort to go till the last mile, I strongly recommend putting your energies and going for 2 – 3 branches to start with. And in case the results are negative, no need to get disappointed. Just work on these critical success factors and get yourself ready to be in that league as medical aesthetics in India will be growing at a very rapid pace. So, get ready to embrace this change and maxi-ply (multiply and maximize) on your efforts which you have been putting in the last few years.