January, June, and July…. We call them the “J Months”.  When we are reviewing “J Month” financials with our clients, we are prepared for it to be a bit depressing. Why do these months tend to be slower?  Is there a way to get ahead of the slump and remain profitable during these times?

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Many practices tend to experience a lower volume of appointments and consequently lower revenue in these months compared to the other 9 months of the year.  Why does this happen?

There are many potential factors involved in this seasonality. For January, consumers are typically coming off of spending more during the holidays.  Many of your clients also were just in the office in November or December preparing for their holiday parties.  Finally, folks might be more money conscious with their New Year's resolutions. For June and July, children are out of school and parents are often prioritizing their children’s activities and appointments over their own. Plus, June and July is when many clients are traveling - they’re not in town to come see you, and, even if they were, they have no more money left!

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What can you do about it?

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How can you prepare for this inevitable slow down? While these months may not bring in the same client traffic compared to other times of the year, you can still stay productive during this time. Here are a few steps to help maintain your profitability during the dreaded “J Months”.

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1. Plan ahead

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Promotions

Create a promotion right before the slower months to keep clients engaged. Rather than discounting (which takes a hit on profit margins), think about adding an additional product or service to those you already have.

Rebooking

Are you rebooking clients before they leave your office? If a client comes in for an injectable appointment in the fall, their 3 month follow-up injectable appointment should hit around January, which alleviates some of the slow down by having your schedule filled in advance. 

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2. Focus on Revenue

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Laser season

January is right in the middle of laser season. Make sure your advertising efforts are “laser focused”. Consumable spend associated with lasers is substantially less than injectables, meaning you can increase profit to your bottom line by increasing your laser production, potentially offsetting a lower revenue month.

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Evaluate prices

Is it time to increase prices on current services? Suppliers will regularly increase their prices to accommodate changing costs and you should do the same! If you have not increased your prices recently you should really consider doing so in order to maintain your margins as your costs increase as well.

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Add a new service

Have your clients been asking about a new service or device, and you’re considering it? If you decide you can afford it, and it would make sense to incorporate it into your practice, these slower months might be a good time to get trained, coordinate marketing, and run a promotion to get the device fully integrated into your practice.

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Product Sales

Educate your clients on the value of your skin care products when packaged with the services they are receiving. Especially during the summer season, sunscreen products should be heavily promoted.

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3. Be Mindful of Expenses

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Consumables Spend

As your production decreases in slower months, it becomes more important to be mindful of your spending on “variable expenses” (like consumables). Focus on not overstocking your supplies when you are bringing in less revenue, but rather buying just what you need.

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4. Utilize Extra Time Well

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Provider utilization

Do your providers have one appointment in the morning and one in the afternoon with a big gap in between? Encourage them to use this extra time to call any clients who have not been in the office in over 6 months. 

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Invest in team training

There is always more to learn. The more you invest in your providers, the more valuable the customer experience will be. Some options include setting aside a day of training in a slower month to learn new strategies or bringing in a coach for sales or device training. 

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Evaluate your appointment times

How long is each appointment in total, including set-up & notes taken after the service is performed? Evaluating the client experience from ‘door open’ to ‘door closed’ will provide insight on what is working well & where improvements can be made. 

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How can Maven help?

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At Maven, we will track your Key Performance Indicators and use this information to Create a Budget and a financial forecast. Each month, you’ll have a plan for revenue, profit, and cash flow, so you can stay on your toes and better plan for your natural cyclicality.   If you would like to learn more, visit us at mavenfp.com. 

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