The Business
Jennifer Turbide is a registered nurse (RN) who has been working in the medical aesthetics world for nearly nine years. “I entered this industry right out of school,” she says, and has been passionate about helping others look and feel their best ever since. Two and a half years ago, she decided to leverage her near decade of experience into building her own business and opened the doors to Dear Me Cosmetic Clinic in Beamsville, Ontario. The clinic provides an array of services from injectables to massages that are aimed at improving patients’ confidence, as well as their overall health and well-being.
The Challenge
As with so many busy entrepreneurs, Turbide was struggling with an endless to-do list which meant tasks like marketing typically got left until the end of the day. “I have two kids,” she notes, “so I would basically go home, put everyone to bed, and sit on the couch for hours trying to figure out how to create things on Canva and put them on Instagram.” As a result, Dear Me’s social media presence was inconsistent and didn’t reflect the high level of service and professionalism the clinic team offers their patients.
Turbide says these problems were not unique to Dear Me’s social media presence, but extended to the clinic’s entire online presence. Specifically, Turbide was less than thrilled with the website she had created for her business. “It looked very homemade. I wanted to have a more professional-looking website. My overall digital presence wasn’t there. I just didn’t have the knowledge to [improve] it and I didn’t have the funds to hire out.”
The Solution
Eager to find a way to improve her clinic’s digital footprint, Turbide discovered Digital Main Street’s Digital Transformation Grant (DTG) Program. The DTG initiative provides brick-and-mortar small businesses with a digital assessment, online training, and a $2,500 grant to implement their Digital Transformation Plan.
The program was exactly what Turbide needed to put her clinic on the map and become more discoverable to an online audience. With the support of Digital Main Street’s educational modules, Turbide established priorities, set goals, and launched two projects to help her take full advantage of the great potential digital marketing holds.
With the DTG funds approved, Turbide hired a social media manager to assist her with the creation, scheduling, and deployment of content on Dear Me’s Instagram account. She also hired a design company to revamp her website and create an experience that reflects the quality and professionalism of her clinic experience.
Key Deliverables
- Applied for and received a Digital Main Street DTG in September 2022
- Hired and briefed social media manager on brand values and content topics
- Created a marketing calendar for social media manager to reference
- Edited and approved social media content calendar
- Hired and briefed web designer on website goals
- Oversaw creation of new website design
The Impact
Turbide says she has no doubt that the clinic’s improved digital presence has resulted in a number of positive changes for her business.
- Follower growth. When Turbide first connected with the social media manager she hired, Dear Me had less than 500 Instagram followers. A year later, the clinic has over 700 followers on the platform.
- Improved search ranking. While search engine optimization is an ongoing process for the clinic, ranking has improved considerably since the launch of the updated website.
- Additional support. Since completing the DTG program, increased business has enabled Turbide to hire two additional staff members: a nurse and an aesthetician.
- Increased social media leads. Prior to hiring her social media manager, Turbide didn’t get very many leads from social media. Now she estimates that about 70% of her patient inquiries come from Instagram.
Next Steps
Dear Me’s polished new digital presence is a huge relief for Turbide; “I really wanted to make sure that everything that I did [online] was really well done. [The DTG program] made it so that I didn’t have to wait five years to rebuild my website.”
With marketing channels driving regular leads to her clinic, Turbide is able to spend more time in the areas of the business where she knows she adds the most value. She is now focused on developing new services and treatments and constantly improving the patient experience at her clinic. Her efforts seem to be paying off; Dear Me just received the News Now Diamond Award for Best Medical Spa in Niagara West. She stated this award is proof “it’s definitely worth putting in the money, effort, and time into strengthening your digital presence.”
French version – https://obiaa.com/digital-main-street-phase-4-french/un-changement-de-look-numerique-aide-la-dear-me-cosmetic-clinic-a-joindre-son-marche-cible/
