Something Nice

Here is a great throw-back article from the 1990s, with key success factors that are still relevant to today's electrolysis clinics --Sara

In our travels, one of the electrolysis practices that most impressed us in Jan Reed's Something Nice, Inc., of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Her office of three full-time and three part-time electrologists performed 10,899 client treatments in one year! Jan says that she owes her success to several factors:

Promoting Electrolysis

While building her practice, Jan was tireless in describing the benefits of electrolysis to physicians, civic groups, professional organizations, and esthetics classes in her area. She has also lectured and demonstrated treatments several times to the staff and residents of the Dermatology Department of the University of Minnesota. Additionally, Jan has worked to have the electrolysis profession and her company profiled on radio, television, and in local newspapers.

Understanding Patients

Jan uses a survey to gather patient comments about office services and treatments. This helps her to understand her patients, and also to determine which of her promotional efforts is giving the best results. Recently Something Nice's patients have come from the following sources: -44% were referred by physicians and other professionals -34% were friends of satisfied patients -22% came from the Yellow Pages and from the staff's PR.

Educating Patients

Jan and her staff make a big effort to educate their patients. In addition to receiving a detailed written description of electrolysis before the initial consultation, each client can review the different "display books" that Jan keeps in her waiting room. These binders describe the qualifications of all staff; office procedure; electrolysis equipment; and virtually every other electrolysis fact that a patient might want to know. Jan believes that all of this information leads to relaxed patients who know a lot about electrolysis - information that encourages them to continue their treatments, and that also helps them describe electrolysis accurately to their friends.

Managing a Professional Office

Influenced by Jan's nursing and medical management background, Something Nice has a medical office atmosphere. The most rigorous standards of hygiene and safe electrolysis are observed, and clients are always referred to as "patients" to emphasize that the level of care is of medical quality. Not only does this policy add to client comfort and assurance, it also gives confidence to Jan's staff.

Performing First Class Treatments

Of course, treatments themselves are excellent: equipment is constantly upgraded; board certification, continuing education, and professional association membership are all required for working at Something Nice. Beyond that, all electrologists work to show how much they support the decision that patients have made to undergo electrolysis treatments. As Jan says, "Patients don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."