Top Mistakes Aesthetic Clinics Make During the Festive Season And How to Avoid Them
With over two decades of experience, our columnist, Katie Hughes-Dawkins is a highly respected figure in the aesthetic industry, known for her technical expertise and strategic leadership. From her beginnings as a dental nurse and aesthetic practitioner, running a chain of skin clinics, to becoming a dynamic sales leader, Katie has consistently driven business growth and elevated brand profiles on a global scale. Leveraging her extensive industry knowledge and global connections, she helps brands and clinics achieve remarkable success. A sought-after industry contributor, Katie brings her deep understanding of skin health, clinic operations, and the latest aesthetic industry trends to the forefront.
The festive season is one of the highest-value commercial windows for aesthetic clinics if it’s done right! Demand for injectables, skin rejuvenation, and gifting options surges as clients prepare for social events, family gatherings, and the new year ahead. Yet, despite this predictable annual trend, many clinics approach the season reactively rather than strategically. The result? Lost revenue, poor patient experience, and staff overwhelm at the very time the business should be performing at its peak.
This is usually down to poor planning and lack of communication to your patients and your team.
Below are the most common mistakes clinic owners and practitioners make during the festive season and how you can avoid them.
Not Marketing or Educating your Team, Patients and Following in the run up to the Festive Season.
Failing to educate your team, patients, and wider social following ahead of the festive rush can be damaging to your overall success during this period. Marketing is not simply about posting a Christmas graphic in December, it is the consistent, strategic communication that builds awareness, excitement, and demand for your treatments and products. Your team must understand what you’re promoting, why it matters, and how to confidently talk about it. Your patients need education around treatment timelines, pre-party skin prep, downtime considerations, and gifting options. And your social audience needs value-led content that positions you as the go-to clinic for festive beauty, wellbeing, and skincare guidance. When clinics do not market or educate early, they miss out on pre-bookings, lose product sales to more visible competitors, and fail to capture high-intent patients who are actively planning their December beauty and wellness routines.
Each year I see the usual posts from practitioners reminding their patients that toxin takes two weeks to settle and be assessed for tip ups, in December! You’re too late at this point, you end up with a bottle neck of patients and dissatisfaction can occur.
Not Preparing Stock and Retail Gifting Early Enough
One of the most frequent issues is waiting until December to think about festive gifting. By that point, supplier lead times are longer, best-selling stock runs low, and clinics end up scrambling for whatever is left.
Key pitfalls:
• Limited or no festive gift sets available
• No pre-wrapped retail options ready for impulse purchases
• Running out of best-selling cleansers, serums, or supplements
• No physical or digital gift vouchers displayed where clients can see them
Solution
Plan your Christmas retail no later than September. Pre-build curated skincare gift collections at a range of price points (£45, £85, £150, £300+) and have them wrapped or packed ahead of time. Make them visible in-clinic and online. Ensure gift voucher sales are easy, digital vouchers should be purchasable directly via your website or booking link.
Failing to Build Seasonal Treatment Packages
Clients want to look their best for parties and reunions, but most clinics fail to create compelling festive treatment journeys. For example:
• “Red Carpet Skin Prep Packages”
• “Party Season Glow + Lymphatic Drainage”
• “Eyes Bright: Tear Trough + Eye Revive Facial”
• “The Post-Festive Reset (January Detox Skin & Body Plan)”
Without curated options, clinics miss the opportunity to increase average transaction value and introduce clients to multiple treatments.
Solution:
Launch two sets of campaigns:
• Pre-party packages for glow, lift, sculpt, brightening, and injectables
• January Damage Control packages for detox, resurfacing, skin strengthening, and collagen support
Promote these across email, social media, reception desk displays, and patient coordinator scripts.
Not Sending Appointment Reminders Early Enough
December diaries fill quickly, but many clinics wait until clients contact them. By this stage, the diary is full, patients feel frustrated, and revenue is lost to competitors.
Solution:
Start your “December Booking Push” in October.
Send reminders such as:
“Christmas party season is around the corner, secure your injectable or skin prep appointments now before the diary fills!”
Encourage patients to pre-book their December and January appointments in the same interaction.
Top top - you could also offer payment plans in the run up to Christmas, so when it comes to the treatment, the patient is paid up and more likely to spurge on home care.
Not Increasing Staff Capacity for Peak Periods
During the festive season, patient coordinators are stretched, therapists run at full pace, and practitioners burn out. Clinics often assume their current team can simply “manage” the surge, but this leads to rushed appointments, lower experience quality, and team morale issues.
Solution:
• Consider hiring seasonal reception or support staff
• Bring in associate injectors or part-time therapists on flexible hours
• If physical expansion is impossible, extend hours strategically (e.g., Thursdays until 8PM, Sundays until 3PM)
This ensures you capture seasonal demand rather than turning it away.
Underestimating the Power of Festive Digital Marketing
The clinics that win in Q4 are the ones that plan their content and promotional cadence well in advance. Too often, clinics post sporadically or rely solely on clinic walk-ins.
Solution:
• Outsource festive campaign creation if you do not have internal bandwidth
• Pre-schedule all December content by mid-November
• Use email funnels, WhatsApp follow-ups, and Instagram Stories to drive urgency
Remember: Most sales happen when people are reminded not when they first see the offer.
No Clear Gifting Messaging Inside the Clinic
Even when gift cards or sets exist, many clinics fail to merchandise them.
Solution:
• Place gift sets and vouchers at reception and in every treatment room
• Use shelf-talkers and mini signage to highlight gift ideas
• Train staff to suggest add-on gifting during checkout
If clients don’t see gifting, they won’t consider gifting.
Forgetting January is the Real Revenue Opportunity
Many clinics push hard in December and then collapse in January, losing momentum and cash flow.
January is the month when:
• Clients feel sluggish
• Skin is dehydrated, inflamed, or congested
• People are highly motivated for transformation
• “New Year, New Skin” messaging converts extremely well
Solution:
Before December ends, launch January transformation plans focused on corrective treatments, nutrition, skincare resets, and body contouring.
Treating the Festive Period as Just Another Month
Clinics that view Q4 as a strategic sales window outperform those who see it as “business as usual.”
Your clinic should feel festive, inviting, special. This includes:
• Seasonal scenting
• Warm lighting and cosy consultation areas
• A small complimentary hot chocolate, tea, or spiced drink
• A warm and celebratory atmosphere
Patients remember how the clinic made them feel more than the treatment itself.
Final Thoughts
The festive season isn’t just busy, it’s strategic. Clinics that plan early, package intelligently, upgrade the patient experience, and maintain momentum into January consistently outperform their competition.
Success during the festive season comes down to:
• Preparation
• Visibility
• Experience
• Staff capacity
• Smart retail and treatment bundling
• Strong communication and reminders
When executed well, the festive period can be the most profitable and reputation-enhancing time in the clinic calendar.
