Preparing your Aesthetic Clinic for 2026

Top Tips, contributed by Marcus Haycock, LMI, sharing practical steps to help clinic owners plan and prioritise for the year ahead.

As aesthetic businesses look ahead to 2026, the most important question is not, “What more do we need to do?”

It is, “Where should we deliberately focus?”

After more than 23 years working nationally and internationally with some of the most successful medical aesthetic practices, one thing is consistently clear. High performing clinics do not succeed by doing more. They succeed by stepping back, taking a strategic bird’s eye view, and making intentional decisions about where to refine, strengthen and simplify.

The Eight Core Areas to Review

1. Business Strategy
Strategy, direction and goal setting

• Is there a clear strategic vision that extends beyond the next 12 months?
• Are business goals translated into focused, measurable priorities?

Does every role in the clinic clearly support the overall direction of the business?

2. Culture
Purpose, values and behaviours

• Is the clinic’s purpose clearly defined and personally meaningful to the team?
• Are values consistently communicated and actively lived day to day?

Are behaviours addressed and reinforced in line with the culture you want to build?

3. Marketing
External strategy and internal alignment

• Is there a clear 12 month marketing plan rather than reactive activity?
• Is marketing aligned to strategic goals, ideal patient profiles and most profitable services?

Is there an internal education plan to increase patient awareness, retention, visit frequency and average spend?

4. Clinic Operations
Efficiency, consistency and scalability

• Are operational systems documented and easy to follow?
• Do inefficiencies create delays for patients or lost productivity for staff?

Could the clinic operate smoothly with reduced owner involvement?

5. Staff Management and Empowerment
Leadership clarity and accountability

• Is everyone clear on their high payoff activities and how these support clinic goals?
• Are managers coaching rather than directing to build trust and motivation?

Is there a formal evaluation process covering goals, values, development and personal growth commitments?

6. Patient Journey
Consistency, measurement and insight

• Does every team member understand their role in delivering a five star experience?
• Are key performance indicators measured across acquisition, conversion, retention and referrals?

Are patient surveys conducted at least twice a year to capture real time insight?

7. Reputation
Advocacy, visibility and control

• Are patients actively recommending your clinic?
• Is patient advocacy measured consistently and tracked over time?

Do you actively manage online reviews with a clear strategy to increase positive feedback?

8. Financial Performance
Insight, capacity and control

• Are revenues and profitability improving year on year?
• Do you clearly understand and consistently market your most profitable services?

Are key financial ratios actively monitored, including gross margin, staffing costs, marketing spend and rent ratios?

What the Top 5 Percent of Practices Do Differently

Across hundreds of high performing aesthetic businesses, three traits consistently stand out.

They create a culture of continual learning and humility.
They focus on refining something every day.
They deliberately work on the business, not just in it.

As Michael Gerber explains in 'The E-Myth Physician', this mindset enables practitioners to build scalable, saleable businesses and design high value exit strategies on their own terms.

Most importantly, the strongest practices empower their people through purpose. They are not driven purely by money, but by contribution, pride and service to patients.

A Final Reflection

The Strategic Radar is designed to help you slow down, step back and see your business clearly. By using the tool, you can identify where your clinic is strong, where it is stretched, and where focused leadership attention in 2026 will create the greatest impact.

Focus creates momentum. Momentum creates results.

This is how confident leadership, sustainable growth and high value aesthetic businesses are built.

About the Author

Marcus Haycock of Transformational Leadership Consulting specialises in developing leaders across medical aesthetic practices. He partners with LMI, a world leader in people development and organisational performance improvement since 1960. Together, they create Total Leaders through a unique multi sensory learning system and spaced repetition that drives permanent behavioural change. Marcus’s practical coaching supports clinic owners, managers and teams to lead with clarity, strengthen communication, build positive cultures and deliver strong business results.