Mala McAlpin Treating clients’ skin doesn’t have to end during the shutdown period. Here’s how.
We are currently seeing the incredible solidarity and versatility of our industry playing out, and therapists and business owners adapting so quickly to such adversity is nothing short of inspiring. While we may operate in an industry that most of the time requires touch, it turns out there are still plenty of ways in which you can service your clients now that you can no longer perform treatments, and continue their skin journeys remotely in other ways. We speak to several business owners on how they’re keeping business going.
Jane Marshall – Skin By Jane Marshall
Jane is keeping her clients educated and encouraging them to keep up their routines through instructional social media videos.
“What a time to be alive! A crazy time and one we will never experience again. As skin professionals it is our passion to keep your skin goals on track through this uncertain time. Self care is always important, but especially when there is so much uncertainty around the present and future of our country’s health.”
“Though you can’t get into your local salon at the moment, please keep being kind to yourself and your skin. What better way to create a habit and get your skincare routine ON POINT, than with a 14 day lockdown!! Alllll the time to layer the serums!! Stock up on your usual homecare products to ensure your skin doesn’t suffer from self isolation. It’s also a fab time to do that mask you never have time to do!! Ask your regular therapist for an ‘ at home’ mini facial option. Is there a peel or mask you can be doing? What can you do once or twice a week to keep your skin looking and feeling fab until you can get in to see them again?”
“Therapists, call your clients that have had to reschedule or cancel appointments. Ask them how they are, if they have enough of their current homecare products. If not, offer to deliver it to them. These are your clients and people will be relying on you to keep your doors open in the future. Send them samples of a new product to try whilst at home in self isolation. Face time them to show them how to use the weekly mask you just sent them. Make sure they feel cared for. We like to follow the feel good, look good mantra. And a big part of that is keeping our skin looking and feeling fab!!”
Therapists and business owners adapting so quickly to such adversity is nothing short of inspiring.
James Vivian – James Vivian
James has been offering Skype consultations for a long while, and now could not be a more perfect time to be offering these.
“Client cancellations are inevitable in this climate. Social distancing, budgeting, illness, home schooling – the list goes on, however, our duty of care to our clients is unwavering. The time has come for our industry to temporarily adjust the way we do business. There are still so many ways that we can impact our clients’ skin health and that is through emphasising the importance of home care and prescribing at-home treatments. We can continue to communicate with our clients through the phone and – even better – through digital channels such as Skype, FaceTime and Zoom. Whilst we know nothing beats a face-to-face consultation, during this time, these are great alternatives. Also, being creative with video content around caring for the skin at home and apply these to social media channels will also provide entertainment for clients and also remind them that we are still here helping as best we can.”
Laura Soszynski – Willow Day Spa
Laura is taking skincare delivery services to the next level.
Laura from Brisbane’s Willow Day Spa says they are about to launch some exciting new homecare initiatives that are a little bit interactive and aim to drive social engagement – virtually of course! “We have so much planned for our clients to continue self care at home – we are going to be introducing a range of options that they will be able to continue self care at home while we are unable to treat them! Things like “Facial in a box” and online skin consultations. We are setting up and encouraging a personalised hashtag so that we can all stay connected and ‘socialise’ through our platform. We are thinking selfies with masks on the couch kind of thing!”
Ella Baché Salons
The trusted skincare salon chain has gone virtual.
It’s not just small businesses being nimble and adapting quickly, but also larger chains, like Ella Baché, who have created Virtual Salons offering all Australians complimentary digital beauty services at home. The Virtual Salons will provide clients complimentary Virtual Skin Consultations with their favourite local Ella Baché beauty therapists via video chat and the opportunity for customers to purchase recommended products from their local salons online – supporting local businesses.
“With so many Australians in self isolation, Ella Baché have created this digital platform in anticipation of the closure of our 120 Salons nationwide. Ella Baché are mobilising our national network of expert Therapists to provide Virtual Salons to support the skin health of all Australians,” says Ella Baché CEO Pippa Hallas.
So – while you may have to close your doors, continue to care for and stay in touch with your clients. There are still plenty of ways you can service them, and several revenue streams you can adopt. Do you currently have an online store you could inject more time into, or do you need to set one up (The city of Melbourne has today released $5 million in financial support for small to medium sized businesses to invest in online and e-commerce capabilities)? Do you have a remote consultation system in place already? Are you planning to contact your clients individually about their homecare? Could you introduce postage, home delivery or pickup services on product? Be flexible and adaptive when it comes to these services and you can make it through this!
