{"id":76716,"date":"2020-07-09T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.phorest.com\/?p=76716"},"modified":"2022-10-06T10:38:01","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T10:38:01","slug":"maintain-post-lockdown-quality-salon-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.phorest.com\/gb\/blog\/maintain-post-lockdown-quality-salon-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Maintain A Post-Lockdown, Top-Quality Salon Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The industry is likely never to go back to the way it operated before COVID-19. As salons and spas progressively reopen, they are also shaping a new normal. However, with social distancing protocols in place, maintaining an engaging customer experience might feel slightly challenging. From cleanliness procedures to booking appointments and selling retail, various processes are undergoing considerable changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What if collectively, as an industry, we rose to the occasion and made the lifelong dream of owning, managing and growing a successful salon business benefit from these changes? Oddly predictive, we kicked the year off with a post titled ‘Thinking Differently: Your 2020 Blueprint For Salon Growth’<\/em><\/a> <\/em>which we concluded with a quote from George Bernard Shaw:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProgress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In times of uncertainty, you can either freeze, seek opportunities and advantages, put yourself on auto-pilot, fight back or use your creativity to shape what comes next. What will your story be? If there’s ever been a time to innovate and create a truly unique, top-quality experience for your salon clients, that time is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"top-quality
Hairdresser dyeing hair at the salon, post-lockdown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Welcoming clients back and adapting to a new reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some of the obvious changes to your salon might include the removal of the waiting area and reading material, only allowing staff to handle retail products and no longer serving beverages or taking walk-ins. Maybe you’d rather clients prepay their appointment to avoid unnecessary contact at the front desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever it is, salons and spas will need to adapt to this new reality shaped by health and safety rules, but also clients, who may have traded their “fear of missing out”<\/em> for a “fear of going out.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identifying the gaps, clarifying and prioritizing the problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first step to figuring out how to optimise any process is to put some time aside to think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Examine <\/strong>your post-reopening customer journey and make a map of what it looks like.<\/li>
  2. Make a list<\/strong> of any evident gaps and pain points you can identify that are due to new rules and regulations. Ask your team if they spot any other ones.<\/li>
  3. Clarify<\/strong> each gap or pain point in a sentence or two. Someone who knows nothing about your business should be able to understand the problem by reading that description.<\/li>
  4. Establish<\/strong> priorities (what you will tackle first).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Reframe the problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The tough thing about feeling stuck is taking that first step in a new direction, pulling apart what exists and creating a new reality. Let’s say your front of house is overwhelmed by calls during opening hours, making it difficult for your staff to give their undivided attention to the clients in the salon coming up to the till to pay for their treatments or services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The human problem behind the business problem:<\/strong> your front of house staff is doing their best, but feeling overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An unspoken truth about the situation:<\/strong> clients want to be reassured they won’t get lost in your salon’s reopening process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What you need to achieve: <\/strong>find another channel where clients can get the same level of reassurance enabling front of house staff to bring increased value to the in-salon customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Shaping actionable solutions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    For each pain point, consider if technology could enable a solution you wouldn’t have thought of before. In this case, activating online bookings and\/or a waitlist on your salon appointment software,<\/a> in addition to setting up a Facebook Messenger bot to answer the most frequently asked questions would reduce the call volume. If technology can’t help, what can you do differently in your shift rotation, etc.?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Maybe there’s something else you can think of \u2014 don’t settle for your first stream of consciousness. Brainstorm 3 to 5 ideas on your own for each paint point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then, assemble groups to work with, and ask every team member to come up with 3 ideas that could help solve the challenge at hand. In this case, perhaps get your front of house staff and a manager involved in this particular brainstorm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make combinations based on what everyone has come up with and shape concrete plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ideas to play around with<\/h3>\n\n\n\n