27 Jul The Power of the Consultation

The Consultation is elevated service.

What do your guest experience in the first fifteen minutes of their appointment at your spa? Are they greeted with a friendly smile and welcomed into the space by name? Are they offered a refreshment? Do you ask them to fill out a pre-treatment form to gain details about their skin concerns and skincare routine? Or are you immediately starting their service after checking in? Hopefully it’s not the latter. The consultation experience is one of the most important parts of your guest’s appointment and an essential part of the guest experience.

You never get a second chance at a first impression

The purpose of a consultation with a guest before their service is to establish trust, understand their concerns, and the results they are looking to achieve. Sometimes a guest will book a service that is not going to give them the best results for the goals they are looking to achieve. Asking the right questions can prevent the wrong service from being performed and help guide your guest in the right direction. Having this dialogue with your guest will help make recommending home care easier and the likelihood they will be open to purchasing home care to ensure great results.

Another important component to a good consultation is guest safety . This is the most important reason to carry out a consultation, you want to ensure that you are performing the right treatment and be aware of any contraindications. This crucial step sets you up as the expert but also as someone who truly cares about their health and wellbeing. It also good to have these for your records as well.

Consultations also protect your business. Having the guest sign the consultation form before a treatment means you and your business are covered in the extreme case of legal action. It is good practice to have your guest sign each time they come in, you never know if things have changed for them since their last visit. They may have developed an allergy, have added or changed medications or perhaps they have become pregnant.

Consultations also build loyalty and have a direct link to rebooking rates. Guests will remember the time you took to really understand them and will remember the personalization and customization of their experience that took place because of a thorough consultation.

Top Trend in 2022 : Hyper-personalization

The Consultation has taken on a new meaning when it comes to hyper-personalization. One of the top trends for 2022 is in depth personalization. We already touched on why a consultation gives that personal touch, but what about taking it further through a skin analysis tool designed just for spa and spa retail?

Meet Observ320. Designed specifically for the spa and esthetician. Oberv320 gives you increased insight into your customers’ skin and allowing you to provide them with even more valuable aid. It is the premier disection technology and visual engagement sales tool. Having a visual diagnostic device will increase your retail by 40%. To learn more about this visit www.edgelessbeautypro.com

Your Retail business should be 50% of the service revenue

A good consultation will directly strengthen your sales. It’s not rocket science. Guest seek out your advice and expertise, so be sure you give it to them. By spending the time with them early in their appointment getting detailed information about their concerns not only allows you to best help them achieve their skincare goals but it also allows you to get a good sense of their lifestyle, their habits and what home plan will best suit them. Bottom line, the more you know the more you can successfully cater to the individual. By taking this time, you will find that when it comes time to recommend and show them products, it won’t come off as “sales-y”. It will be a direct follow up to what you had spoken about earlier and tailored to the concerns they communicated to you. This is your time to shine and to show your passion and knowledge.

Your retail area is your stage

The finishing touch on a great consultation and even better skincare service is the retail area. Whether you work in a luxury spa or small quaint skin studio, do not miss the important details of retail space.

Ideally you would be able to allow for 15 minutes consultation at the beginning of the service and allow 10 minutes at the very end to finish up with retail recommendation.

“ The service is not over until the guest purchases home care”- a wise esthetician once said.

Retail studies have shown that most consumers will look to the right of a space as they walk in. This would be a good idea to have your retail sit to the right.

Have your retail space be inviting, it should appeal to the senses. Sight, sound, touch and taste.

Do you have good lighting showcasing your brands? Is it inviting and allowing for your guests to touch and smell products?

Do you have aromatherapy to fill the space with a lovely scent? Is there calming music playing? And finally do you offer tea, flavored water or vitamin infused beverages?

The more you appeal to the senses, the more your guests will linger and shop.

In closing, the consultation is the foundation in which your business can soar to new heights. What are your best tips for giving a good consultation. Leave a comment below.