business How AI Can Transform the Spa Industry

While artificial intelligence, or AI as we have come to know it, is a term most of us recognise, we often don’t understand the different ways that salon businesses interact with it on a daily basis. Today, I would like to talk about AI and how it contributes to the success of many salon businesses worldwide, how can it help salon owners optimise their offering for their clients and prepare their salon businesses for the fast-approaching future.

AI came onto the scene in the 1950’s with the evolution of the computer, capable of processing large amounts of information rather than only completing the commands of its operators. Eventually, with the steady improvement of machine learningalgorithms, computersbegan memorizing patterns and making predictions and decisions to solve problems without being specifically programmed to do so - essentially, they began to ‘think’ for themselves.

It is already an established trend in the beauty and spa industries, with an array of platforms and tools available to salon owners to enhance their clients’ salon experience. Here are just some of the leading solutions that AI offers the beauty industry:

Salon businesses are built largely based on relationships and client interactions. With salon professionals constantly engaging with clients on the salon floor, this does not eliminate the many daily phone calls received by clients wanting to book appointments and ask questions about various treatments and products. According to various studies conducted by Unicomcorp.com, 62% of calls to small businesses go unanswered and an incredible85% of callers will not phone back. This is a lost opportunity. To avoid this, salons can invest in Messenger[ai], which automatically and immediately texts the person who just called the salon. Messenger[ai] is a virtual receptionist who captures all missed phone calls and communicates with clients via text with intelligent autoreplies. Beyond answering calls at any hour, your virtual receptionist can view staff schedules, book appointments, and even take payments through a securelink. If your customer has a more complex question that your virtual receptionist cannot handle, it will quickly transfer the call to your team who can then provide assistance.

According to Mindbodyonline.com, an overwhelming 89% of clients would rather communicate with their salon via text rather than fill out a form, send an email or phone the salon, therefore the result and benefit of capturing these missed calls is crucial. By doing so, it produces new clients, more leads, more appointments are made, and more client relationships maintained, ultimately increasing the growth of your business.

For as long as we can remember, people have been conscious of taking good care of their skin. These days, with so much more information at our fingertips, people have a lot more knowledge about their skin type and how to best care for their skin. Today, our skincare routines and rituals have evolved to include healthy nutrition, supplements, regular facial appointments, fillers, laser resurfacing, microdermabrasion and peels to name just a few.

You may be curious to know exactly how much of an edge is created for skincare platforms that adopt AI in their strategy? As AI tools are more advanced and help in detecting and diagnosing even the most minute troubles and abnormalities found within the skin, they work to process photos and develop algorithms accordingly. Many companies such as Faces, based in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, offer digital beauty advisors, where the platform analyses the skin, provides skincare recommendations and rates the skin based on one’s age and current condition and this is all cleverly done based on AI algorithms.After evaluating skin-related factors such as redness, eye bags, wrinkles, blemishes and more, via a selfie analyser, the application rates the skin's health and suggest ingredients and products that are known to improve it.

This incredible service is also available for clients for an in-depth, one-to-one consultation experience provided by the international brand called Skeyndor, who are the creators of a professional skincare line used in salons. Their AI device is used in combination with a trained facial therapist. This means the client has the best of both worlds - an AI device able to see what the eye can’t see and the professional recommendation of the facial therapist, resulting in an enhanced customer experience, better results and customer loyalty.

In addition to never missing a potential booking, AI is incredibly powerful for its ability to upsell colour services to a haircut client or alerting consumers to a promotion. If the salon is running a discount on a particular product, AI will bring it to the attention of the client on chat or text. If the client expresses interest, the sale goes forward. A payment gateway can be connected, and by using an application, it can complete the transaction over text or online without anybody at the salon having to facilitate that sale.

While you cannot program your employees, you can use AI to help them to answer questions as precisely and consistently as their AI counterparts. This is exactly what SalonScripts.AI, an American company, sets out to accomplish. From handling check-in and check-out, and recommending takehome products, to the complex process of conducting consultations, SalonScripts trains staff in communicating exactly what the owner intends. It reviews and scores employees on their communication, whether it be over the phone or in person. Employees can practice until they feel ready to give it a try in a real situation with a client. The AI software then grades them on how well they communicate when talking to the client. The scripts should be customized so that all information stays true to the brand while still allowing room for each employees’ personality to shine through.

We believe that AI is the natural way forward for the beauty industry which is a personalized and engaging market that generates a large amount of data. AI can help salons and companies to develop data-driven business strategies to grow their business, sales, and clientele.