• DERMAL
New Year, New Opportunities!
By James Vivian
I love the start of the year for so many reasons. From a personal perspective, I love making plans, lists, goals and always appreciate an opportunity to mark its beginning e.g. start of the year, start of the month, birthday etc.
As someone with an entrepreneurial spirit, I simply wouldn’t be where I am today without all the plans, goals, lists and intentions I have worked towards over the last 15+ years. When it comes to working directly with clients, the start of a new year is the perfect time to reset and realign client goals, intentions and expectations. Across our industry, we often notice an influx of clients who contact us (some even on New Year’s Day) to set in motion their New Year, New Me program. Regardless of whether we are referring to new clients wanting-in on great skin, or current clients that we want to ‘checkin’ with on any goals or aspirations for the year ahead, now is the time to do so and set up your client for the year ahead. As we know, every client is different, with unique skin and unique requirements for how they care for their skin. Some clients visit regularly, some only when they can, some simple care for their skin at home, so it’s always imperative that we not only request information from our client specific to their skin’s concerns but also gather information that will allow you to put forward plans and suggestions that will suit their personal requirements, such as budget, time and commitment. At JV, at the start of each year, we print out an A5 sheet of paper and ask our clients a few questions for them to answer in their own time before they go in with their therapist about how their skin is travelling and what – if anything – they would like to focus on with their skin throughout the year ahead. These sorts of questions can also be asked face-toface in the treatment room, or asked in a text message or email prior to arrival. Like with any advice, you need to personalise any of these types of initiatives to what works for your business and your clients. The style of questions we ask at JV include: - How has your skin faired over summer? Have you been looking after it well or have you been having – and justifiably so as you deserve it – too much fun in the sun? - On a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being low and 10
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being high), how you do you feel about your skin at the moment? - With this being your first visit for the year, would you like to focus on any elements of your skin more specifically this year? If yes, where? - When it comes to making a plan for your skin to target your concerns for the year ahead, any limitations around your ability to commit to your skin currently e.g. frequency of visits, budget etc.? There is also an opportunity here for you to ask your clients about any feedback they might have that can allow you to better look after them, improve client care, enhance outcomes etc. At JV, at the start of each year we send out via social media and email a client survey which asks our clients to either anonymously or not to answer a set of hard-hitting questions that helps us improve, avoid dissatisfaction and open the lines for communication. Each year we receive over 100 responses which either confirms the good work we strive for daily or provides insights and suggestions as to where we can be doing better (should we wish to listen). Being open to feedback, I think, is an extremely important part of being both a therapist and a business owner. Being a therapist or a clinic that exists for its clients will only occur when you create an opportunity for your clients and customers to feel they have a safe space to voice their feedback, be it positive or negative. It’s essential for any client’s skin journey to stay in touch to ensure that the treatments you are performing, as well as the skincare you have suggested, is working as intended and as any long-standing therapist will attest,
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treatments and skincare don’t always go as intended. B u t b a c k t o o u r N e w Ye a r, N e w M e programming. Once you have established your clients’ goals for their skin, you can now create specific treatment plans and homecare plans to target these concerns and your clients should be more motivated to not just book a treatment or purchase skincare, but also be more inspired as you are listening to their concerns and addressing accordingly. Asking a client about their concerns can – and should – happen at each appointment, however, there’s never a better time than the New Year to have a fresh start, a new chat and make some intentions of how you’re going to work together across the year ahead. And finally, remember that the best treatment might not necessarily be something that you can offer. It may be that the pigment you have been working on really hasn’t been budging, so perhaps it’s time to come back to the conversation about seeing a Dermatologist. Or it might be that there is a serum that your client just hasn’t been saying yes to but you know it’s the missing link in their routine. “Well Darling, now’s the time!” @jamesvivian
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