Styling - Post Covid-19

Styling - Post Covid-19

Remember when you had a person waiting for you patiently while you tended a more difficult customer? What about when the salon was filled with paying customers waiting hours just for you to restyle, refresh and renew their look. 

Now, we suffer from a Global Pandemic which has made the Government shut down your operation. Maybe you were in a salon or a suite or even mobile.  What now, what can you do? You can't open your business and it was tough enough to get new customers, but now, you can't get to your existing customers. 

Customers realize it, you will see more hats, scarfs, wigs, more naturals, more untended color. If you read some online news, you will find that at home hair color and barber clipper sales are now on the rise. So, what does this mean to you.  If you read it as I see it, it should say a couple of points to you. 

1) Your skills are needed - that look a customer has shown the world, it has changed using connected office video and they may not be happy about it. Perhaps they can reasonably pull their look together - but where it took you about 2 hours, it takes them all afternoon...

2) How will your prior customers find you? What about those new customers? If you feel that Social Media is the only way to keep in touch with your customers - - you may have an empty chair at the end of this. You may want to find ways, both old and new, to keep your customers connected to you during this time. 

3) Been mad at the YouTube Girl or Internet Personality - you have a lot of time on your hands. You can make a quick tutorial or even just tips to keep hair healthy during this time.  Customers are "thirsting" for your insight. YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS VALUABLE!

The thing is what will the styling station of the future look like?That new station

Maybe you worked jammed in a salon or station, or you had your own space in a suite.  The future will require that you give your customer a space to feel comfortable and safe.

The future will require that you wear gloves and perhaps even a mask. 

Look at the other industries and see what is happening there.

Routine surgeries have been cancelled.  If you have a surgery, you must have your temperature read and answer a questionnaire. 

Certain Big Box Stores limit the number of people in the store.  Grocery stores are putting up clear partitions between customers and store check out associates.  Some of these practices may change later, but some may stick.

Perhaps you must do a cleaning between customers where the styling chair, shampoo bowl and you may need to get your customer to purchase comb and brush sets to use on their own hair.  

The point becomes, there is no cure for this virus. But we can not shelter forever and we can't go back to practices we used before the outbreak. What are you going to do different?

Share your ideas - our industry is going to need all the ideas it can get to survive. 

CC

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