If you have IPL, or are considering taking it on to become an AYCE client, the IPL customer journey is crucial to understand.
For maximum success with your SkinBase IPL hair and advanced treatments, you can add value and satisfy clients by considering each of the stages of the customer journey.
By considering your ideal IPL client at each stage of the customer journey, you can ensure all activities run as smoothly as possible, to attract and retain clients and maximise your business. The customer journey can be broken down into 5 stages:
Awareness
Consideration
Decision
Retention
Advocacy
The awareness stage, as the name suggests, focuses on potential clients discovering and becoming familiar with your business. This stage largely relies on advertising, social media and word of mouth.
It is vital that you have a good understanding of exactly who your target client is when thinking about the customer journey, particularly in the awareness phase. Once you know who you are looking to attract, you should consider how and where they spend their time, online and offline. What platforms do they utilise and enjoy? How are they discovering and interacting with your business?
Top Tip: Client personas can be a very useful tool here. Check out the post in the SkinBase Therapist group about creating client personas.
You will use all of this information at the awareness stage to inform future marketing activities, and ultimately to attract as many potential clients as possible.
In the awareness stage, potential clients are realising that they have a problem. In the context of your business, this ‘problem’ is a skin concern. To focus your marketing activities at this stage, you can consider the range of ‘problems’ your potential clients may have. IPL is incredibly versatile, so clients who have a problem that could be solved by the treatment may be dealing with unwanted hair, acne, fine lines & wrinkles, broken capillaries & thread veins or rosacea, for example. However, it is important to note that clients in this stage may not know what the solution to their problem is.
So, through your marketing and engagement with clients, you should deliver education and knowledge to help potential clients ‘diagnose’ their problems and identify potential solutions.
In other words, your goal in the awareness stage is to get potential clients to understand how you as a SkinBase IPL Therapist and the IPL treatment itself can provide the best solution to their problems. This should be done through informative social media posts, blog posts, videos and other educational resources.
Other educational resources within the Knowledge Base includes:
The “All About IPL” social post series
IPL Before and After Images
IPL Promotional Videos
Over on the SkinBase website you can access the SkinBase Blog. Filter the results by “Intense Pulsed Light” to find a range of informative, relevant articles that you can use to educate clients. Such as
Treating Skin Concerns: IPL + Unwanted Hair
What To Expect From IPL Hair Removal
IPL for Pigmentation: How Does It Work
Treating Skin Concerns: IPL for Acne
What Is IPL for Rosacea and Does It Work
Copy and paste any wording you would like to use within your own marketing or on your social media. The content we share is for you to use. You can copy the URL at the top of the page to share the full blog with your clients.
In the Beauty Hub section on the SkinBase Website you can also find the Beauty Guides. These have been created by beauty industry professionals to give practical advice on how to improve skin concerns. There are a range of guides available, including:
The Definitive Guide to IPL
The Ultimate Guide to Acne
The Ultimate Guide to Pigmentation and Skin Blemishes
Download the Beauty Guides for free and send them to potential clients in the awareness stage to help educate.
It is important to answer any questions your potential clients may have at this stage. The resources highlighted above will help you to enhance awareness and educate clients as fully as possible. By starting conversations and answering questions, you are helping to remove any barriers preventing clients from committing to the treatment at the awareness stage.
By educating at this stage, you are also increasing your own credibility, and positioning yourself as an expert in this area. This will help you to build trust and begin to develop relationships with clients. Remember, this stage is about alleviating client pain points by offering potential solutions, not about encouraging a purchase. Offering value to potential clients here will help with credibility and trust.
As potential clients realise they have a need that must be met, and identify IPL as a potential solution, they will move into the consideration stage of the customer journey.
Here, clients will weigh up any shortlisted solutions and decide which is the best choice for them. In the consideration stage, they will be thinking about a variety of skincare therapists and potential treatments that could be used to improve the health of their skin.
Therefore, to retain clients and encourage progression to the decision stage, you must set yourself apart and the treatment apart, and prove why you are the best option.
Intense Pulsed Light Therapy has a huge number of benefits. It is a non-invasive, versatile treatment that can resolve a range of different skin concerns.
Non-Invasive - IPL is a non-invasive, light based therapy. Clients describe the treatment as ranging from a slight tingling, to the feeling of an elastic band lightly snapping onto the skin. The comfort of the treatment is increased by the specially developed cryo-handset. Therefore, when used for hair reduction, it is less painful than waxing, laser or electrolysis.
Zero Recovery Time - The non-invasive nature of the treatment ensures that zero recovery time is necessary. You can immediately get back to your day following treatment, and do not need to take any time out to have a course.
Very Effective - IPL works wonders with a range of different concerns, clearing up your complexion and getting rid of unwanted hair to boost your confidence. Take a look at our before and after images to see the amazing results achieved with SkinBase IPL.
Common questions that may pop up in the consideration stage are related to IPL vs Laser. Potential clients often want to know the differences between treatments and of course, which treatment is better. Unfortunately, there are lots of common misconceptions when it comes to IPL and Laser. You can help to clear them up for your potential clients, so they have all the information they need to make a decision.
“IPL does not penetrate as deep as laser does so it is not as powerful.”
Often, clients equate depth with power and falsely assume that IPL is not as powerful as laser, and therefore, not as good. However, it is important to remind clients that a specific chromophore is being treated during an IPL session. So, a specific depth is required for treatment anyway. The IPL machine uses specific filters to cut light off at the necessary depth it needs to reach the targeted chromophore, without putting unnecessary energy into the skin.
IPL can emit wavelengths from 400nm to 1200nm, and can be absorbed by all targets across that range. Laser, on the other hand, emits a much narrower range of wavelengths, so the correct laser must be chosen for each chromophore.
Laser vs IPL: Telogen Shock
Clients considering IPL vs Laser should also be aware that the length of time that the light is ‘flashed’ into the skin is just as important as the depth the energy reaches.
Some lasers, and at-home devices, work so quickly that they cause telogen shock. This occurs when the treated follicle goes into shock instead of being destroyed. As a result, the follicle stays in the resting phase for longer than it usually would. Therefore, the results may appear quick and effective. However, the hair will return 6-12 months later.
SkinBase IPL allows the millisecond settings to be tailored to ensure the light and heat energy can travel through the length of the hair into the follicle, to cause destruction at the root of the hair and achieve more permanent results.
“IPL is slower and needs more sessions than laser.”
IPL treatment courses and treatment spacing is based around the natural hair growth cycle. Hair can only be treated in the anagen phase of growth, when the hair is still attached at the follicle. Only a small percentage of hairs are in the anagen phase at any one time. So, for effective results, the treatments must be spaced apart properly. A course of 6-8 sessions will ensure all hairs have been treated for more permanent results.
Unfortunately, consumers are increasingly sceptical and distrusting of marketing communications from businesses, and prefer the opinion of other clients. So, at this stage you should highlight the benefits of Intense Pulsed Light, using social proof such as before and afters and client testimonials to validate what you are saying.
The SkinBase Transformation of the Year competition launched in 2022, and each year since we have been searching for the very best client transformation from a course of SkinBase treatments. There have been lots of fabulous before and after images entered into the competition over the months since the competition began, and you have permission to share them all with your clients.
A fantastic IPL Rejuvenation entry was crowned Transformation of the Year 2023. Find it in the “IPL before and afters” folder.
The competition is also a great marketing tool, allowing you to set your business apart at the consideration phase. The winning therapist and client duo crowned Transformation of the Year each receive a fabulous Caribbean Holiday! We are currently searching for the best 2024 transformation, so get those entries in.
The decision stage is around half way in the customer journey. By this point, potential clients have narrowed down their options, chosen a solution, and are ready to make a decision. So, are they committing to IPL, or choosing an alternative? What you do at the decision stage will make all the difference.
Transparency is key here, and your purchasing process should be as smooth as possible to ensure success. Any last minute problems will push clients to change their minds and choose an alternative option. At this stage, you can be more direct about wanting customers to purchase your services, with IPL treatment demonstrations, consultations, patch tests and limited time offers - e.g. pay for 5 treatments, get the 6th free, or pay for leg hair reduction, get underarms for free. You can also continue offering social proof in the form of client testimonials and IPL before and after images, to assure clients they are making the right decision.
Client consultations are an incredibly important part of the decision making process, particularly for an advanced skin treatment such as IPL. The consultation ensures suitability for the treatment, while also providing an opportunity to develop a rapport and build trust with the client, so they feel at ease choosing IPL as the solution to their problems. Within the 1-to-1 situation, you can also reinforce the first two stages of the client journey.
Educate the client, as within the awareness stage, to dispel any myths or misconceptions that may be preventing them from committing to a decision.
Answer any questions that may have arisen since the previous stages, so clients feel they can make a fully informed decision.
Let clients get a feel for the treatment by performing a patch test.
During the consultation, you should also discuss the client’s skin goals and treatment expectations, to ensure they are realistic. Delivering results that meet client expectations is key to successfully providing non-surgical treatments such as SkinBase IPL. The future stages of the customer journey (retention and advocacy) will run much more smoothly if you can properly manage client expectations at the decision stage.
Client understanding is a key factor in getting clients to commit to their skincare journey, and therefore to decide to go ahead with a course of IPL treatments. Studies suggest that client satisfaction is directly linked to the level of information and understanding they have. IPL is an advanced treatment, and a long term commitment is required.
Clients who are confused about the treatment or not committed to having a full treatment course may be unhappy with the results they achieve.
Clients who properly understand how they will benefit from a course of treatment, why treatment spacing is necessary, and how IPL is enhancing the health of their skin will be the happiest.
If you have recently launched IPL Hair, moved onto offering IPL Advanced treatments or are simply using September as a time to push IPL treatments, a (re)launch event is a great idea. If you can get lots of clients into the decision stage at once, by increasing awareness and starting them on the IPL customer journey, an event is a great way to get new clients to book courses of treatment.
Offer consultations and patch tests on the day and make any introductory offers known so clients feel able to confidently book a course of treatment.
Have a patch tested model and demo the treatment to increase understanding and encourage course booking.
Take the offline event online to reach a wider audience - film a Q&A video, live stream the treatment demo etc.
If you have clients in the retention stage, you can be assured that your customer journey is working. However, this stage is incredibly important to get right too, to ensure clients do not leave for a competitor once their course is complete. Long term loyalty is key for beauty businesses, and it is commonly understood that client retention is much less expensive than recruiting new clients. So, ensuring excellent service and a good experience for each client is vital.
Clients who book in for a course of IPL for hair reduction or advanced treatments will be retained for the duration of their course. Due to the nature of the treatment spacing, for IPL hair clients this can be a significant period of time. During this time, you need to go above and beyond to ensure the client remains post-treatment.
Once clients have completed courses they may require ‘top up’ treatments for hair reduction, or maintenance sessions for IPL advanced therapies. Make sure your clients are aware of this during the initial stages of the client journey, to make retention easier post-purchase. This emphasises the idea that the skin is a long term commitment and a one off skin treatment, or even a single course of treatments, will not provide smooth, glowing skin forever. Client retention is beneficial to you as a business, and to the client too, so they can consistently achieve their skin goals over time.
Retention does not have to be difficult. Once your client reaches the end of their course, make efforts to maintain the relationship you have developed with them. Check in with clients to keep up to date about the health and appearance of their skin (just as you will have been doing between treatments!) and offer support and advice. Keep clients up to date about new treatment launches and other business updates, so they feel valued and important. If appropriate, you can also offer your expertise and recommendations as required to enhance the health of their skin. This method of retention is simple if you are a SkinBase AYCE business.
If you are an AYCE business, then you have a range of fabulous treatments to offer to the clients recruited through the IPL customer journey.
IPL Hair Reduction
IPL Advanced
Microdermabrasion
Collagen Lift
Collagen Lift ULTIMATE
Hydro
(If you do not yet offer IPL Advanced and you are ready to progress, get in touch with the team on 01782 770810 to book your Advanced training.)
With unlimited usage of each versatile SkinBase treatment at your fingertips, for a fixed cost of £144, you have the unique opportunity to craft personalised treatment plans for clients. Make the most of your AYCE contract and improve your client retention strategies with personalised experiences and packages.
By assessing clients as individuals, and using your expertise to recommend treatments, you can exceed their expectations and ensure long term loyalty. Consider why clients have come to you, and what other SkinBase treatments they may benefit from. With no individual treatment fees and the fixed cost, you have the financial flexibility to create personalised packages, set prices and benefit from profits. Clients are more likely to remain loyal to a therapist and business who understand their needs and provide a personalised experience.
Remember, clients appreciate recommendations from trusted experts, and that is what you are. So, don’t be afraid to upsell your services to clients. If you have the ability to enhance the health of your clients skin - let them know! They are paying you for a reason. Keep it professional and appropriate, by listening to what the client is telling you, and identifying opportunities to solve their problems.
The ‘summer prep’ IPL hair client trying to get rid of unwanted hair for summer may benefit from a body sculpting course of SkinBase Collagen Lift, for the ultimate summer confidence boost.
The IPL Acne client may wish to have a monthly resurfacing SkinBase Microdermabrasion facial to keep acne at bay and maintain their healthy glow.
Your IPL Advanced client treating hyperpigmentation may wish to maintain their results with a SkinBase Hydro boost every 4 weeks. The gentle yet effective ingredients in the brightening serum are perfect for those prone to pigmentation.
A client who completes a course of IPL photorejuvenation to turn back the clock on their skin could boost their results by following up with a course of Collagen Lift facials. Continually enhancing the collagen production process is a great way to maintain a youthful glow.
When putting clients on combined treatment courses, book them in for their first new treatment at their last IPL appointment to make the transition as smooth as possible. Check recommended wait times between treatments before beginning the new sessions.
In the advocacy stage, happy clients choose to stay with your business, and also take it one step further. Using word of mouth, clients are actively promoting your business to their friends, family and colleagues. There is no better endorsement for your business than happy customers who want to spread the word and support your business. So, all the effort you put into getting clients to this stage is positively impacting the other stages of the customer journey.
Word of mouth is helping to attract clients into the awareness stage.
Happy advocates are useful influencers of clients in the consideration, decision and retention stages.
Clients must be truly satisfied for positive word of mouth to take place.
You can benefit from your hard work and take advantage of the advocacy stage by setting up a referral programme within your business. Encourage existing clients to recommend new clients. Around 90% of clients believe referrals are more trustworthy than advertisements from the business. You can reward existing clients for their loyalty, maintain the positive relationship and get new clients in the door.
As we’ve mentioned. the SkinBase Transformation of the Year 2024 competition is happening right now. Happy clients are the perfect case studies to enter into the competition. Share their fab results, and reward their loyalty with the opportunity to win vouchers and a Caribbean holiday! To get started, you need:
To be a member of the SkinBase Therapist group on Facebook. (There is also an IPL-specific Facebook group available to join)
Before and after images, taken before the treatments began and at the end of the course (a course is at least 3 sessions).
Your client’s permission (once you enter the competition in the Facebook group, you will receive the link to a release form for your client to sign.)
To enter the competition, post your images into the SkinBase Therapist Group within the calendar month to compete in the monthly competition. The entries chosen by the public and other SkinBase Therapists will go through to the end-of-year final. Remember - you’ve got to be in it to win it!
When posting your before and after images and entering the competition, you need to include:
Business name.
Therapist name.
Client name (they can remain anonymous if you wish).
Treatments type & number of treatments .
A client testimonial.
You can earn a free promotional WEEK by becoming an advocate for SkinBase! If you love your SkinBase machine, the service you receive from the SkinBase team and the results you see with the treatments, then spread the word. As a thank you, we will give you a free promotional week to use, and will also waive the weekly minimum charge for that week.
When your friend makes their first payment we will get in touch to let you know and you can decide when to take your free week.
Ask your friend to mention who recommended them when they contact us, if they can give your business name and postcode this will make it easier.