Occasionally we have customers asking for marketing advice and inspiration, so we have compiled a list of promotions, ideas and tips that may help out if you could use a hand getting started.
Please do not forget to check the knowledge base and dropbox for before and after photos, seasonal promotional materials and any technical how-to’s for the IPL machine. Here you can find videos such as:
SkinBase Intense Pulsed Light Treatment
SkinBase Intense Pulsed Light for Acne
These are available for you to post on your social media or website, and are here to help you promote IPL. Make sure you are posting frequently about IPL as the more you post, the more people will see it! Not everyone will know that you now offer IPL so make sure you repeatedly post and tell people so that they now know and so that they do not forget to book in!
Possible promotions:
So now you’ve posted about IPL on your website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and told your existing clients, what can you do from here? Here are some ideas to get clients through the door, get them patch tested and ready for treatments when you have your free week. As a reminder, you get a free treatment week you can take within your first month with the machine, just send us an email or call us letting us know which week you’d like to take this and all treatments above your weekly minimum will be credited.
- The YES/NO Game: Get all your therapists talking about IPL to help educate your clients and spread the word. Ask them to then offer patch tests/consultations. At the end of the week or month, the therapist with the most ‘No’s will get a prize. This will get your therapists used to asking and understanding that a ‘No’ is not a failure. They have actually let the clients know what you have to offer so a 'No' is as good as a yes. The importance is that the therapists are still informing and offering patch tests. Whilst doing this, you may also get a few ‘Yes’s which is more potential clients coming back for treatments!
- Facebook/Instagram Sharing: The most effective marketing seems to be shared videos of treatments posted on Facebook or Instagram. Post one of the videos linked above and ask people to share the video to be entered into a prize draw for a free or cheaper treatment. This then spreads the word, delivering the message in the way you would like, and can reach people that otherwise may not have heard of your salon or knew you offered IPL.
- One Day Only 50% Off Introductory Offer: This can be good when launching new treatments, starting up with IPL and having the occasional ‘sale’ day. People may be interested in treatments and this might be the kick they need to go through with it. You can tie this in with your free day so you can maximise your amount of bookings for the free day and so you’re still making a good profit eve though the treatments are cheaper – it’s a win-win!
- Payment Plans and Finance Packages: Some salons offer payment plans or finance packages for customers who may want pricier treatments but cannot pay the total amount in one transaction. It is up to you to determine if this may be something you could offer, and what payment plans you can offer customers. You could even add a few treatments into a bundle that you sell as a package on finance, and then work out a price they can pay off over a set number of weeks.
- First Treatment Free When You Buy A Course Of 6-8 Treatments: As the hair reduction treatments require anywhere from 6 to 10 treatments, so an offer like a free treatment or 20% off will get customers to bulk-book, and therefore you know they will be returning for the next treatment. It can also let you choose the dates for follow up treatments as it can be booked further in advance, and the customer has already paid so will have to work with your schedule. Remember, hair reduction courses should be scheduled to work with the hair growth cycle – not around when the customer feels like attending!
- Recommend a Friend: If someone comes for a treatment and they say ‘Friend’ recommended them, then Friend gets £20 off a treatment. Gives incentives to recommend the treatments to friends, and can adjust the discount or freebie they get for recommending to suit your salon. A good way to expand client base to include friends and family of existing clients.
- Book in a course of Bikini hair reduction and get free Underarms: As underarms are a smaller treatment and as the hair is dark and thick, it can be easier to get good results and it doesn’t take much additional time or effort. You could use a promotion week of “Start a course of bikini hair reduction between Monday 1st and Sunday 7th and get a course of underarm hair reduction free!”
- If you get clients in for manicures or facials, you may be able to upsell IPL through offering advanced IPL treatments to help with rosacea or acne, or to do upper lip and chin hair reduction instead of dermaplaning or shaving. These may offer them more permanent solutions to any skin issues or odd hairs they may dislike.
- The Manicure offer: We have a manicure offer on the SkinBase dropbox, which promotes a free patch test with every manicure. As a manicure is a popular treatment, you can chat to plenty of potential clients and you also have the perfect time to run through the consultation. If you have weeks where you are not hitting your minimum £45.60 spend, it would be useful to slot these free patch test in on those weeks, therefore you will use the machine for the minimum £45.60 spend and may possibly get a refund if the customer books a treatment.
Top Tips:
Now you’ve ran some promotions and got some clients booked in for treatments, what can you do from here? There’s plenty of ways to keep clients returning and to use your existing clients to help gain more and more. Here are some more tips we have pinched from our trainers.
Charge What You’re Worth: Some people think charging less attracts more custom or are scared to charge higher in case they lose custom. When deciding on your pricing you need to make sure you cover your costs, premises, consumables, insurance, phone bills. You also need to ensure you pay yourself a wage, charge you’re worth, and ensure you are making money from each treatment. You also need to add on a profit. This will give you the leeway to re-invest money into the business, new treatments, new marketing without it costing you personally and taking away your wage.
Client Reviews: Client reviews and client recommendation can hugely drive a business to grow and attract loyal clients. On social media or on booking sites ensure you showcase your client reviews, screenshot a message they have sent or ask them to leave a review to build your reputation. If you are really struggling, offer an incentive for a client to leave a review.
Loyalty cards: It's always worth giving back to your clients that give to you, you want to ensure you are showing your clients you value their custom. Loyalty cards are perfect for this as clients have to aim to have a certain amount of treatments before reaping the rewards, and it can be % off, an upgraded version, you can tailor it to suit your clients.
Products: When advertising for clients to book courses, an incentive always helps. However, it doesn’t always need to be a discounted amount. You could choose a product which would help with their results, you could price it into the course if needed and do a bundle package, or if its feasible offer a free aftercare product when they book a course of so many treatments. For IPL including some aloe vera and SPF can be great for helping them with treatment post-care.
Aftercare kits: Another way to set yourself apart is to provide an aftercare kit for your clients, it doesn’t need to be expensive and can be costed into the treatment amount, but it's a nice touch for clients. You can ensure they have everything they need for the best results and they have a nice gift to take away with them. It could consist of items such as; Sample products, aftercare instructions, necessary consumables, a little sweet treat (our therapists like to use palma violets as they are inexpensive but lindt chocolates would also be perfect).
FAQs:
How do I price my machine? I can’t compete with some of the prices near me!
IPL is unfortunately unregulated, which means that there is a varying standard of machines across the market. Some therapists may have bought cheaper Chinese machines and therefore can afford to do cheap treatments. These therapists also may not have had any training. Customers may not know what to look out for when deciding where to go for a laser or IPL treatment, so why not let them know why our machine stands out from other IPL and Laser?
The machine is medically certified and can offer advanced skin treatments.
It is European manufactured, we work directly with the manufacturers in Italy. We hand picked this Italian IPL machine as we believe it is the best on the market, they have been manufacturing since the 1970's.
Very fast compared to others due to the large handset 13.02cm2 (most are between 5-8cm2), reducing treatment time and freeing up more slots for other appointments.
No gels needed as it has the cryo handset, this means treatments are quicker and cleaner. The cryo handset has an adjustable temperature to tailor it to each client’s preferences to make the treatment virtually painless for them, all they will feel is the quick sensation of heat as against other lasers that ping like the flick of an elastic band. We even find therapists using the IPL cryo handset for unrelated treatments because of how well it cools the skin.
I’m not sure how to price my treatments, should clients book in per treatment or book in a course?
We recommend booking in courses as this way clients are more likely to return for this next session and then will adhere to time frames you give them. As hair cycles differ depending on where you are targeting, it is important to keep that in mind when spacing out a client's sessions and making them adhere to this spacing if they wish to see good results.
Most salons sell in a course of 6-8 treatments depending on what hair you are treating and what skin tone the client is. We recommend advising clients that they can book a course of 6 treatments for Fitzpatrick skin tones 1-3, but may need one or two additional treatments on the end to get any remaining stubborn hairs. For Fitzpatrick skin tones 4 and 5, as the energy goes in slower and lower so we advise to book them in for a course of 8 treatments with the possibility of needing an additional treatment or two for the last remaining hairs.
I’m worried about the weekly charges. If I'm struggling to get customers each week, what should I do?
We understand that the first few weeks with the IPL machine can be daunting, especially if you haven’t immediately got customers booked in. We suggest that in your quieter weeks you schedule in patch tests to get up to the weekly minimums. If you can provide five free patch tests then this uses the machine for its weekly minimum of £45.60, and it could potentially turn into follow up treatments which would refund these patch test costs. Even if the client does not return for the treatment they may still talk to friends and family about their experience which could bring you new clients.
Another option would be to talk to friends and family, and give them a reduced (or free) rate if they agree to be used for promotional ‘Before’ and ‘After’ photographs for your salon. A lot of salons forget how well testimonials and photographs can promote treatments, and whilst we supply some photos for you to use, getting your own will really increase your confidence and ability to sell your own treatments.
My customers are worried that IPL might hurt, or have shared horror stories about IPL and Laser, what should I tell them?
Many customers may feel anxious coming into their consultations or even their first treatment session as it sinks in for them what they’re about to have done. It can help if you explain to them that IPL works through the flash converting to heat energy and then heating up the melanin in the hair to kill the follicle, so the hair does not return. This will set their expectations for the treatment that they may feel some warmth, but it will not necessarily hurt nor feel like other hair removal methods such as waxing; IPL is more of the feeling of a ping of heat. The cryo handset can be set at a comfortable yet cool temperature for the client to numb their skin a bit beforehand. The client should be advised that they should feel the heat yet not feel discomfort – feeling the heat ensures the treatment is working but it should not be uncomfortable or painful. Open communication between therapist and client of any concerns or discomfort is important, and can help you reach the optimal settings during patch testing so the client feels the treatment is working but the settings are not too high for their skin.
There’s a few stubborn hairs left at the end of the treatment, what can I do?
Neither laser nor IPL is guaranteed to eradicate 100% of the hairs in the treatment area for every single customer. We say that to counter this, it is important to set expectations with the customer during their consultation. A realistic goal is hair reduction of 80-85% for Fitzpatrick 4 and 5 skin tones, and 90-95% for Fitzpatrick 1, 2 and 3 skin tones.
To treat stubborn hairs, there are two options. If the hairs are thick and pigmented then increasing the milliseconds by 2-4ms for Fitzpatrick 1-3 and 1-2ms for Fitzpatrick 4 and 5 will make sure the heat penetrates further into the root of the hair. If the hair isn’t especially dark or thick then reducing the milliseconds by 2-4ms for Fitzpatrick 1-3 and 1-2ms for Fitzpatrick 4 and 5 can create more of a short sharp shock to these hairs. You will want to flash once at the first millisecond change, and then again at the second change. This flash is more likely to be felt by the customer due to the slightly shorter duration, but it should not be uncomfortable.
If you have any further questions or queries, please get in touch. We are happy to help however we can. Please find our contact details below:
Phone number: 01782 770810
Asa’s email: asafairlamb@skinbase.co.uk
Website: www.skinbase.co.uk