The complete breakdown of facts why you shouldn’t stop working now, safety protocols and six other ways to work well and safely during the pandemic
Every business is driving their creativity at full throttle to figure out how to cope with the lockdown. I guess you’re too. But, we’re not like the others, right?
Some marketers saying switching to video is one answer. Like, start releasing videos to educate clients about the business. We can’t just start telling customers to start doing their lashes on their own. While many makeup brands are offering discounts on DIY products, lash treatments don’t work like that for sure.
While almost all of us are not partying, or going-out, lashes are more cosmetically important than cutting the hair or going to the nail salon. It’s a somewhat-permanent treatment that needs regular touch-ups. Clients who’ve been wearing lashes for ages need their services as usual.
So, today we will find out what lash customers are saying about lash salons operating during this time and how to stay open. I’ve also listed out an ironclad checklist of safety protocols you can impose.
If you ask me, don’t stop marketing. You just need to refocus a bit because the needs of customers have changed during the time.
Start reading because every second you waste is a loss for you and your customer!
If you closed shop at the start of this year due to the pandemic, congratulations on staying safe. Now that the pandemic is running its course, it’s time to get back on your horse if you don’t wanna run outta bread-n-butter.
Truth be told, most businesses closed shop when COVID hit. But, not for long. Most of them changed ways. Others who couldn’t do that, kept in touch with their clients.
In short, vanishing for months from the scope of your customer is bound to hurt the business. There are other ways you should be looking at. Let’s take a look at them throughout this article.
Before you tell me why it’s impossible to get your staff back to the salon or order imported products, hear what your target customer has to say quoted from real Google Reviews.
– Nicole Yoshi on Cilium Lash Studio, NY: “She was so sweet and caring took her time with each lash …and we barely exchanged any words”
– Poleng Hong on Angel Lash, CA: “Instant gratification. Professional, friendly and clean facility”
– Amela Smailbegovic on Maxim-Eyes Lashes, Fl: “Celine is the absolute best. Great work and always so personable. So happy I found Maxim-Eyes Lashes!!”
– CJ Ciencia on Lash Love NYC: “OMG! After 4 months of not having a fly lash. Geeeez! Thank you, Lash Love”
– Saddier Colina on Foxy Lash Boutique, CA: “They care so much about your health and are just so personal that I always feel special when I go”
– Farrah Predestin on Extend Eyelash Extensions, NY: “…have been coming to Extend Eyelash for about three years …They are clean, professional and experts on exquisite eyelash extensions”
And now, my favorite one.
Kingsley on Lash Lovers, TX– “It took a while to get in the groove since we went on pandemic lockdown 3 days after I got my first full set, but happy to say that I’m back after re-opening and love my lashes. Especially happy with the advice and talent of Master Tech and assistant Mgr, Kara. Her suggestion that I go hybrid and special attention to drying out lashes throughout the session due to face-mask induced humidity was spot on. I love my lashes, they are holding up well and I love that I don’t have to wear mascara to make my eyes show up on Zoom calls.”
You now know why the closing shop is definitely not the answer for coping with the pandemic, but being safe is. Take a look at some of the best professional ways to keep your business running whether you own a lash salon or run a counter in a salon as an artist.
It’s scary to check things online nowadays. Everything points towards the pandemic. That’s even more reason to keep yourself updated on what’s going on in your industry. When it comes to our world of lashes, I have a bunch of bookmarked lash blogs that I like to keep reading through. And trust me, most of them are open.
So, go ahead to google and search for the best lash blogs around you. Another brilliant way to get inspiration and news is by going through the Instagram profiles of lash artists or businesses. It’ll keep you on track.
People are no longer spending the same amount of money on luxury products like they used to. Perhaps it’s the unemployment or maybe it has to do with all the COVID-fear, but things are definitely not the same. If you want to sell your lash treatments and other salon services, you need to change with the audience.
Head over to lash forums and connect with other artists in your vicinity. You can also hit up via famous FB lash groups. Start checking it up now.
Because the whole world is suffering the governments across the globe are launching unique load programs for businesses who’re finding it hard to keep working. Whether you’re directly under the wrath of COVID-19 or not, your business might be qualified for the same.
Get in touch with your state government website or call the office straight away. Either way, you’ll know which industries are open to government aides even if you’re aren’t qualified.
Now comes the main part of coping with the pandemic. How do you keep the clients, your staff and yourself secure from the pandemic? First off, no more house calls a ‘right?
Here are some other things you can do for protection from COVID-19:
The first step to #BreakTheChain and stop the virus from spreading any more than it has already now is by keeping clean. Start by keeping a sanitizer at the entrance of your shop. Make sure all the entrants use it, including the staff.
You should find a way to disinfect the eyelash extension equipment quickly or limit the number of lash treatment customers inside your salon at a time. Ensure that everything is sterilized a cleansed with powerful disinfectants after each use.
Invest in powerful and good-looking masks for you and the employees. Y’all know we are in the cosmetics industry, right? We need to look good and clean now, peeps. So, get high-quality gloves and wet wipes to keep clean at all times.
Next comes the toughest part for lash salon owners. You need to orient your staff to change their usual habits to a safety-oriented habit. While most customers love to chat during treatment, it’s a big no-no right now. Shush if you’ve nothing important to ask them.
Also, ask them to stay at home if they feel any kind of sickness. Convey the message that together, you can ensure everyone’s safety. Keep individual sanitizer dispensers at every lash counter and encourage employees to use it too.
Most businesses are minimizing contact to reduce risks. You might’ve seen Amazon’s contactless deliveries already. You use a system to book appointments online so that threats to your receptionist staff is minimal. Take a step ahead and ensure all your transactions are cashless to prevent currency-related spreads of the coronavirus.
This also offers you an excellent opportunity to expand your branding campaigns. For example, you can send branded messages conveying clients to stay at home if they’re feeling unwell or by offering discounts because most people have a lighter wallet these days. Ask them to use personal hygiene too.
If you’re not using a consent form already, do it now. Last month’s blog post talks about it in detail. You can even download the form and pass it onto customers after adding your name, logo and other details.
If you haven’t already, it’s the perfect and mandatory time to revamp your business. Businesses that are offline need to take the first step by establishing an online presence. I am not saying you can offer lash treatments online because you can’t. But, I am saying that launching a website around your work portfolio will help you stay connected to your target audience and keep them engaged.
Truth be told, you must’ve gotten several emails from every Tom, Dick and Harry Brand that you signed for since you opened the email account, telling you ‘we’re with you’ or ‘support us’. You don’t want to turn annoying like that. But, that brings us to the point of staying connected.
Start a website and generate sign up forms that collect email addresses of your customers. After that, get in touch with them. You don’t have to sell them anything. In fact, sales is not the point of marketing during the pandemic at all. All you need to do is use multiple channels to stay connected with the demographic.
Email can help you get straight to the inbox of customers and offer them distractions to cope with the rising levels of anxiety due to COVID-19. Lash salon owners and artists can start consistently making Instagram or other social media posts on your safety protocols and other interesting news about keeping the business open.
Remember, it’s part of your responsibility to get the customer to book an appointment with you in confidence. With online marketing become advanced with each passing day, you can do so in several ways.
Whether you’re offline or online, every business automatically generates key metrics about product performance and other details about the purchase history of audiences. If you run a lash salon, take a pen and paper and write down all the details about your customers, how often they frequent, their touch-up schedules and how all this has changed due to the pandemic.
Now, head over to a research tool (there are many free tools online and one such tool is Ubersuggest and find out what your ideal customers are searching for nowadays. It will help you decode the priorities of customers during this COVID-era.
It will also shed light on any drastic changes like a lot of people going for ‘natural eyelash extensions’ or most of them ‘signing up for maximum durability fake lashes’ and so on. Find out the interests of the audience and tap into it by offering something unique and safe with loads of discounts.
In a nutshell, closing your doors and tuning to Netflix or PubG all-day long is not the way to cope with the current pandemic. You need to find out innovative ways to rediscover things that offer values to customers these days.
While it’s true people are hooked on essential items like groceries more nowadays, it doesn’t affect lash clients because it’s more than just makeup. Most customers of mine wear it 24×7 and some amazing women have been wearing it for more than a decade with regular touch-ups and treatments.
Customers are not abandoning their interests; they’re merely switching to other verticals within the same niche. We all saw big players in the cosmetics industry switching from premium nail polishes to sanitizers and affordable wet wipes or big-time clothing brands making masks all of a sudden.
Lash artists and salons can start with keeping themselves up-to-date about the news from the industry, figure out the audience’s new interests, find out about government loans and follow safety protocols to start with.
Other options are to switch to online marketing, start websites and use emails and other channels like social media to connect and stay connected with your audience.
Find out what the lash audience wants right now, considering all the things that have changed around us.
