The coronavirus is top of mind for grooming and beauty professionals worldwide. Between social distancing and self-quarantine, salons and barbershops across the country have temporarily closed in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

As a beauty professional, protecting your personal health shouldn’t compromise the health of your business. Whether you’ve already seen an impact on your bookings or want to prepare for the road ahead, explore steps you can take to maintain your business and your client list during this time. 

Reschedule, Don’t Cancel

As we navigate this time together, it’s important to stay informed on regulation changes and update your clients accordingly. If you have appointments approaching in the coming weeks, proactively reach out to your clients to encourage them to reschedule for a later date. As the situation changes, you can craft a mass email to your client list to inform them of increased availability and direct them to your social feed for by-the-minute updates.

Go Social

Use this time to bolster your social media presence. Engage your client audience daily with beauty tutorials and at-home self-care tips. Consider hosting weekly Q&A sessions on a live stream to address all of your clients’ burning beauty questions and at-home maintenance needs. For an in-depth walkthrough on how to build your brand on Instagram, take a look at our guide here.

Most importantly, utilize your social channels to stay connected with your clients and their concerns. Take time to respond to your clients on Instagram, email, and anywhere you keep in touch. Keeping your business top of mind will help you retain loyal clients now and always.

Get Creative with Virtual Appointments 

During this time, your clients will have maintenance and upkeep they’ll need to take care of at home. Fortunately, we live in a time with plenty of technology to keep us connected. How should clients touch up their roots, manage their lashes, or remove their gel polish when they’re away from the salon? Consider offering virtual appointments to walk your clients through these services at home. Virtual appointments will help your clients get by until their next visit to the salon, plus it will give you an opportunity to bring in tips. To execute video calls smoothly, take advantage of tools like FaceTime, Zoom, or Skype. 

Stay Connected 

At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. It’s important to stay connected with fellow industry professionals through this time. Online communities allow stylists to explore how other pros are supporting their clients and their brands. Facebook groups like Secret Salon Owners Society, provide spaces for professionals to share business tips, stories, and at-home solutions. 

As your partner in business, StyleSeat is dedicated to supporting you now and always. As we navigate this season together, stay tuned for more updates, recommendations, and resources from our team.