Mala McAlpin The client journey doesn’t end once they leave the building.
Strong client relationships must be multi-faceted in order to prove long-lasting, and should be fostered not only before they arrive, but long after they leave your spa or clinic. Nowadays, consumers expect so much more from their services, and beauty and aesthetics can no longer cut it as ‘just a treatment’ – it should be a journey. Clients want interactivity, to engage, to feel their treatment is personalised to them, they want authenticity, and of course, value for money. Client follow-up is a valuable opportunity to provide these things, and often, it’s a missed one.
There are a couple of reasons why all beauty, spa, clinic and aesthetic businesses should be focusing time and energy into nailing their client follow-up. The first is added value to clients – those little bonuses, the ‘going above and beyond’ that makes them not only return to you and stay faithful to the business, but share stories and recommendations with others about how well they’ve been treated and what a safe, caring, well-informed and inviting experience you have created for them.
The second is that, for many clients, the follow-up is the make or break moment for you to either secure their business in future, or lose them to another. It’s human nature to forget most interactions within hours after they finish, so following up with new clients after their first visit is the perfect way to ensure you stay top of mind, and provide those warm fuzzy feelings that come with making them feel nurtured.
When it comes to upping your follow-up game, here are a few suggestions we find are often quite effective:
Reiterate aftercare advice: even if you’ve provided this already during the treatment, it’s much more convenient for clients to have an electronic version they can refer back to in the hours, days or weeks after their treatment, so be sure to send out these instructions or homecare plans in a post-visit email. These should be sent to clients the day of their treatment.
After you’ve sent your ‘thank you for visiting + aftercare’ email, follow up again with the client or patient via email to see how they’re going. These types of emails are the ones that demonstrate your genuine long-term interest and care in your clients’ wellbeing and best results. This should be sent a couple of weeks after appointments (depending on the treatment or procedure). Reiterate what they should be expecting from their results at that stage in time, and invite them to contact you with any questions or concerns – plus a friendly reminder of how they can best book their next treatment!
Add some value: give your clients a little extra by providing some ideas and advice that could help complement their homecare plan and maximise their results even further. If you’ve provided a skincare plan, you could include some tips on food that could benefit their skin type or condition (or foods they should steer clear or) or even some skin-loving recipes. If you’re offering a wellness plan, provide some specific, tangible tips that clients can incorporate into their busy lives, such a wellness activities they can do throughout the day, meditation app suggestions or easy exercises to start the morning.
Make sure your clients don’t feel forgotten. Follow up again if you haven’t seen them in a few months, and keep things bespoke – aesthetic treatments are often incredibly personal, and nobody wants to feel that their treatment is cookie cutter!
