Mala McAlpin How to plan profitable and successful in-clinic workshops.
We understand you may feel this isn’t relevant for you right now while your business is closed – but there is an end to this pandemic. Now is the perfect time to strategise for the that time, and start planning your future initiatives that you want to implement once your doors are back open. And we are here to help you not only get through this difficult time, but come out even stronger on the other side.
Have you ever wanted to take your client education one step further and conduct your own workshops? With so many elements involved, this can be a daunting process – how will you get clients there? What will you teach them? Will your efforts pay off and get you new and returning clients? Will your business even profit from this?
A business whose skincare workshops are flourishing is Melbourne’s Fresh Face Bar, an express skin health destination in Richmond, who now operates intimate skincare education events every month. We speak to the Fresh Face team, including Owner Lisa Vong and therapists Jessica Lloyd and Sabrina Heidrich, about what makes their skincare events so popular.
What does one of your skin workshops look like?
Our skin workshops look like one big family dinner! Guests sit around a large table in the centre of the salon. We provide nutritious snacks and drinks, but instead of the main course we have skincare.
We like to keep these nights intimate, so we have a maximum of 12 guests. Throughout the night we talk about all things skincare, providing one-on-one skin consultations and letting guests do a mini facial on themselves using products that are suited to their skin type and concerns. Plus there are always lucky door prizes and giveaways on the night! We run this monthly, so depending on the month, we may tweak it depending on if we have one of our brand educators attend to facilitate our workshops.
When did you start running the workshops?
After 6 months of operating, we noticed our clients were overwhelmed with all the information out there about skincare and skin products. We decided to run workshops to provide our clients with facts and information for them to understand exactly what they are putting on their skin – it’s highly educational yet in a fun atmosphere.
What are the main outcomes you want to achieve as a business?
To be able to create strong relationships, educate our guests, make them feel comfortable to ask us anything, and have them walking away feeling excited to start their new skincare routine! We brand ourselves as their skin coaches, educating them that at the end of the day, 80% of the work is done by themselves from their own skin routine at home using the correct products to achieve their desired skin outcomes.
How has the feedback been?
Extremely positive! Guests who were not existing clients of ours have often returned as loyal clients. They love that they’re learning about the ingredients in skincare and the differences between over the counter products and cosmeceuticals.
What have you learned throughout the process so far?
To be well prepared and to stick to our schedule. We allocate 2 hours for these workshops and find the time flies by! Also to be flexible with information given out on the night. Often, we will have a mixed crowd (different skin types, ages, concerns) so instead of using the one generic product on the night we choose products that are specific to each guest.
Would you recommend them to other businesses?
Absolutely! It’s a great way to show what your salon is all about, allow the guests to touch and feel the products themselves so it’s interactive, and it solidifies our commitment to educating clients about quality skincare.
