Business Basics: Communicating with Clients

This is your new mantra: Clients are not your friends.  They pay you to do a service.  You are a professional.

Acting professionally isn't just about how you carry yourself while at work, nowadays with social media, it is also about how you carry yourself in your online presence.

Social Media

Clients are not your friends.  They pay you to do a service.  You are a professional.

Social media: noun; websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking. See: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumbler, Snap Chat, Periscope, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, blogs, et cetera, et cetera.

Social media has made it so easy for an average Nail Tech (or any one else) to market themselves quickly, cheaply and effectively.  For a small business, or even an average technician looking for clients, social media is an amazing invention that allows free, instant self promotion. However, it is that "instant" piece that gets people into trouble. Always think before you post! I have seen nail techs post the most unprofessional things on their business pages. From one person who literally posted that they were looking for a surrogate to have a baby, to another who posted a meme that was taken as anti-religious and who lost a lot of religious followers due to that single post. And many, many more who post negative things about other businesses, people, their baby daddy...it goes on and on. Your personal life and professional life should NEVER be intermixed in your social media.

Spelling and Grammar Count!

A professional social media page needs to be proofread. Misspellings and poor grammar bring down your professional image and credibility.  I know typos happen to the best of us - but if you do not know the difference between your and you're or too, two and to, look it up before you post something. It may sound trivial, but it absolutely brings down the image of you as a tech, the image of the industry as a whole and perpetuates the "nail techs are just dumb people who can't hack a real job" myth.  Poor grammar and spelling comes across as unprofessional and gives the impression that you don't take your role seriously.  In the business world, you will never see an advertisement with misspellings or poor grammar because that would present a very poor image of the business.

Similarly, proper punctuation and capitalization show professionalism just as much as proper grammar and spelling.

Social Media is Advertising

As I said above, in the business world, you will never see an advertisement with misspellings or poor grammar because that would present a very poor image of the business.  Social media is your advertising platform, treat it as such. There is an entire profession of people who do nothing but craft advertisements and marketing campaigns. If you are going to compete with corporate salons who use professional marketers and advertisers, you need to act professionally on your business social media pages. Period.

Text Messages

Clients are not your friends.  They pay you to do a service.  You are a professional.
No one is saying you can't text your clients - in this day and age more and more clients prefer to text over calling for an appointment. The main thing is that you set boundaries with your clients.

If your lawyer or doctor or dentist texted you at 11 pm "smh. I SAID I would get you in on sat. you hv to lmk when"  What would you think?  Not very professional, right? Personally I would find a new lawyer/doctor/dentist if that happened.

Ideally you would have a separate phone number for work, but if for some reason you cannot do this, you will need to learn to manage your work texts.

1. There are many services that you can set up to take online and make text appointment reminders.  Yes they have a service fee but it may be worth it to you to save your sanity. Acuity Scheduling is one and is only $10 a month  and Appointment Tell is a service that reminds clients via text, email or phone message and may also be helpful if you don't need a full scheduling software ( I am not affiliated with them, nor have used them, just pointing out these services exist).
2. Use Google Voice - you can get a second phone number that forwards to your cell/home/work phone and you can dictate hours in which to receive calls and texts.  Use that phone number for clients.
3. Make it very clear on your business cards/websites/social media that clients can text your phone during business hours only (of course there will always be clients who don't read or care about what you put out there...)

In Your Chair

Clients are not your friends.  They pay you to do a service.  You are a professional.
Having said that, yes you will sometimes have actual friends in your chair.  And some regular clients become very close with you after years of seeing you.  But in your chair, they are clients.  They are paying you to do a service.  You need to wear your "professional" hat and put the "friend" hat away for later. Yes, you can be friendly but keep in mind that topics of conversation in any workplace should not start a debate or invoke strong emotions.  Politics, religion, your health, your finances, risque jokes, sex and sexuality, problems in your relationships, gossiping about coworkers...all of these are majorly "off limits".  I realize it is hard when the person sitting across from you has know you since grade school, but remember this is your career, not your living room, and if you work in a salon or spa with other people anyone could overhear you.  Keep it neutral.

By keeping your place of work professional, clients will respect you.  Once you start becoming too informal, they start to think you are friends and should give them discounts.


Say it with me now: Clients are not your friends.  They pay you to do a service.  You are a professional.

You can do this!


References and Resources:
http://www.nailsmag.com/article/96401/texting-over-a-landline
http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/maintaining-professionalism-social-media-heres-how/2013-04-12
http://www.thegrindstone.com/2011/06/27/career-management/office-etiquette-inappropriate-workplace-topics-you-should-avoid/
https://gigaom.com/2010/10/08/professionalism-and-social-media/
http://www.mw-creative.co.uk/social-media-tips-beauty-industry-2014/
http://salonnerds.com/social-media-marketing-importance-hair-salons/
http://thehairartistassociation.org/2013/05/5-common-social-media-mistakes-beauty-salons-make-and-how-to-avoid-them/

The Importance of Proper Terminology in the Nail Industry

Many of you have already noticed that I am a stickler for using proper terminology in the nail industry.  I believe that is is one of the key factors that will help in elevating the perception of our industry.

Professionalism

First and foremost, using proper terminology is professional.  Every profession has proper terminology used in their job and we are no different.  How would you feel if you went to a doctor who didnt use proper terminology?  "Hey there, let's take a look at your boo-boo....yep looks like your bone has an owie."  I mean, really?  I would find it demeaning and figure I could have just taken care of my "owie" at home. 

Now, if the doctor said, "Hello. Let's take a look at what is bothering you.  Yes, I can see you have an abrasion on your skin and likely a subperiosteal hematoma - basically a bruise on your bone. I am going to prescribe a painkiller and you will need to take it easy for a few days and ice the area regularly." 

Which doctor sounds like a professional?  (I hope you said the second one.)  Notice that the doctor in the second scenario used correct terms but also explained what they meant so the patient wasn't confused.

Granted my made-up scenario is slightly ridiculous but I hope it opens your eyes to how you might look to clients if you are very informal or use outdated and/or incorrect terminology (like "mold", which does not grow on living humans - I'm not even a fan of calling it a "greenie" personally, as I find it a bit childish [my opinion]. It's a pseudomonas bacterial infection).

Reputation and Client Perception
Inconsistent and varied use of terminology is a risk to industry - and individual - reputations.  Already there is much confusion not only in the public but amongst new nail technicians as well.   When people in the industry use wrong terminology (knowingly or unknowingly) it perpertuates myths and confuses people.  When people are confused they can receive incorrect treatments.  now granted, it is unlikely that a wrong treatment is going to hurt someone but it can definitely hurt the technician and the industry as a whole. 

I once had a client - a lovely 80+ year old woman - who came to me for a fill.  She had gone into a discount salon in the mall to get a manicure and walked out with acrylic nails.  She was told that it was a manicure and was very confused about what whe had on her nails.  All she knew is he told her to come back in 2 weeks for a "fill", but she didn't like the vibe of the salon and so came ot me instead.  I explained she had acrylic nails and we could remove them  but I was concerned about the amount of damage she may have on her natural nails (plus I knew this salon to use MMA). Her other choice would be to continue to fill them until we could ge the MMA and damage grown out and remove the nails at that time.  She chose the latter, however she should never have had to choose at all.  Because the salon she went to called a "full set" of nails a "manicure" she received an incorrect and unwanted treatment.  Unfortunately, she did not understand what was happening at the time. To this day - nearly 15 years later - it still upsets me.  And this lovely woman now has a negative view of the industry as a whole.
 "Gel Powder" is another example of incorrect terminology that confuses clients who do not understand that they are paying for clear acrylic (vs the cloudy natural acrylic usually used). Clients tend to end up with a negative industry view when they find out they have been duped.

Other examples: calling a full set a "manicure", calling gel polish "gel nails", calling onycholysis "fungus", etc.


Consistancy
Terminology  is universal and can be used by all professionals within the field who will know what it means (which ever field it may be - medical, beauty, legal, etc). And if you are telling your client to go to a doctor for her paronychia, the doctor will know what you are talking about too.

I know it will take many years to get everyone using proper terminology but I have high hopes that it will happen and our industry will no longer be looked upon as negatively as it has been in the last decade or so.


Politically Correct
In the USA (and many other places I'm sure, but I live in the US so that's what I know :)), there has been a big push over the years to be "politically correct". What this means is we are encouraged to use terms that do not exclude people - for instance, saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" which could exclude non-christians.  Now, I personally think the whole "PC" thing is taken too far at times, but it does point to the fact that terminology has become a very big deal in the USA and should be just as much of a "big deal" in the nail industry.


 References and Resources:
http://www.hooked-on-nails.com/NailTerms.html
http://www.computing.surrey.ac.uk/ai/pointer/report/section1.html
http://www.hito.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Beauty-Forum-Report-2009.pdf
http://www.beautyinsignia.com/2013/03/beauty-jargon-explained-editorial.html
http://facetofacewithdougschoon.com/member-content/episode-12-member-content

Client Intake and Analysis

Nowadays so many people are concentrating on getting people in and out as fast as they can that one of the most important parts of the service is neglected: the client intake and analysis. It may be old but the following excerpt from the Nailbasics/Nail Knowledge Newsletter in August/September 2001 details this procedure perfectly:

Before performing a service on a client that is sitting at your station for the first time, a thorough analysis of the individuals needs should be the primary task at hand. These first few minutes of your nail service can be the most valuable. Correct analysis of the natural nail structure and shape will enable you to recommend and perform a treatment that will best fill your client’s needs.

Look at and touch the client’s fingertips, cuticles, and nail plates, assessing the condition of each area. Specific recommendations can then be made: skin treatment, cuticle and nail care, and of course nail treatments. Listen to what your client has in mind – she did book this appointment for the results she expects that you can provide. Ask questions about her lifestyle and activities; what are her goals for her nails? A good analysis is one in which the client hears an evaluation of her nails, discusses the remedies and agrees to the recommendations.

Your credibility as a professional is enhanced when you are able to effectively meet all your clients’ needs. By listening, evaluating, and recommending the appropriate services and products, you can expect to retain all of your present clientele while growing your business through word of mouth.

Preparing yourself to provide solutions is key to your success.


Resources:
http://files.nailsmag.com/Handouts/na0913consultations.pdf
https://www.nailsuperstore.com/tips/view.aspx?tipid=117
http://www.nailsmag.com/article/40325/customer-service-begins-with-client-consultations
http://www.lorane-tiptopnails.co.uk/Tiptopnail-Client-Consultation-Form.pdf
http://www.nailsmag.com/article/96975/the-art-of-the-client-consultation