Make the hair consultation appeal to all the senses

Shutterstock/Ermakova Polina

Is it time to say goodbye to the traditional hair consultation, asks Penny Etheridge of Radiant Hair Consultancy. As a former Hairdresser who has stood behind the chair for hundreds of hours I know it’s not always practical to deliver the ‘vavavroom’ consultation to every single client. But do we not think that it’s time we rethought our consultation process? Can we honestly say our consultations are much different than five or even 10 years ago? With latest statistics telling us that 71 % of our customers base their salon experience on the way we make them feel should we not be developing our consultations into an all-round sensory experience or at least move them on into a different direction ? Look outside the industry You can find incredible inspiration for improving the consultation process – and the entire client journey – by looking outside of hairdressing. Recently, for example, ground-breaking restaurant, The Fat Duck, announced plans, yet again, to revolutionise their diner’s culinary experience. Through combinations of sight, noise, taste, smell and touch Heston Blummenthal wants to bring a story to his diner’s dining experience.  In particular he wants to conjure up feelings (note the word feelings) for his diners and as part of the process has enlisted the help of a creative team which includes magician Derren Brown. Appeal to all the senses Interestingly this also comes off the back of news that The Tate Britain is currently pioneering a thought provoking exhibition which will redefine how we view art. This exhibition will explore the total experience of art and plans to give the public an opportunity to discover a completely new way of using all the senses to interpret the art they are viewing.  Tate Britain are using combinations of sight, taste and touch to allow visitors to feel a complete experience when viewing art on display.  Apparently Hairspray is one of the smells used for a certain exhibited art installation! With all that in mind isn’t it about time the Hairdressing Industry, which let’s face it is one of the most flourishing creative industries in the UK, looks at how we currently deliver our Hair Consultations? The Hair consultation has always been recognised as key to delivering a great Hairdressing experience but alarmingly it’s often the one area which gets overlooked when we look at developing our in Salon Service. So why don’t we start to follow the restaurant and art gallery lead and begin using our consultations as a platform to give  clients the opportunity to feel, hear, see and yes even  taste the Hairdressing service they are about to experience. We keep talking about the Wow factor so why not deliver that Wow right at the beginning of service with in the Consultation? If this all sounds a bit farfetched let me just give you just a few examples. •             Use Chocolate sweets for the new Bronde colour trend we are seeing for autumn. As the client looks at the colour swatches encourage them to savour a caramel, bitter chocolate or toffee sweet. •             For rainbow shading colour consultation   spray some aqua or candy scented room spray in the air above your consultation area. •             Encourage the client to feel a swathe of velvet or silk whilst discussing a Deep Hair Conditioning Treatment. The possibilities are endless!  So why not organise a Team Meeting now to discuss and action ideas on developing a full sensory experience for client consultation?  By adding a bit of drama to the consultation process you could also be adding to your Average Bill and Salon Revenue at the same time!