Comment

Comment by Summerr on August 27, 2012 at 9:23pm

I am just starting out and I rent a room in a pretty busy salon/spa.  I have ran a few deals on smaller deal websites.  I have had more of my deal users return and buy products than clients that came in through the spa.  The one thing I do not do is discount my services to low when I do run a deal and I always treat "deal clients" the same way I would if they were paying full price.  It surprises me how many places run a deal and then do not educate or invite the client back this is why I run deals so that they will come back to me!  I do think some professionals go to low with their prices and that is ruining our industry and making it cheap! 

Comment by Denise Ivers on August 25, 2012 at 5:47pm

Joanne, Christina and Yadira,

I did a collective buying program with a company similar to groupon that is no longer in business.  Their cut of the deals was much less than groupon or living social (probably the reason they went under and got bought out by Groupon).  I was just starting out and this program really helped me bring in lots of clients.  In a one year time span I  saw 325 new clients that I would have never seen otherwise.  I rent a space inside of a salon/spa with very little walk ins.  I don't feel as though I devalued my profession but instead introduced quality skin care to some people who might not be able to afford Burke Williams down the street.  I also don't feel that I "gave away" my services.  I offered quality services, exceptional products and was able to learn so much from seeing so many different clients with different skin issues.  My priority is in  educating my clients about quality products and a  proper home care, with this i have gained their trust. I live/work in a very expensive area (bay area) and had to make some tough choices when I opened my doors 3 years ago.  I know that this doesn't work for every business but it has impacted my business greatly.   I am now always booked 2-3 weeks in advanced and occasionally work on my days off to accomodate some of my regular clients if they have a scheduling conflict. I no longer offer body waxing because I'm so busy with my facial and peel treatments, which is my preference.  Many of the clients that came from this program refer their friends and family and have placed very positive reviews on my Yelp page which has drawn in even more clients.  I had SO very few problems with these clients; no shows, late.... this happened very rarely.  I could say less than 5% of these clients were "problem clients".

It's frustrating when I  see so many negative comments and general statements about the "type" of people that buy into these programs on this board and in articles written by some of the popular skin care magazines.  Many of my clients are physicians, engineers, CMT's and legal professionals.  Yes many are housewives or studients on a buget. I may have discounted my services to attract them but they now pay full price minus a small discount if they book their next appointment before they leave.  There are other collective buying sites besides Groupon and LS that could really benefit some business owners. 

Joanne, thanks for writing this blog and allowing me to vent LOL!!

Denise

Face It Beautiful Skin Care

www.faceitbeautiful.com

Comment by cristina vargas on August 24, 2012 at 11:56pm

i agree with Joanne and Yadira competely and i beleive we are not even supporting the value of our work, mantaining a healthy nice glowing skin, educating clientele to get better results and the fact that dermatologists normally will not take the time for extractions. I believe we should stand for what we do and i know we can have slow seasons but personally i try hard to stick for real clientele that might come back from time to time than giving away my service, products and time with a few chances of return of investement, since must just jump from place to place. maybe for a different type of business it may be good that kind of advertising.  also i just read this week somewhere else that the consultations that normally are free, some decided to charge for 30 min consultation and it all worked out fine. i think about it and the fact i offer free consultation not a rush consultation i am already giving some time with the risk they may not stay but it is part of it.  for my side, most of the persons will stay and stick to a plan for their skin care and if necessary i will give the client a discount directly but still i will earn more than facials for $ 25 or 30.00 so far. 

Comment by Yadira Alexander on August 13, 2012 at 8:18pm

I completely agree with you on this subject... Sadly I was a victim of the "Groupon curse" as I like to call it. I placed a deal thorugh them and I founf most clients to be "grouponers" people who hop around from place to place getting a deal and also most of them would show up late, up to 30 to 40 minutes because they were coming from the next state over... Thankfully I am a pretty busy Esthetician who doesnt need to give away my services but I jumped on the band wagon because so many other bussineses were trying it and I figeured the free advertisement would be great but it backfired on me as it has with so many other local bussineses who have tried Groupon... I say, only do it if you are very very slow and need your spa filled but do not expect a high retention... expect headaches and late arrivals...