Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/191415
How and Where to Create Your List In the best-case scenario, your client list would be accessible from anywhere, be easy to update, contain everything you know about every client, and allow you to launch marketing campaigns with little effort. Email-marketing services are one potential solution. These services allow you to set up your own online marketing database, preconfigured to help you quickly enter, sort, and update client information. Online tools let you create, distribute, and track surveys, email campaigns, and social media campaigns. Constant Contact is one provider that offers a discount to members of Associated Skin Care Professionals (ASCP). Online booking software aimed at spas and salons often also comes with marketing and list-management tools, which can range from simple email reminders to more complex functions. Full Slate offers a discount to ASCP members. If you use a mobile device, search for apps. Depending on your needs, you may find a good solution for a few dollars or less. For example, Client Tracker is a free app for iPhone and iPad that keeps track of the basics: contact details, appointment time, service scheduled, and amount paid. It also automatically sends an email to the client after the appointment (intended to be used as an invoice, but easy to change to a thank-you note or any other wording you like). Other estheticians find that a spreadsheet is the right tool for their needs. Microsoft Excel comes with most personal computers, and if you're already familiar with basic spreadsheet use, it has templates and help menus that make it pretty simple to manage customer data and merge it to a mailing list. A free alternative to Excel is OpenOffice, which works on both Mac and PC and can be downloaded from www.openoffice.org. If none of these options seem simple enough, use a notebook or index cards! The important thing is to keep your list in whatever form you will find easiest to use and update. When to Update It Clients often change their phone numbers and email addresses. They get married or divorced. They move. They change doctors, medications, jobs, eating habits, daily routines, makeup, and other products—you name it, they change it! By regularly checking and updating client information, it is less likely you'll miss out on changes that can impact the client's skin care results, as well as important opportunities, milestones, or other changes that can impact your ability to deliver great customer service. Check contact details when taking a booking, or at the start of each visit. Check for any changes to the client's health history and intake form at the start of each visit, too. After the appointment, or at least on the same day, enter any changes into your client list along with any personal notes about the visit. The more often you do something, the more automatic it becomes. Be consistent with whatever update schedule you choose. Demonstrating ongoing interest in your clients will strengthen your relationship and will likely make them take a greater interest in you. adding new clients to your list than on making your existing clients happy, you're doing everyone a disservice. "One problem with approaching your work purely in terms of getting more clients is that it means you will always have to get more clients," McGuiness explains. "If you're not careful, you'll find yourself on a treadmill, unable to get off. Spend too long on the treadmill and you'll risk burning yourself out." A thoughtfully constructed and well-kept client list should make life easier on you. It helps you see your practice and clientele at a glance by pulling together data on every client you have treated. By allowing you to market to the people who already want what you're offering, it should help you earn more with less effort—and serve your clients even better. Christine G. Adamo is an editor turned professional freelance writer and small business owner. She loves sharing proven, creative, low-cost ideas that help boost business, impress customers, and have fun doing it. Contact her at christine@writereviseedit.com. More Resources • Client brochures, intake forms, and newsletters: Log in to the Members section at www.ascpskincare.com and look under "Business Tools." • US Small Business Administration, "Marketing 201." www.sba.gov/content/ marketing-201. A Tool for Reaching Your Goals Think of your client list as a tool, not the end result. Mark McGuiness, a writer and business coach, tells entrepreneurs to focus on creating opportunities rather than developing endless contact lists. He's got a point. If you're more focused on Get connected to your peers @ www.skincareprofessionals.com 33