The Power of Selling Packages
You’re an aesthetician, not a sales person. But retail represents a huge opportunity to increase revenue without increasing your workload, so it’s not an area you can afford to ignore. How can you sell more without increasing your time actively selling?
It’s all about packaging. Not the kind that sits on the shelf. The kind that moves off the shelf, i.e. bundling, creating package offers that add value for your customers and increase revenue for you.
The packaging sales tactic is used in every industry. What happens when you book a hotel room, for instance? There is almost always a package offered. Spend a little more and to get breakfast and some spa services included for instance. Added value and the ease of not having to worry about booking those extras. That’s incentive to spend more.
Those in the spa industry are used to the idea of creating service packages. Mani/pedi is the classic. But packaging doesn’t have to be just services. For aestheticians, packaging products with services is a natural. It eliminates that awkward upsell moment at the end of the service or provides an easy entry for an added bump.
Example: You package an Anti-Aging Skin Care System with your anti-aging facial at a slight discount to paying for the two separately. At the end of the service you walk your client through the items in the system and remind them that they’ve already paid for that as part of the package. You can then offer an additional booster like the Algae Soft Mask. It will feel like only a small additional spend to your client, but will net you the sale of five products (the four-step system + the mask).
Additionally, the skin care system supports the work you’re doing. When your client goes home and uses the products, they will essentially double the results of the facial alone. Ultimately, that reflects on you and enhances the perceived benefit of your services, which translates to repeat business.
Why Does Packaging Work?
Everybody loves a bargain.
Automatically upsells your customers without having to ask for it.
Promotes a higher perceived value to your customer.
Improves results, which leads to repeat business.
How to optimize your package
Emphasize the benefit rather than the monetary savings.
Research shows that people buying products that are experiential in nature, i.e. personal services like in-office skin care, respond more to what’s known as “time spent” messaging, rather than messaging about saving money. For instance, rather than “Save on (insert bundle name here),” a message like “Boost your results with (insert bundle name here),” will hook more customers. The price alone is not enough incentive if the customer doesn’t understand the true benefit.
Price appropriately.
You don’t want your technicians to lose money on their services, so bundling service with product is an ideal way to give a perceived value without having to actually discount. The system, which has been discounted to you at wholesale, gives you even more leverage to create exceptional perceived value to your clients.
When planning, think about context.
Holidays and seasonal themes—not just spring, summer, fall, but also wedding season, party season (holidays), grad season, etc.—are always great springboards for a promotional bundle. Pay attention to events happening in your area. You may be able to piggyback on a community theme and/or take advantage of increased traffic that local events may bring in.
Keep it simple.
Vivant’s skin care systems are designed to target specific skin care concerns with four fundamental product steps. There’s a system for every type and tone making it incredibly simple to pair products to your service and to motivate a sale. It’s much easier for your customer to understand a system already tailored to support your corresponding service than it is to bring them out and show them a whole shelf full of products and then begin to pick and choose.
Include a free follow-up.
Fifteen minutes of your time goes a long way toward cementing your client relationship. Include a free, fifteen-minute follow-up two weeks following the service to review your client’s progress with the system. This will be a time to answer any questions they have, make sure they are using the products correctly, and reinforce the sale by noting their progress. This level of service will help your client feel confident in their choice and help ensure their continued business.
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