How does your staff translate trends into new services for your clientele?

Offering your clients the latest trends is an important part of staying on the cutting edge of business, so this month we asked:

How does your staff monitor trends, share them with one another and translate them into new techniques and services for your clientele?

“NEW TRENDS COME from an array of areas, which goes hand in hand with the latest technology. Public fi gures, stars, models, reality shows, magazines, in-house and distributor classes are some of the paths that have always worked. Recently, we added social networks like Facebook and Twitter to the list. The staff takes pride in sharing the latest trends. If a client’s request brings in a new style that might be the next fad, it doesn’t go unnoticed—as the other clients and staff want to take a look and comment or just ask a question. It’s part of our environment and culture to get involved. After all, we are here to have fun.”

MIKE O’NEILL
HAIR STUDIO 322
GLENMOORE, PENNSYLVANIA

“SEVERAL TEAM MEMBERS travel to Fashion Week, working backstage with various product lines. When they come back they share the top tips on hair, make-up and all the exciting stories with the rest of the team and our clients. This assures that we are moving in front of trends and not behind them.”

D SCOTT BALL
THE CUT & COLOR ROOM
ORLANDO, FLORIDA

“MONTHLY, WE HOLD HANDS-ON, in-salon classes. We are a part of the Bumble and bumble Network, as well as an Oribe salon—both companies have a lot of inspirational tools (videos, pictures, monthly features at times) to keep my team inspired and communicating. We also analyze pictures from magazines and talk hair a lot in our down time, and experiment on one another when possible.”

DIANE CHONG
STUDIO 107 HAIR INC.
ST. ALBERT, ALBERTA

“‘A NEW BROOM sweeps clean,’ my mom once told me. And that is exactly how something new sweeps through the salon. It is electric when one stylist falls in love with the newest, latest, greatest whatever. It is wonderful to see the whole team get excited and inspired. Then they will push it a bit to see what else they can do with it.”

PAT HELMANDOLLAR
SAVVY SALON AND DAY SPA
CORNELIUS, NORTH CAROLINA

“WE HAVE WEEKLY morning classes, updates and monthly team meetings to keep us all on the same page. Short updates are held weekly with monthly leadership meetings held as well. Keeping in touch regularly really helps keep the staff aware of any new trends in the industry.”

SAM JOHNSTON
ABQ HAIR STUDIO
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

“BECAUSE WE LIVE IN a small, relatively isolated town, the internet provides a huge amount of information regarding trends and new techniques as do trade magazines and DVDs, which can be purchased through stylist websites.”

KAREN ROBERTS
STUDIO K
LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

“WE ATTEND YEARLY and bi-yearly events and classes; we photograph our recent work and share these images with clients. We talk up our attendance at classes to our clients and show photos from hair shows, classes and events.”

MARY PARK-SMITH
SCISSORS SALON
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA

“WE SCHEDULE WEEKLY and monthly classes provided by our product manufacturers, plus we hire an outstanding stylist to come in monthly for advanced styling. We also have monthly classes for current spa services and trends.”

ANGELA GUIDO
DARYL CHRISTOPHER WELLNESS SALON AND SPA
WALTHAM/BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

“TRADE MAGAZINES, trade e-mails, trade shows, fashion magazines and, of course, shopping!”

BEVERLY PASTOREK
CLASSIC TOUCH HAIR DESIGNERS
BERWYN, ILLINOIS

“Our team gets their influences from fashion magazines and the trade publications. This is the one time I don’t mind down time: the staff share ideas by way of discussion and at times all it takes is one staff member to do a cut on mannequin for the other staff to get involved. Our industry is based on interpretation, so there is never a right or wrong way to offer clients your perspective on what you think will look good on them with what the current trends are. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.”

IAN MARC
IMAGINE SALON & SPA
BEDFORD, NOVA SCOTIA