Many of you have already made the courageous decision to shutter your business and likely have had some tough conversations already. When the mandate comes down from local, state or federal government, the choice is truly out of your hands and its time to focus on communicating, supporting and mitigating the risks to the best of your ability.
Start Internal Discussion
First and foremost, unify the team. Make sure to handle any rumors of any exposure and be transparent about any risks along with how you and the leadership team are handling them. As scary as total honesty can be in times when social stigma’s are attached to exposure, transparency is part of the responsibility and calming fears by showing clear and focused steps on handling each and every obstacle.
Also try assigning a task team, who can work remotely, to support the staff through this crisis. This will include support services, navigating any unemployment claims or government support as well as emotional and social support. One ISBN member has started daily online meetings for each salon where they connect on Microsoft Teams in order to see friendly faces, swap ideas about managing their new normal and discuss business items such as how to re-open when the coast is clear.
Communicating with Clients
Many of the ISBN members have already made the courageous decision to do this ahead of government mandates which seem to be coming daily from around the country. We’ve collected a sample of their public communications to offer as examples of how they’ve made their decisions public.
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Gene Juarez Letter
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PENZONE SAlon + Spa CEO Post
CAPTION:
To our guests,
Being well has remained a top priority as we’ve continued to navigate the constantly changing environment with COVID-19.
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Our goal is to create a community of self-care and to truly live this approach, we’ve decided to close our salons + spas effective Monday, March 16th.
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At this time, it is our hope to resume normal business on Monday, March 30th. Over the next several days, our guest service team will be working (safely + healthfully) to help you reschedule.
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We vow to keep you all informed on additional updates as they arise.
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At the end of the day, ensuring the safety of our team members and our guests is what’s most important. We’re encouraging you all to take this time to care for yourselves, your families, and all those that you love.
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To being + being well.[/column]
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For those larger establishments that have a need to communicate to a wider range of outlets, here is Ulta Beauty’s Press Announcement: Read press release from CEO Mary Dillon >>
For sure there will be mixed emotions when these go external and we will be posting a recap of the webinar co-hosted by ISBN and Salon Today interviewing owners on how they’ve put social media and online support teams to handle inquiries and also manage the public relations machine.
