Connecting clients
with professionals
– even in a pandemic
I. Just. Want. A Haircut!
Remember during the shutdown how we were all sporting beanies to cover our shaggy and streaky manes–
even in the summer?
CONTEXT
- The salon & personal care industry still isn’t back to normal.
- Many businesses were forced to close or relocate
- “We saw a drop in beauty-industry revenues of 20-30 percent…” (McKinsey & Co., May, 2020).
- Customers are unsure about how to find reputable self-care and beauty providers and schedule appointments.
- Salon & spa professionals expend a lot of effort trying to share information with their current clients, and need to expand their customer base.
WHY I MADE THIS PROJECT
Yes, I too JUST. WANTED. A HAIRCUT.
But there was an EMPATHY component as well…
- My longtime stylist and friend had to sell her business to avoid bankruptcy.
- I saw other friends (who are massage therapists and aestheticians) relocate or consolidate their businesses due to the Covid shutdowns.
- I wanted to help find a solution to regrow their businesses and our local economy.
- This is a self-selected passion project.
- And as you can see my hair needed help, too!
My Role:
- user researcher
- product designer
- UX/UI designer
- brand designer
The Mission
- create ONE mobile app that helps clients easily find and schedule appointments with beauty and personal care providers
- develop awareness, increase bookings, and grow customer base for salon and spa professionals
- design ONE app that integrates a location finder, provider profiles, scheduling, client management, communication, reviews, and incentives
DISCOVERY
Market Research
- In 2019, the U.S., the salon and spa industry brought in more than $57 billion in sales.
- In 2020, the U.S. market size dropped to $42.3 billion due to the closure of businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
- In 2022, after most states were allowed to re open, it reached a value of only $53.6 billion dollars.
Market Conclusions
A $3.4 billion deficit remains due to:
- previous business owners who were forced to sell, file bankruptcy, or consolidate
- customers are unable to or find too much friction in finding new beauty and self-care professionals
Salon & Spa Client Survey
FACTS
- 63% of respondents have a regular salon or stylist
- Only 2% of respondents had a regular massage therapist, aesthetician, or spa
- 50% or more were likely to be book 2 weeks or more in advance for women’s haircut and/or color, or body art
- 40% or more were likely to book appointments in a short time frame of only 1-5 days in advance for: men’s haircuts and beard trims, short haircuts, manicures and pedicures, or ear or piercings.
How do YOU book appointments?”
- TEXT MESSAGE
- FACEBOOK MESSENGER
- MOBILE APP
- OLD FASHIONED PHONE CALL
Main Takeaways
- 37% of patrons could be potential new salon customers
- Short notice booking customers are more likely to try new beauty and self-care providers
- Massage, spa, and aestheticians have a large uncommitted customer base to tap into
- Clients use many communications methods for scheduling
The local beauty and self-care industry seems anemic.”
– beauty professional and former salon owner
BUSINESS OWNERS AND PROFESSIONALS INTERVIEWED INCLUDED
2 salon professionals
1 aesthetician at a spa
2 massage therapists
1 barber
Main Takeaways
- Professionals have lost clients through the pandemic shutdown, especially those who were forced to change locations or sell their own businesses.
- Different methods of communication with clients is time consuming and unreliable.
- Even with using a salon booking app, not all clients are willing to use it. A SINGLE way of reaching a broader local customer base is greatly needed.
- The business community would benefit from a shared way of posting locations for rent, equipment for sale, and cooperative reviews and incentives.
DEFINE THE PROBLEM
CURRENT PAIN POINTS
- Too many various ways of clients and professionals trying to connect is ineffective and a big time waster
- Reliable communication between salon and beauty providers and their clientele is more important than ever post Covid
- A more consistent and more efficient way to find, schedule, remind, inform, manage, promote, and review is needed
- A single product that can be the hub of all of these users’ experiences can streamline the finding and booking process for pros and their clients
- AND potentially grow local cooperating businesses
- BUT it will take customer and business BUY IN
PROFESSIONALS PERSONAS
Once restrictions were lifted, I had to move locations twice before getting resettled. My clients and I had a hard time finding each other.”
– Professional Stylist, Former Salon Owner
– Massage Therapist, Lymphedema SpecialistMy freelance opportunities have become limited, so I added part-time work at the hotel spa to my freelance and hospital appointments. It is difficult to balance three different appointment calendars.”
Salon & Spa Client Personas
“Wasted time! I drop off my daughter, drive to a listing, and then find out that I’ll have to wait around for a while before I can go in and get the job done, extending my workday, so I’d like to get a pedicure or something while I have to wait.”
– Real Estate Photographer
Sometimes the unexpected pops up and the tension causes pain in my neck and shoulders. The only thing that really alleviates it is a deep-tissue or hot stone massage, but I may not get an appointment for days.”
– University HR Director
DESIGN SOLUTIONS
How might we…
Make finding pros easy…
Simplify communication
Notify groups of availabilities, bookings, or cancellations
Automate reminders and confirmation status
Communicate with other local industry businesses
Incentivize to get customer buy in
Customer Onboarding Wireframes Iterations
Low-Fi Client Browse Service Flow
First Hi-Fi Onboarding Flow
First Hi-Fi Professionals Screens
APPOINTMENTS CALENDAR
Professionals interviewed wanted a way to see their appointments in blocks of time.
HOME SCREEN FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
Professionals can scroll and tap their menu options on this home screen.
TEST THE SOLUTION
RESULTS:
Because scrolling in the center of the screen was awkward with only one free hand, a side scroll iteration was made.
Second Iterations of Salon & Spa Pros Hi Fidelity Menu Screen and Calendar
After More TESTing
Hi fidelity.2 testing results
- The most frequently used features (appointment calendar, messages, announcements, and payment) need to be more accessible – preferably one-handed and by one thumb
- Even though the pros I interviewed suggested a sliding strip calendar time slot display, testing revealed that this type of design was more cumbersome to access the information and booking screens.
THIRD ITERATION OF APPOINTMENTS CALENDAR
Professionals interviewed wanted a way to see their appointments in blocks of time. The left to right slider calendar was cumbersome. This clean iteration allows for single handed up and down scrolling, and allows views by customer profile pictures or hourly time slots.
THIRD ITERATION OF HOME SCREEN FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
Professionals can easily access the most commonly used features with one thumb on the bottom navigation section.
The hamburger menu triggers the secondary menu overlay, and then tap on the text or icon of the feature they want to access.
Pro Usability Testing Calendar Task Flow
Iterate & VALIDATE
Based on usability testing, the following changes were made…
- Move most used features to bottom navigation
- Change the hamburger menu screen to included secondary and tertiary features
- Change the weekly side-scrolling calendar to a monthly/daily/hourly downward scrolling interaction
Summary
The Problem
Because of pandemic health protocols, personal care services were deemed “non-essential.” Salon and spa owners were shut down and out of work. Clients became frustrated with their grunge-styled hair and stress-knotted backs, and limited services and availabilities left many feeling bewildered. Many salon and spa owners had to pivot. The lucky ones changed business names and locations, and those less fortunate had no other choice but to sell or file bankruptcy.
Specific Pain points
The industry still isn’t back to “normal.” Closures of these non-essential businesses endured so long that some pros relocated or went out of business. Supplies and furnishings needed to be sold or purchased. Now appointment books are filling up, but “sniffle shyness,” is still causing a higher rate of cancellations. Salon and spa pros also expressed feeling less connected from prior clients, undiscoverable to new ones, but too busy to be their own social media managers.
Challenge
Customers need a more convenient way to find personal care pros and book appointments. Professionals need a single integrated social media touchpoint to easily promote their business and communicate with clients. This process should be simple and delightful. User interviews revealed where improvements could be made to streamline clunkier booking apps that have too many steps or gaps in the users’ journeys.
Goals
The overall goals of this mobile app solution were to create a single communications and management hub for finding personal care professionals and booking appointments for both business owners and customers. Discovery also revealed a need for integrating social media platforms for one-step promotions, and a pro forum to help business owners support each other as they grow. This is a self-selected course project. Wanting to help a personal friend who had to sell her salon is my inspired WHY.
3rd HI-FI PRO USER FLOW
Next Steps
Next User flows to test and validate…
Interactions of Specialist Profile
- Design inputs and interactions for About, Location, and Biography features and uploading Images
- Design easy social media interactions for promotional marketing with easy integrations with Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
Announcements feature in bottom navigation
- Send easy group announcements to current registered clients, filtered groups of registered clients, or to general public
Payment and billing features
- Integrate client payment information with provider services and payment collection apps such as STRIPE, PAYPAL, APPLE PAY, VENMO, etc.
Secondary Hamburger Menu features
- Customer Reviews
- Customer Incentives to use the app offered by the professional collective
- Pro Forum for salon and spa business owners to share communications about locations, equipment, community events, or best practices
