Are You Ready For 2023?

Are you ready for Christmas? It's been a challenging year and continues to be with everything that is going on, and unless you have been hiding under a rock, I am sure you are aware of it all. I want to step away from all these facts and tell you how I believe 2023 can look. The hair, beauty, spa and clinic industry is one of the strongest and can thrive even more if your communication with your staff and customers is crystal clear. Well-being and self-care is more important than ever, so it's crucial to keep positioning yourself as a serious, high-end business that continually delivers tangible results. Clients are looking for that feel-good factor, whether during a haircut, facial or even after a long overdue wax. A recent survey from Amex highlighted by the British Beauty Council talked about the importance of customer journey, customer loyalty and brand loyalty which I thought was on point as it's more crucial than ever to be consistent with the message you're putting out there. I have always talked about the precious customer journey and how it engages the client with your brand; after all, you are more than a salon/spa/clinic. I recently did a mystery shop in a high-end nail salon only to be offered a coffee at the beginning of my shellac manicure. I kept looking at it getting cold my fingers were covered in foil, so I couldn't pick it up. The small details matter, and those little touches immediately create customer loyalty by making your customers feel special and anticipating their needs. I suggested to this salon that simply knowing when to offer a coffee, in this case, at the end of the manicure, rather than when I cannot physically drink it, would change how I feel as a client: less frustrated! Being on the wheel of: "we always do that" needs to change for 2023; thinking of every single detail of the customer journey will be the key to the success of 2023. So that brings me to us here at The Delforge Group®. I created my consultancy agency nine years ago, and The Delforge Group® was born to answer the demand of my followers who needed support with training and 1-1 coaching. With the whirlwind of 2020 like many businesses, I saw an opportunity for growth online, which allowed me to bring in the knowledge of an incredible team of experts to support me in achieving my mission. That mission was, and still is, to empower as many beauty and aesthetic business owners as possible. With my years of experience and systems created to improve time management, structure, operational systems and ultimately, the freedom to become the business owner they have always dreamed of. The last few years have been incredible for us, and after years of working together, Amy joined me as a full-time Co-Owner and Director in The Delforge Group® earlier in the year. For those of you that haven't met Amy yet, she was the businesswoman behind the multi-awarding winning salon AMY GORDAN in Essex. She brings an invaluable wealth of experience as an ex-salon owner, so please welcome her in with both arms. Every year, I talk about the importance of creating a strategy for the year ahead with my clients. Taking time out of your business is essential to assess what works, what needs improvement and how to develop the customer journey. I cannot emphasise enough how important this step is for an owner, as being consistent in your mission will keep you laser-focused throughout the year.

In August, Amy and I did just that for The Delforge Group®. We revisited every detail of our offering to see if there was anything more we could do to positively impact business owners' daily lives. As a result, we are so proud to introduce you to nine programmes launching in Jan '23 targeted to grow your business like never before, which you can read about on this blog before the new website goes live. It was important to us to keep the element of 1-1 coaching The Delforge Group®was founded up on, as we believe this sets us apart from the rest. Therefore, each programme consists of an online course, combi ned with regular 1-1 coaching with Amy and I throughout for a truely personalised experience. We developed the programmes to be suitable for owners with teams, owners without teams, managers and options for the whole team. They cover the core and foundational areas of any spa, salon, hair or aesthetics business that makes it successful: budget, leadership, retail, marketing strategy, reception and mindset. Alongside these programmes, we are launching our much-requested monthly subscription - Inside Chat. A space for our community of like-minded business owners to connect, access all our resources and downloads, one monthly group coaching call with Amy and myself, and exclusive discounts on our leadership roadshows (yes, this is new too!) and programmes. I've learnt from this process that it's essential to grow and become more flexible so I can offer you an even stronger year of support. If there is a word to represent the year ahead, it would be dedication. I would like to end this email by thanking my partner in France, Tiphaine Modeste-Lassalette, founder of Expertise Spa Bien-Être, whom I can thank for such collaboration in our joint ventures. Our new website is being launched in Jan, however, you can read more about what's coming by downloading our 2023 Agenda below.

TDG_Agenda for 2023

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All my love and support, Valerie