119: What Actually Makes a Facial Feel Luxury to Clients

Most estheticians think luxury means pretty branding, expensive facials, or being extra nice to clients. But true luxury is actually about systems, leadership, and removing stress from the client experience. In this episode of The Esthetician Podcast, Kari Jo Patterson breaks down the difference between hospitality and luxury and teaches estheticians how to create a high-end esthetician business that clients trust, return to, and willingly pay more for.

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Transcript

Client Praise And Quick Welcome

Speaker 0:01

Hi, Kari Jo. I just want to say thank you. Your cost helped me so much. You made everything simple and clear. I feel more confident and excited about my business. You tease with love and I can feel it. I'm so happy enjoy your costs. Thank you for everything.

Bora Bora And Real Luxury

Hospitality Feels Warm Luxury Feels Handled

Leadership That Removes Client Decisions

Build Luxury Before The Facial

Protect Time To Protect Trust

Why Luxury Feels Calm And Cold

Stop Mixing Up Two Different Brands

Start Small And Track Your Numbers

Kari Jo 0:20

Oh man, I have got to tell you something. I've got to have this conversation with you guys today because I have something to say and it might just offend like half of my listeners. But let me tell you what it is. I've gotten to the point where I cannot stand the word luxury. Everywhere that I look in in aesthetics right now, it's I give luxury facials, luxury facials, luxury skincare, luxury experience, luxury this, luxury that. Honestly, at this point, if I see the word luxury on your website, I'm already turned off. Because here's the thing: I am the person that will pay for luxury. I love luxury, but I'm going to be so frustrated if you sat there and said that you give me a luxury experience and then I show up and it's not. Let me tell you what I mean. If I have to ask where to go, if I have to ask what I have to do before my appointment, if I have to ask or wonder how long this appointment's gonna take, or what I should book, or when do I need to come back, or what product I need, or maybe you're running behind, maybe you're not even sitting at the desk or wherever it needs to be when I show up, then guess what? You're not luxury because that does not feel luxury. You might be nice, your place might be pretty, and you might give good customer service. But that's hospitality. Luxury is different. Luxury means that everything feels handled. And today I'm gonna talk about the difference between hospitality and luxury because I think a lot of aestheticians are using the word luxury, but what they're really trying to say is hey, I care about my clients, I care about you, and caring matters, but let's not confuse what caring is. Caring about your clients is not luxury, they are not the same thing. So I'm gonna start you off with a story because if you've been following my stories, I recently went on a trip to Bora Bora and we went for my daughter's graduation, it was like super fun. So I don't know where you're from, but in Texas, like graduation parties are a really big thing. Even in Iowa, when we lived in Iowa, and these moms throw these like crazy graduation parties, and then you have to get a present. Well, my daughter, she is finishing her senior year in Utah, and I live in Texas, but I mean we've moved a lot, and so we've gone from like Iowa to Texas to Utah. So she has friends everywhere. So I was like, how do we even throw this graduation party? So I told her, I was like, I was like, hey, listen, I'll give you an option. I'll throw you a graduation party and buy you a gift, or I'll let you choose anywhere in the world to go, and that will be your graduation gift. And you don't get a party, you don't get a gift, that's like your gift. And so what did she do? Of course she chose to go to Bora Bora. She's like, I want to stay not over water bungalow. So we did that. It was so amazing. But when we got to the four seasons, I want to tell you because let me tell they are they are the masters of luxury. They're not masters, there's but they do master luxury, right? So when you go to a luxury resort like that where you're paying $3,000 a night stay or more, this had better be definitely worth your money. So what does that luxury even mean? It means you're not gonna ask me 50 questions. It means they're not gonna say, let me know if you need anything. Luxury is they've already thought about every tiny detail before you even arrive. So let me give you an example. When we got there, they like we checked in, they took us to our little over-the-water bungalow. And then I would say, I don't know, about 30 minutes after we've kind of like started to unpack and we're like looking around, they show up at our door with food. We did not ask for food, we didn't say, hey, we're hungry. They just knew. They just knew that we had traveled, they knew we had kids, they knew that we were tired, and they knew that food would make this arrival so much easier. See, that is luxury. They were thinking for us, right? The next day, all of a sudden, they showed up at our door with a bunch of floaties, like blow-up, like chair things to sit in the water with for the kids to play with. Again, we didn't ask for it. They just knew and showed up. What they did is they looked at the situation and they thought, what will this family need before they even know that they need it? That is the difference between a luxury resort, luxury thinking, and hospitality. See, hospitality, when you go to a hotel, they wait for the clients to ask. Luxury is thinking ahead. Hospitality says, hey, let me know if you need anything, I'll be there. Luxury doesn't. Luxury says, hey, I already handled it, and that's why people will pay for it. And that is this whole lesson that I'm about to give you guys today, because I'm telling you the word luxury, I can't stand it, and I would challenge almost every single one of you if you have it on your website. So this is where I think that aestheticians are getting it confused. I think that if we we I think that if we think we are like sweet enough to our clients, we are warm enough, we are nice, we are accommodating, we like move around them, that equals luxury. But that is not luxury, that is hospitality. Hospitality is beautiful. Hospitality says, hey, do you feel welcome here? Do you feel cared for? Do you feel comfortable asking me questions? Do you feel like I'm kind? And guys, let me also just state this. There is nothing wrong with hospitality. I'm in the hospitality business. I own Airbnbs. My whole entire Airbnbs is hospitality. I'm not trying to think for these clients that come and chug into my place, right? I'm just like, I'm here for whatever you need, I will jump, right? But that is hospitality. Luxury is asking a totally different question. Luxury isn't saying that. What luxury is actually saying is like, hey, am I incapable hands? Do you feel like I already know what to do? Do you feel like you can actually completely stop thinking? Do you feel like this is all completely handled? And that is why if you are actually truly luxury, you actually will feel colder to clients. Colder. Did you hear what I just said? Think about it. When you walk into a, I don't know, um, American Eagle or something like that, when you walk in, you're greeted, people are nice, they are sweet, hospitality, right? Walk into a Gucci store, a Prada store, Louis Vuitton, whatever. Do you feel a little uncomfortable? Does it feel a little colder? Do you feel like you're gonna do something wrong? I do. Luxury. If you are true luxury, you do feel colder. And you have to just be okay with that because that feeling of like, oh my gosh, they're so sweet and welcoming and bubbling, bubbly feeling, that is a totally different feeling. It's like than what luxury is. Luxury is very controlled, it's very direct, it's very calm, very elevated, and even colder. And the coldness part, that's not rude, that's not mean, that's not dismissive, it's restraint. The brand is restraining itself. Luxury does not chase clients, luxury does not beg you, luxury does not overexplain why they need a certain product or why they need something. Luxury does not ask desperate for you to understand. Luxury has a straight up standard. And this is where, like, a lot of aestheticians, I think, struggle is because we are natural caretakers. A lot of us are mothers. We like to care. We like to take care of. We want to make people feel good. We actually want to be liked. We want that client to know that like we care so much about them and we're so appreciative that they showed up through the door. So, what do we do? We over-explain. We we over-accommodate. Yeah, I'll come in whenever you need. Yeah, that's fine. Let's, whatever. I'm here for you. We over-apologize. Oh, I'm so sorry, I can't do that. Do you think luxury would ever say, I'm so sorry, I can't do that? Never. We we give so much comfort and we give so many choices. But like when we do that, the clients ultimately they like us, but they don't actually feel led by us. Because the truth is, is luxury requires pure leadership. What do I mean by that? Well, I mean you need to remove every single decision that your client has to think about. Every decision. And if you haven't done that, go change the word on your website. But this is the thing that I really want you to understand is that luxury truly removes decisions. Most luxury clients, we are already tired. You guys, I am a luxury client. I will pay for luxury services, right? Now, if you listen to my Gen Z episode, right? My daughter, she is not a luxury client. I don't want to pay for her for a luxury client. Like, she's she's not that. She's a different. This is why you gotta know who your avatar is. But I personally, I am the luxury client, right? I am tired from work. I am tired from my kids. I am tired from making decisions all day long. I am tired from trying to have to figure out my skin and what product I need to use next. I am tired from buying all the products and maybe they're not working, maybe they are working. I am just tired from guessing. So if I come to you, especially if you're positioning yourself as you are high-end and you are luxury, let me tell you, I don't want any decisions. I want guidance, not decisions. I don't want to hear you say, do you want to book again? What would you like to do today? This is what I want you to do. I want you to say, here's what I'm seeing, here's what we're doing today, and here's what we're gonna watch over the next few weeks. Do you see how that kind of sounds a little colder? But it's not. That's actually luxury. That fills luxury. I don't want, you can book this, or you can maybe book this one, you can get this product, or maybe this one. I want straight up, based off of what you told me, this is where we're gonna start. This is actually what we're gonna get. That is luxury. I don't want like, let me know if you need help picking out products, let me know if you need any new products. No, I want these are the two products I want you using morning and night. And I'm gonna check with you in two weeks. Why are you gonna check with them in two weeks? Because if they have any questions, you're gonna get to them before they get to you, right? That is luxury. The more choices that you have to give an actual luxury client, you're just putting work back on the client. And I'm already overworked. I'm tired. I don't want you to make me have to use my brain and think any more than I have to think all day long. True luxury takes off work off of my plate. It takes the thinking off of my plate. And this is where I want you to really like bend in and listen to this point because this is where I think we are getting it wrong in this industry, is where like luxury is built with the facial. It's the facial, the facial is the luxury. No, luxury is built before the facial. It's built in your booking system, it's built in your confirmation message, it's built in your timing, it's built in your intake form, it's built in your consultation, it's built in your checkout, and it's built in your follow-up. It's built in the way that your client knows what to expect before having to ask. So I want to make this simple. If I have to ask, where do I park? You didn't think of me, you didn't think of it. You're not luxury. In fact, you probably, maybe some of you guys, are thinking about where telling the client where to park. But like, if I'm going somewhere new and I have no idea where to park, I don't know what to do, that's a missing system. If your client has to ask, how long will this take? That's a missing system. If your client has to ask, like, what should I be booking? That's the missing system. They're thinking, right? If your client has to ask, should I be coming in with makeup? Or if they're some most clients are wondering these questions, but we aren't even asking, or we're not even answering them. It's like, should I come in with makeup or without makeup? Listen, you haven't fixed those systems, and you maybe those systems are broke broke. It doesn't mean that you're bad, but it does mean that you have a gap between what you are promoting and what is actually real. And this is the part that makes you better. Every question that your client asks, that is actually showing you where your business actually needs a rule. The rule is we send out where to park before the client gets here. The rule is every new client that books a facial knows if they come in with makeup or without makeup. No guessing, not just by being sweet, but you create a business where the client actually can relax because they have already thought through the whole entire experience for your client. Now, this is the main point that I want you guys to know about luxury. Luxury clients, you gotta if you wanna be real luxury, you need to protect time. This is a big one. Luxury clients, they respect time. If you say the appointment ends at two o'clock, then your appointment, it better end at two o'clock. If you say that your appointment starts at one o'clock, your appointment better start at one o'clock on the dot. Now listen, I know things happen and I know clients can change their minds. And I know that they can come in suddenly and they want to add something. And I know that sometimes consultations go longer, and I know that skin can be more complicated, or maybe we add on or we throw something on. But if you are running late or starting late, that's not luxury because now the client has to wonder am I gonna be late picking up my kids? Do I need to move my next appointment? Should I say something? Is she running behind? How long is this actually going to take? When am I actually gonna get out? That again is emotional weight that the client now is having to carry. Luxury removes all of their mental load that they're carrying. So if your services are always running over, you can't call it luxury. You gotta fix the timing. You either need to extend the service time that you guys are blocking, right? Change the booking rules, tighten up the consultation. But the truth is, is luxury timing is built into the luxury service. So you have to account for all the things going wrong in your booking. Because luxury isn't just how the treatment feels, it also is how the whole entire experience runs. Now, I've talked to you about how luxury is cold. Colder, right? Why does luxury give off that cold feeling? Why, when you walk into a luxury store, does it feel colder? The reason why is because true luxury, it is restraint. That's what you're feeling, is you're feeling the brand's restraint. And this is the part that can make you feel uncomfortable. And this can be it is a exciting factor of like, do you want to be true luxury or do you want to be great at hospitality? Because the truth is, is luxury is not always bubbly. Luxury is not always, oh my gosh, girl, I'm so excited to see you, right? Luxury is not lots of exclamation points. Luxury is calm, it's not rude and it's not mean, but it's calm, it's very controlled, and it's very, very steady. Clients never ever should feel like you're frantic. They should never feel like you're scrambling, never feel like you're trying to prove yourself. You're not trying to convince her to buy any product, you're not trying to convince her of anything. You are simply just leading. And that can feel cold to someone starting a real luxury brand, especially if you've been so used to being really warm and very safe to a client because clients are not always looking for more emotion. Sometimes they're just wanting someone to take control. Like, think of it. I like to think of it like my husband, he plans all of our vacations. I don't plan a single thing on our vacations. And I love it because I work so hard all day long, every day, planning everything, making sure everything connects, the dots, and going on vacation is the one time when I don't think at all. And he literally takes control. Those vacations are like a luxury moment to me because it's somebody else taking control and I don't think at all. I just show up. I can't even tell you what time my flight leaves, I can't even tell you what where my the airport is, I can't even tell you my room number because someone else is in control. And it's that someone else that's steps in and is like, this is what we're doing, this is the step, this is what I recommend, and you are all set, and that is true luxury. Now I want to be really clear, because I know I just went off on luxury, right? I want you to know hospitality is not bad. Some businesses should be hospitality-based, right? Not everyone can afford the four seasons in Bora Bora. And there are plenty of really nice hotels that are hospitality and they're warm, they're approachable, and the same thing in the the the spa industry, the aesthetics industry. Not everyone needs to be paying millions of dollars for a facial, but there is room for those people that just they want to have this warm environment. They're built on approaching. Like you can approach me no matter what. Some aestheticians are just naturally so good at nurturing. We are soft, we're emotionally connected to our clients, and that can be so beautiful. But we got to stop confusing what hospitality is and what luxury is. Hospitality is warm, it's inviting, it's flexible, it's comfort, it's open. Luxury is guided, calm, precise, elevated, handled. One is not better than the other, but they are very different. And the problem is when you say luxury, but then you are operating with hospitality, that's where the problem lies. Because then the client comes in expecting one thing and feels a totally another. And then that is when the trust breaks, because it's like you're sitting here promoting, I give a luxury surface, but do you? Here's where I want to challenge you. Before you put the word luxury on your website, I want you to ask yourself, does my client have fewer questions because of all the processes that I have in place? Does she know what to expect before she arrives? Does she know how long that she's gonna be here? Does she know what's gonna happen after? Does she know exactly what she needs to buy? Does she know when she needs to come back? Does my space feel calm? Does my schedule run on time? Do I lead her or is I am I making her decide? Luxury isn't a word that you add to make yourself self or your service sound more expensive to get clients that spend more. Luxury is actually a standard that you build. And if that standard's not built yet, that's okay. But don't hide behind the word, build the system. So this is ultimately what I want you to take away is luxury isn't about being fancy. Luxury is not about a logo, luxury is not about a word. Those are all things that support luxury, but they are not luxury. Luxury is when your client feels ultimately handled. When she walks out, she does not have to think, she does not have to carry anything, she doesn't have to make decisions. That's luxury. And if you are a solo esthetician and you are listening to this, I don't want this to overwhelm you. I don't want you thinking you need to somehow become like the four seasons. You don't. You can start small. You can pick one place where your current client is currently having to think. Maybe it's booking, maybe it's parking, maybe it's product instructions. Pick one place and make it feel more handled. That is how you can start building your luxury experience. Not all at once, one system at a time. Hey, and if you're listening to this episode and you're thinking, okay, something in my business might be off, but I don't know what it is, I want you to start with your numbers. Download my free esthetician weekly number tracker and diagnose your business in seven days. You'll be able to see what's actually broken in your business, your rebooking, your pricing, retail, all of that. And then you'll know what to fix first. I'm gonna go because I think you guys maybe just heard it. My little boy is screaming in the background, and we've got to start homeschool. Bye guys. See you next week.

Announcer 21:43

Thank you for listening to the Esthetician podcast with Kari Jo Patterson. Each week, Kari brings you real world lessons on how to grow your empire. To learn more about Kari's fearless prosperity mastermind group, one-on-one VIP coaching opportunities, and more. Visit www.carryjopatterson.com. That's www.karij-jopatterson.com. See you next week for more insights and strategies on the Esthetician Podcast.