Hey, friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hair Stylist podcast. So, this past week, one of our students shared in our community forum that a new potential client had found her through ChatGPT. So, on her first service consultation form, her digital one that she has on her website, the client listed their referral source as, and I quote, "ChatGPT for curly hair."

So, what I could assume is that this client probably went on ChatGPT and typed something like, "Help me find a curly hair stylist in my area," and lo and behold, my student showed up as a recommendation for a curly hair stylist in that person's area. So, this circumstance was super validating for me, because it proves what I have been preaching for a very long time, and also validates a theory that I had just shared this past week in a recent podcast interview. So, the first theory being validated from this circumstance was that a first service consultation form, particularly a digital one, is an absolute must. Having a first service consultation form is still a non-negotiable.

And I don't give a shit if you think it's annoying for a client to fill out a form, or whatever it may be. I have hundreds of students to prove that it works, data that says 95% of clients are willing to fill out a first service consultation form before booking their first appointment. And as we can see from this circumstance, it makes you aware of very important and interesting data that you would otherwise have no way of collecting and tracking historically in this specific format. All right?

So, these forms, they set the tone, they make the clients feel seen and heard, ensure clarity for both you and the client, but then most importantly, allow you as a business owner to make data-driven decisions and stay ahead of the curve. Because otherwise, you may have not understood or found out that this person came from this specific referral source, and that is going to change how you show up in your marketing and how you adapt to stay ahead. Now, my second theory that this validated that I just shared recently, I was asked in a podcast interview how I believe AI will affect the beauty industry overall. So, I shared that I think AI will make it easier for clients to find hair stylists who are a really good, specific fit for the client.

It allows for such a more personalized and targeted search, focusing on different details and specifics, like specialty, pricing, availability, et cetera, et cetera. And now, we are seeing that happen in real time. AI, like ChatGPT, is becoming a preferred way for people to find service providers and shop for different products, right? It cuts through the noise of paid ads and endless searching in and out of different websites.

Search engines such as Google are even integrating AI summaries at the top of Google searches, as you may have seen if you've used Google Search recently. And even in my own life and business, I'm finding myself going straight to AI in a lot of circumstances instead of going to the same old search options, because I just know I'll be able to get a more personalized and tailored answer in a much faster way. So now, the question becomes, what does this mean for the industry and hairstylists specifically? So, for the hairstylists out there who are more business oriented and have already done the thorough foundational marketing work, I believe this is actually great news for you, because it'll be a lot easier for you to get clients into your chair who really love you and you really love, and are more likely to be retained.

I don't think it's so great news for the stylist who hasn't focused on having a strong foundation when it comes to your marketing, including using real data and research to drive those efforts, or the stylist who does not have a strong online presence right now. So, let me break down to you why I believe this is the tea, and some things to consider. So number one, I believe that with this circumstance, specializing is becoming way more important, even more than it already was. So, if you're not specialized, now is the time to narrow your focus for a billion different reasons, this being the cherry on top.

AI is now enabling clients to search with pinpoint accuracy. They're looking for stylists who meet specific criteria for exactly what their needs are. And with these advancements in technology, the lack of trust from the consumer in our industry right now, and people wanting more personalized solutions overall, if you're too much of a generalist, you very may well not stand out from the crowd and show up in these searches. And even if you are already specialized, your messaging needs to be on point, right?

So, think about it, th- these clients are literally sharing their pain points and desires with AI tools like ChatGPT using very specific language. And the AI is going to try to match the stylists up with that client and the language that the client is speaking. So, if your website or your marketing in general doesn't speak directly to those concerns, using the same words and descriptions that your client is using, you run the risk of not showing up in that search, even if maybe you are the perfect match for that client. Now that clients will have an easier time finding somebody who specializes in exactly what they want, they're gonna be much more likely to take that route and work with stylists that come up in those searches over generalists overall.

Now, number two is that your website needs to work for you, and it needs to be set up optimally. Now, generally, if you don't have a website, yesterday is the time to make that happen. But it's becoming increasingly more important with this type of advancement. And it's not just about having a website.

It's about making it functional and optimized for today's needs. Your website should not just be an informational hub. It should feel like a conversation. It should be a strategic sales journey, speaking directly to your clients' concerns and desires, using their language that they would use to describe their hair struggles or goals.

Because when you make clients feel understood, they're more likely to trust you and therefore book with you. And to bring it back to the topic of this episode, like I shared in the last point, it'll make it so you are more likely to show up in these search results. So, the copy on your website should be backed by data and research, understanding what your ideal client is most likely to actually type into a search bar or into a ChatGPT prompt so that way you have that same language on your website, and you're most likely to pop up. Another thing with our websites that we need to make sure that we are on top of is not relying solely on Canva-generated images or just any images in general for service menus or information where there's texts on the image.

Because they aren't going to be easily readable, if readable at all, by AI or search engines, which makes it so they won't help you rank in search results. So, instead, we really need to be using the text-based content that's built in with your software's native tools that's clean, clear, and easy to scan by these third-party softwares. So, we really need to be using your website builder's native tools to build out text-based things, such as your service menu and any other sort of marketing or information. And then on top of that, we need to make sure that the copy on your website is matching the same messaging that your clients would be looking for when they would be describing their own pain points or desires.

Now, number three is being transparent with pricing and services upfront. Now that clients will be searching with their specific needs in mind, we could all assume that budget could very well be a part of that. So, somebody could literally search, "I'm looking for someone to cut my curly hair in my area for less than $50." And so, if you don't have your prices clean and clear on your website or in a public format in one way or another, then ChatGPT isn't even going to consider you as an option to recommend because you're not giving it the information that it needs for you to be recommended to this person because this person is specifically asking for certain parameters around the price.

Not to mention, your service descriptions have to make sense and match up to what the client is looking for. And a lot of people, especially those of you who are still using an a la carte model for pricing, which is totally fine, but a lot of the time, don't have descriptions for what those different services actually mean and what they'll do for somebody. So, when somebody is going to be using AI, searching for a hairstylist that's specifically for them, and they're gonna be sharing exactly what they need, then you need to make sure that the descriptions and the titles and the prices and the types of services that you offer match up with those things and make sense to the general consumer even more so. So, number four is gonna be getting more public platform reviews.

So, AI is gonna naturally wanna give this user a reputable service provider, and public reviews are likely gonna be a key part of that equation. So, platforms like Google My Business or your Facebook business page or Yelp become the go-to data sources for AI algorithms when making these types of recommendations. But I'd argue that it's not just about having a lot of good reviews. It's also about getting the right reviews, encouraging your clients to describe their experience using language that aligns with your specialty and what new clients might be searching for.

So, for example, if your ideal client is looking for a curly hair specialist who will maintain length, you want those keywords naturally embedded in your reviews. And there are strategic and proven ways to, yes, get a lot of reviews, but at the same time, make those reviews more likely to be tailored to make them more advantageous for you, which is something that I teach within my programs. Now, number five. Unfortunately, having an online presence in general becomes increasingly more important.

AI won't know you exist unless you have some sort of online presence, whether that be from you sharing yourself or others sharing you online. AI is obviously not gonna know if Sally told Susie about you over coffee. So, only relying on word of mouth becomes even more of an uphill battle for you unless there is some sort of digital aspect to your word of mouth strategy. So, you may have noticed if you've listened to the podcast for a long time, if you're a student of mine, that a lot of the things that come with this advancement in AI are things that we should already be focusing on, things that I've been recommending and saying are happening for a fair bit now, but now they are just going to become increasingly more important.

So, I have a couple different resources for you because I dive deeper into each of these topics overall in other episodes and within my program. So, a lot of this comes down to making sure that you have great SEO, right? So, it's advantageous for you to already be focusing on your SEO for normal search engine results to be more likely to stumble in front of your client in their search for a hairstylist, but now it's becoming increasingly more important. I talked a lot about keywords and messaging and making sure that you show up in search results, and this is gonna make it so your SEO needs to be that much better.

So, I do have an episode all about SEO. I'm gonna leave that in the description of this podcast episode, wherever you're listening to this. And in the last episode that I released before this one, I just talked about a couple marketing mistakes that hairstylists make that reduce their efforts in getting new clients. So, I'm going to also leave the link to that because I do cover some of these topics in there a little bit more deeply.

And then, if you're looking for a better, more strategic way to get good, tailored reviews, if you're looking for a word of mouth referral program that actually has a dis- digital aspect to it, and most importantly, you are looking to make sure that your marketing foundations are set up using real data and analytics, then those are all things that I cover within my program. So, I'll leave the links below for those as well too. I hope that you enjoyed this episode, my friend. AI is not just the future.

It is happening right now. Clients are already using tools like ChatGPT to find stylists who fits their needs. So, this is your chance to take advantage of this opportunity because this could be a good thing for you if you ride the momentum of it. But if you haven't been taking these things seriously up until this point, I hope that this was yet another reason for you to start.

So, I'm here to support you through these transitions, through making sure that you are setting yourself up for the most success in the present and the future. Thank you so much for tuning in to the Modern Hairstylist podcast. Peace out, girl scout.

End of transcript. © 2024 Hunter Donia LLC.