However, of all these new businesses suddenly appearing on the digital scene, online makeup consultations is one of the more surprising use cases we’ve come across. But, when you give more thought, it shouldn’t be so surprising. Makeup consultations require personal, meaningful connections between the makeup professional and their clients to ensure success. Live video chat is the only online communication tool that offers the up close and personal visualization and immersion required to drive this type of interaction.

Apparently, the Covid-19 has made virtual beauty consultations a highly popular digital offering. Not only have beauty store closings become commonplace, but the huge increase in live video chat meetings has created a new need for makeup that removes the glare and makes people look good on computer screens.

Replicating the In-Store Experience with Live Video Chat

The businesses that are especially successful online are able to achieve their goals because of their ability to replicate the in-store experience. As one-on-one makeup consultations are considered highly intimate and personal, their online communication option that delivers on this need is to use live video conferencing software. 

Live video chat software offers a highly immersive interaction that offers an experience reminiscent of the offline one. When it comes to makeup artists, this means that interactions are direct and personal, like they would be in real life. 

Charlotte Tilbury is an online makeup consultation phenomenon. This highly successful brick-and-mortar business recently launched its online offering, providing remote consultation for everything from skincare tips to quick and easy makeup tricks. Beauty experts consult with clients on foundation shades and help them find the right makeup for their unique skin. 

The Charlotte Tilbury website offers free, 15-minute consultations with a team of beauty experts that use live video chat to see what their clients need. They then recommend any one of Charlotte Tilbury’s wide-range of beauty products as a way to solve the specific skincare ailments that their clients face.

And she’s not alone. Bobbi Brown launched a virtual consultation pilot program last year for its top-tier loyalty customers. It was so successful that it was made available to any shopper within less than a month. 

And these virtual consultations deliver results: 

• 46% of people who took part in a virtual consultation ordered products within 3 hours of finishing the consultation. 
• 51% of them then came back and purchased again. 

However, setting up an advanced live video chat solution capable of organizing a business’s online operation and supporting multiple agents is not an option for everyone. While some may have the resources to build their own in-house solution, many smaller beauty professionals simply don’t have the budgets to develop heavy duty remote consultation platforms.

Virtual Consultation Powered by Consolto

Consolto’s advanced live video chat platform is the perfect solution for smaller beauty outfits looking to set up their own virtual consultation business. Using Consolto, beauty professionals can add live communication options to their website including video chat, messaging, SMS and more, without breaking their budget on a custom-made platform that only the big players can afford.

Consolto’s solution is well-suited to the needs of beauty professionals. It includes a mini-CRM to enable beauty professionals to record notes and follow up actions during the live session. Seamless payment integration ensures that consultations and products are paid for before the session comes to an end.

Advanced scheduling makes it easy for customers to set up appointments, even when there’s no one manning the website. Support for multiple agents gives bigger operations the ability to station multiple beauty professionals on the website to deal with surges and handle numerous consultations simultaneously. Advanced analytics makes it easy to keep track of the performance of each and every agent.

As virtual consultations become an increasingly acceptable and popular way of providing remote beauty services, Conslto delivers the goods with an affordable, highly effective solution suitable for the needs of small and medium sized businesses.