Brand loyalty or go with whatever is 'cool'??

[EllaX]

Just a quick one I'm opening for debate... spurred by a client actually - who told me I should now train with 'A.N. Other' company because thats who everyone was training with now and they are the best.

I have noticed a lot of people changing companys lately or have in the past trained with several different companys, and i'm not disrespecting any of you for doing that - I am just simply asking what your reasons were.

What made you change product?
What made you re-train with another company?
Did you do it because to offer a wider range, add on another service, cater for different clients or did you do it simply because everyone else was training with that company and you jump on the bandwagon.

xx

 

[Peter Pan]

i have trained with 4 diff companies and going to train with yet another one in the near future, my main reason for this is because - where i live, people dont give a bulls lug whether you just out of college or THE GEEK HIMSELF, they just want cheap nails. With product increase etc, i cant afford to increase my nail prices, as I'll just make matters worse than they already are, so im opting for the other way and lowering them, with a lower priced product, this way i just might beable to get more clients. This doesnt mean that I will be lowering my standards tho. Its the only way I can survive, I htink alot of peeps might feel this way too, I dont know, but Im sure as hell hoping its gonna work for me, but I think deep down it will, ive printed off loads of price lists and specials for valentines, and my sisters partner has took them all to work with her, she has just rang and told me to print more, as they are flying out the door.

 

[Susie H]

I trained with Creative first, and still recomend them to everyone, but I heard about this guy who was red hot at sculpting and I wanted, still do want to be great at sculpting and Tony educates on behalf of NSI so I went to Bedford and did a conversion day which let me play with the new product range and let me pick the brain of this really great bloke, Tony.
I love the attraction range but tend to use creative techniques when using them because I'm greedy, I go for 121 training, I want all the educators time and attention to be on me:green:
So for me its not the product its the educator and what I, me, myself wants to learn that governs where I get my training.
Next one? I would so love to do some training with Gigi:smack: dream on:lol:

 

[Chameleon]

I trained with OPI,after my vtct course....but fell in love with the spa manicure and pedicure from CND....and got more results.....i also believe in everything CND stands for regarding natural nail care,and the rest is history:lol:

 

[sodabubble]

i have trained with a few different companies (nails and other treatments) and I think that if a product is cool it can have an impact on how many clients you get, especially if it's a brand name thats mentioned in mags, or in celeb articles but having said that I wont be changing from CND any time soon as I believe in the product.

Round here everyone wants backscratchers but I won't be training with them at present as I am happy with Brisa

 

[Nicki-Marie]

Im a gel girl and I once had a client tell me that I should do L&P .. and that everyone else does it and the media rave about it. (Her words)

I firstly did my NVQ in gels. I retrained with creative Brisa and I also use Akzentz gel. I use what I feel most comfortable with and what I feel give me and my clients the best results. I joined creative because I was aware of their excellent training, customer service and products. I was also unhappy with results with previous brands. But that was down to me though and my preferences. x

 

[angel fingers]

i believe that every trainer has something new that i can take advantage of.
i have trained with quite a few different places and benefited from them all.

its part of my never ending quest to be all knowing when it comes to nails:lol:
i also feel it benefits the students i train as i can learn from the teaching style of others and add to the knowledge that i can pass on to them

my best ever training was from tom holcomb, tom bachik and alisha rimando in the usa.

 

[slhallford]

i believe that every trainer has something new that i can take advantage of.
i have trained with quite a few different places and benefited from them all.

Yes! That's how I feel about it, too. And it's not just each trainer, it's the students in each class as well. Someone always seems to have a trick or technique that interests me. It's also why I started my networking group, I want it ALL. All the knowledge I can find, from anyone wanting to share.

But, back to the question. Truthfully, one of the reasons I trained with CND was because of it's popularity here. But, IMO, popularity can only carry a product so far. If you're not willing to learn the correct way to use it or if you're not willing to practice until you can't see straight, no product change is going to be magic for you.

S

 

[Classy Claws]

Initally was drawn to CND because of the 'snob status' it has in this country, it IS known as one of the best and they offer international reconised certification... BUT I am also going a head with an ezyflow and NSI conversion(s) why? I want to know how they do it, if its different and why? whats the product like and how does it work, I will also do the next Bio Suculpture course when it comes around also.

Like a sponge I want to absorb it all, that means diff products diff techniques, you simply wont get that by sticking with one product line.

 

[NAIL FRENZY]

I trained with Young Nails gel, and powder and monomer at college and went on to do my Advanced cert with them. I love their products and second to none education and customer service. I then did a course with Creative and can say exactly the same about them too. I initialy decided to do Creative because I had heard so many fantastic reviews about them that I had to try them for myself and never looked back. I then got so fed up with people asking for a soak off gel despite telling them that it is no better for the natural nail than any other product that I decided to do a Calgel conversion and yes all comments above go for them too!

I now have a range of options for my clients without having to keep trying different companies and having to buy complete new sets each time. Another reason for having so many different products is that I want to get in to education and I think that it helps to have a few options to offer, I have a teaching qual and my assessors award. I also believe that there are not enough professional nail technicians delivering college nail courses. I was one of the lucky ones that had a lecturer who not only had her beauty therapy quals but also had extensive training and salon experience within the nail sector. We can provide so much knowledge to students that maybe cannot be provided by a beauty therapist that has not continued within the nail industry.

 

[Urban Geek]

I started off my NVQ training using The Edge products and then converted to Creative products when I trained with them. I achieve great results with Creative products so use them for my L&P and manicure services. I have also trained with BioSculpture because I wanted a product which would meet my needs for natural nail overlays.

Although my Creative training has been the most invaluable, I also picked up great tips and techniques from the training I had elsewhere. I will continue education to keep abreast of new products and techniques.

What products I use is not down to Brand loyalty, it is down to what brand and products can give me and my clients the best results. My decision is certainly not based on where my clients tell me where to go for training!

 

['chelle]

I use Creative, I've never worked with another brand, and nor am I tempted (not that I'm saying thats a bad thing, its just my personal choice).

My reason for this is that my advertising contains the phrase "All the products I use are from the Creative brand, so you can be assured of the highest standards and quality at all times". I'm not saying by this that anyone elses brand is not good, but that I think if you stick with one brand and advertise that, your clients will identify with it, and I think it can be a good selling point.

For me, Creative cater for everthing that I do now, and that I want to do in the future, and I believe in the saying if it aint broke, dont fix it. I agree that you can learn more by getting as much education as possible, but again, Creative cater more than enough in the education department, so I dont feel any need to seek advice elsewhere when the brand that I will continue to use is the Creative brand.

Again, Pleeeease dont take this post to mean that I'm knocking anyones chosen brand, or that "multi-training" isnt good, I'm not saying that, I'm just offering my opinion and reasons for that opinion. Also, sorry if I sound like I've just bought shares in CND its not meant to come across that way, just my honest opinion!!

 

[The Geek]

Not sure where the 'snob factor' thing comes into play (especially when our education is some of the least expensive around... but hey!) - I suppose that can come from being successful in your chosen field. If thats the case, then I guess its a compliment

I do have to say that I am saddened when people think that you save with less expensive products though. If you actually sat down to work out the cost per application you would find there is about a 50p difference between the most expensive products and least expensive products for a rebalance (BTW: CND is neither of those). Once you figure our your price per relabalance and then figure out how much time it takes you to make that difference you could be in for a shocker. For example, if the cost between application systems is 35p and you charge £20 per rebalance then you make £1 every 3 minutes, therefore the savings is about 1 minute of your time. NOW comes the fun part - add up the increased amount of time in repair work or service breakdown using a less expensive system. If it takes you more than 1 minute of extra repair work in the example above, you will be losing money by using cheaper systems. That is what is called a false economy. But hey, if you don't see any difference, I guess you will have saved 1 minute of profit!

Anyhooo - best of luck with whatever is your choice

 

[Classy Claws]

Not sure where the 'snob factor' thing comes into play (especially when our education is some of the least expensive around... but hey!) - I suppose that can come from being successful in your chosen field. If thats the case, then I guess its a compliment

Yes it is - it means high end - ie prada V walmart

 

[The Geek]

Well then its a compliment! Team Prada for nails (at great value too!)

 

[Sassy Hassy]

I´ve changed gel brands twice - first time was through extremely poor customer service and second time was down to lack of quality control of the gels. I´m happy with what I use now and can´t see changing for the foreseeable future ... if it ain´t broke don´t fix it.

Besides I´d hope that my clients stay loyal to me as long as I provide a good service and good treatments. I wouldn´t want to think of THEM shopping around either!