Did you know that most businesses that focus on providing a great client experience make more money? That’s just one of the reasons why you should be focusing on creating an exceptional client experience in your salon, spa or clinic.
A study by Microsoft found that 96% of customers say customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand, and research conducted by Dimension Data found that 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in their revenue.
So, not only is client experience important to your customers, it’s also an important part of the success of your business. When a client leaves your salon, spa or clinic feeling great, you’re well on the right track to creating a positive and lasting relationship with them.
But how do you create an exceptional client experience in your salon, spa or clinic?
When it comes to creating an exceptional client experience, it’s important to look at the whole package from start to finish. Every small detail can add up to determine a client’s overall experience.
Here’s how to provide the ultimate client experience that covers the complete customer journey, which will result in increased client loyalty, and more revenue for your business.
1. Make the booking process seamless
The perfect client experience starts when the client books an appointment with you. Whether they book in person, over the phone, or through your online booking, it’s important that your booking process is as simple and seamless as possible.
According to our data, more than 50% of online bookings are made outside of normal business hours, which indicates that some clients will prefer to book online at a time that suits them.
That means it’s critical that you’re providing them with the option to do so, otherwise those looking to book online will have a negative client experience if they then need to call you during standard business hours.
Find out 5 reasons why your salon needs online booking, and book your free demo of Kitomba Online Booking to see the feature in action.
2. Appointment confirmations and reminders
Sending an appointment confirmation that enables the client to instantly add the details to their calendar contributes towards a seamless client experience.
To enhance the client experience further, if it’s a new client you could send a welcome email prior to their appointment with directions, your beverage list, and information about what to expect for their appointment with you.
Sending automated appointment reminders is also fundamental to salons, spas and clinics because they dramatically reduce no-shows. People get busy and often forget appointments that were made weeks ago, so clients love receiving reminders, and you’ll love having less no-shows.
Kitomba enables you to easily set up appointment reminders to automatically send to your clients before their appointment, either by SMS text message or by email. Find out more about Kitomba.
3. Greet on arrival
How you greet your clients when they arrive is crucial. You should have a receptionist if possible, or the client’s stylist or therapist should be there to warmly greet the client and take them to their chair or treatment room.
It’s a good idea to create a rule for your staff to live by, for example, a client must be greeted with a smile as soon as they walk in the door. This helps to keep standards high.
4. Stick to the schedule
Managing time in a salon, spa or clinic can be challenging when it’s busy or clients are running late. While it’s best to always try to minimise this happening, it’s not always avoidable. So it’s important to have processes in place to rectify the situation so it doesn’t affect your clients experience.
For example, if you’re running late, inform your client in advance and offer them a free treatment or head massage when they come in next time. It shows you value your clients and genuinely want their experience to be a positive one.
It’s also important to look at time from the perspective of the appointment. Ensure you book in a sufficient amount of time to perform clients services and do an exceptional job. It’s important not to be in a hurry either as it could leave the client feeling rushed and unappreciated.
5. Check the environment
Your salon, spa or clinic not only needs to look good but it needs to add to your client experience.
Think about how you want your clients to feel when they visit. For example, do your clients want to relax after long days of work and stress? If so, your salon, spa or clinic could be painted with light colours, decorations could be simple and calming and soft music should be chosen.
Be sure to think about every aspect of your space – decorations, furniture, equipment, flowers, magazines and drinks. Don’t forget about non visual things too, like what your clients smell and what they hear.
6. Your team’s appearance
Your salon, spa or clinic team not only add to the look and feel of the salon, but they’re selling your business, your brand, your culture and your reputation.
Whether you have uniforms or a dress code, it’s important to think about how this reflects on your clients experience. Think about how it fits with the look of your salon, spa or clinic and if it’s practical for your staff to wear as they carry out their jobs.
Create clear appearance rules and guidelines for your team so it’s easy for them to achieve your desired look and ensure they take ownership for how they present themselves.
7. The small touches
Sometimes the smallest touches can change how a client feels about their appointment. Here are a few finer details to think about.
Record past conversations in their client card
Write down important conversations you’ve had during a previous appointment or note down if they’ve mentioned an upcoming holiday. Then you’ll be well equipped to show your clients you really care. Paying an interest in their life can result in a lifetime client.
Remember their preferences
Knowing their favourite drink, partner’s name and job are simple yet effective ways of making your client feel well taken care of. When it comes to remembering the details, Kitomba comes in handy keeping all your client details in one easy to access place.
Be thoughtful
You could ask when a client’s parking ticket runs out as they arrive and offer to feed the meter. Or purchase inexpensive umbrellas to keep handy at reception for clients to borrow to get to their cars if it rains.
8. The follow up
It’s always a good idea to follow up with your clients shortly after their appointment. Whether it’s a simple thank you message, asking for feedback or to leave a review, encouraging rebooking, or upselling products or services related to their appointment.
If you have a loyalty programme, Kitomba Everyday Marketing lets your clients know how many points they have and what they can spend them on.
You can choose the follow-up time frame for your messages, too. Whether you want to send the message the following day, a week later, you can easily do so with Kitomba Salon and Spa Software. Read our Everyday Marketing support guide to find out how.
Also be sure to keep in touch with your clients with newsletters, birthday messages, encouraging them to rebook, and more. Read this list of the 10 best client messages for salons, spas and clinics to find out more.
A simple client experience framework
If you’d like to use some of these ideas to make your client experience exceptional but you’re unsure how to incorporate these into every salon visit, there’s a simple framework you can follow.
You’ll need to think about three things: culture, accountability and systems.
Culture
Ensure you create a culture where the importance of service is paramount and everyone knows they’re responsible for taking care of clients. Hiring the right people who fit into this culture will help achieve this.
Accountability
Ensure your entire team knows that they’re all responsible for ensuring every client’s experience is an exceptional one. Creating team accountability, rather than individual, helps ensure that each team member will work just as hard as one another to meet your standards.
Systems
These create the foundation and support needed to implement new initiatives consistently.
Improve your client experience and improve your business
We hope this has given you some inspiration to improve your client experience to be an exceptional one!
Remember, the proof is in the pudding: multiple statistics on customer experience compiled by Forbes show that improving your client experience will drive client loyalty and increase revenue. So start working on making your client experience the best it can possibly be!
Read next:
- Improve your business with these numbers
- How to create the best online booking client experience
- How to introduce targets to your team
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on 25 June 2018 and has been updated for relevance and comprehensiveness.
