Does your salon, spa or clinic have the wow-factor?
Client experience is important for the hair and beauty industry for many reasons. It has the potential to set your business apart from your competitors, keep your clients coming back, enhance your reputation and make you more successful.
So it’s clear we need to be wow-ing our clients on a regular basis, but how do we accomplish that without investing a lot of extra time or money?
I’m Estelle Carroll, a ZING Coach dedicated to helping salon owners to maximise their potential and profits. Here’s my advice on how you can provide an exceptional client experience time after time, without spending a cent extra.
First, let’s talk about expectations
When a client comes to your salon, spa or clinic, they have an expectation of what they’ll receive. Maybe it’s a relaxing facial or a nice haircut. But that’s not their only expectation.
Some of their primary expectations might be:
- The service was completed in the time allocated.
- The stylist or therapist was friendly and welcoming.
- They were asked questions about their hair or skin.
- They were offered advice and suggestions.
- They were offered refreshments.
- The temperature of the room was comfortable.
- The music was right for the setting.
- The operator looked smart and smelt nice.
- The room was clean and tidy.
- The price was what was quoted.
And so the list goes on.
So if these are the primary expectations of clients that visit a salon, spa or clinic for an appointment, if any of those things are not as expected, the client will be disappointed.
Therefore, we must always be consistent and meet our clients’ expectations. But in order to really ‘wow’ our clients, we need to exceed their expectations.
The little things make a difference, but there’s a catch
The little things that you do differently in your salon, spa or clinic will help to ‘wow’ the client and make them want to come back again.
Once a client has been a regular to your salon, they come to expect the extras that gave them the ‘wow’ feeling at first.
Therefore they are no longer ‘wows’. Instead they’re now part of a client’s primary expectations in your salon.
Because, for example, when they come to you they expect a five minute scalp massage, and to be offered a selection of tea and coffee served with homemade goodies.
If you happen to run late and shortchange that five minute head massage, and you didn’t get time to bake goodies so you just served the coffee, your client will feel like they didn’t get the full service, regardless of how great their hair or skin looks afterwards.
So we need to have an awareness about our ‘wows’, because we want to wow them all the time. We need to be providing a consistent client experience, with every team member providing the same level of service.
How to continually ‘wow’ your clients for free
So how exactly do you ‘wow’ your clients each time while also meeting their primary expectations – which we know are constantly growing?
Surely there’s a ceiling that you’ll eventually reach and can’t surpass?
While you could go from homemade cookies to homemade brownies, then to a selection tray of sweet treats – your costs will continue to grow each time, too.
Luckily, the ‘wows’ don’t need to be expensive or time consuming. Here’s how to ‘wow’ your clients and provide value without paying a cent:
1. Be consistent
The key to providing an exceptional client experience is to have your team engaged and in agreement with the level of service you require. To achieve consistency, establish your client journey, which includes how you treat your clients from the moment they contact the salon to book their appointment, through to what happens after their appointment.
Document every step of the way with your standard and level of service required, including what to do and how to do it. Then monitor it until it becomes second nature for your team.
2. Provide inspiration and recommendations
Remember that you’re the expert and your clients visit you for your expertise and talents. That means you should provide value by providing personal recommendations for your clients that will help them to achieve the hair or skin they’ve always wanted.
You could start the consultation with; “I’ve been thinking about your challenges with your skin/hair and I’ve prepared this as I really think it will help you.” If they want to try something different you could tell them about the latest trends in your industry and how you could incorporate that into their look, and be sure to educate them about how they can care for their skin/hair at home to maintain their results.
3. Remember them
The relationships you build with your clients is what keeps them coming back. Remember the conversation you had on their last visit and ask them for an update when you see them again.
It’s as simple as making some little notes for yourself in their client notes to help prompt your memory. Those few minutes spent entering those notes will make them feel special because you’ve shown a genuine interest in them and remember your past conversations.
Are you wow-ing your hair and beauty clients?
The wows can come from the attention to detail, inspiration and care you give. Take some time to get together with your team and talk about how you can wow your clients every time!
If you need help taking your salon to the next level, book your free discovery session with me by calling 0428 443 404 or emailing estelle@zingcoach.com.au.
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