How to Maintain Customer Satisfaction in your Beauty Biz
The Top 7 Factors You Can’t Forget
When it comes down to it, running a successful salon has less to do with your performance, your skills, and your creativity, and pretty much everything to do with how you value your customers’ satisfaction.
Maybe that seems a little bit dramatic, but hear us out—at the end of the day, the heart of your business boils down to one thing, and one thing only, your customers. If they’re unhappy and if you’re not focusing your attention on making them happy, there’s bound to be some serious beauty biz issues that are going to arise.
We’re not saying that your talent, your business know-how, and your artistry don’t matter—of course they do, that’s a huge part of customer satisfaction, isn’t it? But we do think that if you’re not focusing your attention on other aspects surrounding customer satisfaction, you’re unknowingly creating a huge problem.
That’s why we’ve come up with a few, quick checkpoints for you to browse through to ensure that you’re providing your customers with the service and satisfaction they’re looking for.
See something here that you’re not doing? Start thinking about why it’s missing from your beauty biz and consider implementing it into your regular routine—who knows, your customer satisfaction might just level up.
Make Sure Your Employees Are All on the Same Page
If you’re not running a one-(wo)man show and are working with a team, it’s important that everyone—seriously, everyone—is on the same page when it comes to your policy on customer satisfaction.
The biggest mistake you can make is to assume that everyone values customer satisfaction the same way—do this, and you’ll probably be unpleasantly surprised by some of your employees. We’re not saying that everyone has to think the same, but we do think it’s vital that you’re sitting your employees down and expressing, in very clear teams, how much you value customer satisfaction, how to guarantee that, and what that looks like through their services.
If you’ve already created the dream team of employees (if you haven’t we can help you with that), remember that this type of ongoing training is a big part of keeping your dream team alive!
Consider Loyalty Programs
Though loyalty programs might not work in all scenarios, they can be an easy, useful way to make sure your clients are feeling valued, respected, and cherished. No single loyalty program will look the same as another—in order for them to work for a specific salon or shop, they need to be unique.
Loyalty programs can make your clients feel welcomed and cherished, which, in turn, will incentivize them to become seasoned regulars. No, it’s not all about chasing the eternal punch card or getting that free bang trim—it’s about the gesture of showing your clients that they’re valued.
That’s a huge piece of the customer satisfaction puzzle. If you think this might be a good idea for your business, check out our blog here for more info on how to create the customized loyalty program you’re looking for.
Engage & Interact, Always
This goes for in-person interactions and online engagement, too. Your customers want to know that they are on your mind, so when given the chance to interact and engage, make sure you’re not missing out.
If you have comments or questions on your social media pages, respond quickly and appropriately. When you have customers in the salon, engage with them to develop personal relationships with them.
Customers are far more satisfied when they know they’re working with a business or a brand that’s dedicated to getting to know them and answer their questions. We’d bet that most clients are more invested in brands that care about them as people than uber-talented pros that never give them the time of day.
Analyze the In-Salon Experience on the Reg
We don’t just mean take a quick scan of the salon every few days, we mean really, really analyze what the experience is like at your salon. Ask your regulars, talk to your staff, take your own personal trip through what a customer’s experience is like. Walk the walk of a customer for a day every few months to see where you’re lacking and what you could be doing better.
Are your customers missing out on fun, low-cost extras (like a glass of wine or a cup of coffee) that you should provide while they wait? Is there plenty of great reading material in your salon for customers to browse?
There are plenty of little things you could change (or hey, maybe big things you could change) that can dramatically alter your customers’ experiences.
Don’t Forget to Follow Up
Your interactions with your customers don’t end when they leave your store—you need to ensure that you’re providing them with a full, well-rounded experience by following up with them after their appointments.
There are so many ways to do this to give them a gentle reminder that you’re there and you care without being an obnoxious or pushy company. Did their cut turn out the way they wanted? Did they need a link to that leave-in conditioner you mentioned?
Following up with your clients isn’t just about chasing that next appointment—the more you invest in them, the more satisfied with your service they’ll be.
Your Customers Are—in Most Cases—Always Right
We hate to make a blanket statement like that, but in a customer service business, that’s kind of the known motto, right? Let’s be clear—no, if you have a customer who is clearly out of line, disrespectful, rude, mean, or causing some sort of harm to you, your staff, other customers, or themselves, we’re not going to advise you to follow that whole customer is always right thing.Continually Work to Improve Your Customers’ Experiences
The best thing you can do to improve your customers’ experiences is to never stop trying to improve their experiences. Make this a goal that you’re never quite satisfied with and we can guarantee your customers will notice.Ready to implement a few of these top tips to increase customer satisfaction in your beauty biz? We thought you might be.
At the end of the day, how you go about satisfying your customers is totally up to you—use that creative, business-minded brain of yours and come up with your own solutions. All we can suggest is that you continually put yourself in your customers’ shoes to gain insight on-the-reg about how they’re feeling and how you can improve their experience.
Looking for more insight just like this for your beauty business?
