Secrets of a Successful Hair Salon
When you think about customer service based businesses such as salons, it is the total experience that stands out as the most important aspect of the business. For a salon this is doubly so due to the personal nature of the work involved and the close relationship you’ll have with your clientele. Here are a few other secrets. Hair Salon businesses and beauty salon businesses can benefit equally from all of these.
First impression is key. Indeed, this is the ultimate out of all the secrets hair salon owners put into practice. Get your first impressions right and you will unlock many benefits, the most important of which will be customers returning again and again. When a customer enters, they need a strong, positive first impression. A sincere, cheerful greeting goes a long way. If policy allows for walk-ins, staff should ask if the customer has an appointment. If walk-ins are not allowed, the person entering should be treated as a potential future client and promptly offered an appointment. If a stylist has a space of time with no appointments, it should be at their discretion to offer special treatment as an incentive for return business.
Chemical smells and noise are unavoidable. However, a clean well-ordered salon is an attractive one. Keep cleaning product smells to a minimum. Baking soda is very cost-effective, food grade and odorless. It scours and deodorizes for pennies.
Here’s a very special tip. People love personal treatment. Have stylists keep a notebook of facts. When a customer comes in, listen, pay attention. When they leave, take a few moments and make notes. Create an individual page. Write down their name and facts. Record their beauty concerns and what services where given. This way a stylist can personalize the experience and future service. This information must be guarded with utmost discretion and fervor. What it insures is a gratifying experience for the client for their next visit, and a good record for the stylist concerning color, chemical and cutting history. Also recall personal matters they may have discussed to ask about in follow-up. Computer files and records are a good documentary. But, a personal record on hand can prove very valuable. People like to feel important, and supplying that will raise the stature of your salon in their mind.
Word of mouth advertising is one of those things that is beyond price. When a stylist finishes with a client, and they say, “I love it,”, the stylist should smile, say “I am so glad. Tell someone.”. Just a few positive mentions travel a very long way. It’s free and the best form of advertising. When someone likes your service or your product they’ll tell three people. When someone has a bad experience they’ll tell seven people. Remember that – it doesn’t take many bad experiences to undo all the good work you’ve been doing. An ad or business card is great, yet impersonal. If a satisfied client tells a friend about their experience it creates a very positive buzz for the salon. Not only might a new customer be obtained, they may pass along what they heard. It created a verbal network that will help your business bring in new clients and have its name put out among the desired consumers.
The ultimate secret to a popular, successful salon is customer satisfaction. See to that, and your salon will be a healthy business.
