Never Cut it Short With Your Clients: How To Make Your Customers Feel AppreciatedOctober 19, 2018Building a strong bond with your client is a core component of success in this industry. Forming a strong bond with clients takes time and effort. It’s not something you see the benefits of immediately, therefore, persistence is essential. Don’t consider it as a waste of time but rather, an investment that pays off in the future. A good client-stylist relationship results in loyal clients for many years to come! Your clients will also most likely refer your salon to their friends whenever possible. Word of mouth is a strong method to convince others to try your salon too! If a passerby likes the hairstyle you gave the client, they will most definitely consider dropping by your salon to learn more about it. Clients shouldn’t feel like they are being sold to, but instead, they should feel pampered and relaxed in your salon. Always make your clients feel welcomed at your salon. Show them that you appreciate the relationship that has been built over the years. Here are some ways you can proactively make your clients feel appreciated. Treat Them In The Manner You Want To Be Treated The old saying goes, “Treat people with respect if you want to be respected.” The same goes for appreciation. As a hair dresser, you are looking forward to the validation a client gives you for your work. Clients too would like to see some appreciation for the bond that they have created with you. Treat your clients in a way that you would like to be treated when you visit a salon. If that means catering to their order of coffee mid-haircut, then so be it! Start providing treatments and extra frills in a way that you would be happy with. This technique works well to perfect your salon’s treatments too! Try out the services by another stylist in the salon, observe every detail and decide what changes you would like to perfect the client’s experience. Body Language Says It All If your client has been coming back to your salon for some time now, they will begin to notice even minute changes. Clients can, therefore, begin to gauge the stylist’s mood. Without even knowing it your stylist could be projecting changes in body language that the client has picked up. They can immediately sense something is up. Psychology Today wrote about the ways in which facial expressions depict hidden emotions. Raising your eyebrows can indicate discomfort while a blank look can indicate something that is troubling the person, causing him/her to not be present in the moment. Our experts reveal that stylist should always carry themselves well. A straight back and confident walk gives the impression that you know what you’re doing. A sloppy posture and drooping shoulders will ring alarms in the minds of your clients. Crossing your arms in front gives a cold vibe and makes you seem unapproachable. At your salon, make sure your staff is warm and welcoming. Their body language and facial expressions should remain positive at all times. If there is any disagreement or negative feelings between them, make sure it gets resolved or instruct them to take their issue elsewhere and sort it. Customers get driven away by such problems. Impeccable Etiquettes You want your first time customer to become a loyal client? Surely you do! Try and make every single client interaction as polite as possible. Instruct your staff to greet clients with a smile, ask them about their day, how their vacations went, their health etc. Some top stylists revealed that they actually jotted down information from their client so that they can remember for the next time. Such interactions give a personal touch to the whole interaction which helps in strengthening the client-stylist bond. Thank clients for doing business with you, ask them if they are satisfied and wish them a good day ahead. No Grey Areas Communication is an integral part of maintaining a healthy relationship with your client. Nobody wants to be ambushed with a larger than planned bill when it’s time to pay up! Be completely transparent about your pricing before the client goes in for the service. Make sure they understand your payment policies and those on returns, refunds, and cancellations. Be Resourceful According to a Forbes’ article on client relationship building, providing your client with greater value increases their dependency on you. Client retention is based on your level of skill but another major factor in the equation is your industry knowledge. If you have earned your expertise in a particular field of services, don’t shy away from telling your clients that. You have put in a lot of effort to gain the knowledge you have and you must use it to its full potential. Clients will recognize that you don’t mind sharing your knowledge which increases your goodwill. Rewards! Many businesses tend to take repeat clients for granted. They presume that their services are great and clients will always come back for more. Such a mentality can backfire majorly! Small gestures should be shown in appreciation for their loyalty. Offer incentives to thank them. Some salons dig into their sample inventory and hand out samples suitable for their clients free of cost. It’s a personal touch since you are giving them a product that will suit them in particular. A small freebie now and again will surely make them stay around longer! Punch cards are great method to keep track of your clients too. Since the competition in the salon industry is only saturating, you must bring out all the big guns in marketing your services. Build your incentive program to fit in with the marketing plan. You can use incentives to inject your business during slow seasons. Ask for their opinion Always come forward and ask your clients about their services. You will most likely get the usual, ‘Oh it was great!’ When clients are truly satisfied with the services they take time to explain what they liked about it. For days when you get this bland, textbook answer, ask clients for ways to improve. When you’re coming up with new services to offer in your salon, ask clients what service your salon lacks. Ask them, “Is there any other service you would like us to offer that we don’t offer right now?” Clients will go on to list down the changes they would like to see in your menu and Voila! Your new menu is created. Asking clients such questions makes them feel like part of the decision making process. Don’t just ask such questions for the sake of it; take note of what your clients want. It’s an integral part of determining what services are in demand. When your client comes back and noticed that you have implemented the suggestions given by them, they will surely feel a sense of pride. Prove Your Reliability The best form of advertising for salons is via word of mouth. Unlike traditional marketing channels, learning of a new salon from a friend has much more of an impact. The proof is in the pudding; therefore, friends and family have proof of your work in front of them. Think of it more as a guarantee! The big names in the salon businesses have created their reputation mostly via referrals. Business reputation is closely linked to reliability. When customers find your services reliable, they will refer you to a lot more people. Always keep open lines of communication. Respond to all calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages regarding your services. Open the salon on time, inform clients if a stylist is going to be late, don’t close without a heads-up, these are some of the practices that will help clients see you as being reliable. Salon Income Booster is an online platform that offers expert advice and direction to salon owners. They give you all the knowledge needed to create a strong client base which generates more profits. They provide tools for salon income generation as well as marketing solutions to increase salon revenue.