WHAT INSPIRES CLIENT LOYALTY?

By Faye Murray

A great question to know the answer to. If you seek the answer to this probing question the growth of a successful salon business will be more achievable.

I believe there are six parts to the answer.

1. The quality of the treatments you provide.

2. The quality of the service you provide.

3. The value you add to each clients visit.

4. The success of the relationship you develop.

5. The level of trust you develop.

6. The plan you share for future visits.

Quality treatments… builds client loyalty.

This one you must get right. Near enough is not good enough. Clients are very well educated and know what they expect. Fail to meet their expectations and you can almost certainly say goodbye to a client. When you consider the long-time spending ability of a client, you need to win each and every client.

A team survey that I conducted recently was interesting. It identified that of the 30 people surveyed who were therapists working in salons, 78% said they believed they could improve the quality of the treatments they gave to their clients. This could be seen as alarming or a big opportunity.

I saw it as an opportunity because it wasn’t until they were asked and really thought about it, did they honestly admit that with greater awareness they could do it better.

Quality service… builds client loyalty.

This is easy to achieve with focus. First you must have passion for what you do and then you must focus to make sure every client consistently gets the best you can offer. From the minute they arrive their first point of contact must say. “This will be memorable; I made a good decision.” Personalized service is rare.

If you get this right, you will stand out as a therapist. Be a leader and develop a reputation. Strive to be different and better.

The value you add to each clients visit… builds client loyalty.

There are the areas of value.

Expected value… what the client expects to receive.

• They expect to be welcomed on arrival.

• They expect your salon to be clean and beautifully presented.

• They expect you to do a thorough consultation.

• They expect you to meet their needs.

• The list is endless but yes you must get this 100% right.

Surprise Value… Occurs when you identify the client’s needs and solve problems that are not part of the client’s expectations. This is part of the wow factor. They get more than they expect.

Personal value… Every client who visits your salon gains something personal from the visit. Remember different clients value different things.

One might value the fact that during summer you always provide a nice cool towel to refresh them prior to the commencement of their treatment. They see this as a personal touch.

Another might value the fact that you always remember to refer to their last treatment and enquire about the ongoing results being achieved. This shows personal care and attention.

Another might value that you have a focus on hygiene. This is expected by most.

Personal extras are easily remembered as a good experience.

The relationship you develop… builds client loyalty.

To win a client you must show that you care and are interested in them. No relationship can be formed unless trust and a feeling of care and understanding is present.

Your communication skills will go a long way to developing your relationship with each client. You need to show genuine interest. Communication is about talking and listening. You need to do both and do both well. Listen well and gather useful information.

Then offer your professional advice. You have the knowledge to help your clients. You have an obligation to do so. If you don’t someone else will. Develop relationships with your clients and you will have a full appointment book.

One of the most important ingredients in the development of trust is integrity. Integrity can be simply stated as the things you do right when no one is watching. Often there are opportunities in any normal day where you can cut corners and maybe your client will not notice.

Don’t be tempted to shortchange a client if they catch you out you will completely destroy their trust.

Trust is also about confidence. Your clients need to feel that, as their therapist, the advice, recommendations, and services you provide are always done so because they are going to give them the best results possible.

The plan you share for future visits.

This I believe is a critical part of the service that is most often not offered. You are always aiming to achieve ongoing improvement with each treatment. Share with the client what you have achieved today and what the next appointment will be focused on. This may involve introducing something new that the client has not previously had done. This is the reason to return to you.

You keep a record, and you fully understand the journey the client is on to achieve the desired results.

Six answers to the question of how to inspire client loyalty. Get this right and I promise you will not have to spend lots of dollars and energy on marketing for new clients. Your client retention will be so strong that you will have more clients that you can say yes to, and you will have a successful business.

There is no magic answer to success just do the things that clients see and are impressed by and do them better than anyone else.

Faye Murray understands to build a successful business you must have a strong team. She offers one on one coaching to salon owners and also offers zoom team development with a range of critical subjects that can be tailored to meet individual needs. Get in touch with Faye at faye@yourcoach.net.au