It’s All About The Experience By David Watts

Client expectations are increasing and too many people in business are failing to deliver the journey their clients need; this is a MASSIVE mistake, and it damages businesses deeply. When you fail a client, they will generally switch to a competitor and never return. In your salon you must understand the value of retaining your existing clients and stop the never-ending quest to acquire new ones.

When it comes to customers, we are in an exceptionally powerful position working in the hair and beauty industry. I say this as salons are not traditional retail outlets and stylists are not conventional tradespeople; this presents an advantage in the marketplace that you need to capitalise on. Our ability to WOW our clients is a dream many other industries could only hope for. Time, physical touch points and the emotional impact we have creates the perfect opportunity to be better.

The words “customer service” have been drummed into us forever, the principles are still extremely valuable and should form the basis for how we interact with clients, however, I am an advocate for the term “Customer Experience” as it indicates how a business engages with clients at every interaction. It is customer service at its most extreme!

Regardless of the services offered, when a client contacts or visits your salon, it needs to be memorable (in a good way.) Everything we do is emotional, seemingly it is how someone looks, but it is how they feel that is critical to success; your role is to ensure that every client leaves your salon feeling extraordinary. Like it or not the experience you provide is how a client will rate you in 2022.

Clients have choice, in fact more than ever.

Let’s cut to the chase, to boost your client experience you are going to have to work damn hard. The close enough is good enough mentality must disappear and an honest look at how you do things now is essential.

Luckily, working on client experience is one of the more fun things in business. Every time I work with salon owners focusing on their clients, we generally enjoy the experience and the opportunities it presents. It is also something great to work on with your team, they LOVE their clients and making the experience better for them is like deciding to be better at their jobs.

There are so many articles, blogs, books, and videos on how to make these changes, but before you try anything I want you to come back to who you are, why you are in business, what your purpose is and how you want to be known.

It is essential for you to do this, not only because your experience must be good, but it also needs to be unique. Every salon has a vibe, a personality of its own, your priority is to make sure that this shines in everything you do. Please do not be generic, you are creatives and are naturally experts at connecting with people. DO NOT BE THE SAME!

Action Time

You need to create a Customer Journey Map. This map is going to tell the story of your clients experience from their perspective, it is going to show you what your clients want and expect from your business. Your focus here is not on what, but on how the customers feelings, thoughts and emotions are at each point of contact. The clients do not care about your internal processes (the things that happen in providing service,) they only know what affects their emotional state and therefore their opinion of your salon.

You will get several key benefits from developing this map:

• You will find processes that need reviewing and updating. • It will out you and your team in your clients’ shoes. • The PAIN points your customers experience will become clear. • You will uncover the emotional connection between clients and your salon. • Understanding your clients better.

There is no set way of doing this, it can be as simple or complex as you choose. I have found using a large sheet of paper and sticky notes can be just as effective as a spreadsheet.

When your customer experience is at the heart of how you do things, they win. Do not fall into the trap of trying to mould your clients to the way things have always been done.

For each step of your map, you will need:

• The steps involved and how your client interacts. • Who is involved at your end? • How the customer may feel at that moment. • The possible pain points. • How the client can experience positive emotions.

Think about the clients’ feelings before and after the touch point. Are the anxious to begin with and then excited? Confused and then delighted? Frustrated and then satisfied? You can really help your salon improve by considering these emotions when deciding how you can leave a lasting impression.

The amazing client experiences will generally appear when you have exceeded their expectations or have done something special. The client does not even need to be surprised; in fact, your returning clientele will experience stronger positive emotions when they consistently receive the same outstanding service. Collaboration is critical for you to get this right. Talk to your clients directly or through surveys, think back to previous feedback or complaints too. Ensure your team is involved in this process completely, not just in conversation but through observation, walkthroughs or even shadowing.

Now, if you do all this work to get things right, then you must revisit this exercise regularly. If you get a year down the track and everything is the same, it should be a red flag for you. In business we know that everything is always changing, your clients will be wanting more again, and your job is to stay ahead of the pack and keep providing the best customer experience available.

P.S. If you want to seem like you are in the know, the buzz word in business circles for this is CX.

David XoX

A salon owner and support coach on Team Chrissy – The ZING Project. David has a diverse background in sales, marketing and operations and is passionate about improving the professionalism of the industry. Contact David via email davidsc@zingcoach.com.au or DM on Instagram @davidwatts_zing