You are in the service industry and that should mean one thing – that you put your clients and their needs first when it comes to running a salon. However you’d be surprised at what some salon owners overlook when it comes to business so we thought that we’d share the top five ways in which you can change your attitude in order to put clients first.
- Put making money at number two – we’ve all been in the position where we are driven by money and that means making sales or booking appointments. However in the beauty industry, making money should be your second goal, not your first. Instead of thinking about this transaction, you need to think about the transactions ahead for a client. Make them happy today and they will keep coming back year, after year.
- Don’t get set in your ways – there’s a common saying that if it’s not broken, don’t fix it however this is the wrong attitude when it comes to working in today’s beauty industry. Just because something has been working for you, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t change it. Everyone thought that reference cards in a library worked well for finding information until the advent of the internet so just because you have always done things in a certain way, doesn’t mean that it isn’t time to change it.
- Always pick up the phone – when you’re busy or immersed in another task like cleaning or stock taking, it can be tempting to let a call go to answer phone. However this could mean that that booking or client is lost. You should always put your customer’s needs first and yours second, regardless of how busy you are.
- Focus on existing customers – It is repeat custom that will give you a regular income in the long run and you should therefore always put more focus on trying to please existing customers than on new ones. The 80/20 rule should apply – spend 80% of your time focused on existing clients and only 20% on new ones as you’ll probably find that your monthly income is split between returning and new custom in a similar percentage.
- To serve, you need to care – in order to best service your customers, you need to care about them. This doesn’t just mean caring about the service you are giving them or their look, but also caring about other aspects of their life too. Remember the little things like the names of their children or where they last went on holiday and you’ll build a better relationship with them. Established relationships = repeat custom.
So don’t let the little things slide when it comes to customer service and you won’t see your profits slide either.
