Why 7 out of 10 new salon and spa clients don’t come back

July 12, 2012 by

You cannot argue with the numbers. From a technical standpoint, the beauty industry offers consumers extraordinary levels of skill and expertise. From a customer service and True Quality standpoint, salons and spas score poorly. No matter how badly you want to refute this assessment, it is impossible to argue with industry-wide numbers that show salons and spas are not retaining seven of ten first-time clients. Interestingly, poor retention remains consistent from value-priced salons right up to upscale, service-intensive day spas.

  • On average, only three percent of owners know their retention rate.
  • Half of these confuse request rate with retention rate — they are not the same.
  • Most have no means to track retention. Even those with point-of-sale computer systems often realize their software doesn’t track retention properly, if at all.

It’s your True Quality score. The overriding objective of every business is to attract and retain customers. The higher your retention rate for first-time clients, the higher your level of customer satisfaction, and the closer you are to delivering consistent True Quality experiences. Granted, you want to satisfy clients on every visit, but client retention tracking begins on the first visit. If your salon or spa fails to perform to client expectations on the first visit, there usually is no second chance. If your business has a 30% first-time client retention rate, don’t even think of using “True Quality” to describe your business.

It’s your salon’s future. Winning the salon/spa business game means building a retained customer base that is loyal to the business. Your retained customer base is by far your most important asset. There is little resale value for used furniture and fixtures. The rules for winning the salon/spa business game have changed. True Quality is no longer an option for owners, but a necessity. The only way to know if your business is moving closer to True Quality is to track improvements in client retention rates. That’s where most salons are in the dark.

What are you doing to retain more new clients?

Filed Under: Customer Loyalty, Information Flow, Leadership, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Six steps to better salon and spa communication

June 14, 2012 by

As business owners, leaders and managers, we often feel in constant cycle of repeating the same message over and over and over again. This can feel like pounding your head against a brick wall, followed by the “why don’t they get it?” question.

Let’s bandage up your forehead and help you break out of this cycle.

  1. Stop the blame game. “They” is never a good word when referring to a team. Try “us,” which includes you.
  2. Take a hard look at your communication style and how it might be improved. As the leader of your company the onus of getting a message communicated falls squarely on your shoulders. You must be certain that the information you are sending is easy for all to understand.
  3. Individualize the process. Each member of your team processes information differently. You must do your best to discover the “language” that each team member utilizes and speak to their differences. Speak French to me and you’d lose me after “bonjour.” Are you speaking French to a team member who only understands Portuguese? Some team members may be more visual and need to have something to see, in addition to verbal instructions.
  4. Keep communication in both directions. Does your team know your preferred methods of communication? Make sure they know how you like to receive your information. Let them know under what circumstances e-mail is better than voicemail, or a text better than an e-mail.
  5. Make it personal. Does your team know how the information you are giving them impacts them on an individual basis? If they don’t feel a sense of urgency and responsibility, you are not really communicating. For example, if you say that there’s an urgency to increase revenue and they do not understand the benefit and/or risk to them, it’s simply blah, blah, blah — words with little meaning. Find the means and opportunities to make each message have a personal tie-in for every team member and watch how quickly the light bulbs go off.
  6. Attach communication to accountability. If you get on your high horse regarding specific duties not being done, yet there is not a level of accountability or follow up, your message is not being heard. Make sure that employees understand who is responsible for what and how they will be evaluated. Create systems so that you are not continually reinventing the wheel. Then preach accountability regularly. It’s a never-ending process.

 

Even when you follow these steps, do not expect that your message will be instantly received and action occur. Be kind and patient. Let your team know what’s in it for them and how it relates to their world. While relentless communication can seem like a daunting task, when you speak passionately, honestly and from a place of good intentions, the message becomes both easier to deliver and more receptively received.

 

Kristin Stutz is a Certified Strategies Coach and owner/president of River Haven Salon & Spa, Black River Falls, Wisc.

Filed Under: Information Flow Tagged With: , , ,

How to avoid negative behavior

June 7, 2012 by

How many times have you found yourself justifying a decision by saying, “We can’t do that or they’ll leave.” Or, “The last time we did that, we had two people quit.”

Many times we make decisions influenced by fear. As a result, we end up not taking action, perpetuating a problem that clearly needs to go away.

Here’s the deal. So much of our time and energy is wasted on negative behavior and implementing command-and-control initiatives that don’t get us anywhere. Instead, why not try a different approach?

As my coach Daryl Jenkins (a Certified Strategies Coach) once told me years ago: “Instead of worrying about whether or not team members will leave, why not use that same energy to focus on creating an environment where people want to stay?” Now that’s some good advice!

What have you done to show appreciation for your team’s accomplishments lately? As much as we all have room for improvement, there is definitely a lot of good that is happening right now in your company. Shine the light on that and watch what happens. Just like negative energy spreads like wildfire, so does positive energy.

Chris Murphy is a Certified Strategies Coach and owner of Maximum FX Salons Spas in Austin, Texas.

When’s the last time you acknowledged a staff member or the entire team for an accomplishment? What happened as a result?

Filed Under: No-Compromise Leadership Tagged With: , , , ,

Why fundamentals matter in your salon or spa

May 10, 2012 by

I am a big baseball fan. One of the reasons why is because of the great lessons the game teaches us. For example, when a team isn’t playing well for an extended period of time, the manager focuses on the fundamentals of the game. These are the basics such as batting, fielding and throwing. He doesn’t try to get them to do fancier plays or hit only homeruns because that usually makes matters worse. Without the essentials, the great plays don’t happen with consistency, and homeruns, if they occur, can be meaningless. It’s the fundamentals that win games.

The same holds true in business. As a salon and spa consultant, I can’t tell you how many ads, plans and promos I hear about from companies that are looking to increase the number of new customers to their businesses. At the same time, their new customer-retention rates are dismal. So let’s get this straight: They want to spend huge amounts of money to ask new customers to come in to see how ineffective they are at retaining them for the long term? That’s expensive and crazy!

Avoid that in your own salon, spa or medspa by getting back to the fundamentals. Learn how to satisfy your current customers first. Only after you’ve put systems in place to accomplish that should you market to potential customers. If your company achieves excellence, you won’t be spending as much on advertising because you will be too busy serving the friends and family of the customers who recommended you!

Discounts and gimmicks only go so far. Master the fundamentals of customer retention, and you will be knocking them out of the park effortlessly and consistently. The back-to-basics approach has taken many teams from “worst to first.” It can do that for your team too.

Filed Under: Information Flow, No-Compromise Leadership, Productivity, Teamwork Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Three keys to creating the ultimate salon or spa experience

March 29, 2012 by

A friend and fellow entrepreneur once told me when it comes to going to a salon, it’s important that the stylist get the cut and/or color right every time. If you don’t get that part down, you can forget about everything else. However, when you consistently get the cut and/or color right, then it becomes about everything else, the experience.

Salons and spas throw the word “experience” around like nobody’s business. “We charge higher prices because our clients pay for the experience.” “Our clients come to us because of our great salon experience.” What the heck does that mean? While every salon/spa has their own way of doing things, many owners and managers have no clue what matters to their clients.

In my salons, the experience starts with the initial point of contact. How the guest-care coordinators greet our clients is important, including their words and tone. We often tell new team members to “smile through the phone.” When a client comes into our business, we have a two-second rule. That means that when clients walk in the door, they are warmly greeted within two seconds.

Next, we offer a complimentary stress-relieving treatment. After a thorough consultation, we begin the service ritual with a scalp massage and stress-relieving shampoo. We also give clients a hand massage while their hair is blown dry. We expedite the checkout process by offering to reserve the next appointment while our guests are “in the chair.” We finish with a quick makeup touch-up, before we escort our guests to the front.

We’re often asked how we’re able to incorporate so much into the salon visit and how we deliver this experience to every guest, every time.

It comes down to three things: culture, accountability and systems. As a team-based business, our staff understands the importance of team service. They understand that everyone is responsible for taking care of the guest. Period. From the guest care coordinators to the salon interns. That’s our culture.

Next up is accountability. Everyone is responsible for ensuring our commitment to the customer is kept. It’s that simple.

The third thing is systems. Systems create the foundation and the support to create consistency. Consistency breeds loyalty. With systems in place, we can always focus on the client.

We all like to think that we provide superior salon and spa experiences for our guests.

Can you answer “yes” to these two questions?

  1. Would I pay full price for the services we offer?
  2. Is the experience worth the price every time?

I can answer, “Yes” and “Yes.” If you can’t, start thinking about culture, accountability and systems.

Your turn:  How does your culture support your vision? Let us know in the “Speak your Mind” field below.

Filed Under: Customer Loyalty, Information Flow, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Don’t miss the new issue of Salon/Spa Business Strategies

November 30, 2010 by


The November/December issue of Strategies magazine is online and ready for you to read, share, print and/or download. Check it out and be inspired by how Shawn Trujillo and Angie Katsanevas have turned Lunatic Fringe Salons into a phenomenon and how they keep giving back; and by Francesco Clark’s tale of how he turned a devastating injury into a thriving company. Plus, learn five things you must know about compensation, tips for using scent in your business, how to reduce down time at the front desk and more. Click here to get started.

Neil Ducoff has been announced as a keynote speaker at the 2011 Quality Conference, Charlotte, NC. He’ll speak about No-Compromise Leadership: A Higher Standard of Leadership Thinking and Behavior. For more info and to register, go to www.qualitymagconference.com.

CSC Lisa Cochran has been promoting kidney donations, following her November 1 donation of a kidney to beauty industry colleague Domenic Cicala. WDAM, Channel 7 News in Mississippi, profiled Cochran, as did the Laurel (MS) Leader Call. Both Cochran and Cicala are doing well and are back at work.

Filed Under: Strategies Notes & News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,