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: , , , , , , ,

How to keep clients coming back with pre-booking

May 24, 2012 by

Pre-booking is merely the practice of asking your guests for the permission to book their next appointments before they check out. It’s centered on maintaining and fulfilling their needs. Pre-booking increases productivity, drives revenue, helps with staff retention and improves customer loyalty.

Here’s your pre-booking to-do list: (Goal: Build a total “Client Experience System” that includes pre-booking.)

  1. Ensure your team understands:
    • What pre-booking is.
    • Why they need to do it.
    • How to do it. (More on that below.)
    • How it will be evaluated.
  2. Develop the process. It’s as simple as asking the client how she feels about her service. You’ve just opened the door to make the recommendation for the next visit, which may involve the same service and/or the addition of a complementary service.
  3. Have your team build scripts to successfully pre-book.
  4. Role-play using the scripts so that they feel natural. This will help your staff feel comfortable recommending pre-booking and dealing with different responses from customers.
  5. Be sure your front-desk/guest-services team has the scripts to successfully pre-book. The goal is that every guest is pre-booked. Everyone is responsible.
  6. Communicate the progress daily.
  7. Ask your staff: “What can I do to help you reach pre-book success?”

What should this the pre-book score look like?

  • 80-90% = No-Compromise Zone
  • 70-80% = Compromise Zone
  • 60-70% = Mediocrity Zone
  • Below 60% = Review your pre-booking procedures to ensure that they are clear and easy-to-implement. Individuals who continually fall below your standards need one-on-one coaching.

Why is pre-booking important?

  • Predictable productivity in the next 3-6 weeks.
  • Drives frequency of visit from 6 visits/year to possibly 7 or 8 visits.
  • Increases guest retention.
  • Creates avenues to communicate with the guests.
  • Drives revenue opportunities creating growth.

Mary Walker is a Certified Strategies Coach (CSC).

Filed Under: Customer Loyalty, Profitability Tagged With: , , , ,

Retaining customers is everybody’s job

June 8, 2011 by

It makes sense that it’s easier and more cost-effective to keep a current client than to attract a new one. Some studies show that it costs about seven times more to get a new customer than to keep a current one.

In view of that, it’s frustrating when you see your staff become complacent about customer service, especially with new clients. With so much competition and people spending carefully, it’s not enough to just get by. Customers want to feel important, that they matter to a business.

When it comes to customer service, you’re throwing money away if every staff member isn’t on board to make every client experience as good as it can be.

Try these tips to ensure that every client becomes a long-term customer:

  1. Make certain that front-desk staff is professional and properly trained. A customer starts forming an opinion before even walking into a business! A member of a salon/spa’s front-desk team has as much influence with the customer experience as a stylist. Essential front-desk staff skills include developing and using scripts to ensure results, selling service hours, using technology and dealing with difficult situations. (Check out Strategies’ High-Performance Front-Desk Staff Training. Click here to learn more.)
  2. Get the whole staff to care about offering a great experience. It’s apparent to the customer if staff is engaged and excited about what they do – or if they’re just looking at the job as a way to pay the rent. Whether it’s helping out with a shampoo or bringing a client a cup of tea, every staff member (management, too!) must look at each customer as essential to the business. There’s no such thing as “it’s not my job.” Client satisfaction is everyone’s responsibility.
  3. Add something extra. What would you like to receive if you were going for a cut? Think like a customer. What does it take to make a client go “wow”? A head and shoulder massage? Aromatherapy? A free sample? A bonus treatment? Tea and cookies? Not sure what to offer? Ask your staff and customers for their ideas!
  4. Pre-book every customer. This seems like an obvious step, yet many salons and spas miss this opportunity. Once a customer leaves without an appointment, there’s a chance that person won’t return to your business. Each customer must be asked to make an appointment prior to leaving the business – and a new service should be recommended, as well. If the customer doesn’t want to re-book, find out why. If there’s an issue of any kind, make it right.
  5. Follow up. Personal service can be lacking in today’s rushed world. Call a new client a few days after the appointment to see if the customer was pleased with the experience. If there was some problem, find a way to make the customer happy. Ask for feedback about the appointment. Even if you just leave a friendly voicemail, people will be impressed that you took this extra step. Be sure to reference the client’s next appointment. If the client didn’t make one, the follow-up call is a great opportunity to re-book. (P.S.  Long-time clients will like the extra follow-up, too!)

Creating loyal customers is the responsibility of every team member. When the whole staff is committed to creating an exceptional experience, clients are sure to come back.

Filed Under: Business Builders Tagged With: , , , ,