How customers choose your salon

Have you ever wondered how customers choose your salon?

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CBMs Principal, Paul Carbis is acclaimed as one of the worlds leading presenters in the area of business management. As an experienced consultant with a distinguished educational background, Paul always provides high impact, motivational learning experiences whenever he speaks. Pauls entertaining style and practical, easy to implement advice makes him a highly sought after speaker at corporate functions, conferences, educational institutions and staff training seminars.

He can be contacted : email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Recently, a number of the salons that I work with conducted surveys to see what it is that attracted customers to their salons. Although it was only a small sample of a few hundred customers, the results are very interesting for salon owners who want to increase their customer base.

Here are the areas that were most regularly mentioned and as a consultant to the industry I was not surprised because these are the areas that I do the most work in with salon owners and their staff.

First impressions do count!

Many of those questioned remarked that even before you enter a salon, often telltale warning signs can be found. The quality of advertising material, the cleanliness of the exterior of the salon, sign writing and appearance of staff can all point to how fastidious the salon culture is to attention to detail, especially hygiene. Once inside these customers check for tidiness and the cleanliness of bed linen and wax pots.

Ask yourself are there aromatic oils burning? Do staff proudly wear their uniforms and greet you enthusiastically? If your staff cannot get these details right, theres little chance that they will have put much thought into their customer care programme either.

Reputation

One of the most common ways those questioned chose a salon of excellence was to ask friends and trusted colleagues for a recommendation.

Great salons receive lots of referrals from their existing customers who are only too happy to recommend exceptional service and outstanding results. Even in top salons individual therapists can build a reputation that is raved about by satisfied clients.

Details

Believe it or not, when these customers phone with their enquiry, they listen for how much detail is offered about the salons treatments and products.

Experienced therapists will ask a number of questions about the treatment potential customers are enquiring about as well as information about their skins condition. In this way you can direct them towards the best treatments for their concerns and can describe recommended services in a manner that helps potential customers to understand the process. Customers could be asked to bring with them information on current home care procedures and products, medication, medical history, allergies or recent treatments. This information may be important for you to select the correct treatment and products to get the best possible result for your skin.

Skin diagnosis

It makes sense that before a therapist treats your skin that they actually know exactly what they are working with. Great therapists are always experts in analysing your skin and prescribing solutions. When choosing a new therapist it seems that customers are expecting therapists that are confident and experienced in skin analysis.

Salons serious about skin care will be equipped with specialised diagnostic facilities such as skin scanners and woods lamps that assist therapists to look closely at the skin and highlight concerns such as sun damage, pigmentation, dryness, thickened skin, oil flow, congestion, acne, dehydration and cuperose. It is only after an experienced therapist examines the skin can a correct diagnosis and a solution determined. It makes sense if you know what the clients skin requires then you can deliver exactly what it needs. Otherwise it is guess work.

Advice

Customers were looking for their therapist to offer expert advice in three inter-related areas.

1. They should offer advice in determining a programme of in-salon treatments. Thats right, a programme of treatments. Achieving sensational looking skin often requires more than a single treatment. In fact, to achieve the best possible results for your customers skin condition, you may recommend several treatments to be performed. You should be able to advise your client on the type, number and frequency of their treatments in a programme that will cover several months.

2. Another vital ingredient to achieving beautiful skin is home care. Unless you were visiting your therapist almost daily, it is imperative that you are using the correct products for your skin at home. Salon treatments alone will not provide you with the best possible results. Top therapists can confidently match specific products for your home care use that will compliment your salon treatments.

3. The third area your therapist should be assisting you with is your home care regime. Not only should she be informing you what to use but how and when to use it. So many people take home products only to waste them or not use them at all simply because they didnt receive the correct advice. Expert therapists will make sure that you know exactly what each of your products do, how and when you should use them and how much to use.

Great hands

I once described the healing touch of an experienced therapist as a gift from God. Truly great therapists have a touch that exudes a relaxing calm, borne of confidence, practice, experience and a genuine care for the people she treats. Flow, strength, pressure and calmness can all be felt through a therapists hands and is often the difference between a memorable experience or an average treatment.

Treatments

Always look at the salons menu of services for details about their treatments. There should be specific treatments for different skin conditions. These could include peels, microdermabrasion, aromatherapy, reflexology, galvanic equipment, infusion techniques, the use of high potency ampoules and serums or specialised masques. There should also be a wide range of services for the body as well. If details about services are not provided on a price guide then ask for a detailed explanation to determine how specialised or effective the salons treatments will be.

Product ranges

Serious skin care salons will have an extensive range of home care products to compliment your salon treatments. More importantly, their staff will be experts in these products. It is important that staff know the product ingredients, how they work, what products work best together, the best products for your individual skin care solution, contra indications or allergic reactions that might be experienced as well as the latest advances in skin care technology.

Communication

Professional therapists take the time to follow up new clients with further information about their salon, surveys, special offers, or a phone call to check on your progress. They understand that part of the reason you will want to return to their salon is due to the rapport that they build with you. A caring therapist will build a relationship of trust, customer care and a commitment to excellence. Keeping in touch is a great start to building that relationship.

There is no doubt that sensational salons and exceptional therapists can help you look and feel terrific. So do some homework on your local beauty salon before you spend your money on an average experience. Look for the salons who provide excellent service in all of the areas listed above and see the difference it makes in the end result - fabulous looking skin.