The hair salon business is a venture many feel will be easy if you can do a good job for clients. They think client referrals will keep them in business and that is all it takes. True, client referrals are required but not every client thinks about promoting your business and many times have reservations because of other things that happen in the salon. I have outlined a couple major issues below.
Client referrals are also based on how good you treat your clients. This is where many salons fail and never even realize it. They book clients too close together forcing them to wait as much as a half hour or more to be seen. Think about it. Do you like having an appointment that isn't really a appointment but more of a suggested time to show up and wait. Of course not!
This may be the fastest way to kill your referral business. Clients rush to be on time and you are 45 minutes late. This is just bad customer service and no one likes the fact they kept their part of the agreement and you didn't. Each appointment is a mini contract you need to respect if you want return business and client referrals.
Very few people want conflict and will simply move on the another service provider. They won't mention the problem to you because it is just how you do business. They will mention it to all their friends as they search for your replacement. about now many are thinking so what if one client is lost. $150.00 will not make or break my business. Actually that $150.00 represents several thousand is losses if you count the visits make every year and the number of years a happy client will return. It could be $1800.00 to $3000.00 lost.
If you passed the first test this one is where many other salons will fail. Many have a habit of re-scheduling clients. They have a appointment booked 2-3 weeks in advance and get a call the night before to move it to a different day or time. This is a killer for me and I will not be going back to do business with this person again. I spent weeks blocking out time for them and now this is the thanks I get. Are they going to pay for my lost revenue I could have earned using that for for my business, of course not.
I see this done as a normal business practice at many salons. They think it is fine and no harm done because they called the client. The harm is it is not the correct way to run a business and turn off clients. Of course those doing these two things seldom know how many clients they actually have and how many return for service or don't return. They never keep track. They just know they made enough to pay the rent this month and never question why the business doesn't grow.
Does this sound like your business? If it does you need to step back and make some serious changes before it's too late. It is expensive attracting new clients and costly when they leave, You need to know how many are one time clients, repeat clients and lost clients. Go after those lost clients and try to win them back. Ask what went wrong even if you don't like the answers it will help you grow the business in the long run.
Client referrals are also based on how good you treat your clients. This is where many salons fail and never even realize it. They book clients too close together forcing them to wait as much as a half hour or more to be seen. Think about it. Do you like having an appointment that isn't really a appointment but more of a suggested time to show up and wait. Of course not!
This may be the fastest way to kill your referral business. Clients rush to be on time and you are 45 minutes late. This is just bad customer service and no one likes the fact they kept their part of the agreement and you didn't. Each appointment is a mini contract you need to respect if you want return business and client referrals.
Very few people want conflict and will simply move on the another service provider. They won't mention the problem to you because it is just how you do business. They will mention it to all their friends as they search for your replacement. about now many are thinking so what if one client is lost. $150.00 will not make or break my business. Actually that $150.00 represents several thousand is losses if you count the visits make every year and the number of years a happy client will return. It could be $1800.00 to $3000.00 lost.
If you passed the first test this one is where many other salons will fail. Many have a habit of re-scheduling clients. They have a appointment booked 2-3 weeks in advance and get a call the night before to move it to a different day or time. This is a killer for me and I will not be going back to do business with this person again. I spent weeks blocking out time for them and now this is the thanks I get. Are they going to pay for my lost revenue I could have earned using that for for my business, of course not.
I see this done as a normal business practice at many salons. They think it is fine and no harm done because they called the client. The harm is it is not the correct way to run a business and turn off clients. Of course those doing these two things seldom know how many clients they actually have and how many return for service or don't return. They never keep track. They just know they made enough to pay the rent this month and never question why the business doesn't grow.
Does this sound like your business? If it does you need to step back and make some serious changes before it's too late. It is expensive attracting new clients and costly when they leave, You need to know how many are one time clients, repeat clients and lost clients. Go after those lost clients and try to win them back. Ask what went wrong even if you don't like the answers it will help you grow the business in the long run.
About the Author:
Looking to find the best marketing ideas for Hair Salon Management, then visit http://salonchaircafe.com to find the best advice on Marketing For Hair Salons.
