Anyone who has been in this industry for any length of time knows the crucially important role customers play in your business. They are not only the driving force behind your income, but they really make or break your salon.
A statistic known as “the ripple effect” states that every consumer who has a bad experience at a business will tell between 9 and 15 people about it. Consider how many problems, complaints and issues were not resolved to your customer’s satisfaction in your salon last month, then multiply that number by 15. That is the approximate number of people who could have heard negative information about your business.
[callout]“A Customer is the most important person on our premises. They are not dependent on us, we are dependent on them. They are not an interruption of our work, they are the purpose of it. They are not an outsider to our business, they are a part of it. We are not doing them a favor by serving them, they are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.”[/callout]Here are a few more startling numbers: 91% of unhappy customers will not be willing to do business with you again after a bad experience. But on a brighter note, resolve a complaint in the customer’s favor and they will do business with you again 70% of the time. Also keep in mind that it is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one.
These numbers tell us that keeping customers happy is of importance. We are in the business of making people feel better about themselves, helping them prepare for special events, or maybe just giving them an escape from their daily lives. My hope is that we can put our emphasis back on the importance of our salon guests and be reminded of how grateful and fortunate we are to have them as part of our business. Without them and their positive word of mouth, where would your salon be today?
Based on what we’ve learned so far, it’s easy to see how rewarding customer loyalty is a very import business tool. Many successful salons use a referral program that allows guests to recruit new customers for you. I have seen this done very successfully with referral cards. Your existing customers take the cards, put their names on them, and give them to their friends and family. Often the cards contain an enticing offer for new customers such as “A Free Week of Tanning!” To get your existing tanners to hand these out, there has to be something in it for them, so offer a $10 credit for each new referral. I suggest putting these cards everywhere: on your front counter, on each clean tanning unit, and in your restrooms. It’s a win on all fronts, since you are getting customers into the salon whom your marketing may have never reached before, and you have a week to get them signed up for a package. Your existing customers are being rewarded and will be less likely to tan elsewhere when they have credit at your business.
I would like to end this column with an inspiring quote that I have used in my trainings this year. It was framed on the wall of a salon I visited years ago and I think it is a perfect reminder of just how important a role every customer plays in every business.
“A Customer is the most important person on our premises. They are not dependent on us, we are dependent on them. They are not an interruption of our work, they are the purpose of it. They are not an outsider to our business, they are a part of it. We are not doing them a favor by serving them, they are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.” ■
