Some things in life are inevitably predictable; others, not so much. Depending upon circumstance, many of us will live a significant proportion of our lives in a rather predictable manner. It is, therefore, perhaps somewhat of a paradox that we actually do enjoy experiencing a level of unpredictability, whether we openly admit to it or not. Why? Most likely because excitement, adventure and even a hint of danger often go hand in hand with an unpredictable situation.
Yet when it comes to our salons, our businesses, I suggest our outlook and expectations are somewhat different. Here, we want – no, we crave – predictability, and we certainly want to avoid unpredictable scenarios. We want to know what is going to happen: how many customers are expected to step over the threshold, how many courses are going to be booked, how many bottles of lotion will be sold.
Equally, predictability is very likely to be a key factor for your customers and, depending on how you deliver in this regard, your all-important customer retention and accrual. When returning customers arrive at your salon, they will undoubtedly have a level of expectation about their tanning experience. They will expect certain elements of that experience to be predictable, such as the tanning bed performance, the cleanliness of the salon, the staff being helpful and cheery, the lack of unexpected price increases and the availability of their favourite lotion, to name but a few.
To a greater extent, we are all creatures of habit. We will take our time to seek out a particular service, product or experience. Once we have determined it continues to deliver on our expectation, i.e. it ticks the box of being predictable, we will inevitably return to purchase and experience, time and time again.
There is a catch, though, and it is this. Predictability can just as easily starve a business as it can feed it. Having the ability to anticipate at what point predictability does a 180-degree turn and becomes boring, staid and uninviting is a wonderful skill to naturally possess, or one that must be acquired through dogged determination, trial and error.
Would it not be positive and motivational progress for our industry to develop its own series of recognised influencers?
Salon owners and operators who can stay ahead of the curve in their customers’ psyche will very often be the ones who invest, evolve, expand and succeed.
As an industry, I do not believe we are particularly open about sharing information and insight on the path to success and I often wonder why this is. I am not for one moment naively suggesting salon operators should divulge the full secrets of their success; but, I do believe we could all do a lot more to help each other grow, or at the very least avoid some challenging mistakes. If we could look to learn from each other, surely this would in turn further raise our industry’s professionalism. And that has to be a win for us all!
Consumers are deluged with predictable advice, information and suggestions from thousands upon thousands of influencers across social media. Of course, I accept they are not always a positive or a reliable resource. Nonetheless, would it not be positive and motivational progress for our industry to develop its own series of recognised influencers? Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call them mentors – to share, support, encourage and, yes, influence further professionalism, growth and success.
I wonder whether I can predict the response to that.
