Sometimes, the brutal truth is exactly what we need to drag ourselves out of the City of Denial on get our way to Wisdomville. It’s the tough road in between that always teaches us the most important lessons – especially in the tanning business!
TRUTH: So many tanning salons fall into the average-to-less-than-average category. They manufacture a myriad of excuses to justify a day-in-day-out “go through the motions” approach to running their businesses. They just want to get through the day with the least hassle possible … whah whah whah! Very non-heroic.
TRUTH: Then, there are the salons that are a little too full of themselves: “We’re awesome! We beat the competition! We rule the tanning world … we we we!” The irony is that these salons usually have consistent traffic, but have the exact same, boring customer service routine they’ve been doing for years: “Hi. Got eye protection? All set with lotion today? Okay, bed 5 is ready.” This model used to work 15 years ago, but does very little now to help you make a profit and is even less heroic, because no real connection is being made even though the staff has multiple chances to really engage with the same guests day-in and day-out; but they barely force out a “Thanks for coming in.”
[gap]TRUTH: NOBODY WHO TANS AT YOUR SALON CARES ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR PERSONAL STRUGGLES OR HOW MUCH MONEY YOU ARE MAKING OR NOT MAKING!
They care about their boyfriend, their bills, their hair … they care about making their lives better and less stressful.
If you want your sales to skyrocket to new levels, accept that the real “hero” in your salon is the GUEST who is standing in front of you right now!
This tanning season is your chance to go that extra mile and turn your salon’s customer service experience into the engine that drives lotion sales, customer retention and a never-ending stream of referral business!
[gap]The Basics will never let you down:
Invest in Your Team. Provide as much training as possible, find out what they love to do and reward them with it, make their job interesting and challenging so they feel like they are part of something bigger than just a job.
Connect. Make real connections with your salon guests. Tell them it’s wonderful to see them again, ask how you can make their day better and discover what can make their visit the best part of it.
Of Course We Can! Empower your staff to make each and every guest’s visit the most important part of their job, over everything else.
Make The Effort. Put all your energy into helping guests solve any salon related problems they have and follow it through all the way to end until they are satisfied.
Building Report Builds Trust. The more you know about whom your customers are and why they need or want what you have to sell, the better you will understand what elements of customer service will impact their buying decisions.
Ready to out-do the competition? Remember “competition” is every other business where your guests can spend their $. So, that means NOT just other tanning salons.
(HINT: Put your customers first. It’s about service, not price.) People will pay more for a superior customer service experience!
If you want your sales to skyrocket to new levels, accept that the real “hero” in your salon is the GUEST who is standing in front of you right now!
