"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

- Maya Angelou

My friend Abby Warther of AW Salon is the reigning queen of ideal guest experiences in her salon. She has spent years building a gold-standard experience from scratch because she never forgets the One Absolute Truth about running a beauty business:

If you haven’t developed a gold-standard guest experience from beginning to end, it doesn’t matter how big your marketing budget is or how talented your team is. You will be losing clients left and right.

And forget benefiting from word-of-mouth marketing; if you’re not providing great customer service and a memorable experience, clients will either have nothing to say, or worse, they might have a few choice words that won’t shine a favorable light on your beauty business.

Whether you’re a nail tech, a hairstylist, eyelash and brow expert, spray tanner, or esthetician, your focus needs to be at all times on providing the best experience for your guests while they’re in your chair.

But let's be very clear. Despite what you may think, the perfect guest experience doesn’t start when they walk in your salon doors or sit in your chair.

It begins the moment a prospect clicks on your website, tries to book an appointment online, or calls your front desk to ask questions.

In today’s blog post, I’ll be sharing the best ways to build the perfect guest experience, from booking an appointment to wowing your client while they’re in your care, and finally, keeping them hooked and excited to book again after they’ve left.

And as my girl Julie Andrews sweetly sang in the Sound of Music, let’s start at the very beginning...a very good place to start!

The Pre-Appointment Experience

Perfecting this first part of your guest experience is the difference between having a relaxed, confident, and informed new client in your chair excited about your services, and a frustrated, confused, put-off new client who’s biding their time to say goodbye forever.

If you’ve got online booking enabled through your salon website, it’s vital to make sure that the process is easy to use.

My suggestion is to have a friend try to book an appointment through your website and report back about how it went. This will give you valuable insight into what your clients are experiencing.

As well, have a friend try out the other ways your beauty business can be reached and booked - a phone call, a text message, or an email. Ask your friend to tell you about every little detail of the experience:

• Was the communication to your friend warm, friendly, and easy to understand?

• How long did it take to get a response to a question or concern?

• Were there any other hiccups along the way to booking?

The pre-appointment experience doesn’t stop with a smooth booking process. You need to make sure your new client is getting some sort of pre-appointment material - either an email or a text message confirming the booking date and time, and any instructions they need to follow for their appointment. Most booking software has this feature built in.

In your confirmation email, you can share a bit of information about you, your salon, and what your client can expect during their appointment.

Tell them whether they’ll get a pre-appointment consultation, and what your COVID-19 protocols are.

If you really want to wow your new client, give them extra information about how to get to your salon or where they can find parking.

Every little thoughtful detail will make a difference for your new client, and reinforce for them that they’ve made the right choice by booking with you.

It’s a good idea to also send out a text message a day or two before the appointment, just to ensure your client won’t forget. Be sure it’s friendly and easy to read. This will decrease your no-show rate and last-minute cancellations.

So...how does your pre-appointment experience stack up to the one I’ve just described?

Think you might need to tinker with a few things?

Great! Take some steps to fix up your pre-appointment process. Once you have these things in check, your clients will be relaxed, informed, and excited before their next appointment with you.

The Appointment Experience

This is your chance to shine as a beauty business owner and add every little detail you can to wow your client.

How do your appointments start? With a welcome, of course!

Keep this in mind: when someone enters any business, especially a salon, for the first time, it’s a bit awkward! A new environment can be sort of daunting, especially in a personal care setting like a beauty business.

A great way to warm up new clients is to offer them something to eat or drink right away.

My friend Dawn Bradley, hairstylist and business coach, offers candy bowls and snacks to her clients to make them smile. If you don’t know what to offer your clients, ask them! And have lots of options available for them to choose from.

Next up, we’re talking about the senses: smell, sight, sound. These are all key components of a great guest experience:

What is it that your client sees when they come in?

Is your space clean and organized?

Is it nicely decorated and cozy (or whatever your aesthetic is)?

Make sure the answer to these questions is an exuberant “Yes!”

Next up, what does your client smell when they enter your salon?

Does it smell like harsh chemicals or calming essential oils?

Whether pleasant or yucky, the smells in your salon will be committed to memory by your guests...so make sure they’re nice ones!

Finally, what sounds is your client hearing during their visit?

Do you have music playing? Is it the kind of playlist your client enjoys? Ask them!

These small touches all add up to a great experience. Don’t ignore them.

Let's talk about ways to add extra sparkle to your appointments.

Abby Warther has a ‘hot towel service’ - she warms up damp towels with aromatherapy scents that she wraps around clients’ heads during shampooing for a luxurious spa experience.

Other add-ons you can use to step up your guest experience include offering under-eye, lip, hand/foot masks, applying lotions to hands, etc.

These things make the difference between a regular appointment and a WOW appointment!

Dawn Bradley has some great advice for serving long-time clients: don’t allow your comfort level with a regular to detract from their well-deserved world-class experience.

Don’t get lazy and start to let your amazing customer service slip. That’s a big no-no.

Always treat them like it’s their first time. Give them the ole razzle-dazzle - after all, these regulars are the ones who support you most actively. They deserve the best!

At the end of a client appointment, Dawn also has sage wisdom to share on setting up a future booking. Give your client a sincere compliment about how much you’ve enjoyed your time together, and ask if you can book a new appointment for a month, two months, or three months out.

Encourage your client that they can cancel it if needed, but you’d like to ensure they have a spot in the books before time slots fill up.

Finally, the sweetest touch to end a perfect guest experience: why not give them a mini-swag bag as a way of saying “thank you”?

It doesn’t have to cost you much. Just a little branded bag with your salon logo on it filled with a business card, a “care instructions” guide for any service they’ve just had, and a few goodies like a scrunchie or a travel-sized lotion is perfect.

And the cherry on top: offering a gift card or voucher towards future services will encourage your client to return. It can be for a small amount - $10 or $15 off - that the client can use for themselves OR give as a referral treat to a friend!

After a client has left but before you see them again, it’s a good idea to take a few notes about clients’ personal preferences, what treatments they received, and their birthday or other important details to remember.

This will help with a smooth transition to the final part of the guest experience…

The Post-Appointment Experience

After clients have left, there are still things that need to be in tip-top shape…

...or you may never see that client again.

Let’s not let this happen to you!

Imagine clients leaving your studio feeling like they’ve been inducted into an exclusive club?

You can give them that feeling by nailing the post-appointment experience.

By now, you’ve hopefully gathered the important details to help you stay in touch with your client. Especially their email address!

Because the day after their appointment, it’s a great idea to send them a quick email to say thank you. You can automate this process through your booking app.

Add a picture of yourself, a heartfelt note of thanks, and a request for them to leave feedback about their experience on your Google My Business page.

This serves two purposes: to help them feel more connected to your business and increase the chance they’ll visit again, and more importantly: it gets you ranked higher in Google searches and (hopefully, 5-star review willing…) bumps up your business rating.

This is why it's vital to get clients on your email list and use this to your max advantage.

Here are some ideas of the types of emails you can send to foster a great online connection with them until you see them next:

• Send them a happy birthday email on their special day.

• Follow up with them via monthly email updates.

• Send pictures of your latest treatments or beautiful hairstyles your staff has pulled off, news about sales and promotions, and personal touches like cute or funny stories from your daily life.

Foster this important client relationship, and I promise it will pay off in a return customer or more word-of-mouth marketing for you.

Regarding promotions, here’s a way to foster that ‘exclusive club membership’ feeling: run promotions solely designed to reward regular clients.

Everyone loves to feel like a VIP - so throw a VIP party for your most loyal clients!

It doesn’t have to be an actual event, but can be small promotions like offering an extra hair treatment for free to regulars or an exclusive discount on a higher-tier facial.

The feeling you want to always convey in the post-appointment experience is that your client is important to you, an important part of your community and that you are grateful for them.

This can be achieved in many different ways, as I’ve mentioned.

If you’re missing out on this crucial final aspect of the perfect guest experience, you’re missing out on turning a one-time booker into a lifelong fan of your beauty services.

As with every part of your beauty business, there is always room for improvement. You'll be tinkering with and perfecting your guest experience for years to come. But don't abandon this framework! Follow this blueprint for a gold-standard guest experience every time.

In conclusion

I hope what I’ve shared today is helpful and inspires you to add your own unique touches to your guest experience, from beginning to end!

Taking these steps will require extra time and possibly extra money being spent - but I promise you, making these improvements to the experience will always be worth the investment.

I’m cheering you on, friend. Now go make those big moves!

Xo,

Stephanie