How to Improve Your Salon’s Customer Experience and Stand Out

Not every brand is the same, especially when you think about how they treat their customers. In the salon industry, some businesses believe customers are a dime a dozen, but the reality is that poor customer service can sink a business for good.

Don’t underestimate the importance of providing a top-level customer experience during each appointment. When you do, you’ll differentiate your brand from your competitors and be able to beat the competition in your local area.

To improve your customer service and impress your clients, use these ideas and make yourself stand out.

How To Elevate Your Customer Experience and Increase Salon Clientele: 9 Tips

The customer experience should be the center of everything you do within your company. By working to improve the customer experience, you’ll make a strong impact on your clientele and see an uptick in the number of people who want to make return appointments for services with your stylists, massage therapists, and others. Here are nine tips to help you impress clients from the first moment they contact you through the post-salon experience.

Pre-Visit Salon Experience

To increase the pre-visit customer experience, there are several steps you can take. To get started, try adjusting each of these services to provide a better booking and appointment-making system for your clients:

1. Ensure a User-Friendly Booking System

The first thing you can do to make a positive impression on clients is improve your booking system. Your booking system should be user-friendly, allowing customers to book with you through multiple methods when possible. For example, you may offer appointment booking online, in person, through email, or over the phone.

To get more bookings, you’ll want to be sure that how you book clients is a straightforward, easy-to-use process.

2. Send Appointment Confirmations and Reminders

The last thing your stylists want is to have an empty chair. You can avoid problems with clients who miss appointments by setting up appointment confirmation automations, sending appointment reminders, and asking clients to call or reschedule through texts or your salon software’s platform when they can’t make it.

Clients will appreciate knowing their appointments have been accepted and confirmed, especially if they book online. Sending an automatic email or text with the appointment date will do just that. They’ll also appreciate getting an appointment reminder, as having a reminder will give them time to add the appointment to their schedule if they have forgotten or call you if the time no longer works for them.

3. Provide the Necessary Information to the Clients

Clients need to have all the necessary information about their appointment in one place. When they receive a confirmation or reminder about a service, be sure to send any must-have information with it. For example, clients receiving certain services may be better off coming to the salon without makeup on, etc. or without brushing their hair (and potentially causing scratches on the scalp).

Your clients should also receive information on how to contact their stylist, massage therapist, or other treatment provider, so they can stay in touch if they need anything. Add your salon’s phone number and location to the initial outreach and follow-up contact, too.

In-Salon Experience

If you have ever gone to a salon that was extremely popular, then you know what sets it apart. It might have a friendly receptionist, a dedicated team that ensures all clients have a drink in hand and a relaxing area to wait for their stylist, or something else completely.

When clients are in your salon, you need to focus on their in-salon customer experience. The way they feel in your salon is the key to ensuring they keep coming back for future services. Some of the things you can do include doing your best to:

4. Create a Welcoming and Comfortable Environment

When your clients walk in the front door, they should be met with smiling faces and receive an appropriate greeting. If they have to wait for the receptionist or stylist, they should be given the appropriate apology and thanked for waiting.

In your waiting area, it’s important to have comfortable seating and an inviting environment. Some salons have televisions and plush furniture. Others have massage chairs or snacks and drinks available to incoming clients. Whatever you do, ensure your clients are welcomed and comfortable from the moment they arrive.

5. Tailor Services and Experiences

Within your hair salon, you may offer many types of services. Tailor those services and experiences to each client. For example, a client who wears hair extensions may like to add a scalp massage to their service, as the tension from the weight of hair extensions can cause headaches or irritation at first.

Similarly, a client who comes for a facial may want to get another kind of beauty treatment, such as an eyebrow wax, at your beauty salon. These services complement each other but can also be a great way to help your customer get more out of their time with you while also boosting your revenue. And, when clients are happy, they’re more likely to rebook multiple services and receive consultations for new services your salon or spa wants to offer.

6. Deliver High-Quality Services

Finally, ensure you deliver high-quality services, which can make your guests happy and tempted to try more within your salon. Some salons may take shortcuts or be less thoughtful about the products or tools they use, but you can’t allow that to happen within your beauty salon. Don’t cut corners. Use the appropriate chemicals, tools, furniture, and experience to create high-quality experiences for your customers.

Whether your clients get a haircut, wax, facial, or massage, they should be left happy with their service. Ask your clients for feedback regularly so you can adjust your service menu to wow them in the future.

Post-Visit Salon Experience

The post-visit customer experience is often unique for each salon. Some will reach out to follow up with clients and see how they feel about the services they received. Others will wait for feedback or only reach out every few weeks with coupons or discounts for return visits.

To improve the post-visit salon experience for your clients, consider doing these things:

7. Pay Attention to Client Feedback and Reviews

Whether your salon gets a compliment or you get negative reviews, you need to pay close attention to that feedback. When you do, you’ll be able to adjust the salon experience to ensure you have customers who love what you offer and keep coming back for more.

For example, if you get a negative piece of feedback saying everyone seemed unhappy, you should talk to your staff about putting on a smile and greeting customers respectfully. Those simple changes could encourage more repeat business and improve the overall customer experience. Similarly, if you get a five-star review saying everything is perfect, tell your team to keep up the good work; it’s just as important to recognize what’s working and to celebrate it.

8. Maintain Ongoing Engagement

Ongoing engagement will help increase customer retention rates. Using text or SMS blasts, email newsletters, and other outreach methods will help ensure your customers know about upcoming events and discounts and show that their patronage is important to your business.

When clients come to your salon, ask them if they would like to sign up for a newsletter, and get as much personal contact information as you can through their preferred channels of communication.

9. Show Appreciation to Loyal Customers

A great way to tell your customers that you want them to keep coming back is by showing appreciation for their time at your hair salon. You can show appreciation to your clients in several ways. For example, you could give them free beauty gifts after they spend a certain amount of money, or you could send them a birthday gift or card on their special day.

Your clients will appreciate it when you recognize that they’re individuals, not just a source of revenue. If you’re not sure what kinds of perks your current client base would like, ask them. They may suggest loyalty programs with discounts on salon appointments, free beauty services, gift certificates to your hair salon, or other perks when they hit certain preset goals (such as spending $500) or events (like holidays). Personalized loyalty programs can work well if you’re a smaller salon, and it will make the perks more memorable to your guests, too.

Podium’s AI-Powered Software Powers Your Salon

Keeping your customers satisfied is easier with these nine tips. With the right approach, you can show your customers that they’re important to you through thoughtful changes to your processes and improvements in the client experience.

One way to improve the client experience is with the help of Podium’s AI-powered software. With Podium’s AI Employee at the helm, your new patient coordinator can help book appointments, answer questions, and support client intake, keeping your books full and stylists busy.

With Podium, you can schedule appointments around the clock, even when your doors aren’t open. So, whether your client decides to make a late-night appointment or wants to reschedule before you’re open, Podium’s AI is there to help.

Ready to see how Podium can make a difference in your salon’s processes and give you a competitive edge over your competition in the industry? Just take a look at a demo of this salon software and how it can work for you.