A Esthetician’s Guide to Boosting Client Retention
As an esthetician, his clientele included 100% of his income. You survive only on appointments and product sales. So, in addition to your vast and thorough knowledge of skincare, product ingredients, application techniques, and a million other things, your business acumen should be in tip-top shape! When it comes to service-based businesses, customer retention is the name of the game. Time is money and money means keeping those books private! Once you get a customer, your number one priority is to bring them back again and again. Considering you’ve already done the footwork to get a client to your treatment room for the first time, let’s explore some ways to make sure they come back again and again!
Quality of service
Yes, you do retail skin care products, but your service is also a product that you sell! Your customer is buying your time, your attention, and your experience in the industry. Your service is your signature! Don’t be a cookie cutter here. Don’t cut corners or follow the motions. Be attentive, educational, and give it your all! Also, there is a transactional item where you are trading your service for a dollar amount. For this reason, you should always make sure that, for the customer, your service is not only equivalent to what they are paying for, but that they are getting an extra above and beyond that. Some tips to ensure a quality service experience:
– No, you are not a masseur. But people love massages! Go overboard!
– Make sure your menu descriptions are accurate to create an accurate expectation.
– Choose your product line carefully.
– Make your space clean and cozy, pay attention to lighting, don’t decorate too much, choose your music accordingly.
– Your energy dictates your space. Cleanse your life of its chaos as part of what you offer to your customers.
– Actively help solve skin problems through education – the results will speak for themselves.
Confidence
However, let’s be honest, customers can buy a “service” anywhere. If you are going to be a returning customer, what you are really buying is time with you. A relationship with a client is similar to any other relationship in that it requires trust and reciprocity. For a customer, you are someone they see, on average, once a month. Be a part of their life experience by keeping up with them! Even for the customer who is going to fall asleep after the first few minutes, use those first few minutes to ask not just about his skin, but about his son Jack, his final exams at school, his new dog, whatever he is. utmost importance. priority for them. You can use your skin analysis to break the ice. For example, your client mentions that her skin feels dehydrated from traveling a lot for work. Your next question should be about the trip, not about the skin! You’re going to rehydrate them, that’s a fact. This is your chance to create a relationship! Do not miss it! This registration process will do two things. It will show that you really care about them and their life. It will also allow them to get something important off their chest so they can relax. When you create that level of intimacy, you make your service more personally meaningful to that customer. If you have a large clientele and are as forgetful as I am, use your software to keep very detailed notes on your clients’ profiles. This will keep you on track! However, I would advise you to be very careful with the limits. READ: Don’t inquire into people’s personal lives. Your job is simply to be a blank canvas for them to paint the image that they would like you to see. If you judge them in any way, I can guarantee that you will never see that client again. If you continue to be your client’s biggest cheerleader, you will have them for life. Celebrate your accomplishments, validate your challenges, and encourage your efforts. And you thought you were just going to give people facials ?!
Reservation
Another way to ensure that customers return is through your reservation process. Offer a discount on a package. A pack of 5 facials guarantees that they will come back 5 times! And an added benefit is the next four visits, they will probably buy more product, since their service has already been “paid for”. You can also develop a customization system within your booking operation. For clients with highly regulated hours, offer a standing appointment (that is, the first Saturday of every month or 11am every other Thursday) that they can cancel as needed. This is a very simple option for people who know that they come regularly. For customers with unpredictable hours, offer to text them your opening day on Saturdays. Offer a courtesy reminder the day before scheduled appointments and ask if they prefer text messages, email, voicemail, or no reminder. This will integrate YOU into YOUR life.
Personalization
Get involved in what they are involved in. For example, a client comes in for a facial and mentions that he is planning a trip to Hawaii for Christmas. Why don’t you mention that you do eyelash tinting and waxing? Also be sure to give them lots of samples to take with them because they are so small and “travel friendly.” Will they need to bring gifts? Because you have many products and gift cards available. Book your next appointment now, because you can’t wait to see their photos when they return! You are not selling them anything, you are filling in the blanks for them! Now they’re beach and vacation ready, and you’ve saved room in your suitcase for other things. And you have surely warned about the strong sun in the tropics and made sure they have enough waterproof broad spectrum sunscreen for themselves and their family! Your company has now become a solution to your problems. And now you have a customer for life!
Conflict resolution
Finally, if something goes wrong, use the conflict for good instead of bad. A customer doesn’t like a product they bought from him. Do not return it. Talk to them about it: what didn’t they like and why? Is there anything to learn from what they are saying? Validate your frustration and try to find a new solution with them. If you are late with one client and late for the next, do a peel or give them a card for a free brow wax with their next facial. Conflict is not the end of the world, but it can become the end of a client if you don’t face it head-on and resolve it with him. Generally, if you handle a conflict with someone well, they will become your best customer because they respect the way you handled the situation.
Building a customer base takes time and commitment, but the shortcut is to not lose anyone! With these simple techniques, you can keep building. Your customers will recommend you to their friends and family, and your success will continue.