Systems In Your Salon

In visiting other salons I tend to enjoy the variety in the sameness. What I mean by this are the systems that are in place and how they are being executed. What exactly is a system: for our purposes here the following definition will be used.

 A system is a group of interacting, interrelated, and interdependent components that form a complex and unified whole. 

Let us break this down one piece at a time. " A group of interactive, interrelated, and interdependent components."  These comprise your front desk, stylist, assistants, and any one in your salon that has client contact. The first group is the front desk.  This is consistently one of the weaker areas of most salons. The reason? Well those stem from lack of training to bad hiring. The front desk is the first and last contact any client has with your salon, they set the tone for the client's experience. Front desk systems vary from just answer the phone, to quasi complex scrips that would make Einstein cringe. The key is not tell them what to say, but lead them into being able to know the goals of the salon and its policies and treat the client accordingly. Training is the most important part of this. The front desk is a powerful position and should be treated with the respect. Why? It is the first part of your system. If that breaks down every other part of the system has to over come their failure.

The Stylist is the next part of the system. Now while their role may seem obvious there are pitfalls that can cause a break down. These range from how they great the client, how their consultation is handled and of course how well client's expectations are met or exceeded. Now how does this relate to the first part of our system, the front desk. If the clients is not booked correctly or was treated curt on the phone, the client now has a "bad taste" and maybe even a prejudicial opinion of the entire salon staff. 

Now imagine the client had a horrible phone/front desk experience, then was completely wowed by their stylist.  They are now happy, excited, wanting to return, until they go to pay and have to encounter......the very same front desk employee that broke down the system in the first place. Clients are more than 40% likely to remember something negative vs. positive, even more so when the negative is the most current memory.  So the stylist who spent time, engergy, and emotion to win back that client, was just negated by a flawed part of the system.  The system is not flawed but the components that make up said system have a weakness.

Viewing your salon as a whole is great, I love big picture thinking.  However, the small components that comprise your system are where the pit falls lie. It is the lack of attention to every facet of the system and ignoring its importance that leads to unhappy clients.

Flow is a common word in systems thinking. Everything about a every client's visit must flow. That means your team members must flow. From the the answering of the phone, to the consultation, to the blow dry and re-book. It should seem effortless and automatic to the client.  But if one part of a system is weak the others pay the price, and more importantly the client pays the price.

So take a day and examine your systems. Ask your team for input. 

Your clients will than you.

The SalonGuy Pittsburgh.  

 

 

Holidays

Salons are like church for many people. They only go on high days and holly days. Now we have all seen our books become more full during this time of year. Clients we only see a handful of times a year dust off their mop tops and head to the salon. Why? cause apparently these folks like to look really good about once a quarter, or they have not been wowed enough to return on a consistent basis.

Believing the first one is the easier path, laying the blame at the client's feet is always preferable to looking hard we treat our clients. So what to do with these nomads of the style world? Write them off? Accept their bi-annual visit as the norm? Or maybe, just maybe try to flip a few of them into 4 to 6 week regulars.

Every client that comes to you was at one time new. They were looking for some one to make them feel and look amazing. Some one they could trust moving forward and never have to worry about the out come. You won them over....so why not some of these holiday part timers?

I find the greatest gift we can give any person is to leave them a little better than we found them. Stylists have that opportunity and the holidays tend to drive a few extra souls to the chair. So do not approach them as extra income. Take a second and treat them like gold. People tend to revisit pleasant situations, they want to relive good experiences. If you do that, you may have a client for life. With the economy being what it is, people are being some what more thrifty. So you may have to work harder to maintain the nomads of the salon world. Once that barrier is broken, trust, established, and they feel confident in not just your work, but how they will be treated, then spending the money becomes "worth every penny" and not a "gamble".

Merry Christmas

The Salon Guy Pittsburgh.

Mobile Me?

MOBILE ME?

It is being predicted by some, that the desk top PC is on it's last legs. It is on the same path as the VCR.

In fact, mobile web browsing is set to alter the way we search and use the internet.

What does it mean for salons and their owners? Mobile salon advertising has been particularly valuable for small and large salon owners to use as a tool to keep in touch with customers, share the news, promotion or simply as a means of appointment reminder, and here's the twist, unlike email and other forms of online advertising, mobile advertising works better at getting the message across. The reason? People are 70% more likely to read a targeted text message than an email containing the same information.

Sounds obvious, does not it? yet astonishingly only a small fraction of hairdressers and salon businesses use mobile advertising as a valuable means of increasing revenue, and decreasing annoying no-show ups and cancellations. 

Of course with tablets and smartphones, mobile advertising these days is more than text-marketing, it now means that your customers, or perspective customers are searching your salon online using their smartphone devises, which means 2 things,one: if you are not online, i.e. don't have salon website, your customers can't find you, and if two: if you do have a website, but it is not optimized for mobile users, you will be losing as many as 50% of perspective customers. 

Solution? salon owners,need to make sure that their beauty salon web sites are mobile friendly, and it is as easy as possible for shoppers to book an appointment, make a call or shop for hair products, whilst they are in line or browsing through multiple sites comparing different salon web sites for better prices and services. 

All above concludes that although Thanksgiving has passed, and you did what you did to attract more customers and sell more products and hair appointments, there is Christmas of course coming, and New Year celebrations, so you still have time to start using mobile advertising with targeting salon advertising and salon promotions. 

CLIENT EXPERIENCE 

Think of the greatest experience you had at a restaurant, now think of the worst, those two are pretty fresh  in your mind, correct?  Now name me the most mediocre experience you have ever had. A little harder, isn't it?

Here is why. People tend to remember things in a extreme fashion.  That means the best and the worst are always first. So while we are all told to strive to give the best customer centric service possible, and avoid being horrible, no one every discusses being mediocre.  When is the last time someone said to you, "Hey try not to be average."  Rarely said. Our goals and outcomes are measured in the same way. Best or worst. Well, I am here to tell you that being just "ok" can be the kiss of death. 

Our minds tend to focus on the best and brightest and the worst and most inept. We gloss over the mediocre simply because it does not leave a good or bad impression, in fact it leaves no impression.  Therefore it is never discussed, mentioned, or raved about. So how does one avoid being mediocre?  Easy!

1} Smile. There is no better ice breaker in the world then being greeted with a smile. People love to feel welcomed and cared for.

2} Use your client's name. Familiarity is an amazing tool, if a client feels like they know you, and you them, they will have less reservations about your ideas and suggestions. (Up selling)

3} Listen with your whole body. Affirm what they are saying with eye contact and head nods, make them know you care about what they are saying. Avoid looking around or up, even when behind the chair you can make eye contact with client's reflection in the mirror.

4} Dress the part! The goal is always look better than the client in your chair. You should be their appearance role model. Sound silly? When is the last time you let some one in stretch pants and a belted sweater cut your hair? 198----??? Part of your uniform is your personal style. Flaunt it, market yourself through it.

5} Do not be afraid to steer them away from a style disaster. All stylist get the picture toting client who wants to look like the person in said picture. However, there are many obstacles that prevent this from happening. Hair type, face shape, age, and the list goes on.....Be honest, but be polite.

6} Voice Candace: Ok this one is a little tricky. The way we speak to our friends should be different than how we speak to clients. The simple rule is we tend to speak quickly in social situations. Slow it down when talking to clients, every word should be clear and crisp. 

Inflection, we have heard "it is not what you say, but how you say it." Cherish those words. The tone and inflection of your words will convey a message, whether it is the intended one or not. Do not be mono tone, but also do not sound condescending. I am personally a fast talker, and at times, my mind and thoughts out run my mouth, it is a disaster when one cannot keep up with the other. 

Make sure your tone is appropriate to the situation. Varied voice cadence projects interest and keeps your client interested. If you sound excited about their look it will reassure them and make them excited.

7} Solve their problem.  I know I have said this before, but you most be the solution to all things hair related.

So make sure that you:

• Identify the problem in the consultation
• Agree on a solution
• Talk them through the service before you start
• Quote your price
• Let them know what you are doing throughout the service. Maintain their comfort level
• Show them what you are using and explain why
• Teach them how to replicate the style at home.

If you do these simple things it will help you give a memorable experience almost every time. Keep moving forward.

The Salon Guy Pittsburgh

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There Comes The Time

      Not all stylists make it.  It is a cold fact, but a true one. The first 5 years can be torture, building a sustaining clientele takes time, effort, patience, and where you are hired. Effort is the one thing you have the most control over. Continuous effort when coupled with skill should equal a financially rewarding following.  

Bad days will happen. Difficult clients will happen. NO SHOWS WILL HAPPEN. It is your response to these situations that will decide how successful you will be. Do not treat your 10:00 badly because your 9:00 high-lite and cut blew you off, to be honest do not even mention it to your other clients. I have seen stylists loose clients by talking  ill of one to another, you never know who your clients know.  I have fielded complaints from one client hearing from another that their stylist was running them down. Stay positive. Always focus on the person in your chair.

Another mistake newer stylists make is treating their chair as a "job."  This is not your job, it is your career, and hopefully your passion. I can always tell the ones who perused styling as a career versus the ones who selected it as a easy job (sarcastic) . They are the ones with the fewest clients, the biggest mouths, and generally cause the most drama. Another mistake stylists, experienced and new make, is adding clients to their personal social media friend's list. Have 2 accounts, social media is your best friend and worst enemy. Keep your professional and social friend lists separate. The double edge of social media is simple, your client can rave about you too 500 people before they get home or bury you.

Where you apply. Do your homework, most salons have websites, reviews are easy to find online, and of course your professional connections are a good source. Salons with minimal new client traffic, no education, and have a reputation for poor working conditions need to be avoided. One thing you can do is call the owner, ask for a tour, and check everything out. The things you want to look for are, the environment, what is the decor style, how is everyone dressed, what do the front desk people look and act like. How does the owner or manager treat you, are they upbeat?  You want to work with someone who is a passionate as you are. There is nothing more draining than being stuck for 40 plus hours a week with negative people. I speak from experience.

But the one constant factor in all of this is you! Be your best, be humble, learn from those around you. Every one has something to teach, even its what "not" to do. Stylists sometimes let life happen to them, they feel they do not control their own destiny. We all do, set backs will happen. If they do that means there is something better for you to find. I firmly believe that any one who perfects their art and themselves will survive, then flourish.

Keep moving forward....

The Salon Guy Pittsburgh