Above and beyond

Fiona Jackson, client experience expert, mentor and owner of Diva salon in Lanark, shares how to create an extraordinary client experience, and how to use that to grow your business

Why does client experience matter so much?

“Client experience is about how we make our customers feel. It’s about relaxation, downtime and taking time out for selfcare, it’s not just about the treatment itself. As a business owner and a therapist, you are trying to craft a memorable experience. In our industry, we’re always talking about new innovations, treatments, skills, products, and ingredients. But actually, a lot of it comes down to what’s happening when you’re interacting with clients.

“They take that experience away, they talk about it, share it online, tell people about it. If they have a poor customer experience, they’re still going to tell people. They might even leave you and go to a competitor.

“If you create a superior client experience, customers will pay more for the entire package they are getting from you. They’re not just leaving with a nice set of nails or having had a nice facial, it can create loyalty. Customer retention is what keeps our businesses going and, ultimately, it can improve profitability.”

How can you take your customer experience from ordinary to extraordinary?

“Take your phone out, take a picture. Look at how you’re welcoming clients coming into your salon or spa. Are they sitting in a room by themselves? Do you have a member of staff that welcomes them into your space? Do you have nice music playing? Do you have any scents in that environment? It’s about creating the best possible environment for them to start their journey within your salon or spa.

“In the treatment room, if you take time to explain to clients why are you doing what you’re doing, you can take them on that journey with you. It also allows them to ask any questions, because if you’re not interacting with them, sometimes clients feel a bit shy and embarrassed to ask for what they want and need.

“Simple steps let you take your client experience from something that can be quite ordinary to something that sets you apart from your competitors within the beauty industry.

How can you get clients to leave reviews to benefit your business?

“When you go to a new restaurant, what do you do? You Google it, you read everybody else’s opinion, and then you make a decision based on that of whether you’re going to go.

“You need to start using reviews on your social media and on paperwork. Start making it people aware of it within the salon environment, to remind them that they can leave you a review.

“With my online booking system, once a client has come to us for their service, they get an automatic response from the software thanking them for their visit and asking them to leave a review. I went from not asking clients or feeling really uneasy asking for reviews, to having over 1,600 five-star reviews. It happens automatically.

“Some of them are just a little thumbs up and five stars, but some really feel like the client wanted to spend time and explain why they’ve given you that five star review.

“We live in a world dominated by social media and we can’t live without it, but the best customer you can get is still one who’s been sent to you by recommendation.

“Word of mouth is huge in our industry, it might seem old fashioned, but if you can have somebody coming to you because their friend or their mum told them to come, or the woman at the checkout in Tesco told them to, it means you’ve had a client who’s had an amazing client experience from start to finish.”