Business Courses – help starting a beauty salon

Starting a business is all about you and the customer

Written by: Sara Marks (owner of 9 salons)

Starting a business in the beauty industry with a salon or even just with a website. This page will help you get the right help and advice to make your business a success.

And you thought you were starting up a beauty salon not about to begin a career in Customer Relations, but in reality that’s exactly what you are about to enter into.

Running a salon is all about customers. Without them, your customers, you have no business. As they say, we are here for our customers, they are not here for us.

 

The customer is not always right but they always control the money

We are also told to “treat our customers the way we would like to be treated ourselves,” and of course, “the customer is always right” and its modern adaptions “the customer may not always be right, but the customer must always win,” and you have all heard about the angry customer, telling ten times more people about your business than the satisfied ones.

This is all customer relations and it all starts firmly with you.

I am going to tell you how to achieve great customer relations, because it’s not hard and in reality involves just one thing, your ego, and the subjugation of it from here on in when you are attending to customers at your salon.

I can guarantee you that if you remove your ego from the equation you will instantly improve your customer relations, 100 fold it’s that simple.

In other words, if this sounds familiar:

“I just wanted a coffee, I didn’t ask for a side serving of your attitude with that”

then you know exactly what I am talking about.

Yes, you may be a high-flying CEO, brilliant minded and good-looking, who earns millions of pounds and is just a shop or salon to undertake customer research, but right now, it’s your job to serve me.

Sure, some establishments may be able to get away with it. You will find terrible customer service in places that have a never-ending supply of new customers, like tourists in coffee shops near major attractions. For them, it doesn’t matter if their service is bad, because tomorrow they will get coach loads of new customers.

But for us, it is important, in fact paramount to our success in business as a salon owner, to offer exceptional service to each and every one of our customers.
So how do we do that? Well, after you have removed your ego (you may have to do this forcibly) you need to understand your position, and right now that is a position of service.
Somebody once said, “beauty customers don’t buy products or services, they buy good feelings and solutions” and that is what you are here to offer, good feelings.
“For us, it is important, in fact paramount to our success in business as a market trader, to offer exceptional service to each and everyone of our customers.”

You are here to serve your customer, to be helpful and respectful, to create a feeling of comfort.

In fact, go out of your way to make your customers feel comfortable when they arrive at your stall. Listen to them and their needs, pay full attention to their words and tone of voice and focus on them completely.

If you have an opportunity, learn their name, make them feel appreciated and important, and even compliment them if it’s sincere. On sincerity, if you are not genuinely sincere customers will see right through you. Don’t ever be flippant.

Help the customer understand your beauty  products. Obviously you can only do this if you are knowledgeable yourself, so if the product is not something you created and know backward, learn everything about it and then some, because you will get many questions and you must be able to answer each and every one of them.

Understand the importance of apologising yes, even if it’s not actually your fault and then resolve the problem. If you are still having difficulties call the market manager to assist.

I want to point out that at our salons we have a policy of zero tolerance toward abusive behaviour from anyone.

Nobody should ever find themselves in an uncomfortable or threatening situation in a workplace. If you come across a particularly aggressive customer, or other market trader for that matter, do not react back immediately call the market manager for assistance (another reason you should attend a market with a full-time manager).

  1. Never promise something you know you can’t deliver. I am not talking literally as in delivery to their door, but as in if you say, “I will have that colour available for you next week” ensure you do!
  2. Wear a genuine smile all day long. You can rest it when you get home, but keep it on all day.
  3. Your customers are your businesses lifeblood, and your success depends on their comfort.

What else

There is always the customer who is going to complain and sometimes feedback can be useful. However if the complaint is about an accident or a product or beauty treatment that has gone VERY wrong then this is no longer about customer relations this is firnly about MONEY.

How can you protect your fledgling salon?

Some businesses put money aside, so businesses just cease trading when this sort of problem happens. The same if the salon was broken into or flooded.

Perhaps the best way is to insure your business with a company that has policies that cover”salons.” Not some obscure insurance company that offers “business” insurance but someone who really understands your business.

We recommmend Salon Gold. We know a number of our customers who not only has boiught their insurance but have made a claim that PAID OUT, on time and without hassle. You can call them on 020 8655 0444.

Resources

  1. How to Start a Business in The UK
  2. How to Open a Successful Hair Salon | Bplans (OK)
  3. How to start a hair and beauty salon (Worth a read)
  4. How to start a successful hair or beauty salon (very good)