Six tips to encourage your hair clients to come back

 extracted from Getting Started in the Hair Extension Business by Diane Shawe

It is a way of keeping records of client’s visits with you. You will keep dates, services and products used or recommended customers’ goals and important dates. If a client rings for an appointment, but isn’t sure what to book for, you will have the answer by checking your well-kept records.  Also take a nice photo of your finished work, email it to the client it does not cost much and they can use it on their facebook.  Show them how good you made their hair look when they last visited.

When running competitions or conducting a survey, make sure to get the prospects’ details. Every time you get a new enquiry, complete a proper consultation form. When collecting details, always ask for name, address, phone number, e-mail address and birthday. It’s very useful for marketing afterwards. Get as much detail as you can.

The more you can find out about clients, the better you will be able to serve them. Make sure you inform the client that their information will not be sold or passed on to any other party and will remain confidential.

As an incentive for them to give you their details you could offer a gift voucher or discount coupon for each survey that is completed and returned.

Keep in regular contact with your customers by e-mail or by post. Don’t let them forget about you which they may do if you don’t keep reminding them about your business.

It’s important to refresh your database regularly. Any clients that haven’t been heard from in over six months could be given a courtesy call. Check everyone’s details and if you find that some customers have moved, remove them from the database.

You don’t want to waste money sending mail-shots to people who havemoved.

1.  Send reminders

Use your database as a reminder system. It is a good idea to send text messages as reminders to appointments.  Keep detailed records of each client’s product and service history, so that you know when they are due for an appointment and also, what type of service they are due for. It’s also wise to record what prices you have charged them.

Send your clients a reminder text message if they are overdue for an appointment. Tell them how long it’s been since they last had their hair done. Tell them that they are overdue and tell them what service their hair is due for. A cheap and easy way to keep them updated it by creating a whatapp group. So don’t forget to get their numbers.

When you write to them, advise them of any promotions you are offering. If you have any news like new products, new services or new staff, mention that as well.

2. Questionnaire questions

It is a good idea to consider sending out a questionnaire at least once a year to find out what you are doing wrong so that you can change it, or doing right so that you can improve or upgrade it.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to ask them to give answers with a rating, where you give them a box to tick. Also give them room to explain their answer.

 Here are a few examples of questions you could ask:

• Was your last appointment carried out to your full expectation?

• Was your last appointment carried out on time?

• Were you happy with the technician who attended to you?

• Were you made to feel important?

• Did you receive a full consultation about your service?

• Were you advised of suitable retail products for your hair?

• Were you attended to immediately upon arriving?

• Are there any services you would like to see improved?

• Are there other services you would like to see provided?

You could add the following to quality check your products and services.

 Please rate the following as either: poor, average, good, very good, excellent.

• overall customer service

• hair extension appearance

• hair extension cleanliness

• staff appearance

• staff attitude

• friendliness of staff

• quality of service

• quality of products used

• choice of retail products

• value for money

3. Teach clients about hair maintenance

Get your clients to come in more often by telling them when to come back.

Tell them how often they should have their hair re tightened or for barbers you could look at intervals and suggest special allocated times for them.

Teach them how to look after their hair with retail products. Teach them about the benefits of the products, so that they feel the need to buy them.

Get them into the habit of booking you to do their hair for special occasions.

Sometimes clients just need a bit of nudging.

Provide a ‘frequently asked questions’ list

Present your clients with a well presented FAQ list. Do this at regular intervals, changing the look of the list and some of the questions each time. Offer some free advice and promote your services and products at the same time.

If you make a list of questions and answers, you can educate your clients about the latest styles, hair maintenance, retail products and the services you provide.  You could post it on your website.

Give any information that will help promote your business, making it as detailed as you like, but be careful not to bore the clients.

By asking the right questions you can plant ideas about services or products that the clients might not have thought of before.

When giving answers make them short and clear, but add a reason for each answer.

Always explain the benefits. If clients can see a benefit or extra value in doing or using something, they are more likely to take your advice. Anyone can tell them that a product is great, but they need to know what’s in it for them.

Remember your clients at Christmas time

At Christmas time send your customers a Christmas card. Thank them for their past custom and tell them how much you are looking forward to seeing them next year.

Some customers might expect you to close you studio around holiday time. Quote the days that you will be closed and also, mention any extra hours that the hair extension will be open.  If you are going away, tell them which of your staff can look after them in the meantime.

Christmas is a good time to also take some nice photos of your clients and either print them out or email it to them in the form of an online Christmas card that they could send to friends.

 4. Look ahead, book ahead

All clients should be asked if they would like to book their next appointment.

Tell them that by booking ahead, they can book their preferred day, time and technician. This might be more convenient for them, rather than having to wait for an appointment if their technician is booked out when they call for an appointment.

In the course of the conversation, find out if the client has any function or special occasion coming up. Ask if the client would like sprucing up for the occasion and if so, book the appointment before the client leaves the hair extension studio.

The client may be attending a function in a few months. This might give you a chance to book in a couple of appointments a bit closer to each other than usual so that the client’s hair is done just in time for the function. It’s more profitable to squeeze in an extra booking like this, than to let the client wait longer and only have one appointment.

 5. Provide loyalty cards

 One way of getting clients to keep coming back is to give them a free service every now and then. Give the clients a loyalty card each and explain how the concept works. For example, the loyalty card contains boxes that are stamped each time the client visits you. You could offer differing numbers depending on spend and after reaching a certain number the client receives a service to a specified value free.

Alternatively you could give free products with the cards or you could even give a gift certificate from another business that you have an alliance with.

6. Follow up

When clients have been to the hair extension studio for the first time, it’s good to call them up a few days later and ask if they are happy with their hair.

This is a way to show them that you value them as clients. They will be pleased that you made the effort.

If they’re not happy with their hair, it gives you a chance to offer to make

changes, so that you don’t lose them as clients.  If you find out that clients aren’t pleased with the hair extensions, you have the opportunity to change things, so that other clients aren’t affected by the same problems.

Any feedback is good feedback. Make sure to use the feedback to your advantage.