5 Ways to Please Customers and Grow Your Salon or Barber Business

The best way for a hair salon or barber shop to grow successfully is to provide exceptional customer service. With every improvement you make to how a customer is treated inside and outside your barbers’ or stylists’ chairs, the more likely it is they’ll want to come back and continue to boost your business.

We’ve got five suggestions for ways you can take the experience you’re providing to the next level for greater customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals. But remember that as your business grows, so will your insurance needs. Be sure to check your salon and barber shop coverage, as well as our guide to safeguarding your business, so you can accommodate all the new success coming your way.

1. Send Calendar Invites For Your Customers’ Appointments

Yes, adding calendar events to our smart phones is a simple thing and yet somehow it always feels like a giant pain. It can be a nuisance to do at the moment you’re making the appointment, and a chore to remember to do it later. A barber shop or hair salon that saves their customers that chore – however little it may be – will go a long way. Not just because you’re doing something for them, but because you’re saying to them: “We care about making your lives easier in whatever way we possibly can.” That’s a sentiment your customers will love.

2. Feed Your Customers Goodies

It’s common now for barber shops and hair salons to enhance customers’ stay by offering high-end water, juice, or coffee. It’s a simple and effective touch that makes their experience that much more pleasant. But why not go further than your competition? Find the way to your customers’ heart through their stomachs. Offer them sweets and treats. After all, a lot of appointments can be during the hungriest parts of the day – lunch, pre-dinner, snack time. If you really want to go that extra mile, be sure to include gluten-free and healthy options as well. Whatever you offer them, filling your clients’ bellies with deliciousness will go a considerable way towards making their experience pleasant and memorable.

3. Offer Free Umbrellas for Rainy Days

There is nothing worse than getting a fresh hairdo and then having to walk out into pouring rain when you have no umbrella. Here’s a good opportunity for a hair salon or barber shop to become a customer’s personal Superman. Stock up on a few reasonably priced umbrellas so you can offer them to customers for free to protect their haircuts (and themselves, of course) when the weather turns against them. That above-and-beyond customer service and thoughtfulness will  definitely enhance your clients’ experience and make it clear you really care about them.

4. Get a Good Receptionist

When clients visit your shop, they’re going to spend most of their time with your stylists or barbers. But you still need to provide a great customer experience from beginning to end. This is why you need to hire a dedicated, professional, and extremely friendly receptionist.

Since he or she will both set the tone and cap-off a customer’s experience, you need to  be sure your receptionist can cash out, book appointments, answer phone calls, up-sell merchandise, and take coats in a way that ensures every part of a customer’s experience in your place of business is excellent.

5. Thank Your Loyal Customers

Don’t make the mistake of only providing exceptional customer experience to new customers. Those who have been loyal to you are the reason you’re in business. Never forget to keep treating them well. They are your word-of-mouth ambassadors and their loyalty should never be under appreciated. A “thank you” is good way to do that. Whether it’s an iTunes gift card, a free haircut, or a voucher for hair products, saying “thank you”  is one way to provide an exceptional customer experience to longtime clients. It’ll ensure they remain happy with you and likely to keep recommending you to friends.

Next Steps: You’re busy. We get it. So why not let us do some work for you? By signing up for the weekly Small Biz Ahead Newsletter, you’ll receive hand-picked articles, How-Tos and videos covering the latest in small biz tools and trends. We’ll do the research while you spend your time where it counts: managing and growing your business.