By Lisa Marie Arnold, Salon & Spa Solutions

Salon and spa owners are increasingly optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead. According to a PBA study released July 2009, 60% of salon/spa owners expect their service sales in six months to be higher than they were during the same period in the previous year.

This is good news, but I feel compelled to say that this will only happen if we beef up our customer service and value-added systems. They simply have to be a huge component of the overall salon or spa experience. Clients need to feel they are getting more than they are paying for. I have been drilling this concept into my clients’ heads the past couple of months due to the state of our economy and the increasing competition we all face every day in this industry.

When we speak of client retention and capitalizing on our new client recruitment strategies, we must ask ourselves: Do we exceed our client’s expectations each and every visit?

Consistently implementing your systems and exploiting your unique market position give you the edge. Kick the service up a notch by providing amenities such as cleaning your clients’ jewelry while they are receiving their services, offering unique beverages, going the extra mile with massage or reflexology, and providing specialty lotions and scrubs.

However, the technical portion of the visit is only part of the equation. Quality communication is the main driver in customer retention. Are you uncovering needs? Are you educating the clients on maintenance instead of constant repair and recommending proper home care products? These are retention drivers.

Stay tuned. In my next post I’ll teach you how to strengthen your communication skills for superior retention and customer service!