Hi lovelies,

When you’re running a salon, you might be providing hair care and nail care, but that’s not all you’re providing. A lot of people, when asked, will associate salons with the notion of self-care, of peace and calm, of a safe space, and as a place to feel relaxed and welcome. As such, you want to make sure that you’re doing more than just providing a service, you’re providing a salon experience. Here are a few ways to do that.

Have a strong, welcoming brand
For one, you want to make sure that the vibe of your salon’s brand and your location is on point. Creating a strong brand means thinking about who your services are aimed at, what you want to communicate to them, and what kind of visuals, word choices, and decor are going to heighten that. Start with a strong brand and it becomes easier for the other aspects to fall into place.

Body language and communication are vital
You want to welcome people to your salon with the right attitude at the front desk. As such, making sure that your receptionist is well-trained and understanding of the culture and atmosphere of the space is a good idea. Setting a high standard of customer service for your own staff is about training, and making sure that their needs are well met. Staff who aren’t cared for are less likely to care for the customer experience, it’s as simple as that.

Keep it comfortable and clean
People want to feel like they are getting the attention to detail necessary to make their nails and hair look and feel as good as possible. Needless to say, if the salon feels dirty, at all, it can be hard to give them that assurance. Aside from keeping it clean on a regular basis and wiping down or brushing up after every customer, a good air purifier can offer tremendous benefits, as well. Keep the air feeling fresh and clean.

Consider a complimentary service
You don’t have to go giving every person who sets foot in your salon a free makeover. However, if they’re already in the chair and you can think of a little extra that won’t be too costly to add, then you should make the offer. You can even have apprentices offer these little free services to people who are waiting to make it feel a lot less taxing.

Keep things moving
Any good vibes you create in your salon are going to be undercut by how long your clients might have to wait. Creating a good waiting space for them, with comfortable seating, reading material, and perhaps even the offer of tea or coffee, can do a lot of good. But you should be using salon scheduling software to make sure that clients never have to wait too long, as well.

While good work with their hair, nails or otherwise is going to get you paid and get the good word spread, it’s the salon feel that will keep customers coming back. Don’t neglect that.