7 Steps To Elevate The Client’s Salon Experience

When a guest walks through your salon doors, is her impression favorable? Details that might seem minor can have a make-or-break effect on client retention. But creating a high-quality client experience doesn’t have to be complicated—just follow these seven steps from L’Oréal Professional Products Division to keep your clients coming back.

L’Oréal developed these seven steps as part of their new concept called Salon Emotion, with the goal of elevating the salon experience by more closely connecting the consumer with the professional.

“At L’Oréal, we believe beauty has the power to change lives. And, we believe that [for L’Oréal] to continue being the best partner to the hairdressing community, we need to reinvent ourselves,” said Antonio Martinez-Rumbo, President, L’Oréal Professional Products Division USA while at ABS 2018. “We need to be transformative, we need to be forward thinking, we need to go from services to experiences, and we need to integrate everything into the same space.”

Enter Salon Emotion! Follow this seven-step, full-circle guide, and start creating the quality experience your clients are after. Plus, you’ll be setting your salon up to make more money and retain more clients in the process. Keep scrolling for the seven steps and how to execute them below!

But first, watch Antonio introduce Salon Emotion at ABS 2018!

Follow Salon Emotion’s Seven Steps To Success

Step 1: The Window

• Know This: 30 percent of clients come into salons because they like the window displays.
• Do This: Create inviting signage, promotional displays and branding that will make new clients want to step inside.

Step 2: The Reception

• Know This: 68 percent of clients feel anxious when they enter a salon for the first time.
• Do This: Make your guests feel welcome the minute they step inside the door—greet them with a refreshing water, coffee or glass of bubbly!

Step 3: Consultation

• Know This: 97 percent of stylists say they give a consultation while 7 percent of clients say they’ve never had one.
• Do This: Train your stylists to ALWAYS give a thorough consultation. Tell your staff to be specific with their dialogue so that your client is fully aware of the consultation. Or, use an app, like the Diagnose Your Hair app from Kérastase. It asks your client a series of questions, then offers personalized services and unique product recommendations specific to every client’s needs.
• Watch the video below showcasing the app in action!

Step 4: Treatment Lounge

• Know This: Clients find the backbar station the most relaxing part of their salon visit.
• Do This: Elevate this experience in any way possible—call it a treatment lounge instead of the backbar, give clients amazing head massages and offer luxurious treatments.

Step 5: Service

• Know This: Clients often feel uncomfortable when getting a service for different reasons. Maybe they’re new to the salon or maybe they’re unsure of the end result—either way, it’s your job to ease that stress.
• Do This: Explain what you’re doing both before and while you are doing it and offer knowledge they can use at home (like suggesting retail product!).

Step 6: Retail

• Know This: Retail is the No. 1 missed opportunity at the salon!
• Do This: ALWAYS recommend take-home products to your clients! Start this conversation during the service, then set your retail area up with cute signage to engage your client. Highlight best sellers, tips on how to use certain products or cute quotes/client testimonials! (see slideshow below!)

Step 7: Checkout

• Continue to give your client the best experience until they walk out the door.
• Don’t ask them when they want to rebook, instead suggest a date their stylist recommends and offer two or three available time slots.

This seven-step guide also works for salon suites—just follow the same steps (but on a smaller scale) and start upping your overall guest experience now!