You could have a great brand, product, and service, but a business is nothing without its clients. Once you've done some marketing and your clientele starts growing, what can you do to ensure those clients will stay with your salon for the long haul? Read on to find out what you can do to keep your clients for life.

Build genuine and strong relationships with your clients, so they become emotionally invested in you. Keep your professionalism, of course, but remember that your clients are people with full lives, stressful jobs, and may want to use their lash time to vent. Make sure to read them. If you are initiating the conversation and they are only responding with one or two words, that should be a sign to you that they are not interested in having a conversation, but may just be looking to rest at their appointment. For more info on beneficial interaction with your clients, read this blog.

Try to be as accommodating as possible to each client. Before you ever touch a client, you need to have a thorough consultation that involves getting a list of current medications and allergies. As well, you should document any previous reactions or negative experiences with lash extensions. Develop a custom plan for styling based on their desires, but educate them on the health of their natural lash, so they aren't let down if you aren't able to safely apply the look they want. Anticipate your client's questions and have a thorough understanding of your services, products, and procedures so you can give them thoughtful, educated responses. If you lack the proper training to educate clients, read through more blogs here or consider taking a class with us.

Encourage client referrals by offering referral rewards such as, refer a friend and receive $20 off your next service. You can make cards to hand out or send the offer to your email list. Clients love receiving rewards for speaking highly of you and your business, so give them something for their efforts. 

Nothing is worse than an inflexible business owner. Let your clients know you care by sending a follow-up email or text. Most people who have a bad experience won't reach out to the business directly; they post on Yelp or other public forums and tell their friends, which can be much worse. Did you know that only 4% of clients who have a bad experience ever voice it? This blaring statistic is why it's so important to ask for feedback to gain insight while emphasizing the individual client’s importance. It can be intimidating to ask, especially if you aren't yet confident in your skills. But remember, asking and receiving will only make you a better artist and business owner. Offer advice or refunds when necessary, but never blame the client or escalate the emotion if the client is explicitly upset. 

Personal touches can make the difference to some people. Free samples/goody bags/random discounts are all great ideas to toss around and see what works for you and your team. If you do have employees, get ideas from them on what they think their clients would appreciate, then implement something. Your staff will be excited to surprise their clientele, and your business will be noticed for it. 

Keep personalized records of clients' life, likes, and dislikes. Things like birthdays, anniversaries, that raise they were going to ask their boss about, or even remembering that they were going to go on a date after their appointment. I would recommend getting an alphabetized journal and use a pencil to write notes so you can erase if needed. Or you can keep a log on their profile in your booking system, just make sure to keep it updated.

Creating a direct way to reward your clients continued business will make them feel appreciated as well as encourage them to visit more frequently. You could create a stamp card or use a digital program like Flok to keep track of your clients' rewards. 

Organize fun events for your clients and their friends. For example, you can do a Mom's Night Out or Lash and Learn where you feature service specials, do raffles, educate, and serve food and drinks. Hosting parties like this will create more of a community around your business and build your clients trust as they get more from you than just their beauty treatments. Events are also a great way to connect with other groups or businesses. For example, check out meetup.com to find groups by interest like parenting or beauty or entrepreneurship and invite them to come and share on their social networks. Another option is to partner with other business owners looking to get more clients to co-host the event with you. Possible partners that are a good fit for a lash studio would be nail salons, blow dry bars, and plastic surgeons. 

Spending time on the media platforms that your clients are on builds trust and keeps you at the top of their minds. Have a content calendar that lines up with your events, product launches, and specials. When you have a plan, it will help you stay on track and keep your clients engaged because you aren't clogging their feed with the same pictures or information all of the time. Clients like to be in the know so don't keep them in the dark about exciting things happening in your salon!

Always remember that your clients are the lifeblood of your business. Without them, you have no engagement, no reach, no influence, and most likely no money. All of the ways above will help you to keep your clients coming back to you for years and years to come. Now you have the tips, but the real work comes in turning that knowledge into action. Find one or two that you aren't doing yet from the list and sit down to brainstorm the best implementation route for your clientele and marketplace. Involve your team or business partner to help you. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me using one of the icons in my signature.