The “Church of the Customer” marketing blog has a short anecdote about buying a gift certificate at a day spa. It’s an object lesson in what not to do if you’re selling gift certificates in your spa or salon!
Of course, it’s easy to laugh and think that we would never do anything like that. We would never let policies and procedures get in the way of the customer’s experience. But the spa owner in question probably thinks the same thing (unless he/she has read that blog!)
It’s like those moments when you’re walking through a shop and see yourself in the mirror when you weren’t expecting it… or you hear your voice recorded for the first time and think “That’s not me, I don’t sound like that, do I?” We don’t often get to see (or hear) ourselves as others see us - and the same goes for our businesses.
So how do we “step into the customer’s shoes” and see our business as they see it, to make sure we’re not missing the kind of mistakes the spa owner in the story was making? Customer feedback forms and surveys are great, but usually only applied to existing customers - people who already like our business, and are used to our way of doing things. How do we discover what the experience is like for new potential customers?
Phone your salon
Get into the habit of phoning your salon regularly from outside. Perhaps get a friend to make the call and put it on speaker-phone so that you can listen in. Get them to ask the sort of questions that real customers might ask if they were enquiring for the first time. How quickly is the phone answered? How does the person answering the call sound? Are they polite, professional, knowledgeable, friendly, helpful? And does that match the image that you want your salon or spa to portray? Do staff need training to be able to answer customer questions more effectively?
Secret Shoppers
Major retailers regularly employ the services of “secret shoppers” - people who visit the their shops and pretend to be customers, then record their experiences and feed them back to the shop owners. There are secret shoppers who specialise in working with salons and spas. But if you can’t afford their services, setup your own version. Ask people who haven’t been to your salon before if they would do you a favour, in return for a free treatment.
Get them to book a session and attend, just as a normal customer would, and make a note of their experiences to give you feedback. (Make sure they pay normally, so that it’s not obvious to staff, then reimburse them afterwards.) Try it a few times, and you’ll get a feel for what questions to ask them afterwards.
You may be surprised at what you discover - and what you can then improve - when you get to see things through the eyes of your customers!
Related posts:
