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Retention is the Real Flex
10 Plays1 month ago
In this insightful episode, we delve into the often-overlooked yet crucial aspect of the beauty business: client retention.Through a personal anecdote about attending a New Year's Eve party that led to a significant business relationship, we explore how building genuine connections can transform your clientele into loyal advocates.
We discuss practical strategies for enhancing the client experience, such as personalized gestures, consistent communication, and the importance of pre-booking appointments. Discover how these approaches not only foster loyalty but also contribute to a more predictable and profitable business model.
Key Takeaways:
- The Power of Personal Connections: How attending a single event led to a lasting and fruitful client relationship.
- Enhancing Client Experience: Simple yet effective ways to make clients feel valued and seen.
- Pre-Booking Benefits: Understanding how pre-scheduling appointments can lead to increased client satisfaction and business stability.
- Consistency is Key: Maintaining a high-quality experience for every client, every time.
- Feedback and Transparency: The importance of open communication, especially for new professionals in the industry.
Whether you're a seasoned beauty professional or just starting out, this episode offers valuable insights into building a loyal client base that supports and grows with your business.
#ClientRetention #BeautyBusinessTips #SalonSuccess #ClientExperience #BeautyIndustryInsights #LoyalClients
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Transcript
Meet Renee Leone, Beauty Entrepreneur
00:00:04
Speaker
Welcome to Beauty and the Business Podcast. I'm Renee Leone, a beauty entrepreneur, coach, and single mom who built a six-figure beauty business straight out of school. Now, I'm here to help you do the same.
00:00:17
Speaker
If you're ready to stop struggling and start scaling, you're in the right place. Let's turn your passion into profit. Hit play and let's build your beauty empire.
00:00:30
Speaker
I remember this all too clearly. i was working about 13 days on and one day off in the very beginning stages of my lash artist career. And it was New Year's Eve. I was invited to a party that I really didn't have the energy to go to.
00:00:45
Speaker
Really didn't want to spend the night away for my kids, but something told me that I needed to go anyways. So I did the thing that I promised my business I would do. ah picked myself up, even tired.
00:00:57
Speaker
took my kids to my parents, had dinner with them, went over to this New Year's Eve party. And little did I know i was about to meet one of the biggest pieces of my business.
00:01:10
Speaker
Her name is Tracy Dye and it was her party. And I had all the feelings of not wanting to go, you know, the bad attitude. And i I pushed myself through it anyways, because my why was to keep going.
00:01:22
Speaker
And what I soon found out was Tracy was going to be one of the biggest referral sources for my business. And not only in my personal business, but the women in my salon, there'll be lashes, hair, facials, injections.
00:01:38
Speaker
This girl loves to refer. And that is You know, we talk about in the course, our ideal clientele, she was definitely ideal clientele, but the main reason that she's been so pivotal in this business is not just the referrals, but the retention from her personal business as well.
Why is Client Retention Crucial?
00:01:59
Speaker
and so today we're going to talk about client retention and why that's the real flex in your business, not just gaining new clientele.
00:02:09
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it is, Tracy is such a great example of why you want to work on those relationships. And i just got to say, Renee, before we jump into this, that is such a brave story of you to take your kids to your parents' house on New Year's Eve and really step up and go to a New Year's Eve party.
00:02:32
Speaker
and probably It's probably the best Year's Eve party in town. Yeah. Well, you know, at that time I was a single mom and I would think I was the only single person there. I didn't know anybody but one person. New Year's in the suburbs.
00:02:43
Speaker
Yeah. New Year's in the suburbs. And I didn't know anybody there. So really, i just wanted to take a nap, you know? Yeah. Especially when you have a free babysitter. Exactly. And my parents happen to live very, very close to her. So, you know, proximity wise, it wasn't that big of a hassle. But man, I think about that all the time. Like, what if I never went?
00:03:04
Speaker
Yeah. Where would my business be now? And, you know, Tracy is just such a light. You've met her. Yeah, right. And to know her is to love her. We got to get her on here. Yeah.
00:03:15
Speaker
To talk about her client experience. But, you know, the girls there, they really do a good job, not just my business, but really going the extra mile to make sure she feels loved. And, you know, Madison, our hair girl that was on here a couple weeks ago.
00:03:29
Speaker
you know, for her birthday, she'll throw in a free blowout yeah or she's, you know, the other day she came in, her birthday is in April and she knew that she always liked to fluff her bangs a certain way and she struggled with it. So she went and bought her a little like styling tool to help her do that. And she was so touched by it.
00:03:47
Speaker
And those are the types of little moves that just make people want to come back because they feel noticed and they feel seen and they feel loved and not just like another number. Yeah. Yeah, I think, you know, we talk a lot about being a part of the community, like not just being on social media, but actually get out there. And so it really is, I mean, make it funny, but it's a great example of like really going to be in a part of that community, building those relationships.
00:04:10
Speaker
And even when we're talking about Tracy, like Tracy, the the reason... she's such a good referral source also um is because she does those same things for other people, right? Like she has such a big heart. She just wants to help everybody. that She has everybody's interest at heart all the time.
00:04:25
Speaker
And she shows it goes the extra mile and is just such a great friend that, um that again, you know, when we talk about referral sources, we talk about client retention,
Enhancing Client Experiences
00:04:36
Speaker
when you become a part of the community, like it really is so much more like to call Tracy a referral source. Like it's true.
00:04:43
Speaker
But it just feels like it's a, i you what I'm saying? Like it feels, it's such a little piece of who she is. oh yeah. Like it almost feels like just not like knocking her down to a number when she's not, but it's when you're doing business,
00:04:56
Speaker
and building a business, like that's who you want. like That's who you want in your corner um are the people that that you can love on and support and they're gonna send you referrals and support your business and you're gonna do the same thing for them. I know you've sent Tracy a lot of referrals yeah um over the you know over the course of your relationship, but So getting into actual client retention, you it's, we talk about social media we talk about going out there and getting new clients. We talk about but all that stuff I think is the sexy side of building a business when you're oh, going to get these clients. Like I want to build new clients.
00:05:29
Speaker
When in reality, when we're talking about time and effort and energy, it is five times more expensive. to go out there and get a new client versus maintaining and keeping a client.
00:05:41
Speaker
You know, having that client retention, five times more expensive. So you think about the effort in the air, five times more effort, five times more energy. You know, how intentional do you have to be when you're trying to gain a new client, when you're trying to build that new relationship?
00:05:53
Speaker
Versus once you have the relationship, like once you're a friend with somebody, like you do text them, like you can text them at 830, nine o'clock, 10, 10 p.m. night. Hey, got to move the appointment back 30 minutes tomorrow. Or, ah you know, just the communication is so much better. And then what do they do for referrals? They just text you like they just send people your way nonstop.
00:06:12
Speaker
Yeah. And you know one, i think it starts from the very beginning and how you get them as a client and then how that process is. We talk about this in the course, but how easy it was, how easy was it for them to book?
00:06:25
Speaker
They're going to be thinking, oh, I love my hair girl, but Susie will never figure out how to book on that website. You know? Yeah. And so then it's just, oh, well, maybe not, maybe not her. And then how easy is it to get ahold of you? yeah Do you just not respond to them?
00:06:38
Speaker
You know, if you're a suite owner, you don't have a receptionist. You are the line of communication. You are open for business. So you need to be able to communicate with your clients yeah and when they need to move or rebook or whatever, whether that's your text message or email, however you want to set up your system.
00:06:56
Speaker
And then are you edifying them during the experience and then after the experience? And are you making sure you're all set up? Oftentimes, I've seen very loyal clients leave because the artist was too comfortable with them.
00:07:12
Speaker
And they started to feel like, why does this new client get all this special treatment, a glass of wine when they sit down? or whatever and I'm just the room's dirty when I walk in and you know so you can lose even very loyal clients just by getting too comfortable yeah you want to make sure every time that they have that same experience that they know what to expect when they walk in and those are just really simple ways to get ahead of that and the number one way is to pre-book their appointments. yeah
00:07:42
Speaker
And don't take no for an answer. This is the number one thing I see women struggle with the most, beauty professionals struggle with the most. They are afraid to pre-book, even if it's a lash fill, even if it's a reoccurring service.
00:07:56
Speaker
I don't know if that stems from rejection issues or what, but they feel like it's an inconvenience when you got to change your mindset because that's making that client's life so much easier yeah to have it scheduled for them to have it on the books so they don't have to think about it or rush to get in and have to wait two more weeks past their and their roots are grown out or whatever it is.
00:08:17
Speaker
So pre-booking is a positive thing. It's not forceful. If you're one of those right now and this I'm speaking to you, i promise you, I wouldn't steer you wrong.
00:08:28
Speaker
If you're not pre-booking, you're missing out. Yeah, I know personally, I'd rather have the appointment on the books and then have to move it rather than try to schedule it even via text or phone.
00:08:40
Speaker
Like when you're there, you just want to schedule it. Like you want to schedule the
The Power of Pre-booking
00:08:43
Speaker
follow-up. You want to schedule that next appointment. You want to be able to plan on that. yeah i mean, you have to think that the amount of clients and appointments lost or pushed just because you didn't ask another question.
00:08:55
Speaker
mean, it's got to be astronomical. Oh, like in comparison so much. Because then they forget And then they need in for their brow wax or their tint or whatever. And you can't get them in because now you've been following the system that we've given you.
00:09:08
Speaker
And they might have to go somewhere else. Yeah. So, you know, it's something to really pay attention to. And even if you're new, even if you have four clients this week. How you phrase it is everything. Just saying, hey, like I really enjoyed seeing you today.
00:09:23
Speaker
Let's go ahead and get your appointment your next appointment on the books because I am filling up. Yeah, booked and busy. Booked and busy. And I do not want to miss out. We can always change it if something pops up.
00:09:34
Speaker
Just shoot me a text, but let's go ahead and get it solidified so that we don't have to think about it. ah Very rarely do they say no. Yeah. They might say, well, my calendar's at home.
00:09:44
Speaker
Perfect. I understand. I'm going to shoot you a text tonight to make sure I don't forget about you. That's not pushy. That's showing that you want them as a client, that you want to be their service provider instead of just acting so transactional.
00:09:58
Speaker
You lot of this, you know, we have the a motto that we both of subscribe subscribe to of like the slow down to go fast. I think appointments don't get booked because somebody looks at their calendar says, oh my gosh, I'm swamped. And then you're either unorganized or you don't want to book something or you don't want to feel pushy.
00:10:18
Speaker
And so but then you just speed things up say, oh yeah, we'll just text each other. I'm literally dealing with something right now that we were both there. I want to meet with this lady. She wants to meet with me. and And she said, well, let's just book, like, we'll just text.
00:10:32
Speaker
I was like, perfect. We do not have an appointment for this week. Oh. like we just We don't have an appointment yet this week because we didn't schedule it. yeah And so now I need to look at my schedule and text her and she has to look at her schedule and text. But you know that slowdown to go fast is really just taking that extra 20 seconds saying, let's at least get something on the books.
00:10:52
Speaker
Like I am booked. I am busy. I'm filling up. I want to get you the spot. I want to make sure I see you. What do you have coming up? you know When you're making small talk, I think making notes of that in your head.
00:11:03
Speaker
ah We have this wedding coming up. We have the holiday coming up. like Looking at your schedule. When we talk about looking at the planner, then looking at your month and knowing what's coming up, um you know those are all things. like Those are all talking points that are going to help you rebook.
00:11:17
Speaker
Like, what are you doing for Memorial Day? You know, right now it's the beginning of May. yeah And so what are you doing for Memorial Day? What's going on for July 4th? Like you're talking and it gives them also that need. So they might think they don't need to book for another six weeks when in reality they need to book in four weeks because they do have something big coming up for like a July 4th. Memorial Day to July 4th I think is a good one.
00:11:38
Speaker
that Normally, put people might push a lash appointment or a hair appointment or some type of appointment. They might push it past July 4th, like push it out six weeks.
00:11:50
Speaker
Instead, they need to come back in four weeks so they can hit the holiday. Yeah, exactly. It's all just yeah using those types of things to better plan your schedule personally, but also there so you're not stuck in those cycles of burnout. yeah don't know You're working really long hours because you didn't plan ahead and you've got to squeeze everybody in before Thanksgiving and all those things.
00:12:10
Speaker
So always you can phrase it to to increase customer retention. What is something as a male client, I know you get your hair cut, yeah now you've gotten some facials done
What Do Male Clients Really Want?
00:12:18
Speaker
before, Maybe massages. What's something that when you walk into the room or whatever service you're getting, what are you looking for?
00:12:27
Speaker
What makes you feel like you're going to book with them again?
00:12:32
Speaker
i'm I think it's like for me, it's like a it's just a feeling when you walk in. like it's the customer It's the whole customer experience. like What does it smell like? What is the, how much are we talking or not talking? Are they picking up my cues? Like if it if it is massage and i'm there to relax, like, are we talking?
00:12:48
Speaker
Like if you're, if there's some, I've been in situations that where they're talking a lot and I'm just not in the mood to talk. yeah Like with three kids at home and business and everything else, sometimes I literally just want to lay there and just zone out.
00:13:01
Speaker
But then, you know the the provider talks and talks. um Yeah, same thing with the haircut. I mean, it really is like, it's the smells, it's the feel of the room. um I've got my hair cut sometimes. Is the chair actually big enough for me?
00:13:15
Speaker
Like it's if they mainly are serving women, it's sometimes the chair is just not big enough. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's that whole customer experience. And then do want to book again. And I think,
00:13:28
Speaker
most Because most men have their hair cut short, it will grow out. Like it does grow out faster. Like if you know if we grow our hair out over the next four weeks, you barely notice like how long yours got.
00:13:40
Speaker
And mine looks just unruly. Yeah, exactly. exactly And so, you know, pre-booking is really, really good because it'll get me in. I bet it gets me in two weeks earlier than what I would have done.
00:13:52
Speaker
And then you extend that over a year. You know, but don't have the math right here, but yeah you have to think it's four or five more appointments that I'm going to. You're missing out on money. Right. Because, yeah, that's exactly right.
00:14:05
Speaker
And that's really important. And I think hair and in lashes and in facials and basically every service that if you don't pre-book it and then they they're just going to extend it because they can't get in, and you're missing money. Yeah.
00:14:16
Speaker
and it's going to make you feel more organized in your business too, to have a grasp of actually how many clients you have coming up, how many reoccurring clients. The other thing I would say is don't shy away from feedback, especially if you're new.
00:14:27
Speaker
Be very transparent that you're new from the start of the appointment to the end. If you're just fresh out of school, let them know that. Because they may have seen your post or someone tagged you in a recommendation on Facebook or whatever. So they book with you.
00:14:40
Speaker
And maybe your process isn't elite yet. Okay. Maybe you got some bumps in the road, but you communicating to them that, you know, I'm new here, this salon, like I'd love your feedback or whatever. Thank you so much.
00:14:53
Speaker
I'm offering referral discounts. If you have any of your friends, I'll do your next facial half off or whatever. Yeah. Make sure that they typically people want to help. And that you're communicating that you're new.
00:15:04
Speaker
There's no need for you to go in and act like you are 20-year seasoned esthetician when you are 20 days out of esthetician school. That is going to give them, i guess, like a certain amount of distrust, a lack of trust. Yeah.
00:15:20
Speaker
just It's just disgenuine. Yeah. Ingenuine, disgenuine. Yeah, all the things. All the genuines. All the ungenuines. But so being very transparent so they know what to expect. They know what level of service. And a lot of times they want to help you through those beginning stages because typically people like to help.
00:15:36
Speaker
Yeah. Especially if it comes with a discount. Yeah, it is. that Yeah, sure. It is that balance. Also, it's like you want to be transparent. Hey, I'm brand new, but also recognize you also just went to school for this, right? Like you probably had a passion for it before you went to school.
00:15:49
Speaker
You know more than the average person. And so don't discount your entire experience and your the value that you're bringing. So, you know, find that fine line. I think the other I really want to talk about before we end this is like those those little things that make a huge impact.
00:16:06
Speaker
Like just doing a doing a happy birthday post, going on every day, making sure you're friends with your clients on social media. And when it's their birthday, like write a nice happy birthday post for him Yeah.
00:16:18
Speaker
Like it makes them feel appreciated. Right. It builds that relationship, but also their friends see it. Oh, yeah. Like yet there's so many things that yeah you do. You do it because it's smart.
00:16:29
Speaker
You do it because it's right. And you do it because it just makes good business. Like it's just good to build relationships with your clients and be a part of that community. But then it's also growing your network organically.
00:16:41
Speaker
Because it's like, oh, I was wondering who Tracy went to go see for her hair. I want to go there. Her hair always looks fantastic. Or my girl doesn't do hair extensions and her girl does. So like it just starts placing you on the map.
00:16:55
Speaker
But, you know, other than that, I think that the course, we go over this a little bit more in detail. Right. About identifying your ideal clientele, how to target that ideal clientele.
00:17:07
Speaker
Because if your books are full of reoccurring cancellations from somebody who can't get their crap together. Yeah. On their own personal life, that's not really a reoccurring appointment that you want. You want your ideal clientele. Well, yeah, it always makes me laugh at the joke that you tell. I think you just post it on our socials on TikTok or Instagram about it.
00:17:25
Speaker
It's like, hey, when's what's your schedule? I work Monday through Friday, nine to five. Perfect. what do you have at two o'clock on Sunday? Yes. yeah If you have a client like that, like there if you accept that and if you don't pre-schedule, you need to have like you need to meet them where they're at.
00:17:39
Speaker
Yeah. right If you don't have full books during the actual work week when you want to work, yeah but you're going to have to work on the weekends when you don't want to work yeah because you're not scheduling it out. So I would say you can find a lot of this on the website at beautyinthebusiness.vip.
Engage with Our Community
00:17:55
Speaker
um Give us some follows on social. You can find us beautyinthebusiness on TikTok, on Instagram. Go on there, give us a follow, shoot a message over. We'll follow back. We answer every message.
00:18:05
Speaker
And we'll give you a code to get this course for free. Yeah. Right. This is a easily a $500 course right now. It is free. It is 2025 May. So if you're listening to this in 2026 in May, it might not be free anymore, but get on there, take the course and so that's slow down to go fast. And let's say if we said something and that stuck out to you, try it.
00:18:28
Speaker
And then also write to us, tell us about it, go on social, let us know how we're helping. And we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. And leave us a five-star review. Leave us five-star review. Because that's helps other beauty professionals figure these tips and tricks out too.
00:18:44
Speaker
everybody. If you like what you heard today, join us over at beautyinthebusiness.vip. Again, that's www.beautyinthebusiness.vip. That's where we have our courses. That's where we have our community group.
00:18:57
Speaker
And we look forward to interacting with you over there. Beautyinthebusiness.vip. We will see you on the next episode.