06. Would you rather…
In the last article I told you that not everyone is a potential client. When you think about it, in the typical dog-eat-dog, commoditised market of hair and beauty, it’s a pretty bold statement. And one that makes business owners uncomfortable.
In the day-to-day grind you are taught that you need to get as many clients through the door to make money.
Well that’s certainly one way to do business, but it’s the short road to insanity and an early grave.
I’ll tell you why: If you appeal to everyone you will be spending a whole lot of time that is wasted by not targeting customers who are your best fit. Not surprisingly the 80/20 rule comes into play here.
And my favourite game "Would you rather..."
Would you rather...
A small number of loyal customers, who will buy absolutely everything from you, do exactly what you ask them to do, achieve great results because they use the products you recommend, and you love to deal with.
Or
Thousands of one-off customers, who moan about the price, damage their hair and skin using poor products, expect you to fix other people's mistakes, and then want you to discount your work?
Pick one.
I don't need to tell you it's far more satisfying dealing with people you know and like, than having to put the effort into new relationships with the next walk-in who thinks you owe them a solution to their self-inflicted problems.
And your lovely, loyal customers will talk about you in reverent tones, and refer you to others who are just like them.
Can you see where I am going here?
A clientele of people who are similar to you, who are like you, who like you, will be a pleasure to deal with.
Your days spent in your salon just got a whole lot better. It's more fun; you want to go to work (and your staff does too).
The best way to get staff to turn up for work is to create a place they want to come to. Putting all the staff management and incentive chat aside, if your staff are having to deal with awful customers, ones that make life miserable with price-buying, complaints, whines and moans, why would they want to come to work?
On the other hand if they have a column they look forward to each day, all the extra stuff is just a bonus.
You're welcome.
Here’s what I want you to consider: Create an Avatar of your Ideal Client. Write down all the characteristics you would like them to have. From where they like to shop, to what newspapers they read, to how many children they have, to how much money they earn, how old they are and so on.
Nothing is too much information.
Then when you have done that, do a list for your Non-Ideal Client. It will likely be the complete opposite of the list you have created for your Ideal Client.
The information you now have about your Ideal Client is your Avatar and can now be used to target them very specifically with any piece of marketing that you do (and yes I will cover this in future articles, be patient).
Your Non-Ideal Client Avatar will be the type of clients you want to repel, as these will become the clients from hell if you let them through your doors.
The dual benefit of this exercise is you now have a clear picture of your business and who you want to be working with, and if you share this with your staff (and you should), they will have a clear picture of your business and your rules when it comes to clients.
Your life just got a little bit easier.
Warmly,
Kat
P.S. When you know who your Ideal Client is, it becomes very clear that there will be clients already in your business who are not your best fit, and you’ve probably wanted to do something about them before but are not sure what.
Well I have the solution, but first a little story about the time I had the client from hell…
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a particular client in the salon, let’s call her madam, as that’s what she was.
A proper one.
Now madam had regular appointments with us early in the morning, every Tuesday. This particular Tuesday I am talking about was like any other. Only one small thing was different. Workmen were digging up the road/footpath outside of the salon.
Anyway madam is having colour on her hair and it is time to wash it off before it overdevelops and leaves a nasty shade of nuclear orange.
We get her to the basin and at that exact moment the water to the salon is turned off.
Not a trickle.
Not a drip.
Not a vapour.
You might guess what happened next, but you will have to wait until next time to find out…
P.P.S. If you can’t wait for the next article and want to know more, get your FREE copy of my book Grow Your Salon FAST here. Just enter the code GSGVIP when prompted. You will have to invest in post and packaging so I know you are committed to reading it. But don’t worry, your money is safe with my 100% Money-Back Guarantee.
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