How to Craft a 5-Star Salon Experience for Clients

Wondering how to craft the ultimate hair salon experience for your clients? From hot tea to appointment reminders, there are a handful of ways to get your customers excited and help them feel the love. 

In this article, we’re breaking down the top tips for creating a memorable salon visit — and a lasting impression. Here are 10 ways to pamper your customers and keep them feeling their best from the moment they book your services.

1. Provide Automated Booking Confirmations

Looking to craft that 5-star salon experience right from the get-go? As soon as your potential clients click “book”, kick things off with an automated booking confirmation. Automated booking confirmations are one of the top hair salon trends for a variety of reasons.

• They keep things organized for both you and your client, particularly if you incorporate an “event” to add to phone and computer calendars.
• They decrease the chance of confusion that can happen with online booking (i.e. anxiety from you or the client that the booking did not go through).
• Clients can book on their own time and don’t have to worry about calling you past hours.
• Overall, automated booking confirmations give beauty professionals time back to better care for their customers.

Fun fact for StyleSeat Professionals: When you book clients on your StyleSeat calendar, they will automatically receive a booking confirmation through email or text, depending on your preferences.

2. Send Appointment Reminders

Life gets busy. And whether your client has booked a manicure or a haircut, appointment reminders are always appreciated! You can customize how you’d like to set up your appointment reminders — email or text, 24 hours vs. 48 hours, but however you do so, this is another nice step to show your clients you care. 

Plus, as a salon owner, appointment reminders can help to decrease your likelihood of no-shows. After all, things happen, and it’s easy for even the most loyal customers to forget an appointment now and then. 

Fun fact for StyleSeat Professionals: In addition to a booking confirmation, when you book clients on your StyleSeat calendar, your clients will also get an automatic appointment reminder 48 hours before the appointment time.

3. Offer Complimentary Consultations

There’s a reason why a good high-end salon offers complimentary consultations — they quickly help to build rapport among you and your potential client! 

Plus, they enhance the client experience and ensure that when the time comes, they won’t come out of the shampoo bowl with a hair color that’s not what they expected. The same scenario can be used for everything from nails, eyelash extensions, to lash perms. 

A thorough consultation shows your client that you mean business and that you’re ready to provide top-notch service. While complimentary consultations are great, it’s still important that you learn how to calculate salon service prices and stay transparent with your clients about pricing so they know what to expect when it’s time to pay. 

4. Prepare for Existing Clients 

When you’re crafting the salon experience, one of the most important things you can do is prepare for your existing clients. Coming into a salon or receiving salon treatments can be a special and luxurious occasion for clients. 

The key is to make your customers feel valued and remembered. If it’s hard to keep track of client details — where they live, whether or not they have kids, what their profession is — keep a notepad or document on your computer. Jot some notes down that refresh your memory before their next appointment. 

It’s also helpful to be attentive to your existing clients’ needs. Maybe there are some recent cuts of celebrities they’d like to show you or a product they want to learn more about. Let them know you’re all ears and always ready to go the extra mile.

5. Offer Refreshments

Does anything scream the ultimate hair salon experience more than a refreshment while you wait for your foils? If you really want to pamper your clients to a day of luxury, offer them a beverage while they wait.

Better yet, offer them a beverage menu! Here are some beverage suggestions.

• Coffee bar: We’re talking coffee in real cups with a little saucer to go along with it. A selection of some syrups takes things to the next level — think pumpkin spice during the fall and peppermint during the winter — and a variety of sugars is always appreciated.
• Tea selection: Tea is all about the presentation and the selection. Find a nice wooden box or glass Canister to display your herbal offerings and maybe even some vintage teacups (you can often find these for incredible deals if you’re willing to spend a little time thrifting). 
• Sparkling water: If you have a refrigerator available, some sparkling water — perhaps with a slice of lemon — will take your salon experience to the next level.

6. Refer to your Client by Their Name

Clients understand that you have your hands full. But if you want to make them feel special, you’re going to have to play the name game! Referring to your client by their name is part of what makes them feel valued.

Here are some easy memory hacks to keep your names straight:

• Focus: When your client is in your salon chair, really try to focus on them. This will help you match the face to the name along with all those little life details.
• Mnemonic devices: The phrase “mnemonic devices” can be hard to remember in and of itself. But essentially, when you’re dealing with a tough client name, break it down into syllables, then craft a phrase that helps you to remember.
• Study your spreadsheet: At StyleSeat, we help you import your client list into an easy-to-follow spreadsheet. With a little spreadsheet studying, you’ll be more likely to remember clients’ names. Plus, you’ll have them all nice and organized in one handy place. 

7. Compliment Your Clients

Does your client look good? Well, then tell them! Part of the hair salon experience — and one of the reasons our StyleSeat Pros do what they do — is because they love making clients shine from the inside, out. 

Whether you’re a colorist, a stylist, or both, you work wonders at making your clients feel good. A good cut and color, after all, can leave us feeling like we rule the world.

So, hand out those compliments. They’re free. They’re contagiously fun. And they go a long way in building relationships and rapport.

8. Give Tips for Future Maintenance or Styling

Similar to a chef guiding a client through a cooking class on how to make homemade pasta, you are the master of your trade. It takes a long time to get where you are in the cosmetology industry, and with that, comes loads of experience.

Clients will be looking to you for tips and tricks as to how to keep their hair looking its best. Do you have a product you love, like a dry shampoo, scalp treatment, or leave-in conditioner that won’t strip away hair color? How about a roller brush or hairdryer that doesn’t wick away all the natural sheen of your client’s hair?

Giving your customers tips for future maintenance or styling is just another easy way to craft the salon experience and add value to your services. 

9. Send a Thank You Text or Email

A little thank you goes a long way in the beauty industry. After your client’s appointment, take a moment to shoot them a quick thank you text or email. If you really want to go the extra step, popping a thank-you card in the mail during the holiday season or for a client’s birthday can be fun, too.

Digital thank-you notes also offer a good place to promote your social media accounts or ask for a positive review for your StyleSeat profile. Worried that asking for reviews won’t seem authentic or genuine? Don’t be! It’s all part of the business and in most cases, your clients will be happy to put the good word in about their positive salon experience.

10. Provide a Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are fun across all industries, but especially when it comes to the beauty industry. Here are a few of our favorite loyalty programs, all of which will help with the salon experience.

• Punch card: With each treatment, a client gets a “punch”. After five punches, the 6th service is free!
• Rewards: Free makeup application? Complimentary retail product? Bonus cut with their color service? The choice for how to pamper your clients is yours!
• Email list: When clients sign up for your email list, you can prompt them through to become part of your loyalty program. This is a good way to send out holiday discounts, new year promotions, and birthday specials.

11. Have a Customer-First Attitude

Ultimately, having a positive outlook and an upbeat attitude will help you create a stress-free, uplifting hair salon experience. We all have a rough day every so often, but in the beauty industry, it’s always helpful to think of the customer first. 

A big part of having a customer-first attitude, for example, is being willing to listen. In a blog we wrote on what clients value most, we noted that according to our data, clients value emotional support as much as professional talent. Top professionals — meaning those who had an average 4.96 rating in over 74 reviews — had reviews that highlighted the following traits: personable, passionate, and good listener.

From attitude to automated booking confirmations, these tips will all help to move you forward in crafting that stellar 5-star salon experience! If you haven’t already, make sure to sign up for free on StyleSeat and streamline the salon experience for both you and your lovely, loyal customers.