If you have any doubts about why ensuring your client service is top-notch, consider the following. If you had a choice between two equally competent service providers, but one had a reputation for outstanding client service, and the other was just “okay” on client service, which would you choose? It seems that it would be an easy decision. But more importantly, it speaks to the need to make sure that your client service is as outstanding as the expertise you offer for skincare or massage treatments.
Regardless of the business, you are in, outstanding client service begins with listening. To provide clients with a service that meets their needs, you need to ask questions and listen to the answers. An exceptional skin treatment or massage requires that you and everyone on your professional team take time with each client to ask about their needs and expectations and listen carefully to what they have to say. Only then can you tailor the service appropriately.
In addition to listening, some of the other key requirements that go into outstanding client service include:
Anticipate needs
When you have good communication with clients, you learn what they need. Eventually, you can begin to anticipate their needs and potential problems. The more you stay ahead of your client's needs, the more they depend on your expertise.
Make clients feel appreciated
No one wants to be taken for granted, and that includes clients. The goal of everyone on your team should be to make sure that clients feel that you appreciate their business. While thanking clients for their business is the first step, there are other ways to make clients feel appreciated. From time to time, offering clients discounts for services or adding in treatment, such as neck or foot massage with a skin treatment or giving them a sample product as a gift, goes a long way in showing clients how much you appreciate them.
Ask for feedback
Find out what the client thinks about your service. Ask them directly or provide a mechanism for feedback, such as posing questions on social media channels or conducting a survey through email marketing. Asking for input assures clients that you are constantly striving to offer them the best experience possible.
Have procedures to resolve problems
Don’t just listen to client issues and complaints. Help resolve them. Have procedures in place to document issues that come up with clients and put an action plan to resolve them. If one client has an issue with booking appointments or getting advice on retail problems, or waiting too long when they come in for treatment, other clients probably have the same problems. Work together as a team to come up with solutions to address these issues.
Follow Through
When you commit, follow through. A client may have a special need, and you offer to do some research to find out the best treatments or products. Or in another instance, a client may benefit from another professional's services, possibly a chiropractor or a dermatologist, and you offer to do some research among your network for recommendations. Whatever the question or need is when you promise to do something, follow through.
Conduct your own evaluation
Besides asking clients for feedback, check online reviews regularly for input, and stay on top of social channels for comments indicating how clients feel about your services. Gather the information and evaluate the input to see where you can make changes.
You might even want to ask someone to call into your spa or massage practice or to book an appointment so they can give you an unbiased opinion of their experience with your team.
Staying on top of your profession by taking continuing education classes and adding new skills is essential to attract new clients. But in the end, outstanding client service will always be essential to keep clients coming back.