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SEARCHWhen stylists leave a salon, it can be devastating to the bottom line if they take their clients with them. Blogger Samantha Georgson explores a technology tool that can help you guide those lost guests to new service providers on your team and retain their business.
Have you had one or more of your stylists decide not to come back to work since your reopening?
Perhaps they’re holding off due to health concerns, they’ve gone independent, or maybe they’ve made the difficult decision to leave the industry altogether. Whatever the case may be, parting ways is never easy, not to mention losing loyal clients as a result.
In an article on reinventing your career in the time of coronavirus published by the Harvard Business Review, Professor of Organizational Behavior Herminia Ibarra says, “Unexpected events or shocks disrupt our habitual routines, jolt us out of our comfort zones, and lead us to ask big questions about what matters and what is worth doing. It’s no wonder, then, that during the current pandemic, many people are rethinking their careers.”
Now, that’s not to say that our industry won’t bounce back or that time spent behind the chair is somehow losing it’s value, let me assure you, it’s not. We’re one of the most resilient industries in the world and as we work toward our new normal, guests old and new will all want to get back on your books.
The truth of the matter is, your stylists could be leaving for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you have a stylist that’s taking advantage of the low cost of leasing their own space right now, or maybe one of your team members is stepping away from their time behind the chair in order to better serve their family throughout all of this craziness. No matter the reason, at the end of the day they’ve decided to leave because they simply felt that the timing was right.
Our advice? Don’t take it personally. Easier said than done, of course, but the truth of the matter is, if and when one of your stylists decides to part ways with your salon, it’s time for you to let them go.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THEIR GUESTS?
Now, that’s a different ball game. Losing a member of your team is hard, not to mention losing the steady business of their loyal guests. So, what if we told you there was an easy way to place those guests in someone else’s chair—someone you know they’d be a great fit with?
That’s where Meet Your Stylist comes in. Meet Your Stylist is a digital match-making survey that pairs clients up with their perfect stylists in a truly authentic and sustainable way. When guests take your Meet Your Stylist survey, they’ll be matched with the top three stylists on your salon team based on their own unique needs and preferences. This program goes above and beyond level of experience or expertise in order to match clients up with the stylists that are going to be the best fit for their overall lifestyle and personality.
Guests receive three matches upon completing the survey, and from there they’re able to decide who they would ultimately like to see. I mean seriously, what if each of your guests had three stylists on your salon team they could feel confident in seeing? What would that do for your salon business?
Lisa Justiss, owner of DV8 the Salon in Grapevine, Texas knows firsthand just how impactful the Meet Your Stylist tool can be during these times of uncertainty.
“We are experiencing what many salons are… transitioning stylists,” says Justiss. “As we have had team members decide to move on to other places it has been incredible to have a way to send an invitation to our guests to come and meet their next favorite stylist at DV8! I just love that it’s inviting and fun for our guests, and it’s making the feeling of a difficult situation fleeting, for our guests and for our DV8 team.”
You can send your Meet Your Stylist survey to your retired stylist’s entire guest list, giving every single one of his or her guests the opportunity to find their new favorite stylist at your salon. Will you lose a few clients in the process? Surely. But you’d be surprised at how many of your guests will jump at the opportunity to stay at the salon that feels like home, especially when they know they’re in good hands
Find out more about Meet Your Stylist.
About the Author: Samantha Georgson is a writer, blogger, content creator and digital marketing maven. She is the Director of Marketing for Inspired Enterprises, Inc., the parent company to three incredible beauty industry brands –Beyond the Technique; an education platform for salon owners and beauty industry professionals,Meet Your Stylist; an innovative salon software that matches clients with their perfect stylists at your salon based on behavioral economics, andBe Inspired Salon; an award-winning salon located in Madison, Wisconsin.
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