What makes someone’s business genuinely successful?
By definition, a successful business is one that makes a profit, but taking it a level deeper, what does it take to make a business successful?
Well, you need to provide something people want, ensure its level of value and ability to produce results for your client, and deliver it with a high-quality of service. As you can see, with each one of those factors, the client or customer and what they get or experience from your business is the priority.
Essentially, it all boils down to the relationships.
Of course, there’s the adage of “it’s all who you know,” but we would argue that rather than focusing on “who” you know, the more important focus should be on how well you know the people within your network, most notably, your clients.
After all, your clients are the people you’ve already have established a rapport with and who have demonstrated they like and trust you because they’ve spent money at your business. Thus, it serves both them and your business well when you invest time and energy into those relationships.
So, in an effort to boost business and continue sustainable, long-term growth for your spa, here are three methods for how you can begin building stronger client relationships today:1) Send Monthly Newsletters
With every social media algorithm change, business owners clamor over how they’re going to get their business in front of their current and potential clients.
There are a thousand directions that conversation could take, but at the end of the day, you have to realize that you don’t own your social media profiles and followings. If Facebook shut down tomorrow, the presence you’ve built there is gone. However, you do own your email list.
When someone signs up for your newsletter or books a service with you and submits their email address, that information is yours, and to be honest, not enough business owners are leveraging their list.
Think about it, clicking a “Like” page button or “Follow” is easy, but handing over your email address is an added step, and it’s giving personal information where someone has literally invited you into their inbox.
And an excellent method of accepting that invitation is by sending your clients consistent emails they’ll find valuable, which is why we love monthly newsletters. A monthly email is a very realistic frequency you can stick to, and it keeps your business relevant and top-of-mind for your clients without being annoying.
If you worry that no one really reads emails, consider this statistic, “86% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with at least monthly.” (Hubspot)
The key to sending emails your clients actually want to receive is to focus on providing value through your monthly newsletter. Give them tips, advice, useful information, and just a sprinkle of sales info whether that be your seasonal or monthly promotions or a new product.
When you work to nurture the relationships with your clients more than you work to make them buy, buy, buy, you see the sales naturally flow without the need to be pushy.
2) Craft Personal Notes and Messages
Yes, it takes a little more time and effort, but when you send a personal note or message, you’ll see it pay off in spades with how you’ll strengthen your client relationships.
The primary reason for why this method works is for the same reason why people don’t do it; it takes going the extra mile.
In a world where the average person is bombarded with over 10,000 messages per day (American Marketing Association), our attention is becoming a finite resource, which is why we ignore those daily e-blasts we get from the same company day after day with a new deal that promises the “lowest price ever”!
However, when someone sees a message that has been crafted specifically for them and sent to only them (extra brownie points if it’s handwritten), they naturally take notice because it deviates from the norm.
Beyond the fact that this method draws attention, it paves the way for truly getting to know your client and exhibiting that you care about them and their life aside from how you know them as “your client.”
Something as simple as a note wishing your client to get well soon when you’ve seen or heard they’ve been sick or recently had a procedure, or wishing their family a great first day back at school, or a happy anniversary or birthday shows a level of caring that’s critical for developing lasting relationships.
Again, it’s not always about the profit, it’s about the people.
3) Take Time to Follow Up
As a business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to generate more leads, get more people coming through the door, and get more clients in your books.
But what if, instead of focusing on more people, you concentrated on the people who are already there? The ones who have already said “yes” to buying from you before?
Those people, your existing client base, are the best way to build a successful business and continue to grow because when you invest time in retaining your current clients, you’re delivering a higher level of service that cements brand loyalty and drives them to purchase more often and refer you to other people they know.
That’s right; they’ll bring the new clients to you!
Just like with monthly newsletters, following up keeps you in the forefront. People are busy, they forget to schedule their facials for every four to six weeks just like they forget to get their car serviced every 3,000 miles on the mile.
People can use a reminder, and when you couple that with Method #2 of a personalized note whether that be through a phone call, text, email or Facebook message, you'll really stand out from the crowd.
And don’t think that follow-up always needs to be a “time to book again” reminder, it can also be a check-in to see how someone’s skin is doing a couple of weeks after their last treatment or seeing if your client loves their new product regimen and has any questions.
These types of follow-ups are just as important as it’ll help you to ensure that your clients are always happy with their results and they look to you as their trusted skin care expert.
Overall, if you’re looking to create and grow a successful business that will be around for years to come, you have to look at building client relationships as a long-game business strategy.
Just like friendships you’ve had for decades or dating someone for a while before being engaged and then getting married, strong client relationships require cultivating and nurturing.
Invest the time, energy and care, and you’ll have adoring and loyal clients to show for it.