You Have To Be Offering More Than They Pay For ….

Ever taken advantage of one of the cut price offers such as Groupon or similar?

You know the ones where you can get a $50 meal for $20 or a haircut for $10.

In fact I have been so impressed with some of these marketing offers that I actually bought quite a few as Christmas present this time and it means your nearest and dearest get a higher value present but it costs you less

Now, I have experienced both sides of these deals because I have also sold them as well as bought them and if you read my earlier post you can learn about pitfalls to avoid.

However, just this morning I became a 'customer' and with the experience I just had I decided to share my observations.

My voucher was for a cut price half hour massage, plus a manicure and pedicure.

• First of all rule number 1 of being a therapist (I should know I have been 1 for 17 years) – you always do a 'proper' consultation and get the client to sign it and date it.  Just to see that there are no reasons not to give a treatment and to see what the client is looking to get out of the treatment.  This morning I was asked just 2 questions, nothing was written down and nothing signed (ooh the insurance company could have a field day with that alone).  Whether the client is paying full price of cut price the rules are the same!

• When a treatment is billed as a 'half hour' then it need to last a 'half hour' – not 20 minutes as I got this morning.

• Hygiene – Clean towels per client and use of disposable couch roll.  No matter if the client is paying full or cut price again!

• The room needs to be warm – no one comes back to a cold salon.

• Manicure and pedicure requires nails to be filed, not simply shown the nail file.  Plus the file needs to be sanitised in front of the client and the towel the clients hands resting on covered with couch roll and be clean and dry (ughh!)

• The client needs to feel they are getting a full price treatment and experience it as such to entice them to return again soon bringing all their eager friends with them.  The client does not want to feel like a poor relation who is not truly welcome.

• Learn some marketing skills and offer them a discount when they return.

Cut price treatment customers need to have exactly service than full price ones, they need to be made ti feel extra special because if you can do this for cut price customers what do you do for full price ones?  No one wants to feel like the poor relation.

Going over and above clients expectations with delivery and service is what makes YOU special and stand out and it is what makes a difference between that customer coming back to you or to someone else.