Small business agony uncle Caan offers advice on how to make customer service pay.
Dear James:
I have a huge passion for customer service and have worked in salons since I was 13. I have already trained stylists and owners on how to create a bond with and retain customers — can I now take this into a viable business? - Lydia Hurley
James says:
First, I am delighted you recognise the importance of customer service.
Starting a business like this can be tough purely because you need to show companies they have a weak point. There are plenty of examples of firms which lost sight of their customers and failed, so your research must be thorough.
Start locally; not all companies like to admit they have a problem, so do a survey of customers from local salons and ask for their opinion. This is where social media plays an important role — Twitter and Facebook are particularly good — as you can see how customers rate a particular salon. If below-par service has been flagged up, you can show this to the salon owners. Next, see how many are willing to be trained and establish a price point.
Create a brand for yourself: a simple website which charts your experience. Go back to the stylists you have trained and get testimonials which must be clearly visible on the website.
You should also be able to show a return on investment. I would suggest starting off by giving a salon some free training sessions. Once this has been completed, they should measure how effective the training was by asking customers to fill in a survey. An increase in repeat appointments also shows you have done well.
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