Once you build customer trust, most of the problems with customer retention are gone. It’s as Zig Ziglar puts it, “If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”

Customer trust describes the faith a consumer has in a business. 

Customers treat businesses the same way they treat other people. They expect you to meet certain criteria, and once they’re sure you won’t let them down, they build long-term relationships with you. Then, they spend money with your business repeatedly to express that trust. 

Up to 83% of consumers say they won’t patronise a business they don’t trust. So, how can you demonstrate that your beauty business is trustworthy? What can your salon or spa do to gain customers’ trust? 

This article will answer these questions with five practical tips. 

How to build trust with your salon or spa customers [5 practical tips]

Tip 1: Provide excellent customer service

This is one of the most common ways for salons and spas to earn customer trust and confidence for two reasons: 

• It’s the most immediate avenue for your beauty business to interact with customers. 
• It’s the biggest show-and-prove moment for your beauty business to show customers that it cares. 

The 2024 Beyond Beauty Report revealed that 72.1% of Nigerian beauty customers say quality of service contributes most to their satisfaction. Most of them will leave your salon or spa if they encounter poor customer service, it doesn’t matter if they were previously loyal. Once trust is broken, it’s hard to come back from it. 

Here’s how to cover the bases of excellent customer service: 

• Respond quickly. Offline and online customers expect you to respond as promptly as possible. If you have to, hire a social media manager to reply to enquiries, respond to comments, and answer questions. Also, install a chatbot on your website to engage customers. 
• Use appointment booking software. A tool like Splice lets customers easily and conveniently book salon or spa appointments anytime from anywhere. This way, you can attend to your customers promptly and avoid queues.

• Invest in staff. Employees are at the forefront of your customer service strategy as they spend more time with customers. Equip them with the necessary training and resources to serve customers well and perform better. 

Tip 2: Act on feedback 

Customers tend to trust beauty businesses they feel they have a stake in. It gives them the sense that the salon or spa believes they matter. If you can make your customers feel this sense of belonging, it’ll help you earn their trust. And their money.  

One effective way to demonstrate that your salon cares about customers is to ask for and act on their feedback. 

Here are some ways to ask customers for feedback: 

• Put up suggestion boxes. Installing suggestion boxes around your salon or spa provides a low-pressure way for customers to give honest feedback and submit complaints. 
• Ask them directly. Ask them what they like about your services, things they’d like changed, and improvements they want to see. Customers are always ready to talk to you and it’s also a way to foster the relationship. 
• Conduct a survey. Draw up a form and ask customers to fill it. You can send it along with the thank-you text or emails after their appointments or share it across your social media platforms and website. 
• Utilise Google Business Profile. Encourage customers to leave reviews directly on your Google Business Profile (GBP). See our comprehensive guides on how to create and optimise your GBP. 

Tip 3: Share testimonials often 

People tend to give their trust to businesses through other people. 

If you go around saying to anyone you see, “I’m a good person, you can trust me. Believe me,” people might think you’re just saying what you’re supposed to say. But when other people join and say, “Yeah, I know him, she’s a great person,” more people would likely pay attention to you. 

It’s the same with business. 

Potential customers tend to trust other customers more than the businesses they want to patronise. That’s why the referral loyalty program works so well. It’s also why potential customers read what existing customers are saying about a product or service online they’re interested in before buying it. 

Talk to satisfied customers and share what they have to say with prospects across your marketing channels. This way, you can leverage your customers’ credibility to build trust with your target audience.

Tip 4: Be transparent

Transparency builds trust in all relationships, whether it’s personal or business. 

You won’t find customers running to go back and patronise shady spas. No one, not even you, has ever said, “I trust this salon because they’re good at lying to me.” 

Customers trust transparent companies. 

Here’s how to aim for transparency across your organisations: 

• Practice ethical marketing. Your marketing mustn’t mislead your customers. Don’t make promises you know you can’t or won’t deliver on. 
• Be straightforward with sales. Your sales team must be clear about pricing and how the product or service can help customers. 
• Resolve conflicts. If your salon or spa makes a significant error, admit and address it quickly. 
• Update your customers. Avoid surprising your customers with sudden price hikes, significant changes to offerings, or any other major business decisions that might affect them. As much as possible, provide updates to keep them in the loop. 
• Take customers behind the scenes. The more you know someone, the more likely you are to trust them. The same applies to businesses. Show your customers videos of how you do what you do. 

Tip 5: Stay consistent

No customer relationship can survive any form of inconsistency. You can’t build trust with customers if they can never be sure what to expect from your salon or spa. Your salon must maintain consistency on all levels and at all times to earn trust. 

Here’s how you can make sure: 

• Maintain a customer-centric culture. Train your staff on customer service etiquette. There should always be a warm reception, no matter whom customers interact with. Your team must be pleasant, knowledgeable, helpful, and attentive. 
• Maintain high-quality products and services. If you offer a product or service, ensure it does what it meets, or better, exceeds expectations. Customers will trust your salon or spa more if they know they’ll get what they’re paying for. 

Conclusion 

Beauty customers give their money to salons and spas they trust. Our five practical tips on how to build trust with salon and spa customers will help you earn the trust of your customers. 

Let Splice, our all-in-one management tool, help you automate customer management and streamline your appointment booking process.