There is only one thing that is inevitable in business ownership: the

1) Great leaders never jump to conclusions before knowing the facts that caused the crisis in  the first place. They access the damage and make whatever decisions are necessary to minimize it.   Remember that getting all sides of the story is important as sometimes the crisis may just be a missunderstanding!

2) Great leaders realize that everything they say could be magnified. Therefore they praise and encourage people, both in their presence and when they're not around. If they have a problem with someone, they seek to address them in private.

3) Great leaders accept a high level of personal responsibility. They never complain, make excuses, or blame others for their problems.

4) They walk the talk - not to put on a show - but because they have the integrity and values to be the leader, and exhibit the kinds of traits that make others want to follow! 

5) Great leaders are great listeners. They value what their employees and staff have to offer and they recognize that they are the "team" that makes the business run. They understand that the people  are the most valuable asset the company has. 

Customer Service is one of those things that might sound easy on paper, but can sometimes be a lot more difficult to remember or implement effectively when you're interacting with your customer in person (or over the phone). Following are five recommendations that Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids (an award winning kids hair salon franchise system) has learned over the many years that we've served thousands of customers with a smile and the help they not only deserve - but have come to expect!

1. It's important to have the right information at hand! When interacting with a customer, the right information can make a big difference in the kind of interaction you might have with them. Wrong or unclear information might cause someone to leave with a feeling of annoyance, exasperation or that they just didn't get the solution they were wanting - which could cause them to look elsewhere. So make sure that your business has a great system in place that keeps track of relevant customer data. For example, let's say a customer contacts your business wanting to know about a service they received from a couple of weeks ago. If you're unable to quickly look up this information, or the employee who assisted them, the lack of details could lead to potential confusion over what they're asking for. 

2. Treat your customers like people! We've often seen very sterile communications with customers, which is laden with in-house terminology, number or letter sequences (for products) and sentences that seem like they're spoken by a robot. Or, I'm sure we've all had that employee who acts about as bored as can be when you call them up to ask a question, or take absolutely forever to give you the answer you're looking for. This all leads to a feeling that the customer is either just another number in some machine, or isn't really that important. So make sure that you're relating to your customers in ways that help them to feel valued and intelligent, and use language that is friendly and not too technical. One trick that might help is to actually smile when speaking to someone, whether in a face-to-face discussion or on the phone. It's a lot harder to convey an attitude of boredom or annoyance when you're smiling. 

3. Acknowledge customer concerns. This can be a tough one, as no-one likes to feel like they're in the hot seat. However, make sure that when you're assisting an upset customer that you listen carefully to their concern, and promise to make it right (as much as is feasibly possible). It's also important to utilize positive language over negative language when interacting with your customers. For example, negative language might be the use of "I can't or won't do that right now", or "This is not our fault". Positive language would be, "Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention. I would be happy to help fix this issue for you!"

4. Help customers with the ability to help themselves. Sometimes it can be frustrating for customers if they're looking for an answer that they know should be easily available online, but instead have to spend the time to contact someone at your business. It's a good idea to have a website where customers can find this information, and publicize it on social media or in your advertising so that they know this is where many of their questions could be answered. For example, a business website should include store hours, locations, services provided (with helpful descriptions) and perhaps even a frequently asked questions. Another great thing about a website is that it can communicate through photographs or videos, which can be very helpful for your customer in understanding more about what your business offers!

5. Be thankful to you customers. As noted earlier, customers love to feel appreciated and valued.  One way to do this is write thank you notes after a customer makes a purchase, or have customer appreciation days with fun give aways and snacks. You might also consider utilizing the blog on your website or social media to highlight positive customer feedback, good customer questions or photographs of customers in your store (with their permission of course). A lot of people complain about faceless mega-corporations that seem to regard them as just a number. So be sure to bring a personal touch to help your business stand out!

We think the best way to prepare for future marketing trends is to study the behavior of the demographics that will soon be the dominant buying power! Our goal as a franchising system is to stay ahead of this trend, and help our franchisees create creative marketing strategies to connect to our target market now, and in the future. But this is something that applies to all businesses and their owners  (who are looking for ways to be even more successful in their communities) - not just kids haircutting salons!

For example, in studying our website traffic, we've seen that most of it comes in from a mobile device or smartphone. What this tells us is that our customers are likely very internet savvy, and looking for information readily available about what we offer through social media, search engines or our web site. We also understand the importance of social media marketing and reviews - as well as word of mouth marketing, which continues to be one of the best ways customers can learn about what your business offers.

So how does this fit in with millennials? Between 18 and 35 years old, millennials are projected to outgrow baby bo0mers in population size by 2028. Wow! Furthermore, it's reported that millennials are spending an average of 25 hours a week online, and are using the internet to engage with others more than any other age group that came before. Plus, as around 25% of the US population is a millennial, experts are saying that at least 75% of the US workforce will be comprised of millennials by 2025! 

Essentially, millennials will be the bulk of your customer base over the next 10 years, with a huge amount of descretionary buying power resting in their hands. Furthermore, around 89% of millennials say that they trust recommendations from friends and family, versus claims made by a company. Remember what we said about word of mouth marketing and social media reviews? This is where that comes into play. About 44% of millennials are willing to promote, or voice concerns over products and services online through social media - with many of them saying that user generated content on a company website influences what they will or won't buy. 86% of millennials would rather read a blog written by someone to learn about a company, rather than reading an ad in newspaper or print. Pretty cool stuff.

So in conclusion, Millennials are hyper connected online, but seek out offline activities with companies that create a positive experience and add value to their lives. Plus, despite ad blocking, millennials are actually more open to receiving branded messages than older generations of consumers have typically been, provided that content is targeted to their needs and interests. When millennials have a great experience with a company, they get online and share that experience on social media (via pictures or videos) with hundreds of their friends. This is awesome for a business, as they can become your number one, absolutely free marketing department out there practically promoting your busines 24 hours, 7 days a week!

Shear Madness Franchising franchises Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids salons. We have worked with franchise stores in providing franchisee support (in order to encourage continual growth and business success), and have sometimes seen the unexpected happen!  When it does, we help by identifying and helping with challenges that might arise for franchisees. Additionally, we work to present options that can help prevent these events as well. As many franchise owners may not have opened a business before, having someone who can advise them is a significant advantage of franchise ownership!

Are you interested in learning how YOU can join the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids family and run your own successful small business that provides a positive experience in helping children and their families? We are one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today! If you would like to learn more about small business marketing, great marketing strategies, resources for small businesses, how to grow a small business, or how to become a successful owner of your own kids hair salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD!