If there is an area of your salon that you need to pay close attention to when it comes to providing the best experience for your clients, it’s the reception area. This is the first impression that new clients will have of your salon when they come in, and it’s much harder to turn them into repeat clients if they can’t stand waiting for their appointment to be called. Of course, you don’t want to have clients waiting in the reception area for too long, but the small amount of time they do spend there should be enjoyable if you want them to leave with a good impression.
How do you style the reception area in your salon so that both new and repeat clients will enjoy the time they spend there? Are there ways to make your reception area work for you rather than against you? The good news is that it actually isn’t that difficult to make a reception area that people will enjoy being in; if you have a truly stunning space, it can even make you a few extra sales along the way. This article will look a little more into the specifics of how you can create a reception area that is both functional and welcoming at the same time, so everyone enters and leaves your salon with the best impression possible.
Understand Your Size Constraints
Before you can really start to design the layout or style of your reception area, you need to consider how much room you actually have to work with. When you’re setting up your salon, this can be a hard decision. How can you predict how much space you’ll need to dedicate to the reception area? It’s important to consider the number of employees you’ll have working in your salon and how the reception area will need to be larger for each new employee that works simultaneously alongside each other. The last thing you want is for your clients to be crammed together in a space that can’t fit them all. They already might not want to wait for their appointment for too long, if they have to do it while shoulder-to-shoulder with other people, they won’t leave very happy.
Draw Clients to Your POS System
The larger your reception area is, the more confused a client may be about where they need to go to check-in. Even in smaller reception areas, a good design will incorporate lines that lead to your reception desk and your POS system. These lines can be done purely through decorative elements that point the way for them. You can also create avenues for people to follow with shelves and product displays that funnel them to where they need to go. This is a good way to get your clients to the front desk quickly, but it also gives them an opportunity to look through your selection of products on the way there.
Consider Your Audience
Knowing how to style the reception area in your salon means understanding your clients and what they might want to see. The reception area shouldn’t look drastically different from the rest of the salon; you obviously want your place of business to seem cohesive and well put together. However, design elements in the reception area can play toward your client base more than the actual salon area itself. Every design element in your reception area should be in place to please your clients first and foremost since it's the area they’ll be forced into if they’re early for an appointment or if a stylist is running behind. If you can figure out what your clients respond to best, you can tailor the reception area to their tastes more.
Set Your Displays Up for Easy Sales
Display shelves for different products are a common sight in most salon reception areas. Not only do clients have the most amount of time to look through these products while they’re waiting for their appointment, but it’s also the one area they have to go through in order to talk to someone. Placing popular and high-selling products closer to the reception desk can help you sell more products to clients who might not otherwise notice them. You never know what kind of product your client may be on the lookout for, so larger displays will let you show off a wider variety of products that might tempt your clients into buying.
Focus on Comfort
Your goal should be to create an enjoyable experience for your clients from start to finish, and that still holds true for their time in your reception area. Going for cheap and uncomfortable furniture doesn’t just make your salon look less appealing—it’s also going to make waiting for an appointment much more uncomfortable. You don’t want your clients to dread having to spend time in the reception area while they wait for their stylist. Comfortable and convenient furniture can transform the least enjoyable part of the experience into something that a client can actually look forward to, even if they need to wait a little longer for their actual appointment.
Don’t Forget About Amenities
If you really want to delight your clients before they even get started with their appointment, there are plenty of small amenities that can make their time in the reception area much more enjoyable. Many salons go for a refreshment option to keep clients comfortable while they wait. This is fully up to your salon’s style and budget as to what this could entail. High-class luxury salons might offer food or champagne to their client to really pamper their patrons. For a simpler option, providing free coffee and other small amenities can tip the scales in your favor. These kinds of amenities just show that you care about the comfort of your clients from the very beginning of their experience with you.
Now that you have a better idea of how you can design a great reception and waiting area, the final design is all up to you. For salon reception furniture that will match your salon’s aesthetics while keeping your guests comfortable, Keller has everything you need. We also offer reception desks in various sizes to suit any salon’s size constraints.
