Reasons Why Your New Lash Clients Are Not Becoming Recurring Clients

As a dedicated lash extension artist, have you ever worried about the reasons why lash clients are not coming back? While it’s crucial to cultivate a loyal clientele to ensure the long-term success of your business, it’s not uncommon for new lash clients to try your services once and never return. To enhance your client retention rate, it’s essential to understand the reasons behind this phenomenon and implement effective strategies to address these issues.
In this blog, I will explore the various factors that may cause new lash clients not to return, along with solutions to help tackle these challenges.

9 Reasons Why New Lash Clients Ghost and How to Stop It

1. INCONSISTENT COMMUNICATION

Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful business. When a new client visits your lash extension salon or studio, they expect a thorough consultation, where you discuss their preferences, lifestyle, and desired lash style. Failing to engage in a meaningful conversation can lead to misunderstandings, resulting in dissatisfaction and reluctance to return.

• Solution: Formalise your lash consultation session so that you can provide your client with clear choices and walk them through the selection process. Cover essential aspects such as style, thickness, and length, whether they are more suited to your standard lash package or need something more tailored to them. Find out what their motivation is for getting their eyelash extensions done. Walking them through a formal consultation exercise and understanding their motivation will help you direct them to a set of extensions that suits their purpose and desires and improve the overall client experience.

• Let’s face it—as a Lash Artist, when you’ve done your best work of the day, the last thing that you need to hear from your client is “OMG, I hate them!” Not only does that make you want to cry, but there’s a pretty good chance that they won’t be coming back.  

2. INCONSISTENT WORK QUALITY

So, your new client is back for their second or third visit and their hopes are high that they’ll look as stunning when they leave as they did on their last visit, right? Do you remember what you did, what you told them? How great their last set looked and how happy they were? You may be having a bad or busy day, but remember, every client is expecting consistency. If you feel the need to rush and cut corners with your clients’ lashes, that will result as a significant deterrent for new clients considering a return visit. If the lashes you apply don’t maintain their look, if they vary in style from one visit to the next, or if the lash retention is not as expected, it’s likely to destabilise the client and discourage repeat business.

• Solution: Implement rigorous service quality control measures to ensure that each lash application meets the same high standards. Using your formalised lash consultation session, and saving extensive notes on what curl, lengths, and mapping you used will help you maintain a consistent quality result and help you manage client expectations.

Listen out for red flag statements like “last time you” or “this time I want” and acknowledge those comments. In my experience, clients will often raise issues and concerns that may require you to tweak your application for them. Demonstrate that you’re listening and engage in regular training and skill enhancement for you and your staff to help maintain a consistent level of quality.

3. DISCOMFORT OR PAIN DURING THE EYELASH EXTENSION PROCESS

The eyelash extension application process should be comfortable, completely pain-free, or even totally relaxing for your clients.  They can’t do anything except relax and enjoy “me time” that takes them away from the busy day-to-day of life outside of their lash appointment.

If a client has an uncomfortable experience with you, they are most likely to discontinue their visits. Discomforts like an uncomfortable lash bed, feeling too cold or hot, too much pressure on their forehead, gluing top and bottom lashes together, and extensions placed touching the skin that lead to irritation and redness—all make clients wary of returning.

Solution: Ensure your clients are comfortable throughout the lash application process, check in with them often so that they don’t feel like a burden telling you if something is making them uncomfortable.

4. OVERWHELMING LASH EXTENSION MAINTENANCE

Some clients get so excited about the stunning lashes you give them but don’t really consider the time commitment or cost of maintaining those babies. Some may feel overwhelmed by the maintenance required to keep their lash extensions looking their best. If your clients find it difficult to implement your aftercare recommendations or feel that it’s too time-consuming, they may choose not to return.

• Solution: Simplify and formalise your aftercare instructions to make them more manageable for your clients. Provide them with tips and products that make maintaining their lashes easier and less time-consuming. Offer an aftercare cleanser that prolongs the lifespan and quality of their lash application between visits to keep them coming back, such as Ceecees professional oil-free cleanser and aftercare kits.

https://www.ceeceesbeautyandtraining.com.au/product-category/aftercare/

5. PRICING AND VALUE OF YOUR LASH PRICES

Pricing is a significant factor in a client’s decision to return. If your lash extension services are priced too high for the perceived value or if clients believe they can find better quality elsewhere for a similar or lower cost, they are less likely to come back.

• Solution: Conduct market research to ensure your pricing is competitive and fair. Work towards getting as many 5-star reviews from your customers as possible to validate your work. Make your lash salon ambience so attractive and comfortable that it just screams high-end salon and services. Emphasize the value of your services by highlighting the benefits of professionally applied lash extensions, such as saving time on daily makeup routines.

6. LACK OF PERSONALISATION

Clients appreciate a personalised experience. If your lash extension services feel generic and one-size-fits-all, clients may not feel special or valued, leading to a lack of interest in returning. Like it or not, we need to make our clients feel like they are the only person we think about.

• Solution: Remember the small details about them and the people and things that are dear to them, if you don’t have the best memory, make notes about things you’ve learned about them on their file for reference. Tailor your services to each client’s unique preferences and needs. Offer various lash styles, lengths, and materials to create their personalised look. Remember spending time at the start of the consultation enables a good exchange of personal information which makes your clients feel appreciated and important.

7. NEGLECTING FOLLOW-UP

We’re so busy in Lash Artist application mode that sometimes, we overlook the importance of a client follow-up. Failing to check in with your clients post-consultation or not offering touch-up appointments can result in a lack of retention.

• Solution: Establish a follow-up system to ensure your clients are satisfied with their lash extensions and to schedule any necessary touch-ups or fills. This shows your commitment to their ongoing satisfaction and comfort.

8. SPECIAL EVENT LASHES

Some clients only ever intend to get extensions for a particular event like a wedding, a milestone birthday party, a graduation, or similar. The client may also be from interstate or overseas and is a one-off appointment. 

• Solution:  If we uncover their purpose for getting extensions in the consultation, we’ll have no need to include those clients in our “non-returning clients” list. 

9. REWARD YOUR LOYAL CLIENTS

Why are you only rewarding your new first-time clients with specials, or free aftercare with every new set, etc? Your loyal clients are your ongoing revenue, and without them, you have no business or cash flow. Loyal clients should also be appreciated as they will stay with you if they feel they can have rewards for their loyalty. Otherwise, they might as well go somewhere else. Give them reasons to stay, and not just your good work or personality.

Here are some suggestions:

• Sell them refill packs: Not only do you have cash flow upfront, but for the client, its cheaper to purchase in the end and they get a reward after certain amount of refills. You can offer a half-price refill, a free refill, or if you offer other services, a free brow service. Trust me—clients will be hanging out to get to the end of the pack to get a reward like a coffee card.
• Give your clients discount cards for their friends to use, and in return, they also get a discount on their next service.
• Take note of their birthday, wedding anniversary, or other special occasions so you can gift them with either a product, flowers, free service, or discount.
• Have gift packs of products or food items for your clients when its a festive day, like Xmas or Easter.
• Organize events or open days where loyal clients are invited for new product or service launches to try what’s on new. Cater for the occasion to make it special and professional.

Finally, understanding the reason some clients choose not to return is a key factor in continually improving how you, your team members, and your lash salon operate and your client retention. Formal and consistent communication is critical in creating a thriving lash extension business. Failing to engage in a comprehensive consultation where you discuss style preferences, thickness, and length can lead to misunderstandings and client dissatisfaction. To counter this, it’s essential to formalise your consultation process and provide clients with clear choices, thereby enhancing their experience and ensuring they get precisely what they desire.

Additionally, maintaining consistent quality is critical to client retention. Clients expect the same level of excellence during every visit, and any lapses in quality can deter them from returning. By implementing stringent quality control measures and actively listening to client feedback, you can maintain a consistent level of quality and ensure clients are thrilled with each visit.