How to develop client-loyalty?Use the emotional fibre
Jean-Marc Ortega

I remembered that I had to write an article about client-loyalty when one of my clients requested a treatment for his morbid jealousy. I also remembered that, in my occupation of a psychotherapist, when one satisfies a client, i.e. when one heals him, he leaves and it is lucky. We are far from the idea of developing loyalty. But you, are you loyal or do you practice infidelity? Even if one does not speak of sentimental relations but commercial relations, the relationship remains a human-relationship, i.e. complex. Each enterprise dreams of "building client-loyalty". Also, all methods, all means are used: financial gains, small gifts, more attractive concessions… One does not have the impression of having left sentimental relationship. Is the aim to "capture" the clientele in order to make it really "captive", then what about freedom of choice of the client and his consented loyalty; also what about the win-win relationship of mutual respect and trust. The key-word is released: trust. I do not worry about infidelity because I have trust, because I feel good where I am, with the person who speaks with me, listens to me and I do not need to be captured, or bound, or retained to do this or that. I remain and I return because I know what is good for me and, for whatever little interest I have in another, I am aware that our relationship is good for everyone.

How to handle our emotions?
Observe that our consumer-behaviours are not dictated only by expert treatments and by the relationship of the quality with the price of the service proposed, these are also linked to what we feel, to our "emotional strategies". Often our emotions dominate our reason regarding unconscious choices that we make. Also, one, who understands the hidden emotional domains of our motivations and choices, knows how to work best towards developing client-loyalty. An obligatory route: become more "emotionally intelligent".
When one questions Spa professionals, one understands quickly how important it is to develop a solid relationship with the client in the course of time. Ideal is to know how to weave a special link with the client, know him, understand him, adapt to it and propose rich exchanges. An obstacle in this sensitive listening of the client that one can notice regularly in the field: the practitioners… know how to give technical information but find themselves relatively resourceless when, while listening to the client, they have to react, give their point of view about what is said (a frustration, a need, a desire, maybe an event in the personal or private life...), give advice, support with understanding and relevance. They are not trained to listen and support. Most of the time, the spa personnel, like the spa-manager, is trained to be technically capable.

Placing oneself in client's shows, one asks oneself: Do I have the desire to be loyal? And why would I be loyal? Why, as a Spa client, I'll return, feel pleasure in finding myself in the same place, with the same people and receive the same treatments? And daring to continue to use the sentimental metaphor, ask ourselves what is it that creates infidelity in the relationship. For example, what are the domains of jealousy (during strategy of sentimental loyalty)? Psychology teaches us that a man or a woman will be jealous not because he or she will worry that the partner loves his or her rival more but more because both will worry that this rival loves more, gives more, shares new moments, or even new, with their partner! The offer would be better, new, more stimulating or more exciting. How to compete? How to create loyalty?
When one speaks of creating client-loyalty, one evokes the conditions that have to be created for consented and even desired loyalty to exist. Does creating loyalty consist simply of giving more than competitor for the same price, be less expensive, offer more gifts, "loyalty" bonus and privileges? Would it consist of creating a strong psychological influence on the client, master the relationship: by becoming master of my partner, my client, I enter in a dominating-dominated relationship. Here, the win-win relationship no longer exists. Let's transpose: "Since you have been returning home every evening for past three months, you have won a weekend in a dream-Spa... and some well-earned small gifts! »

A new vision of developing loyalty
The quality of service constitutes the basis of developing loyalty. And then, how does it make a difference? The difference, enabling to develop a loyal relationship, is made through what we call, in terms of Emotional Intelligence, "non-technical skills". The concern of a Spa-manager is shifted from the head, or the hands, to heart: it rests completely on the development of our Emotional, Interpersonal and Social skills. What is it concerned with?

Emotional Intelligence
To be emotionally intelligent, it means to first be conscious of what one feels. In know what I feel emotionally, I accept to live these emotions, I am capable expressing them, I understand the impact of my emotions on my communication-partners and what impact their emotions have on me. We are emotional beings. Also, let's play it completely in human-relations by developing the highest capacity to communicate emotionally, without limiting oneself only to "intelligent" exchanges. The tyranny of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) has ended. At last, we have understood that our happiness as well as our success in life lies in our Relationship Intelligence and not on our intelligence alone. Having a good Intelligence Quotient is useful in studying well, but it does not enable us directly to be successful in our professional life, nor in being happy.


By referring to the works of Csikszentmihalyi, Claude Steiner, of researcher John Parr and especially of Daniel Goleman, author of the best-seller "The Emotional Intelligence", here we propose some of the 18 key skills. They are divided in 4 fields:
1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Awareness of the other
4. Management of the relationship
Among these 18 skills, we will focus on those that appear essential to us in the process of "developing client-loyalty" (for convenience and to enable you to refer to the Emotional Intelligence model, we will refer to the 1st emotional skill as ES1, ES2: the second, etc.)

 

To read :

> Intelligent pathways within a Spa
> Developing a Spa: from the dream to the reality!
> Spa and fitness : an interesting line of development
> From institute to Spa: testimony of a perfect strategy
> Team Building,team bonding and dynamization in Spas
> Training for therapists ; Meeting with Jean PUIJALON, the ‘Calm Mental Massage’ creator
> The roads to wellness The transcultural itinerary of a coach.
> Spa Manager : the secret recipe