Designing a Model of an “Ideal” Customer Experience on the Example of the Premium Beauty Salon “Shangri La”

This thesis focuses on the customer experience management (CX) in the beauty industry. High competition in the buity industry contributes to the "leveling" of beauty salons for customers. Concerning this moment, it is necessary to manage CX in order to establish long-term relationships with customers. There are some examples of successful practices of CX, but no generally accepted standards that guarantee a positive CX of customers. While the hotels, restaurants, logistics and retail industries already have their own studies, CX management concept in the beauty industry has not been reflected yet in the academic literature. This study will wide the theoretical base in beaty sphere. The work is aimed at identifying the factors that have the greatest impact on the CX in the beauty industry and subsequent development of the "ideal consumer experience" model for clients of the premium beauty salon. Firstly, general characteristics and peculiarities of the beauty industry market were revealed, then a list of factors influencing the experience of beauty salons' clients were formed on the basis of existing models. Frequently mentioned factors were identified. In the second stage, in-depth interviews with clients and employees of the Shangri La Salon were conducted to assess the significance of the identified factors. Then an online survey was conducted among clients to assess each of this factors. Frequency analysis showed which of the factors respondents consider the most important. Based on the results of the factor analysis, the characteristics of beauty salons' clients were clarified considering the severity of the two factors: focus on yourself and on the external environment. As a result of the correlation analysis, it was defined which of the beauty salon's factors are important for each of the types of clients. At the end a universal model for the beauty salons of the "ideal" CX was developed, which included factors that largely influence the final CX.