During the initial promotion of your new salon, you’ll have worked hard in attracting new customers and now the challenge is retaining them.
Chances are you’ll be in direct competition with local salons and it can be difficult proving why you should be the salon that clients remain loyal to. So, along with ensuring your salon is comfortable and relaxing, it should be professional and committed to catering for each customer and their specific needs.
In order for your salon to retain customers, we’ve put together our top tips for getting your clients to re-book time and time again.
Loyalty programme
Many salons implement loyalty schemes for their regular clients to sign up to. They allow customers to receive discounts or free treatments once they’ve spent a certain amount of money or visited a number of times.
Along with it being a great incentive for your customers to save money, it’s also a quick and effective way of having your clients book in for more treatments with you.
Make sure you take the time to explain to clients how to use it, and ensure that your staff update after every treatment so that no due discounts are missed. It can be a simple way of attracting people back to your salon. Promote this on your social channels to encourage clients to visit your salon and sign up.
Just make sure that whatever you offer is sustainable and that the discount fits with the client base you have. If you’ve only got a few returning clients, you don’t want to be giving too much discount away as you’ll lose money.
Reward new clients
During your salon opening , you will have been introduced to lots of new faces you would love to see back in your salon. Encourage them to book in again by offering a discount on their next treatment. It’s an easy, yet effective, incentive that might just push them into making that second appointment at your salon. Afterall, everyone loves a great deal!
Listen to clients
When a client enters your salon, it’s vital that you give them your full attention – even if they’ve been visiting since you opened.
One of the most important factors of being a therapist is getting to know clients, their lifestyles and interests. This will allow you to understand what type of treatments they might be interested in having. If possible, try and remember the little things that your client may have mentioned – such as when they are going on holiday or a family event they mentioned on their last visit. You could even keep a notepad to remember what they mentioned and bring it up when you see them again.
This will make the client feel as though they’ve been listened to and will make them feel relaxed. However, don’t go overboard – you won’t be expected to remember every little detail.
Be ready to offer advice and guidance to clients who want it. Once they’ve built up a relationship with you and learn to trust you, it will be hard for them to change stylists and therapists as you know what is best for them.
Ask for feedback
If you’re a brand new salon, feedback is essential. We’re not saying get every customer to review your salon on Facebook for everyone to see, as there might still be room for improvement. Instead, interact with your clients and ask them what they think of their experience and if they would come back again. On the way out, you could ask clients to fill in a short questionnaire for any feedback that could make your salon better.
Afterall, the customer is always right and if they wouldn’t come back, then you need to know why. In the long run, this will help you improve your service for the next set of clients coming to your salon.
Stay in contact
Regardless of how many visits your client makes, whether it’s one a month or once every six months, they are still your customer and committed to your service. Sometimes, clients can take short breaks from services due to lifestyle commitments and some even forget to book their next appointments.
If this is the case, how can you stay in their mind? When they come in for treatments, gather information from them, such as their email address or mobile number. You can then keep in contact during the quieter periods and offer them discounts or the latest trend or product you on offer just to remind them that you do want their custom.
Newsletters are also great for informing clients of what’s new in your salon and to remind them of any upcoming events that they might want pampering for.
If possible, make sure your messaging to each client has a personal touch to make them feel special. If the communication is there, it’s not hard for them to reply to you asking if you could just book them in…
Encourage a future booking
At the end of your customers’ treatment, suggest that they should re-book in order to keep their hair or beauty treatment in the best condition possible. Hopefully they’ll see you have their best interests at heart.
It will save them the job of having to call to rebook but it’s also a chance for you to schedule them at a time that suits them. By future booking a client, you are showing that you genuinely care about their treatments, their loyalty and that you’d love for them to return.
Host a salon event
To attract new custom, have an open night and invite your loyal customers to it. Encourage them to bring a friend or family member who might be interested in your services. To make it entertaining, you could host a giveaway of treatments or prizes, discounts on treatments and refreshments. This will be sure to have them talking about how great your salon is to their circle of friends. As you know, word of mouth is one of the most important ways of attracting customers in the hair and beauty industry, so make sure everyone is talking about your salon!
Never take any customer for granted, no matter how small their treatment may be. If you stop giving them the full attention they deserve, and what they pay for, they might be easily swayed by another salon in the area. Ensure you follow our steps to make every client a returning one.
Find this post useful? Check out our other posts on Salon Management.
Make sure you check out next week’s blog which will be looking at how to choose the right employees for your salon.
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