When you want to increase sales in your salon, you have a few choices. You can either bring in more new customers, or you can make more money from your existing customers. You might think that attracting new customers to your salon would be more difficult, but it’s the second option that can prove more challenging.
It’s quite simple to attract new customers with a simple introductory offer. Most people are willing to give a new salon a try for a small discount. The real challenge is learning how to keep your existing clients coming through the door month after month. Brand loyalty is something that needs to be earned.
One of the biggest secrets to increased sales in your salon is this: you have to know your customers. You have to be able to anticipate their next move, so you can be there to offer exactly what they are looking for.
Think about when you are ordering your food shopping online. If you’re signed up for a supermarket loyalty card, you will often be presented with a list of your frequently ordered items. This can make shopping a lot easier and prevent you from missing important items. This is exactly how brand loyalty works. You stick with the same supermarket because it makes your life easier. Here’s how you can put these principles to work in your salon.
Before making a drastic change, a client might be looking for some advice. Looking online for information is great, but it cannot be personalised advice. By offering a free consultation to your existing clients, you can share your advice and wisdom with them in a non-salesy way. If your client is thinking about changing their hair colour, going for a perm, or even transforming their long and flowing locks into a pixie crop, you can be there to guide them.
A client is far more likely to book a follow-up appointment if they feel you are there to offer them balanced and partial advice. You don’t have to spend a long time offering consultations, but it can make clients feel more at ease about booking more expensive treatments.
As we outlined in the example above, supermarkets use loyalty cards to get to know their customers. You can apply the same principles to your hair salon. Loyalty programmes vary by salon. Some will offer a free treatment after a certain number of treatments. Some will offer a new perk every single time you book. And some will allow you to accrue points that can be redeemed against future purchases.
By using a loyalty programme, you can get to know a little bit more about your clients and their beauty habits. As the name suggests, loyalty programmes help to promote brand loyalty, but they also allow you to collect information about your customers without being intrusive.
There are very few salons still using a psychical appointment book to schedule their clients. Nearly all salons will now use an online appointment booker like Salon Iris. The best cloud-based salon software packages will also allow you to manage your customer list and send marketing promotions by text or email.
When you get to know your customers, you soon learn that they will all have their own habits. Some will visit you every 6 weeks without fail because they want to maintain their hairstyle. Others will leave it much longer between visits, but they can be tempted back with a timely offer. By using what you know about your customers to tailor your marketing messages, you will find that your business becomes more profitable and you have fewer empty appointment spots.
Feedback can be difficult to hear. The sad thing is that many people only head to a review site when they have had a bad experience, so it can make proud business owners shy away from seeking feedback. But it’s important that you give your customers a chance to speak up. Feedback doesn’t have to be in the form of online reviews. You may find feedback in social media posts about your salon, or in messages from your customers.
Learning to take feedback on board and then act on it can help you to become a more effective marketer and a better salon owner. Your clients want to know that their concerns are heard and taken on board. And it might not all be negative. Your clients could be your greatest source of inspiration.
If you’re thinking about adding new services to your salon, then it makes sense to find out what your customers are looking for. For example, cosmetic beauty services might be more in demand than nails. Listen to your customers and they will likely tell you exactly what they are looking for in a salon.
