Every beauty business owner has one goal – to build a loyal and steady client base. These are the kind of clients who drop in every two weeks to get their hair and nails done. Nobody wants those “once in a blue moon” clients. They don’t contribute much to the overall growth of the business. Building a loyal client base is all about smart marketing. Implementing a run-of-the-mill strategy isn’t going to work anymore. Salon, spa and beauty business owners need something more solid and concrete. Something that will stand the test of time and accelerate growth. The secret is salon software.
Inactive & Active Client Statistics at a Glance
Every salon has a specific service cycle. However, generally, a good client retention rate is 60-70% of clients coming back in a year. This is an indication of healthy activity. When you track client retention, a few key metrics to track include client visit frequency and new client retention.
A lot of salons and spas end up implementing marketing strategies but fall short when it comes to tracking them. With strategic use of salon marketing software, you can deliver a personalised experience to every client. This helps encourage repeat business and long-term engagement.
What is Considered Good Salon Marketing?
There is a common misconception that good salon marketing is pretty posts on social media. Well, think again. While aesthetic posts do matter, nothing is bigger than engagement. Good salon marketing is all about relationship building, using local SEO, Google My Business, promoting social content and pushing client referrals. These salon marketing strategies keep your business visible and top of mind. It’s best to use marketing solutions that are sustainable and tailored to your brand.
Smart Marketing Strategies for Salons & Spas
- Loyalty Programs
Did you know? Retaining existing clients is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. They also spend more than one-off guests. Every beauty business wants to differentiate themselves from their competitors. A fool-proof way to create brand advocates is by implementing a loyalty program in your salon. It gives your clients a reason to keep coming back. Don’t let running a loyalty program intimidate you. It’s the first initiative towards smart marketing and can completely be run, managed and tracked on salon management software.
Every salon has their own way of running a loyalty program. For example, it can either be a punch card system or points system. As a salon owner, you get to decide whether you want to offer incentives or discounts after a client has availed a certain number of services. Loyalty programs are a win-win for your business as well as the clients. Salon software helps with point tracking and tier management. During slow days and months, you can even double the points. This makes clients return often and spend more per visit. When your salon offers are attractive, your existing clientele is also likely to recommend your salon to their friends and family.
- Automated Marketing Campaigns
A highlight about beauty salon software is that it tracks key metrics. Based on these metrics, it automatically sends out marketing messages and emails to active and inactive clients. For instance, if certain clients haven’t visited in a while, it sends a message that reads “We miss you. Avail 10% discount on your next visit”. No minimum billing amount”. The messages can also be personalised and preset to your requirements. Besides such messages, you can even send messages centred around packages and product bundles. A few benefits of automated marketing campaigns include reengaging with lapsed clients, enhances every client’s service frequency and maintains brand recall.
- Use Salon Software for Online Booking
Statistics reveal that 35% of salon clients prefer booking their appointments online. Owing to online scheduling, manual booking has taken a backseat. By investing in the right salon scheduling software, you can enable online booking and give your customers a chance to book online. The process is simple and easy to understand. Smart marketing begins with seamless processes. Online booking increases client retention, reduces no-show due to automated reminders, and prevents double-booking. An online booking widget should be added to your website, social media pages and Google My Business profile. This enables clients to book 24/7 from anywhere.
- Optimise your Google My Business Profile
A common keyword your potential clients search for is “salon near me”. Your salon is likely to pop up on maps only if it is registered on Google. Doing so is fairly easy. If you don’t show up, your clients are likely to visit another salon in that area. You don’t want that to happen. Thus, you need to optimise your GMB profile. It needs to include all the vital information regarding your salon. A few things include salon name, address, timings, menu, pictures, reviews, and website link. Google also allows you to integrate your GMB profile with your salon scheduling tool so that people can book without leaving the search page. This also helps enhance local SEO efforts.
- Personalised Client Communication using Salon CRM
Salon software comes with a built-in salon CRM. CRM stands for client relationship management. Clients no longer respond to messages that are sent by bots and AI. They want to build authentic relationships with their preferred beauty businesses. To personally text every client can be a task. In this case, the best thing you can do is rely on your salon CRM. A CRM stores every client’s visit history, past product purchases, visit frequency, personal information and more. This data is used to send targeted offers by them. A salon owner doesn’t have to do anything. Everything is automated and the CRM will send marketing messages to your database. Automated birthday and anniversary greetings are also sent. For instance, “Hey Rita, it’s been 4 weeks since you got a root touch-up done. It’s time for a refresh”. Clients feel special to receive personalised messages from your beauty business. Just a small thing like including their name is enough for them to take action. Research reveals that clients are more likely to immediately schedule an appointment when the marketing message is personalised.
- Run Referral Programs
While loyalty programs help in client retention, referral programs work equally well too. Despite online and digital marketing, word-of-mouth still holds good. In your salon, you can run a “recommend a friend” program. For every referral made, offer an incentive or discount. The incentive can be offered to your existing as well as new clients. For example, “Hey there! Recommend a friend and both you and him/her get to enjoy 10% off on your next visit”. Discounts, freebies and free cash urge customers to refer your business to their friends and family. You can track referrals too on your salon marketing software.
Final Words
Salon360App makes omnichannel marketing a breeze. It automates social media, email and SMS marketing campaigns. Every salon owner runs marketing campaigns. However, the secret to success is running smart marketing campaigns. This is only possible by adopting the latest tools and technology such as salon management software. With data-driven analytics and feedback systems, you can tweak your marketing efforts accordingly and reach the right clientele at the right time. Are you ready to build a strong and sustainable beauty business foundation? Take a free salon software demo today!
