25 June 2021
Your customers are integral to your business, coming back to your salon year after year. What better way to let them know you appreciate them coming to your salon than to send them treats using your salon marketing software from time to time.
As lockdown continues, digital salon marketing software has become integral to many salons. With so many salons closed due to pandemic restrictions and only short windows of bookings available, it has become vital for salons to communicate digitally with their clients. Using salon marketing software to communicate with clients is vitally important, from sending reminders that masks are required for haircuts in your salon, to sending out emails with attachments (such as a 20% off voucher) and birthday wishes.
While automated digital communications such as appointment reminders, or a short thank you for your patronage are a fantastic way to communicate with your customers, they can lose impact over time, especially if the message template remains the same. Setting up a new software system to offer sales and vouchers to returning customers is a fantastic way to keep your marketing strategy fresh.
With the loss of hairdressing and beauty services over the lockdown, there is a new enthusiasm in the general public for salon services and the calm and relaxed atmosphere they provide. Using salon marketing software, you can capitalise on this enthusiasm to gain new clients and encourage your existing clients to return for new treatments and experiences.
There are multiple ways for you to use your salon marketing software to treat your customers. Most often what helps you design a marketing plan is thinking of what you would enjoy receiving from a business you often visit and this can give salon owners inspiration for what their customers would enjoy.
Creating a marketing plan as a business owner or staff member can be difficult. Asking a friend or family member what kinds of sales and offers they use most is a great way to find inspiration.
At SalonIQ we offer a range of software specifically designed for salon marketing these include:
While marketing is an important way to ensure your salon grows and gains more clients, the most important factor is customer service and talented staff. Making sure you provide a wonderful experience for customers when they are in your salon will do a lot to ensure that you gain new clients by word of mouth and existing clients return to your salon.
Clients will generally return to their salon every two-to-three months for touch ups for their usual hair style, perhaps with major changes in colour or cut every so often. Periodically bringing in new shades of hair dye, new treatments such as a scalp massage or eyebrow waxing will keep your clients interested and engaged. With new haircare trends and different styles and colours coming in and out of fashion, keeping yourself and your staff informed of any new trends will help you to offer the client good advice.
When you bring out a new treatment, sending an SMS message or email to your return clients letting them know about the treatment and an offer such as 15% off on their first treatment will be sure to get them hooked!
Holidays such as Valentine’s day, Christmas, Halloween and Mother’s Day can be great opportunities for salons to gain business and to treat their clients. Creating short-lived sales and offers on those specific days or for gift cards is a fantastic way to treat your customers to a little something. Using your salon marketing software to send automated digital messages on selected holidays and events can have a big impact on how your clients view your salon.
The beauty and salon business is very personal, many hair stylists talk extensively to their customers and build up a very close relationship. Your client’s hair will be very important to them, whether they are more practical or favour a more exciting style. Much of salon marketing is making sure your clients know how much you value them.
Loyalty cards are a fantastic way to reward your best customers. There are a wide variety of ways to set up loyalty cards in your salon, from software systems and apps that log how many visits a client has had to paper cards that are stamped each time a client visits the salon.
When creating a loyalty card system, it is often best to keep things simple with various treats being offered to clients after they gain a certain amount of points. The more elaborate you make the system the more time will need to be invested in the loyalty card system to make sure it works.
Regardless of whether you have the software needed for treating your customers through marketing, it will not have a pronounced effect unless you use it consistently enough to have an impact. One way to streamline your service is by creating a chart showing the steps in each client’s journey from booking to arrival. You can then use the chart to plan a set of marketing materials for before and after the client’s appointment and refine your salons customer service.
For example, the automated salon marketing messages sent throughout a client’s journey can look a lot like this:
Messages at other points in the client’s journey can offer a good way to get in touch with your loyal customers. For instance, organising happy birthday messages along with a voucher offering a discount on their next appointment. This kind of personalised marketing will be sure to let your clients know you are committed to ensuring they receive the best service possible.
Call a member of our team today on 01892 280 123
