March 15, 2024
5 Tips for Salon Marketing
5 Tips for Salon Marketing
5 Tips for Salon Marketing
If you are a salon business owner, you know that it is a competitive business, and sometimes, having the best people work for you, might not be enough to grow your business. On the other hand, if your salon has been chosen as a right fit for your customers, they will climb mountains to come to you.
So, how do you become the "right fit" for your customers? Let's find out here!
A salon business is a local business owing to its geographic limitations. For a local business to survive and thrive, it is important for the business to make itself known to the locals. One of the best ways to achieve that is by inviting a local and relevant influential personality to the salon to share their experience and encourage their followers to do the same. The influencer's journey must document the end-to-end service experience starting from appointment scheduling, personalized reminders, wait periods, the service itself all the way to the post-service feedback collection and customer engagement. The influencers can also keep their followers abreast about the new offers, services, referral programs, or any other new activity that your salon runs.
Influencers also help promote details about different products or new services that your salon has invested in. In this example, you will find an influencer showcasing a new hair curling technique that does not use heat thereby saving the customer's hair from damage. It is an excellent way to let your potential customers know about such an option and how they could choose the same at your salon.
Salon customers usually tend to avoid or forget regular services like eyebrow threading or waxing or sometimes even time-consuming services like getting their hair or nails done because it is a hassle to identify their availability and schedule an appointment with their preferred service provider. In cases where the customer and their service preferences are known to the salon, you can proactively book an appointment for the customer and send across a calendar invite for the same. For example, if a regular customer of yours gets their eyebrows done on the second week of every month, your team can set an appointment for them on an available day on the second week of every month. This allows your customer to not only stay updated about their last eyebrow appointment but also gives them an opportunity to suggest appointment rescheduling as per their availability. The subtle reminder technique ensures a better frequency of repeat customers and helps strengthen customer loyalty.
Pre-booking appointments based on the customer's earlier appointments is a simple task that can be enabled through an appointment scheduling software such as Appointo. Appointo allows businesses to set up repeat appointments, automated reminder emails, calendar invite integrations, and much more.
Your existing customers are aware of your business but usually have a huge potential as they limit their services to a few from the entire range offered by you. Since your customers are already comfortable with their preferred salon services you must encourage them to try your other services. Invite existing customers to try new and different services with sweetened deals and offers. Cross-selling your services makes it possible to improve your business from existing customers with the least amount of marketing investment. Up-selling on the other hand requires encouraging and incentivizing your customers to either increase the frequency of their service offered or opt for higher-value service. For example to incentivize your customer who comes in for a haircut to try the same service provided through a senior hairstylist which is a higher value purchase. Another example would be a cross-sell where a customer who opts to get their manicure done could be offered a free nail extension service that might lure them into regularly opting for the same for their consecutive visits.
A simple way this can be introduced to the customer is through their appointment schedule confirmation emails. Introduce offers for complementary or higher value services once the customer schedules their regular appointment in their automated emails. The email can give them options to upgrade their services at a discounted cost or allow them to avail combo services by replying to the email or simply clicking on an integrated link. Let Appointo, your appointment scheduling application handle these automated email schedules and integrated links for service upgrades.
Exclusivity in your services, memberships, reward programs, etc is another marketing technique that salons can leverage. Classify your customers and to a select few loyal and valued customers award a privileged status, where certain services or senior stylists are reserved for the customers bearing this status. Some exclusive services examples include At-home services, where your team can visit your "privileged" customers at the comfort of their homes or a privileged lounge, which could be a small designed corner for the customer the salon for a private and personalized experience. This status can show your appreciation towards your customers, and it shall also create a need amongst the customers who do not bear the status creates a need to achieve this "privileged" status. Exclusivity also tends to increase customer curiosity and improve customer engagement.
Personalizing a privileged customer's exclusive treatment helps make the service exclusive and improves customer satisfaction. Simply ensure that every step of the customer journey has a personalized touch to it - from ensuring the customer's availability for scheduled appointments to confirming appointments with their preferred service provider and finally to hassle-free inquiries through a dedicated point of contact. Ease these processes through Appointo's schedule creation application that allows personalized automated emails, the team features to allot dedicated admin privileges for the customers’ appointments to the right personnel, feedback form for continuous feedback and improvement. Here's a small take on exclusivity and its benefits by Salon Today.
As a salon owner, you're very well aware that a salon business is a weekend business and sometimes it gets difficult to maintain demand and supply throughout the week. A few ways to encourage your customers to avail your salon services on a weekday: Customers who come on a weekday are rewarded with personalized services that may not be possible to receive on a weekend. Incentivizing customers availing services on a weekday with a free hair, skin, or nail consultation. Weekdays can sport lunch-hour specials where your customers can come down to the salon and get a quick service done during their lunch hour.
Such lunch hour appointments can be set up by the customer through the salons’ website embedded with an appointment scheduling application such as Appointo while they are on their commute to their work, or before their lunch break. If they suddenly feel their working hours have opened up, a quick way to get an appointment can be made with the help of Appointo without having to call the salon.
These are a few simple steps that can work as an enabler to grow your salon business. All the above options can be implemented with less investment and a little hard work! Let us know in the comments below if these tips work for you! Check out a free demo for Appointo, the new-age appointment scheduling software, making life easy for growing businesses around the world.
