3 Essential Systems to Maximize Customer Loyalty for Salons and Spas

Many salon and spa owners think a high customer retention rate is pure fantasy.

And we don’t blame them.

Obviously, it would be ideal if everyone who stepped through your doors became a lifetime client.  But in this industry, that is simply impossible.

What is possible however, is for owners who run their business the right way to develop a steady stream of recurring income based on merit and proper systems.  But it’s vital that you start with the first one.

Why Running a Solid Business Is Essential for Customer Loyalty

For many, this is self explanatory.

However, many business owners choose to blame their customers, the economy, or even the weather for their lack of business instead of taking a look at the way they run things.

Smiles go a long way.  A welcoming atmosphere is essential if you want return clients.

Cleanliness of facilities and staff kemptness are vital to the success of any spa or salon.

Fair pricing is the only way to stay competitive in your market and have sustainable success.

Somethings—like location or the economy—are largely out of your control, but you business owners and managers have to focus on what they can control.

​Only when you provide high value and a great customer experience will your attempts at increasing customer loyalty have any effect.

Implement Systems to Increase Customer Retention

Now, just because you do a great job satisfying your clients does not mean that they will be ready to climb to the mountaintops and sing your praises.

You can’t sit around.  You have to be proactive.

Luckily, salons, spas, and tanning salons have a clientele that is easy to connect with and deliver marketing messages to.

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Social Media

If you’ve kept up with our blog at all, you’ll know that we are big advocates of using social media in your marketing efforts.

In our experience, engaging the salon and spa market is one of the best ways to turn first time customers into lifetime customers.  That’s because social media offers a level of intimacy that other mediums simply don’t.

When someone follows your brand on social media, they have literally chosen to have your brand’s messages beamed directly to their favorite devices.

That’s exactly why any sale or special announcement you run at your shop should be advertised on every social media page you own.  If you didn’t know already, platforms like Yelp! and Facebook are essential to the salon and spa marketing mix.

When you stake your claim on all of the different platforms salon and spa clients use, you have a potpourri of powerful advertising tools that can drive revenue into your salon.

Email Promotions

When done correctly, email marketing can bring in traffic on autopilot—and it’s probably easier than you think.

​Adding an email opt-in button to your salon’s web page will allow you to collect an arsenal of emails from already-engaged clients.  Just like with social media, when any potential or existing client opts-in to your list, they giving you the green light on marketing messages.

Capitalizing on clients who are already interested in your service will always yield a higher ROI than acquiring new leads.

The best way to encourage opt-ins is with some sort of reward.  Discounts coupons are the salon and spa go-to.

From there, you can use an email management system like Constant Contact to manage that list and send auto-response emails out to your audience over time.  

“Auto responders” are a favorite of busy entrepreneurs because you only need to set them up once.  But they continue to yield results over time.  When necessary, campaign adjustments are both comprehensive and easy to initiate.

Over time, email marketing has proven itself time and again as one of the Internet marketer’s most effective tools at keeping brands in the hearts of their patrons.

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Get Them Involved in Your Products

By far the oldest of our three customer retention systems, products are a great way to add value to your spa or salon.

But it’s never enough to leave them sitting on a shelf.  Remember that you are an expert and your customers will be open to your expert advise.

There are a variety of things you can do to help boost product sales.  And once you develop a nice stream of retail income, you’ll notice a proportionate number of monthly appointments to go with it.

When a customer leaves your salon with a product and knowledge, they feel they’ve gotten more for their money.  And as long as you are choosing strong brands with great products to partner with, they will appreciate the effort you made.

Just remember, when you keep clients involved with your products, you keep them involved with you.

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Customer Loyalty Takeaways

For salon and spa owners looking to grow their businesses, customer retention is a major factor.

​It’s much easier to build revenue by bringing people back again and again than to run enough promotions to continually pull in new first-time clients.

Clients who come back again and again tend to feel comfortable spending more money in a particular establishment.  In addition, long time clients are often the best cheerleaders for your brand.  This opens the door to another coveted goal of all service companies: referrals.

More likely than not, you already know the value of high customer loyalty.  Now that you have a better idea how to go about cultivating, go out there and do it!