If your salon doesn’t have a loyalty program, it’s probably time to consider it. Given the year we’ve all had, client retention is more important than ever before. And chances are that our clients are watching their pennies.
“Beauty treatments are being touted as an important method of self-care,” says business advisor Sean MacNamara. “But even so, they’re an expense. So when it comes to spending money, clients are being picky about where they spend, and what value they’re getting, more now than ever.”
With that in mind, loyalty programs are important. They encourage repeat business through the promise of a reward. “Whether it’s a tenth treatment for free, or a complimentary service when they’ve spent a certain amount of money, loyalty programs are exactly that; developed to encourage your clients to stay with you.”
While it can seem counter-intuitive to offer freebies in order to stay in business, Sean is adamant that it can pay off. “Otherwise, people will always be looking out for a salon that offers a better price, or looking for promotions offered by other therapists in a bid to save money. And they’re obviously within their rights to do that; it’s their money. But if you have them enrolled in a loyalty program, with a worthwhile reward to be working towards, they’re significantly less likely to look elsewhere.”
The other trick, Sean says, is to put a time limit on the rewards. “If the reward, for example, is a free massage once they reach a spend of $500, then you should suggest that they must spend that $500 within six months, for instance. The goal is to have them consistently spending money with you. Otherwise you could have these programs running for years when really, what you want is to have them reach their target, claim their reward and start again.”
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