It’s painful - no matter if it’s a first-time client or a regular - losing a customer is something you want to avoid at all costs. You might be telling yourself, “oh well, customers come and go” - and this is true, however, you should take into consideration the amount of resources, time and how much heart you have put into keeping the clients tied to your business. But before you know for certain, don’t cross off a client right away! Just because they have not paid you a visit for some time does not mean that they are lost! We are all people and things come up!
Almost all experienced salon owners agree - getting new clients in through your salon doors is pricey. You probably have a budget for your marketing activities, however, have you ever calculated the cost of winning over each client? In Booksy, you can easily find the number of new clients who visited your salon during a specific timeframe. With that number in mind, divide it by your marketing expenditures in order to see how much you’ve spent on gaining each client. If you have been experiencing client loss for some time, then these numbers might be unsettling for you.
The hair and beauty industry is all about making the client look and feel amazing - so it’s no surprise that emotional ties are made between salon staff and clients, especially regulars. And when you notice one of your regulars leaving the salon across the street with a new look, you probably feel heartbroken. You’ve worked hard gaining that client’s trust by offering them discounts, letting them book with you after hours, and comforting them when they were down. If this has ever occurred to you, then chances are you’ve felt not good enough or even betrayed by the client.
If you don’t make an attempt to bring clients back, then they won’t return to your salon. With that being said, you should focus on two things:
Clients may be leaving your business for a number of reasons - they don’t feel tied to your salon, your prices may be too high, the quality of your work may be less than they were expecting or perhaps your competition looked more appealing to them. Although you may have no influence over some of these factors, you should resolve the ones you can. A great place to start is your online reviews section. Look up your business and see what clients have said about it - chances are, if you’re doing something wrong, you’ll find the answer there. You may also want to speak with your staff on the matter, since they work with clients every day.
Now that you have an idea as to why you’re losing clients - it’s time to act. If you’ve failed to make an impact on them before, now’s your second chance! It's vital that you let your lost clients know that you still care for them and that you have taken steps to improving your salon - thus being able to provide them with a better experience at the salon. Send a newsletter with information pertaining to any changes you’ve made to the business - anything from complete decor changes, to additional education, hiring more experienced staff, etc. When coming up with ideas on how to maintain customer loyalty, you need to ask yourself, “what’s keeping my clients from going to another salon”? If you have trouble coming up with at least one reason why they should stay, then you should fix this immediately! Sometimes even the most simple changes can be impactful.
Focus on your marketing - you want to know how clients found out about your salon. Instead of pumping your budget into ads that don’t work, ask clients what brought them in. Next, using client tags store this information in your Booksy client’s records - at the end of the month, see which acquisition sources have brought in the most customers and distribute your budget on just them! Once you have gained new clients, you want to avoid making the same mistakes that cost you your previous customers, and most importantly, give them a reason to choose your business over the competition! Before the first time customer leaves your salon, ask them to leave a review and encourage them to rebook! Additionally, use your Booksy system to activate automated campaigns addressed to first-time clients - First Impressions message blasts will let you thank them for their first visit and later promote your other services or gift cards. What's more, Booksy also includes campaigns aimed at bringing your slipping away customers back. These will let you reach out to them and perhaps offer a tiny discount or a free service.
Gaining a loyal salon customer isn’t done overnight. You need to be patient and go beyond the call of duty with your treatments and customer service - whereas all it takes to lose a client is a disagreement or no incentive for them to return to your business. And losing a customer won’t just hurt you financially, but emotionally as well. Stop losing customers and get your salon back on its feet! And with the help of Booksy, you’re in control! Test out Booksy’s automated marketing campaigns, statistics features and client records for free!
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