You've heard the old theory that once you have a client visit 3 times, they are yours for life! BULLSHIT! You constantly have to work at it.
Clients aren't as loyal as they used to be. SOME ARE, Yes! But not the majority!. I'm not telling you to discount and all that other rubbish that people thinks goes into a clients decision making process because that's NOT how you get AND KEEP the good ones. If you saw our blog "Marketing Part 1 - Referral Programs", you're a champ and this is step 2 in our marketing series. If you didn't, click above to get with the program. .Here we go.... You got them into your salon for the fist time. Yay! Go you! Now you have to keep them! Hopefully, you have a highly competent salon software system. (If not, we will be blogging about the best ones very soon). If you don't have a computer system, unfortunately there's not a lot of easy, fast, cheap and free marketing you can do simply. You need to join us in 2015! Your competition are using them! If you do have a computer system, capture as many details as you can.
Now you have to say Thank You! We recommend you say Thank You in 3 different ways and at 3 different times. 1) 1 day after first visit. Set up a "Thanks for your visit. It was so nice to meet you" SMS on your computer to automatically be sent out the next day. This is important as the client still has that "Oh I feel so fabulous with my fresh new do". It makes the client feel special and gives them that "Awwww...' feeling. 2) 3 - 5 days after their first visit, get the stylist who did their hair or a Senior member of staff, to phone the client just to "check in". This is to see how they are managing their hair and if they were happy with the service and the out come. Remind them, that if they are not 100% happy, they are more than welcome to come in for a "health check" and possibly rectify any issues, complimentary of course. 3) After 1 week, post out a "Thank You" card with an offer with an expiry date of 8 weeks from their first visit. The Thank You card and offer needs to be put in a handwritten envelope. Think about it, when you check the mail, you always open the handwritten envelopes first, don't you? If they re-booked, this will REALLY encourage them to return and feel special getting a "Thank You" deal from you. If they didn't re-book on their first visit, it encourages them to return before their hair looks too shitty and you can make them look FABBO again! Make sure they re-book this time. You need to train your clients from the start! If you follow our suggestions, you are well on your way to growing a loyal, respectful clientele that will appreciate you as much as you appreciate them. Even if they do try somewhere else, they won't get THIS level of professionalism. Create an experience. Create fabulous hair. Create the salon of your dreams! * Images and content are copyright and owned by hair pty ltd.
One thing I have learned is that for most of you, they would NOT be working to their fullest potential.
- $5 off your first visit. - 15% off your first visit. - Free treatment on your first visit. Come on!!! Let’s be honest! It’s rubbish! Think about who you’re trying to get in your salon. Clients who are ALREADY going somewhere else! Here is how MOST of them think: “I’ve been going to the same hairdresser for 8 years. The past few times I haven’t been super happy and I feel I am getting less and less important to my stylist. I’m made to wait longer and more often. I don’t get a bad haircut but I’ve lost that special feeling so it’s a case of better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” Do you honestly think that $5 off or a FREE TREATMENT is going to get them to take the plunge and - Call up or walk into a strange salon - Leave the familiar, comfortableness of a salon she’s been visiting for years - Book an appointment with an unknown stylist - Risk a bad haircut/colour service and the embarrassment that goes along with it for sometimes MONTHS! Let’s get real people! If you were going to a hairdresser you trust but maybe you’re not super happy with, would a FREE treatment or $5 off be the big bait to get you to take the risks mentioned above? HELL NO! Some of the salons that are best at getting new clients, march into the street, hands filled with flyers or “invitations” with an offer of a totally free Shampoo, Cut and Blow-dry. NOT with an apprentice or junior stylist. It would be with whoever that client, being a new client, would be allocated to anyway. On this first visit, the idea is not to upsell products or talk them into having a colour. The idea is to give them a complete experience, make them feel a MILLION BUCKS, without them opening their wallet. All you want from them is a rebooking! That is all. This works well for a lot of salons and gets a lot of new bums in chairs but in my 10 years as a successful salon owner, I find potential clients are sceptical of something that is totally free. It is then up to you to follow through with “get ‘em back” marketing (featured in part 3). What I’ve found best is doing up vouchers that actually LOOK like money. The theory behind this is that we have always been taught NOT to throw away money so hopefully, your voucher. Doing a $50 voucher off your first visit is a great bait to get someone to at least give you a spin. Also, if an existing client gives one to a new client, they get $50 off their next visit too. We’ve had clients that hand out 4 per month then push those recommended people to follow through and visit us. Our existing referrer/client gets their whole visit for free. It’s complete motivation for them to hound their pal to get to your salon. You will have an expiry date on the voucher of course of about 8 weeks. These work! If you say they don’t, you are doing it wrong but here are 2 of the hottest tips to ensure a referral program works. 1. Make the offer STRONG! 2. HAND THEM OUT TO EVERY CLIENT. EVERY TIME! – Easy! |
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