Most salon owners and other businesses set a premium on those customers who return again and again after that first appointment. Loyalty goes a long way to improving bottom lines and making a business successful in the long-run.
If customers are coming for one salon treatment and then disappearing for good, however, it may mean you are not doing enough to encourage re-bookings.
Of course, there’s a lot of competition within the salon industry and the last thing you want is for a potential customer to go to another business down the high street for their next appointment. This is why paying more attention to rebooking and the processes you have in place can make a difference.
Making it Easy to Rebook
Booking by phone can be time-consuming and if a slot isn’t available it can be difficult to fit someone in. If all your staff are busy and can’t answer the phone or aren’t trained properly, a rebooking may also be missed or handled badly.
Having an online booking system that customers can access from their smartphone or tablet makes a big difference and allows them, in complete comfort, to pick their appointment time whenever they want. It provides a standardized by high-quality experience for the customer and is relatively easy to include either online or through an app.
You can also add in extra services such as allowing the customer to choose a specific beauty or hair treatment, cancel and rearrange their appointments or receive instant notifications from your business when a new product or service comes in.
Make the Most of Social Media
While having a booking app or allowing it on your website makes sense, one of the key areas where you can regularly engage with customers and encourage them to rebook is social media. It’s important to understand what platforms your customers are most likely to use and what sort of content they engage with.
Ensure that your social media accounts are visible in your salon and talk to your customers about what sort of content they’d like to see. Mention, for example, that you often produce tutorials for your customers on your social media account or that you regularly have new products to promote online.
Training Staff and Informing Customers
The mistake many salons make is not offering a rebooking for their customer immediately after their treatment is finished. They let them head out the door and trust in the fates that they will return. If someone has come in for a hair appointment, it makes sense at the end that you offer them a date to come in and have another cut to keep the hairstyle looking its best.
Everyone on your team must have training in not just rebooking customers without appearing pushy but to help promote additional products you may offer. Engagement between staff and customers might be something as simple as encouraging the customer to download your app or bookmark your website for future appointments.
Keep in the Customer’s Mind
Even when a customer has finished their appointment and left the salon, you want to try and stay in their mind in some way. If they’ve joined your social media tribe, you can send them a direct message thanking them for their custom or directing them to your dedicated salon app where they can book appointments.
The Customer Experience
Of course, the best way to ensure people rebook is to give them an outstanding experience when they visit your salon. For instance, you may want to look at what value you can add to their salon treatment and how this might encourage people to rebook and see your business as their preference for their hair or beauty treatments over that of your competitors.
For more help and information on growing your salon business, contact Haylee Benton, the high street Salon Mentor.