In today's competitive hair and beauty industry, it's essential for salon and barbershop owners to implement effective strategies to attract new clients and keep their schedules filled. Empty chairs can be detrimental to your business growth and success, so to help you overcome this Takara Belmont offers five tips to promote your salon or barber shop and ensure a bustling appointment schedule.
Leverage the power of social media
Social media has become an increasingly important way to reach and engage with both existing and potential clients. First, understand the social platforms your clients are most active on and use these to showcase your work, share testimonials, and engage with your target audience. Post high-quality images and video of your creative work and your interior to position your salon and entice potential customers.
Social media is also great for running promotions and offers and for highlighting appointment availability, but remember it's a place to engage and be social too. Use social media to share your expertise by offering tips and advice, introduce your team and showcase their talents, and highlight potential haircare problems and how you can solve them.
Importantly, make sure you monitor incoming questions and enquiries and respond in a timely fashion.
Build a strong online presence
Having a professionally designed website is crucial for establishing credibility and making it easy for potential clients to find and contact you. Ensure that your website is visually appealing, user-friendly and mobile-responsive. Display your services, pricing and contact information prominently, and make sure you use social media to drive people to your website rather than try to use social media as an alternative to your website.
Your website is your brand hub where you can position all your services, team, products, pricing and promotions, plus you can use your blog to position your expertise too.
With the majority of clients using mobile devices and shopping online, try to offer online booking options to make it more convenient and simplify the appointment booking process.
Offer incentives and loyalty programs
Implementing a Loyalty or Rewards program makes your client's feel valued and rewarded for their repeat business. However, to protect your business and profit margins, think outside of simply offering discounts, as you might not always need to. Adding value makes clients feel just as appreciated and rewarded.
You might, for example, offer a free beard oil with every beard groom, or a goody bag of colour care samples with every hair colour. Many product manufacturers will support this kind of activity, as it gets clients using their products and helps to boost your future retail in the process, while also protecting the service income.
Additionally, rather than discounting the service booked, you could be tactical and offer a discount off a complementary service. So if your client books a cut and colour, you could offer a complementary conditioning treatment or a % off a VIP hair and scalp treatment.
Adding Spa Mist II or Roller Ball F to your salon presents just two great ways to introduce new treatment and colour experiences, and you can leverage these technologies to add value too.
One tried and tested way to build new business is to offer referral rewards for clients who book regularly or refer new clients. These programs not only encourage customer retention but they're also great for generating positive word-of-mouth marketing, leading to a steady influx of new clients.
Collaborate with local influencers and community events
Partner with local influencers, bloggers, or social media personalities who align with your salon/barber shop's aesthetic and target audience. Organise collaborations by inviting them in for a service in exchange for them showcasing your services to their followers. This is a great way to spread your message across social media and it may attract new clients. Additionally, participate in community events, fundraisers or local festivals to increase your visibility and connect with potential clients in a more personal and meaningful way.
Optimise your online visibility
Many salons and barbershops don't focus on online marketing, but in a digital age it's important to do just that. First you need a great looking website and you also need to create a Google My Business profile. Many potential clients will be searching online for salons and barbers and the kinds of services you offer, but if you don't show up in Google searches then you're not only missing out, you're handing the advantage to competitive businesses that are active in this area.
Investing in salon software can help you in this as many are aligned to Google My Business. Plus many software providers can help you promote your business, fill empty appointment slots and allow you to encourage clients to leave positive reviews.
Higher proportions of clients now look to reviews before booking a service, so it's important to get involved and start competing for awareness and clients in the digital space.
Finally, remember that, above all, it's the client experience that matters most. With Takara Belmont's 0%, zero deposit Finance Lease Scheme, you can be confident that when every client arrives, they enjoy a fantastic experience in world-class comfort. There's ever been a better time to upgrade your equipment, elevate every client experience and even command higher prices by delivering an unsurpassed hair or grooming experience.
