How to Build Salon Clientele Fast in 2024?

New and veteran salon owners are always looking for ways to build salon clientele and boost their business. We’ll go over some strategies to attract more customers and keep them coming back as loyal clientele.

Jump to The Section You Like

1. 15 Ways to Build Salon Clientele Fast
2. How Long Does it Take to Build a Salon Clientele?
3. How Many Clients Does a Hairdresser Have a Day?
4. Conclusion

15 Ways to Build Salon Clientele Fast

Whether you’re wondering how to build a client base from scratch as a hairstylist just starting out, or you’re an experienced salon owner looking to expand your business, it’s important to understand your target market.

Creating a marketing strategy to attract clients is as much about defining your target market as it is about getting potential customers in the door for that all-important first visit. Figuring out who your salon’s ideal clients make all the difference.

Planning is everything. This leads us to our first, most important way to build your clientele quickly…

1. Define Your Salon Clients

Why spend time and money bringing in a new client who isn’t likely to return for their next visit? You’ll want to focus on potential clients who can become loyal customers. Identify your client base and their demographic group, location and any specific needs they might have.

Then, your salon business can focus on meeting these needs. If you have an existing salon location, you can consider the types of clients you already serve (and what keeps these clients coming back). Then, you can get them to help you spread the word (more on referrals later).

If you’re starting up a new salon, take a look at the businesses in your area for ideas- if you’re near an area with a lot of shift workers such as a hospital or a large office, for example, you can advertise salon services and business hours that appeal to these clients.

This brings us to our next idea…

2. Find Your Niche

What do you offer that your competitors don’t?

If you want more clients to come, you should consider providing something that they can’t get elsewhere. Maybe you have stylists who are trained to work with curly or graying hair, or maybe you’re kid-friendly. Maybe it’s as simple as being the only spot in the area that always takes walk-ins.

Whatever it is, make sure that you spread the word and advertise this. If you’re not sure what sets you apart, conduct some market research and see if there’s a gap that you can fill.

3. Consider Your Salon Data

Take a look at the numbers and see what your current clients are most excited about. You may already have some popular hair treatments or products that you can leverage to jump-start your business’s growth. Salon software can help you to figure these numbers out.

Once you know what’s working best for you, you can create salon marketing campaigns to spread the word. You can also optimize your ordering process to bring in more of your most popular products.

4. Provide a Great Experience

Often, clients who have a positive experience at a salon will come back (and bring their friends) because of this. One of the most important ways to build clientele is by providing exceptional service in a great salon environment.

Keep your salon clean all the time, make sure the interior looks great, and train your stylists to treat every customer like they’re valued, special and welcome. You might do this by providing new clients with personalized experiences such as free consultations or adding value to existing services.

5. Keep the Interior Fresh

You don’t need to invest in a total overhaul, but giving your salon’s interior a fresh coat of paint and changing the wall decor items can make a huge difference for each client.

The first thing that customers will see (before they even meet a hair stylist) is the “look” of the salon. You want to make sure that you put your best face forward. This includes regular deep-cleanings of the fixtures and floors, too.

6. Get a Salon Website

In this digital age, increasing your business’s online presence is vital if you want your hair salons clients to increase. If you don’t already have a website, you can build one easily using a website builder like Zolmi.

Getting online will make it easier for you to share salon news, show off portfolio photos, and make your business easier to find on a Google search. If you already have a website, make sure that it’s linked to your social media pages and that you have enough content (pics, stylist bios) to draw in new clients.

7. Cross-Promote With Local Businesses

Working with a local business is a great way to get new customers.

Whether it’s a gym, cafe or a dentist’s office, you can promote their services and they can do the same for you. This will help you to develop strong ties in the community and benefit from each other’s good reputations.

8. Advertise Locally

Don’t rely solely on your social media or website for more business- reach out by running sponsored ads in the local newspapers or on the radio. Often these are not that expensive- a small local ad can start as low as $50.

Depending on your salon’s location and customers, you may choose to run regular advertisements or weekly/monthly ones for a short period.

9. Start a Referral Program

Existing clients can be your best resource when it comes to salon marketing. You can encourage them to bring in friends, family and coworkers by creating a referral program and rewarding them with discounts or additional services.

You can also make it easy for loyal clients to recommend your salon by sharing social media links like your salon’s Facebook or Instagram pages or providing a referral form or button.

10. Encourage Reviews

Get past clients to review your salon in order to encourage people to book appointments. This goes a long way towards boosting your visibility on platforms like Google My Business or Yelp.

Start by sending follow-up emails after appointments, then look over and make sure to respond to feedback. If someone received superior service, ask them to give you a review.

11. Take Walk-Ins

If your salon has busy periods when this isn’t possible, then set a policy about which days/ times you can do this.

New clients that pop in for hair cuts and receive great service are likely to remember it and turn into a loyal client. Make sure to treat them well and ask them when they’d like to book their next appointment before they leave.

Speaking of which…

12. Always Try to Rebook New Clients

Before they grab their wallet to pay, ask them about booking their next appointment or service. You can even offer a promotion like a free bang trim in a few weeks with their booking.

Encouraging this second visit is crucial - it turns a client into a repeat customer and helps to create a relationship. Make sure to ask if you can add them to the salon’s emailing list and social media pages for an easy follow-up.

13. Host Special Events

This works especially well if you’re wondering how to build hair clientele in a new city or neighborhood, but even veteran salon owners can benefit from this.

You could host a VIP night and invite each long-term client by asking them to RSVP, or promote monthly events where you promote new products, offer additional services or share beauty and hair care tips. This will boost your salon’s brand awareness- make sure to share it on your social media pages and website, too.

14. Invest in Salon Software

This will help you with salon marketing and make reaching out to your silence easy with automatic follow-ups and appointment reminders. You can also offer easy online booking to bring in new clients, and create a salon website with search engine optimization in as little as ten minutes.

The right salon software makes it easy to see when your busy and slow times are so that you can staff accordingly to offer amazing service and know when it’s a good time to encourage walk-in clients.

Finally, you can take control of your salon’s reviews by viewing them ahead of time and responding to client comments quickly and easily.

15. Stay Active (and Relevant) Online

We’ve already gone over the importance of having a website for your salon’s business, but you’ll need to put in the work of updating it and your social media accounts regularly. You may want to assign different team members to take photos and make posts each week.

Create a mailing and subscription list (software for salons can help with this) and send out updates regularly- you might even create a newsletter for your subscribers with shareable photos, articles and beauty industry news.

You can also post on Your Facebook and Instagram pages about special events and build up excitement about upcoming promotions. The more Likes and Shares you can get, the better.

Please also see our tips on how to open a hair salon.

How Long Does it Take to Build a Salon Clientele?

Many people wonder how to get hair clients fast. The truth is that normally, it can take up to a year to build clients at new salons and even longer to make a solid profit, but this time can be shortened to six months or even less with enough effort and marketing work.

If you do your homework and come up with a plan, you can get more costumes (or expand your existing business) quickly.

How Many Clients Does a Hairdresser Have a Day?

If you’re starting out and considering how to build clientele as a hairdresser or new salon owner, it’s important to understand that a stylist might see anywhere from half a dozen to twenty people in a single day, depending on a number of factors, including location, demand, popularity and the length of time each service takes.

One way to optimize this is by using salon’s software to build a schedule with as few unnecessary gaps as possible. Then, stylists can see clients without worrying about downtime for processing times or gaps between bookings.

Do not miss our post Hair Color Consultation Questions.

Conclusion

Expanding your salon’s customers isn’t something that you can do by focusing on just one or two aspects of the business- you’ll need to consider the whole picture and focus on several different touchpoints.

In order to build salon clientele, you’ll need to understand your customer base, your salon’s current performance and learn from this data. Remember to keep communicating with your staff, too- they’re your client’s first point of contact and can provide valuable feedback.

Citations

Social movements and regulatory agencies: Toward a more adequate—and less pessimistic—theory of “clientele capture”
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00139972

Chinese clientele at Chinese hotels—Preferences and satisfaction
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S02

Switching the clientele
https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258