How to Build Clientele as a Nail Technician Fast in 2024

Whether you’re new to the industry or you’re an experienced professional, you’re always looking for new ways to build clientele as a nail technician. We’re here to help with some strategies to fill your appointment book.

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1. 15 Ways to Build a Nail Technician’s Clientele Fast
2. How Long Does it Take to Build a Nail Technician’s Clientele?
3. How Many Clients Does a Nail Technician Have a Day?
4. Conclusion

15 Ways to Build a Nail Technician’s Clientele Fast

Before you start building your nail clientele, you’ll need a plan. If you’re wondering how to build nail business (as a salon owner or as a technician), your first step is going to be figuring out who your clients are.

This may not be as straightforward as it sounds, so be prepared to do some customer research and understand your brand. Knowing who the audience is for your nail services will make your advertising more effective.

This brings us to our first point…

1.Know Your Customer Base

Why put in the effort to bring in a new client if they’re not likely to come back to you for their next appointment?

Focus on gaining new clients who are likely to keep coming back for more nail services. Start by identifying your client base (taking a look at your existing clients can help, if you’re already in business), their demographics (such as location, occupations, etc.) and specific needs.

Then, you can focus your advertising and services towards meeting these needs and drawing in new clients.

If you’re opening a brand new nail salon, try to get some inspiration from local businesses nearby- if you’re close to an area that serves the local student population, for example, you can advertise specialty manicures for young nails and other nail services that appeal to youthful clientele (or their parents).

Speaking of which, here’s our next idea…

2. Find What Makes You Special

For nail technicians, building clientele is about figuring out what sets you apart from the competition. What services do you offer that make your nail salon business stand out?

If you want to attract new clients, try offering them something that they can’t already get in your local area. If you’re not sure what your nail industry niche is, start by doing some market research to see what’s already on offer and what people might need.

This might mean focusing on custom nail work like airbrushed designs and Instagrammable manicures like geode nails, or it could be as simple as being the only person who takes walk-ins in your area. Once you’ve found your niche, invest in some advertising to spread the word.

3. Advertise Locally

If you want to promote your latest products, service, or create interest in your nail salon, try running some sponsored ads in your local newspaper or on the radio.

This is one of the nail technician advertising ideas that’s often overlooked, but it can be a great way to reach out to customers. Newspaper ads can cost as little as $50.

If your neighborhood has a community center or a local bulletin board, see about getting featured there, too (you can always ask to leave business cards at the community center).

4. Word With Local Businesses

If you have a gym, dessert shop or a dentist’s office in your area, working with them is a mutually beneficial way to boost your number of current clients. This is especially true if you’re a small service business because it will help you to make connections (and build relationships) in the community.

Reach out and offer to promote each other’s services- you can even keep a stack of business cards and offer to swap with them.

5. Keep Your Staff in the Loop (and they’ll do the same for you)

This is important whether you’re running a major nail salon or a small, neighborhood nail service business. When it comes to filling your appointment book, your team is your biggest advantage.

Hold regular meetings with your staff to discuss new trends, new products you’re considering, and any areas of opportunity they’ve noticed. Since they’re the ones who see each client, they can tell you what customers want (and don’t want).

Have a regular conversation with each team member and show them that you value their input.

6. Create a Referral Program

This is a great way to get your regular clients excited about bringing their friends and family in. Try offering rewards, discounts and bonus services for referrals to encourage people to participate.

You can also make it easy to refer friends by sharing your social media links such as your nail salon’s Facebook page Instagram, or including a referral form or button on your business website.

And speaking of websites…

7. Stay Active Online

This includes setting up a website for your nail technician services and giving your social media presence some extra attention. If you don’t already have a website, salon software can help you set one up in as little as ten minutes.

As a nail tech, your social media account is your best friend and one of my favorite marketing tips for keeping clients interested. Post regular updates about your business on Facebook and Instagram and encourage customers to share your pages by uploading photos of your work.

8. Be Consistent

This is especially important if you’re an independent nail tech renting a booth or if you’re working from home as a nail technician.

Building clientele is hard if you don’t keep regular hours and are difficult to get hold of. Make sure that you have predictable times and days when you see customers, ideally at the same location. And don’t forget to post your availability on your website and social media pages, too.

9. Give Each Customer a Great Experience

You may be wondering how to market yourself as a nail technician, and this is one of our top tips. It sounds deceptively simple at first, but many people forget how critical building a relationship with your clients is- it all starts with a great first impression.

Whether you’re working in a salon or from home, make sure that your work area is always clean and have your tools ready.

Work to make clients feel welcome, even on a busy day. Try your best to greet them by name, listen to their concerns and if they’re chatty, try to engage in friendly conversation. Be prepared to answer any questions, offer nail care tips and provide recommendations.

10. Provide a Welcoming Environment

This is true for nail techs in big salons and for anyone working from home as a nail technician. Clients will be more likely to feel satisfied (and come back for another visit) if the service area is clean, all tools are sanitized and ready to go, and the work space is bright, well-lit and comfortable.

If the space itself hasn’t been updated in a while, consider giving the walls a fresh coat of paint and changing the light fixtures or any accessories to freshen it up.

11. Keep Things Current

Stay up-to–date on the latest nail care trends, specialized techniques and the newest products for nails to offer each customer something that interests them during their visit. This will help you to build clientele as a nail care professional and develop your reputation.

This can be as simple as attending trade shows, keeping up with social media posts about new nail trends (and practicing them yourself), and posting photos to show off your latest work on Facebook and Instagram.

You might also consider attending classes to update your skills as needed.

12. Take a Look at Your Data

It doesn’t matter if you’re running a major nail salon, renting a booth in a small one, or are a working from home nail technician. You can learn a lot about your clients by looking at the numbers.

This data will show you which services they’re excited about, where to focus your marketing efforts, which day of the week is busiest, and what products to order in the future. Salon software can help you with these numbers.

Do not miss our post Eye-Catching Nail Salon Business Card Ideas.

13. Encourage Reviews

If clients are happy with their nails, and you’ve given them outstanding service, then make sure to ask for a review online. This will encourage people to book appointments and is better than free advertising for your company- it boosts your visibility on Google My Business and Yelp.

After appointments, send clients a follow-up email. Make sure that you respond to their feedback to build trust.

14. Host Special Events and Promotions

If you’re thinking about how to promote nail business on Instagram or even in the local community, then a special event is a great way to increase your visibility.

This can take the form of a VIP night where you share tips and techniques, or it might be a weeklong promotion involving free service upgrades or samples of the latest products. Just be sure to promote it on Facebook, Instagram and your nail tech website.

15. Use Salon Software

This software can help large nail salons, independent nail techs and those running a small service business to optimize their marketing, scheduling and customer service.

You can reach out to clients with automatic follow-ups and appointment reminders. You can also provide free and convenient online booking, and get a fast, well-optimized website set up in just ten minutes.

Finally, you can check out your busy and slow times to make staffing easy and know the best times to encourage walk-ins, as well as reading and responding to online reviews before they’re posted.

Do not miss to check out our post Top 165 Nail Captions for Instagram.

How Long Does it Take to Build a Nail Technician’s Clientele?

Normally, building your client base from scratch can take up to a year- and it may be longer before you start making a profit. With the right marketing and some hard work, you can cut this time in half or even shorter. As with everything, planning is key.

How Many Clients Does a Nail Technician Have a Day?

Of course, you need to account for the fact that some services take longer than others (a simple manicure will take up less time than gel nails or a full set of infills plus a pedicure, etc.). In the course of your average day, you might see anywhere from half a dozen to fourteen or fifteen clients (or more) depending on your location, popularity and the time each service takes.

You can optimize this time by using software for nail salons to create a schedule with as little downtime between clients or gaps during services as possible.

Conclusion

Whether you’re figuring out how to start a nail business at home or expanding your existing nail salon, you’ll need to concentrate on multiple touchpoints to grow your clientele. Start by understanding your customer base and your current performance metrics- knowing what you’re already doing well and where your opportunities are will help you to build clientele as a nail technician and keep them coming back.

Citations

Professional Services Marketing Handbook: How to Build Relationships, Grow Your Firm and Become a Client Champion
https://books.google.com/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=S6HC

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

Switching the clientele
https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(20)45035