How to Increase Salon Clientele? | Your Complete Guide

Maybe you’re the owner of a new salon and wondering how to increase salon clientele and client retention.

For your salon to thrive you need to make sure you have some solid salon marketing and a robust business plan in place. To differentiate your salon from your competitors, you need to spread the word, define your target audience and convert potential clients to booked regulars.

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1. Who is My Salon’s Ideal Client?
2. How Do I Develop My Client Base?
3. How to Retain My Salon’s Clients?
4. Conclusion

Who is My Salon’s Ideal Client?

To build up your salon clients, successful business owners concentrate on defining their target clientele. Knowing what clients you want to walk through your doors will build salon clientele by helping you create a good client experience.

It’s easy for new salon owners to grow by accepting any client that walks through the door but to retain clients, you need to know who your ideal client is.

A new client will fast become a regular if your business can offer them:

• The hair, spa or beauty treatments they prefer
• An accessible location
• Salon staff that they can trust
• A booking system that arranges their next appointment with ease

If you’re curious about how to build salon clientele fast, you want to start to define your clients. You can’t be all things to many people. Once you decide who you want your new clients to be, you’ll be able to tailor your salon marketing to them.

You might be tempted to offer a free service to draw people in, but if you want smart ways to increase salon business, analyze what your business does best.

Play to your strengths.

Perhaps a stylist you employ excels at cutting black hair? Or maybe you offer a spa treatment that no one else in the area does. Once you've refined your best assets, you can attract new clients with a new website, targeted search engine optimization, and marketing messages that you can deliver on.

Wondering how to get clients back into the salon? Give them a service that they can rely on.

How Do I Develop My Client Base?

These tips and hints will help you maintain the client base you have and keep new clients coming back for more.

Build Your Brand

In the congested hair salon industry, giving your brand a refined look and feel will help bring new people through your doors.

To attract the salon clients you want, they need to feel comfortable in your surroundings.

From your logo to your website and social media presence, make sure your salon marketing is recognizable at every touchpoint.

If you want young, new clients, make sure your branding mirrors that. If you’d rather attract a more distinguished clientele, make sure your business reflects that.

Increase Your Visibility

Want to know how to build your clientele fast? The first thing to do is maximize your salon's visibility.

You don’t need a complicated website to make a good impression on new clients.

A website that clearly lays out essential information like pricing, opening times, and how to book will reassure a new client.

As your business grows, you can include search optimization tricks and tactics to help increase your search results.

An active social media presence will make sure you stay engaged with any potential clients.

From Facebook to Instagram, a great way to make a good first impression is via your social pages.

Struggling to create a cohesive Instagram feed? Why not try the online graphic design site, Canva to nail a consistent look and feel.

Did you know that a tool such as Google My Business could help you track your Instagram followers, your Facebook likes, and your online business stats.

Employ The Best People Possible

If you’re wondering how to make your salon business grow, start with your staff.

Successful salons thrive when clients trust their stylist.

Train your employees to offer the best service every time.

From a warm smile to delivering services that your clients will recommend, good employees will keep people coming back to your salon.

Need a way to keep your staff engaged? You could offer staff incentives to show how much you appreciate their services.

Offer Friend and Family Deals

Salon entrepreneurs that succeed, understand the power of recommendations.

From a warm welcome at the front desk to services that deliver every time, new clients will tell their family and friends about your salon when they like the staff.

To get new clients into your hair or beauty salon, offer your clients a friend and family discount.

You could do this in-person at the end of their appointment, via an email marketing campaign, or simply via your website.

You could also offer discounts on Facebook and Instagram to help you gain new followers and increase engagement.

Referrals are an economical way to target a group of local people and draw in new business.

Manage Your Online Reviews

Many salons receive online reviews, but the most successful salon will convert reviews into new clients.

Always track your reviews and respond to them. If they’re negative, thank the person for their comment and take the conversation away from the public forum and onto email.

If someone leaves you a review on Facebook or Instagram, you could design a dedicated post featuring that testimonial.

You want people to book an appointment after reading a positive review.

Ask your regular, happy clients to share their thoughts and tell their friends about the things they love too.

If you’re questioning how to build your salon clientele fast, make sure you capitalize on every review you receive — even the negative ones.

Go Mobile — Enable Easy, Fast Booking

If you want to know how to increase clientele in the salon, it’s important you make it easy for people to book their appointment.

Rather than making clients talk on the phone to book, Belliata makes online booking a breeze.

A good software system will help you avoid booking mix-ups, help you manage your staff schedule well, and remind clients when their appointment is.

If they can book via an app on their phone, they’re likely to make more appointments.

Use Recommended Salon Software

Good salon software will help you manage clients and maintain a thriving business.

Successful salons stay in-touch with their clients and manage their personal details with consideration and care.

A system that collates your clients' information makes it easy for you to manage marketing campaigns.

You’ll be able to easily send out SMS and email messages and remind clients when their future appointments are due.

Tracking what treatments your client is booking is a great way to build up their profile, so you get to know their needs better.

To increase client loyalty and retention, use the Belliata software to request feedback after every salon visit.

Learn From Your Data

What your clients are booking and buying, offers you valuable information.

With a software system that tracks sales and data, you’ll be able to manage performance statistics.

If you sell products in-store, watching what products sell the best will inform your next wholesale order.

Plus, once you have statistics about what treatments are proving most popular, one of the things you’ll be able to do is tailor your marketing campaigns.

From discount codes to promotional imagery, if you can track your data, your business will begin to benefit.

Host Client Events in Your Salon

To help market your salon for success, you could host events to help boost business.

Whether you’re offering complimentary treatments or introducing a new line of products, offering clients the personal touch will make them keep you in mind.

Advertise your event on Facebook, Instagram, via email, and on public forums.

A successful salon event will increase your media coverage, increase awareness of your salon, help you connect with local businesses and charities and boost sales.

You could host a VIP night for your regular clients to increase loyalty and ask them to bring along a friend.

Always ask guests to RSVP to help you manage the attendance numbers.

Limited Offers

When you use software that collates information, you’ll be able to market your business accordingly.

Offering rewards to long-term, loyal clients will maintain the relationship. Bringing new clients in with discounts and limited-time offers will help build the connection.

When you are able to give clients a taster session, treat them right and they’ll probably book in for more treatments.

From mini manicures to a free blow-dry, you could increase your client list greatly with a few simple gestures.

It’s also a great way to get to know people personally and build a loyal community!

Partner Up With Local Businesses

To increase awareness of your salon, you could partner up with a local business.

Embedding your salon into the local community will maintain your reputation and help you create strong local ties.

People trust businesses that have a good reputation.

By partnering with a local business, you can promote their services and they’ll promote yours.

From dentists to gyms, clothes boutiques to coffee shops, you’ll help increase your salon’s visibility and create loyal advocates along the way.

Accept Walk-in Appointments

While they’re not always the most convenient thing to accommodate, accepting a walk-in could help your business long-term.

Treat your walk-in right and you could quickly turn them into a regular booking.

Always collect the client’s data after their treatment and ask whether they would like to book now for their next appointment.

Of course, managing walk-in appointments is an important part of your business; you won’t have time to accept everyone.

Consider setting a policy where you only accept walk-ins on typically quiet days or times of the week.

Give Your Salon a Facelift

Changing the look of your salon is a great way to invite in new bookings and keep the clients you have interested.

Your salon is always going to be judged on the way it looks, especially if you’re in the hair, cosmetics, spa, or salon business.

People expect a gorgeous, professional experience from the moment they walk through the door.

While a facelift might seem costly, you don’t need to change every detail to make a difference.

A lick of paint, a new theme, and a few new appliances could freshen up your salon and help you stay ahead of your competitors.

Offer a Niche

If your salon offers something that no one else in the local area can, you could greatly increase your business potential.

If you have a hair salon, you could specialize in vibrant, funky fashion colors. Or perhaps you could become the nail art destination for your local area.

Getting to know what your client needs, and what they’re willing to pay will help you build a successful niche.

Make sure you do thorough market research and always tailor your skills to what the client wants.

How to Retain My Salon’s Clients?

While a list of shiny new clients might make you feel successful, it’s essential you convert those one-time bookers into regular clients.

Keep up the contact with a new client by collating their data via slick and easy-to-use salon software.

To retain new clients, manage your marketing campaigns and make sure you upkeep a solid Facebook and social media presence. After a client has visited your salon, send them a survey and ask them for feedback. This will make them feel valued and help you improve your service.

If you need to know how to talk to clients in the salon, listen to new clients when they give your feedback. They’ll give you all of the information you need.

Make your website engaging but simple and make the booking process mobile and fast. You’ll be able to retain clients if you keep in conversation with them once they’ve left the salon. Plus, if you impress them with your offering, they’ll quickly become your word of mouth advocates.

Conclusion

If you’re wondering how to increase salon clientele, it’s clear you need to consider every single client touchpoint.

Happy employees will help maintain the efficiency of your business.

A fast and slick booking system will encourage new clients to book in more than once.

Clever marketing campaigns and engaging social media accounts will keep your salon-fresh in people’s minds.

Always learn from your data and let it inform what you offer and where you could promote more.

And always define the kind of client you want to retain. From age range to earnings, the more you know about your client, the more you’ll be able to appeal to them.

And if you love these ideas or have some other ideas that you've used in the past to promote your salon business, why not share them with the Belliata community in the comment section below. We would also be delighted to answer your questions, as well.

Citations

How to acquire customers on the web
http://thuvien.bkc.vn/Ebook/Ebook-2/Kinh-Te-Quan-Tri/Tieng%20Anh/Harvard%20Business%20Review

Web marketing method and system for increasing volume of quality visitor traffic on a web site
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030208578A1/en

How to delight your customers
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/10610429610119469/full/html