Top Salon Loyalty Program Ideas to Keep Clients Coming Back

Are looking for salon loyalty program ideas that can make your salon successful?

Due to the stiff competition in the beauty industry, getting and retaining existing clients in your salon is never easy. But it is not impossible.

To make your job easy, a salon loyalty program will come in handy. This program will be a win-win for both you and your clients. It will not only ensure your repeat clients remain loyal but also help in bringing in new clients, without adopting expensive marketing strategies.

 

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1. What is a Loyalty Program?
2. Benefits of Loyalty Programs for Your Salon
3. Key Elements of Successful Salon Loyalty Programs
4. Top Salon Loyalty Program Ideas
5. Conclusion

What Is A Loyalty Program?

A loyalty program is a system created by a business to give rewards to its loyal customers.

Loyalty programs are among the most successful salon marketing efforts and can be a great tool for your business, but only when implemented well. These loyalty reward programs evolve day by day, and you can use them to get repeat clients, over and over. They are meant to drive customers to a salon rather than letting them go after one or a few visits.

Remember, customers, will stick with a service provider that fulfills their goals. That's why you have to be smart when adopting a loyalty program that customers will feel happy about.

There are several types of loyalty programs salon owners can adopt such as a points-based, cashback, and punch cards rewards program.

Points-based

In the c program, customers earn points every time they buy a product or get salon services. The points are redeemable upon reaching a particular number.

Cashback

In the cashback program, a percentage of what a customer spends is given back to them, and they can spend it on their next visit.

Punch Card

In the punch card program, a punch hole is made in the customer's loyalty card. Upon getting a set number of holes, the client is rewarded with a gift or a discount. Punch cards can be in the form of paper or digital.

Benefits of Loyalty Programs for Your Salon

Here are some of the benefits your salon will get after adopting an effective loyalty program.

Customer Retention

Offering excellent services to clients is not the only way to retain them.

If you have a loyalty program, they will come back to take advantage of your freebies, discounts, or any other thing offered in the program. We all know that people love free things. You can be sure that no one will let go of what you have to offer as a reward for getting your services or buying your products.

A great way to even make your program more effective is to put an expiry date on the offers to encourage clients to come to the salon as soon as possible.

More Referrals

A word of mouth is one of the most effective and cheapest marketing strategies.

People discuss several things, even some you would not have thought of, such as special offers from their service providers.

When someone tells their friends how they get special offers as a result of being repeat clients, their friends will be inclined to take advantage of such an opportunity.

Reduced Down Slow

Every business experience some down slow at some point and the beauty industry is no exception.

Did you know that it is possible to keep getting customers all year round? With any form of down slow, this is where creativity comes in. Offer special incentives to your loyal clients to get your services during these slow days.

You can be sure that you'll be busy through repeat business as you wait for the busy days.

Reduce Marketing Costs

A successful loyalty program will help in client retention and bring in more new clients. This means you don't have to use other expensive marketing strategies. Who wouldn't want to achieve more remarkable results without allocating a hefty budget?

Increased Revenues

Definitely, customer retention and each new client you attract will lead to increased revenue. It is the dream of every salon owner to keep on getting more money as days go.

Don't be content with what you are earning. Instead, focus on getting more revenue as your business grows.

Customer Engagement

When signing up for loyalty rewards programs, customers will leave their details to you, which you can use to send them business-related information.

Customer engagement is one of the ways to retain them and to promote your business as well. You can use their contact details such as their name and email addresses. Use that information to tell them about a new service or product, special discounts, and remind them about their loyalty rewards.

Customers feel appreciated and valued when salons reach out. You can also send them personalized messages such as birthday wishes and give them birthday rewards to make them feel even more valued.

These are some of the little efforts that offer long term solutions and keep a customer coming in.

Key Elements of Successful Salon Loyalty Programs

How to Create a Salon Loyalty Program

Not all salon loyalty programs are successful. If you don't take time to develop an effective strategy, you are doomed to fail. To avoid that, here are some of the tips to help you in coming up with a good plan and use it to scale up your business.

Choose Your Platform to Run Your Program On

Select the most suitable loyalty program platform depending on your salon's needs, and those of your clients. Basically, get a platform that is easy to integrate, consistent, secure and affordable.

Study Your Clients

Before anything else, study the behavior patterns of your customers.

Research who are your most loyal clients. These are the backbones of your business since they bring in more revenue than a one-time client. Get to know the spontaneous and one-time clients to help you select the most suitable programs for everyone. Get their name and contact information and save it somewhere safe.

Set Goals

Setting goals is one of the key aspects of succeeding in any business.

If you don't have goals, you don't have anything driving you to a specific direction. Unknowingly, you could sway away from one thing to another, and none of them will be successful. Goal setting helps you put your focus and energy on something specific, and hence increasing your likelihood of achieving it. By doing this, you avoid spending revenue on areas that don't bring in profits to your business.

Some of the goals you can set include:

• Getting clients contact information
• Getting new clients
• Retaining existing clients
• Growing salon revenue from products sales and services

Set A Budget

Having a budget prevents you from overspending, which could cause financial strains to your business. Set a realistic budget that will not overstretch your business financially. It should also add value to all your clients by giving them valuable rewards.

Get Your Team Onboard

run a loyalty program without notifying your team. Getting them onboard ensures that you are headed in the same direction and that they all know what they are supposed to do. They can also give helpful ideas to make the program even better.

Make It Special

Don't be like any other business.

Try to offer something special to your clients that is of more value. People love exclusive things, but they must make sense since no one wants something that is of very little value. Make it fun. The reward should not be hard to reach.

Don't make the customers feel like they can only get it after spending a fortune or visiting your salon a thousand times. That way, they will only get discouraged.

Set realistic goals that are achievable to customers to encourage them to participate in your program. Even though the customers should also work on the program, it shouldn't feel like too much hard work.

Surprise Them

Don’t be predictable. Surprise your clients by sending them personalized content, and giving them unexpected rewards through the loyalty program.

It will make them have a positive mindset about your business and will remain loyal.

Let It Match Your Brand

The reward you give should match the services you offer or the products you sell.

If you decide to pay for a vacation for your clients as a form of reward, it will make them happy and encourage them to participate in the program, but it's not in rhyme with what you do. It might feel a bit awkward.

Give out rewards that match your business, like offering a free hair treatment or giving them a hair product.

Just make sure it adds value to each client.

Promote Your Program

You don't have to promote your program externally.

Train your employees on how to market the rewards program to the clients when they are attending to them. Have displays running in your salon, too. Another great way of marketing a loyalty program is posting it on your website and social media channels.

Additionally, sending the information via email or other contact details is also an excellent idea.

Deliver on Your Promise

Delivering on your promises gives confidence to customers about your products and business in general. Don’t make promises you won’t keep, as you might lose customers’ trust. Ensure your team also does the same, to increase customer retention.

Measure Results

You don't want to put your energy and resources into something that doesn't bring positive results.

Measuring results helps you recognize the weak areas of the program so that you can improve on them and strong ones so that you can put more focus on them. One of the easiest ways to measure the results is by looking at the retention rate? Did it increase after creating the program, or it's still the same?

Another solution is by directly asking each client about the rewards program. Conduct a satisfaction survey. If there are any pain points, fix them as soon as possible to make the program more satisfying.

Top Salon Loyalty Program Ideas

Here are some ideas you can implement to have a successful salon loyalty program.

 

• 1. Create A Salon VIP Program for All Your Loyal Customers

  You can offer them exclusive discounts on services, beauty products, and special treatment as well. Just as the name implies, clients will feel honored when given VIP status, and you can be sure that they will remain loyal to you.

• 2. Give Points to A Customer When They Refer A Friend

  This way, you will increase the number of new clients coming to your salon or spa and, in return, get more revenue from retail sales. Give loyalty points to customers who pre-book their next services after visiting your salon. This will make sure they return again. You can even reward after making several bookings to encourage more visits.

• 3. Encourage Customers to Buy Dead Stock

  Do this by giving them redeemable point value after purchase. Deadstock is not good for a business as it leads to reduced cash flow.

• 4. Create Points System Packages

  Create points system packages to encourage more retail sales whereby clients earn points with every purchase. You can include slow-moving goods in the package, too, to reduce the dead stock. Give loyalty cards to them too.

• 5. Birthday and Anniversary Bonus Points

  Let your esteemed clients feel appreciated by giving them points during their birthdays or any other special days in their lives, such as anniversaries.

• 6. Encourage Them to Take Before and After Photos

  Whenever a client gets your services, encourage him/her to take before and after photos, post them on social media channels, and give rewards via a point system.

• 7. Encourage Clients to Make Online Bookings

  Encourage online bookings instead of calling and give clients bonus points for doing this. Online booking is much better than calling since they can do it anytime, from any location.

• 8. Redeem for Free Upgrades with X Amount of Points

  Let the clients redeem their points to get free upgrades, when they reach a particular number of points.

• 9. Add Tiers of Membership

  Have several loyalty programs membership tiers such that whenever a customer reaches a certain number of points, they are moved to the next tier.

  Everyone loves upgrades and will work towards getting them.

• 10. Exclusive Deals for Clients Within the Loyalty Program

  Give exclusive deals specially made for customers in the loyalty programs to encourage other clients to sign up for it.

• 11. Redeem Points for A Local Charity and Double Them Up in Value

  Encourage clients to redeem their points and double up their value. This will encourage your clients to get more points since they will contribute to giving to the less fortunate.

• 12. Email Your Customers Directly

  Email them and ask them to market your program and reward them for their efforts.

• 13. Encourage Bookings During the Slow Months

  Don't let your business experience slow down, especially during January. Reward your clients with bonus points if they make bookings during the month. You can even get a salon loyalty app to smooth line things further.

• 14. Give Clients Points When They Follow Your Social Media Channels

  If a client doesn’t follow your business on social media, or have not reacted to recent posts, encourage them to do so by offering them points in return.

How Long will It Take to Create an Effective Salon Loyalty Program?

How long it takes to create a good salon loyalty program will depend on various factors such as the kind of program you want to adopt, and the time you dedicate daily on creating it. It can take a few weeks to a few months.

Conclusion

Creating a successful salon loyalty program should never feel like an uphill task.

If you do it the right way, your business will get a larger clientele, retain customers, and this will lead to an increased salon or spa revenue.

Don't forget to continue offering excellent services, as well.

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 Zolmi community in the comment section below. We would also be delighted to answer your questions, as well.

Citations

Developing an effective customer loyalty program
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/41166374

Building high-loyalty business systems
https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA15141700&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1

Transitioning loyalty programs
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-07-2014-0368/full/html