Top Salon VIP Program Ideas for 2024 to Keep Your Clients Happy

A brilliant way to boost client loyalty at your salon is with the help of a salon VIP program. Lots of professional salons are setting up their own loyalty program to encourage repeat customers and increase salon loyalty, and you can do the same.

This guide will show you how to set up a customer loyalty program, providing inspiration and ideas to help you get more loyal customers. We’ll also cover why a salon loyalty program matters, and what sorts of benefits salon owners can enjoy from setting up their own salon loyalty programs in general.

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1. What is a Salon VIP Program?
2. Benefits of a VIP Program in Your Salon
3. Top Salon VIP Program Ideas
4. Conclusion

What is a Salon VIP Program?

Let's begin by looking at a definition of what a VIP loyalty program actually is. You may hear these programs under many different names, like customer loyalty programs or points-based VIP programs.

Either way, they’re all basically the same thing; the bottom line is that a salon loyalty program is a service designed by a hair or nail salon business to provide some sort of reward or advantage to its most loyal customers.

These kinds of loyalty programs can come in various forms. Some will involve the use of a punch card that you can give to a new client to encourage them to return to your salon again and again. Others focus on a system where repeat clients can earn points for coming back, or refer a friend.

In any case, the main aim of a salon loyalty program is to boost client retention and keep clients coming back, providing repeat business for you.

Benefits of a VIP Program in Your Salon

There are many benefits people can enjoy from setting up a loyalty program like a punch card system or points system as part of the salon marketing efforts at their spa or salon, such as:

• Higher levels of customer retention for your business
• More referrals of friends and family
• Opportunity for less downtime for your spa or salon
• Lower marketing costs to promote services and products
• Higher revenue and profit due to more appointments
• Greater levels of customer engagement

Top Salon VIP Program Ideas

Now, let’s look at some ideas of how to set up your own VIP client program for your clients to earn points and come back to your salon time and time again.

Free or Paid Membership Options

A good way to start building your VIP program is to think about offering both free and paid membership options. Many salons do this, and it’s a good form of customer service, as it ensures that no one is left out. It’s a win-win for everyone - free members can still get some sort of benefit, while those who pay get extra add ons and unique benefits when making their appointments.

Discounts on Products and Services

A common method used by many salons with their VIP memberships is to offer member discounts on products and services. This can really be enticing to the people who come to your salon, as it’s very common for customers to want to buy hair care products and other spa items from your business.

Freebies and Rewards

Everyone loves free things, and that golden rule applies to your clients too. As well as giving them ways to build up points over time, why not offer them something for free on a regular basis? This gives them a reason to keep coming back to your spa to earn even more bonus points. You might offer them a free product or even a small free service like a manicure.

VIP Experience for Your Clients

Many spas refer to their loyalty plans as “VIP Plans” or have the letters “VIP” somewhere in the title, but don’t actually treat their clients like very important people at all. Your salon could do things differently. Why not offer a truly luxurious experience for all your top clients by giving them access to a VIP seating area, for instance, or letting them enjoy a complimentary glass of wine or champagne upon their arrival.

Tiered Membership Programs

Another common method for these sorts of programs is to give them different tiers. This basically means that members can work their way up through the ranks, achieving higher levels of loyalty after earning certain amounts of points. Then, when they get to those higher levels, they get extra bonuses like a fancier card and title and some exclusive extras.

Invite-Only for Extra Exclusivity

One method you might also consider to make your program extra special is to make it invite-only. This can be a risk, as it means that you’ll be relying solely on referrals and word of mouth to spread the word and get new people involved. However, it can be a really powerful way to build the value and image of your membership program.

Multiple Ways to Earn Points

Another key idea to think about is how your members are going to earn points. You might stick with something simple and let them earn points for each visit. But it’s wise to diversify and give your clients lots of ways to build their points score. They could get points for booking appointments, pre-booking their next appointment during their current visit, spending on services/products, spending a certain amount in a single visit, referring a friend, and so on. Don’t forget to think about point value too and make sure points feel important.

Partner with Local Businesses

If you're looking for something to make your spa or VIP status program extra special, why not contact some local businesses in your area and see if they'd be willing to partner up? You could arrange special discounts or offers at local restaurants or shops, for example, for your most loyal clientele.

Conclusion

Creating a great salon VIP program can feel like a challenge at first.

However, it's important to get this right, as the best program could truly transform your company forevermore, raising retention rates, getting more people through the doors, and boosting your profits too.

Hopefully, this guide has given you some good starting points to develop your own program and make it the best it can be.

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

An approach to develop effective customer loyalty programs: The VIP program at T&T Supermarkets Inc.
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content

Do VIP programs always work well? The moderating role of loyalty https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The impact of Value Incentive Program (VIP) on the quality of hospital care for acute stroke in Korea
https://academic.oup.com/intqhc/article