Dear John,
At the start of the New Year, there are many areas that salons look to focus on improving. One of the most common areas is bringing in new clients. What are a few ways to help bring in new faces this time of year?
Nowadays, word of mouth is more powerful than ever—in person and online. Use existing client relationships to foster new relationships. A great way to do this is by incorporating new client referrals into your client loyalty program, which gives current clients an incentive to refer friends and family. If you know a client is happy with your services and their overall experience at your business, ask them to write a review online. Employees should also work on bringing in new clients. If they believe in themselves and the salon, they should be referring people constantly.
Use social media. Chances are, your clients are on some form of social media, whether it be Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Take advantage of this! You want to be where your clients are. Being accessible on the platforms frequented by your potential customer base gives you the ability to reach a mass audience. With the right strategy, social media can be a cost-effective portion of your marketing plan.
Get involved in your local community. Host an event or partner with a local group. One of our clients puts together lunch bags for their local food bank every few months. They promote their event through social media as well as in their salon, and end up having a few dozen people come out to help. This not only benefits the community but it also allows people to see that their business stands for something.
Remember, working on ways to bring new clients in the door is a great goal for the start of the year, but this should be worked on consistently throughout the year as well.
John Harms
Millennium Systems International, Founder and CEO
About: John Harms, Founder & CEO of Millennium Systems International, creator of Millennium Software, has been designing industry leading salon scheduling software and educating the beauty & wellness industry since 1987. Today Millennium is utilized in thousands of businesses in over 38 countries and operating with approximately 150+ employees worldwide. Millennium currently runs its corporate headquarters out of New Jersey and its international office is based in the U.K.