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2003 is proving to be a tough year for salons and spas. Maybe it's the stock market, eroding consumer confidence, terrorist threats, or the winds of war in the Middle East. Maybe it's el Nino; but whatever it is, it's not business as usual. Some clients are skipping visits or stretching the four-week visit to six weeks. Other clients are picking up hair and skin care products from Target or Wal-Mart instead of from the salon. But as clients change their buying patterns, resist the urge to cut the budget, and instead focus on re-invigorating your marketing efforts with more zeal, vigor and passion than ever before. Let your competitors take the wait-and-see approach. They can circle their wagons while you widen your circle.
Even if you have resisted client retention programs in the past or have been stuck in the birthday postcard and one-size fits all newsletter rut, now is the ideal time to change the way you look at marketing. You've heard of proactive marketing, so do it-widen your circle, expand your horizons and try marketing models that are new to you.
Use a database driven model-reap many rewards through greater retention.
You may think you "know your clients, but do you? Knowing their style, cut and color isn't enough. Understanding visit frequencies and tracking service and retail purchase patterns will effectively allow you to communicate with clients between visits. Watching for changes in visit and purchase patterns can arm you with valuable information. Many software packages have such tracking, but you are left alone to figure it out. Build an all-encompassing relationship marketing program and outsource not only the mechanics but the tracking and analysis as well.
Reward clients for their continuing patronage. Savvy owners realize that by staying connected with clients between visits is essential to creating relationships that last. While it may be easy to WOW clients on each visit, the "wow" needs to be reinforced between visits.
The knee-jerk reaction to rewards by many owners is that they aren't needed because clients will come back anyway. If that is true, why do so many speakers at conferences and symposiums like TSA emphasize retention? Why does Aveda recognize the salon that posts the best client retention at every Congress? Retention is important to the success of every business. Salons and spas are no exception.
The simple truth is that clients have many choices. And, thanks to modern technology, it is easy for them to find alternatives. Just go to the Internet and take a virtual tour of your competitors' salons; compare their prices and menus with a click of a mouse. Your clients are doing it and if you don't reinforce your presence, client erosion is inevitable.
Remember, everyone has potential.
Your best clients have the potential to leave
Your marginal clients have the potential to spend more
New clients have the potential to come back
Use the data that you have collected to promote the right things to the right people. Once you've identified the individuals who are skipping visits or going to discount brands, try to re-capture them with offers that demonstrate value. A points based rewards program let's you use "points" as a flexible promotional currency. Discounts set the wrong tone for most owners. Rewards are positive motivators, including offering bonuses for trying a new service or product.
Turn a hair only client into a hair and nail client with a special offer to try a nail service. Then, promote another service to expand trial. Once hooked, you'll see increased sales and repeat visits from that client.
Target "clusters" of clients. Because all clients are not the same, it is important to group them into volume clusters to identify changes. You will be amazed how powerful a cluster analysis is when marketing to your clients. It is easier to work with ten clusters of clients than with one uncategorized group of a thousand clients. Clusters exhibit different buying patterns representing where clients in the cluster may be in their buying cycles with your salon and spa. Shifts in buying patterns should not be taken lightly. Remember the scientists who spotted the first El Nino pattern shifts in water temperature a few years ago and ignored the changes because they believed their instruments were faulty? Don't make the same costly mistake.
The new Millennium buzzword - TOUCHPOINTS
Widening the circle means engaging in marketing tactics that deliver on-going communications with your clients. Touchpoints are all the ways you can stay connected with clients.
Begin with new clients. Follow-up in a week with a personal message thanking them for trying your services. Ask for their feedback and invite them back for a second visit. Test different strategies with regard to incentives for the second visit.
Stay connected with current clients. Reward them for their patronage. Communicate what's happening in your salon and encourage e-mail addresses as an important and low-cost touchpoint.
Try to recapture lost clients - and that should be anyone who has not had a service appointment in over ninety days. Ask if they had a service problem and promise to fix it. Offer a special incentive to get them back. Remember, there may be a competitor who is also trying to widen the circle at your expense.
When a team member leaves - aggressively communicate with those affected clients to retain them. Clients belong to your salon and spa not the departing employee. Let those affected clients know your salon/spa cares about them and do it quickly.
Clients are your most valuable asset. Use every touchpoint to stay connected and continue to try new ideas whenever possible.
Recognize that as good as "do-it-yourself" sounds, it is likely to fall by the wayside. Many salon software packages have a "loyalty" component built in. Don't be trapped by the promise that you can do it on your own. Even the best of intentions provide no assurance that timely mailings will get out to clients. If you have already circled the wagons, who's going to do it? Widen the circle and outsource the execution of your on-going communications.
If you have circled the wagons, you have effectively blocked out the future. When you widen the circle, you can take advantage of all the dynamic marketing and analytical tools at your disposal and make something positive happen. Look around. Analyze your team's performance, talk to every client if necessary. Analyze your software. If you are not getting the reports you need, change - upgrade - and get the tools to make your business grow in today's unstable dynamic environment. And finally, develop marketing initiatives that are customized to your specific needs so you can stay connected with your clients between visits and build retention.
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