When it comes to attracting and keeping new customers in any business, including spas and salons, there are a lot of considerations to be made. For one thing, you have to decide how your time and money is best spent in support of your goal. Wasting money advertising may ultimately prove to be counterproductive if you spend your advertising money poorly and don’t acquire new customers or acquire new customers but spend too much acquiring each one so that you are effectively at a loss. Similarly, you don’t want to refrain from spending any money and miss out on marketing opportunities for your spa or salon which could potentially have a great return on investment. Here we will discuss 5 ways, many of which are free, that you can substantially improve client acquisition and retention at your spa and salon.
1. MAKE A CURRENT GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LISTING
Google, as most people know, is the most used search engine on the planet and, for this reason, having your business show up at relevant times on this search engine is crucial to growing your operation. There are essentially three ways in which your spa or salon can show up on Google and those three ways are: paid advertisements, Google My Business Listings and organic search results. Paid advertisements are shown above all other search results and have an “ad” indicator to let the searcher know it is paid publicity. Right under the paid advertisement results is “Google My Business Listings” which are relevant local search results for a given query such as “salons near me” for which you want to show up. These listings typically show the physical address, phone number, Google reviews and website link for a business. What’s convenient about Google My Business Listings for your business is that it is not a paid listing (so it is free) and you can show up more readily because the competition to show up doesn’t include the entire rest of the world like the “organic” search results below them. In order to create your Google My Business Listing, you will have to verify your business location with Google which can be done through your G Suite portal by having Google mail a postcard to your business address with a verification code. This can take around a week after which you should have a full Google My Business listing for your spa or salon. Attracting clients with a Google My Business listing is 100% free.
2. BRAND YOURSELF AS SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE
Modern spa and salon clients, like those in all industries, care that the businesses they are supporting have principles that align with their own. These principles, many times, include things like maintaining an environmentally friendly business practices, standing up against various types of social discrimination and supporting national causes like the war in Ukraine. How to go about representing your spa or salon business with respect to these social causes is your choice but there are many ways to do it without breaking the bank. For instance, keeping recycling containers and using environmentally-friendly beauty products is a great way to communicate to your clients that you, like they, are aware of the plight the world faces from pollution. For social issues like discrimination or the war in Ukraine, you could collect donations at your front desk for a charity that gives to these causes. All of these initiatives will create a sense of community between your business and new and potential clients.
3. STREAMLINE BOOKING AND CHANGING APPOINTMENTS
Every client of every business in the world appreciates convenience. Luckily, there are numerous ways to make your spa or salon business more convenient and, therefore, more attractive to potential clients as well as old ones. One simple way to add to the convenience of your business is to use (or have your own) an appointment application or software. People who are busy will appreciate the ability to schedule an appointment from their cell phone without having to call in to your business and taking the time to schedule with someone over the phone. Additionally, an appointment application will make your employees more efficient as they focus on other tasks while the application is taking care of scheduling and changing appointments. This is a win for your clients, business and employees and can contribute to getting new clients and retaining old ones.
4. OFFER FREE SELF-CARE CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
One thing which many of your spa and salon competitors are probably overlooking is the ability to attract new customers by putting free self-care articles or videos on your social media pages. Creating this type of content attracts new customers in a variety of ways. For one thing, it increases the organic reach of your business’ social media page as the content gets distributed for free in accordance with the algorithms of the platform and also gets shared by readers and viewers. Second of all, this type of content demonstrates your business’ competence and expertise in the beauty field and creates a sense of confidence in your potential customers. Some work and time is required to create quality content of this sort, but the reward is well worth the trouble.
5. OFFER GROUP DEALS AND DISCOUNT PACKAGES
One way to overcome some of the resistance and hesitation that new spa or salon customers may feel is to offer group deals and package discounts. With respect to group deals, a new client who is considering a special type of spa treatment that they have never tried before may feel more confident in ultimately making the commitment if they come into the experience with friends or family. Therefore, if you offer them the incentive, such as a group discount deal, to invite their friends and family to try the experience with them, you may end up with many new clients as opposed to one or none. Similarly, a current client who already loves your business may be encouraged to invite their relatives or friends to your business with this type of offer. With respect to discount packages, offering a package of various services may help pique the curiosity of clients who feel indecisive about committing to one particular beauty treatment. The fact that, when packaged together the treatments are discounted from their normal price, may help close the deal in getting you more new clients.
CONCLUSION
While there are many ways to approach getting new clients, retaining old ones and growing your business, the strategies discussed in this article are largely free and accessible to anyone. Therefore, you shouldn’t be stuck thinking that, in order to take your business to the next level you need to spend huge amounts of money on advertising or marketing agencies because there are ways to accomplish the same goal with any budget.