The more connected a customer feels to your salon, the more likely they are to return. But how do you encourage those connections?
The most successful nail salons don’t just hope their customers will come back for more. There’s a lot you can do to create an experience your customers will want to repeat over and over again.
Here are four nail salon customer retention strategies that work:
Make the first visit memorable
Good first impressions make for lasting relationships. A successful retention strategy often hinges on the first visit a new customer makes to your salon.
Offer a good experience and your new customer could become a customer for life. Let something go wrong and they might tell their friends about it or leave a bad review on Yelp.
Obviously, a great trip to the nail salon involves excellent service and friendly staff — you (and every other salon owner in town) already know that. But what about offering some light refreshments like fresh-brewed tea or espresso?
Even a small gesture like placing a pitcher of ice water with some lemon slices in the waiting area will make a difference. Bigger gestures, like making special accommodations for people’s cultural or religious needs, can also help make a great impression.
Establish a connection
Once you have the basics in place, go beyond the simple things.
Try to get an understanding of why your new customer came to your shop. Are they attending a wedding in a couple days or starting a new job? These details give you insight into some add-ons they may appreciate and give you something to chat with them about.
A customer’s first visit should be memorable for you as well. The more you can remember about a customer, the better able you’ll be to create an excellent experience when they return. A lot of salons will keep customer cards on file with key information to remember. How’d that wedding go, anyway?
Offer maximum convenience
No matter how much customers like a salon, they aren't going to keep coming back if it's too difficult for them to get great service. There’s a whole lot that you can do to streamline booking, payment, and other parts of the salon experience to increase convenience.
Take scheduling, for example. If you still only take appointments over the phone, consider adding an online booking tool to make it easier for customers to see availability and select their time slots.
Often, making slight adjustments to your business practices can make a major difference. Is demand high late in the evening? Consider extending your hours by 30 minutes to accommodate more customers.
Consider a loyalty program
Loyalty programs give people a material incentive to return to your business. By giving discounts, bonuses, or even free service, you reward people for coming back to your salon instead of your competitors’.
A lot of salon owners see punch card loyalty programs as unsophisticated, but can’t afford a fancy custom-branded mobile app. Thankfully, there’s a high-tech solution that’s refined enough for your salon.
Spendgo kiosks sit at your register where your customers can interact with them while checking out. Loyalty programs built on Spendgo are easy to use — there’s no login or app required — and won’t slow down your checkout process. They also allow you to collect customer data that can be converted into actionable marketing and business strategies.
From building personal relationships to offering the best technology solutions, a strong customer retention strategy can make the difference when it comes to growing your salon business.
Learn how Spendgo can improve your retention rates. Schedule a demo.
