“Building customer loyalty to your business will require a powerful communication strategy with your customers.” – Jon Gonzales

What sets one’s salon apart from another is more than just the quality of their stylists and services. It is how well they connect with their customers and future customers. Exceeding client expectations should be a high priority.

Sadly, many salons and hairdressers take their loyal customers for granted and fail to bond with their customers by developing strong personal relationships with them. This kind of behavior can be devastating when trying to build a loyal clientele and a profitable business.

Consumers know there are plenty of other salons available to chose from and at all different price ranges to choose from. If they don’t feel a sense of loyalty to yours, there will be nothing to stop them from taking their business elsewhere.

This is also an excellent way to combat turnover if one of your workers leave your salon.

A strong customer loyalty program is essential to your bottom line

Your salon and team works hard to attract and keep new customers. But it’s even harder to turn those new customers into a solid and dependable long term customer base. When you learn to connect with your clients in personal and meaningful ways, you will cultivate the kind of customers who will remain loyal to your salon, not just to a particular hairdresser.

And a loyal client who refers friends, relatives, and business associates is pure business gold. The positive word-of-mouth generated by a satisfied customer will always be your cheapest and most effective form of advertising.

Powerful customer service guidelines will be powerful in earning the trust and loyalty of your customer.

Increased salon traffic, greater profits, and long term business growth and stability will be your reward.

Connecting with your customers is as simple as sending out a monthly newsletter or post card saying you appreciate their business.

You need to stay in touch with your current and future customers , and make it a top priority. Think of it this way: the more you keep your salon’s name in front of your satisfied clients, the more they will  show their loyalty towards your business.

One of the most effective and inexpensive methods of reaching out to your current and future customers can be accomplished by writing an informative email newsletter or blog post. Publishing a monthly or quarterly newsletter can be used to to introduce a new staff member as well.

Here are a few Tips :

  • Thank You —  with a new customer you may want to send a personal thank you card thanking  them for their business.   Don’t forget your current clients as well. From time to time drop a note thanking them for their continued loyalty
  • Stay in Touch — with current customers, keeping lines of communication open,you may want to offer beauty tips on your business fan page or you tube channel.
  • Loyalty Incentives  — keep it fun, maybe a gift certificate drawing at Starbucks or a dinner for two every 6 months. The more your customers buy products or services, the more chances they have at winning a prize.
  • Press Releases — send a article to your local newspaper celebrating your anniversary in business or other newsworthy events.
  • Excel at Customer Service — exceed client expectations,doing a little more than expected.
  • Lost customers — send a note from time to time saying we miss you.
  • Become a Blogger Offering Beauty Tips — pop sugar offers some excellent advice towards self improvement?
  • Measure Customer Retention — make random phone calls asking did we exceed your expectations

An email newsletter will also help you break away from your competition

Regular, ongoing communication with your customers is a powerful marketing strategy little known and rarely used by your competitors, and one that will help your salon stand out in the crowd.

For example, let’s say you lose one of your hairdressers to a competing salon. Your email newsletter would allow you to keep in touch with any of your clients who follow their stylist to the new salon, offer them incentives to return to your salon, and show them that you value their friendship and patronage,letting them know   they are always welcomed back. Of course a little enticement would help.

This is the kind of personal connection your clients crave, and it will differentiate you from the other salons that may not communicate with their clients at all.

Excellent tutorials on how to set up your email newsletter can be found at www.constantcontact.com.

Most likely, you’ll find that the majority of your clients have email accounts. But for those who don’t, simply send those excerpts of your newsletters via direct mail postcards, or offer a printed version in your salon.

And if you need help writing articles or designing your newsletter, there are many cost-effective resources available. In fact, try your local college. They probably will be able to recommend a student who is proficient in this area and willing to help for little or no cost.

Please refer to my book, Growing Your Business, for other helpful educational cost-effective content .Then I urge you to take the time to explore and develop an effective communication strategy of your own. The success of your salon is riding on it . Marketing and cost effective social media marketing will be one of my topics on my intensive 2 day business seminar which will be scheduled in early 2018.