Guest Article by Justin Fiddy, Business Development Grow Team at Phorest Salon Software
We’ve expressed this thought before, but salons and spas are nothing alike coffee shops… so why are so many acting as if they were? As Phorest’s content manager Chris Brennan stated once before: “A coffee shop and a salon are 2 very different creatures, for a host of obvious reasons. Why would you base your own loyalty system on a business that has very little, if any, similarities to your salon? Many salons are in massive danger of creating a culture through these types of salon loyalty programs that will be hard to ever remove themselves from.” So the real question is, what types of salon/spa loyalty schemes really do add value to your brand’s image and services?
The Problem With Popular Salon Loyalty Programs & Rewards
Often enough, popular salon loyalty programs will give out regular treatments for free or give clients a big discount once they’ve spent a certain amount of £/$/€. And sure, these versions of rewards make your clients happy; they come in and get exactly what the treat says.
But, did you ever stop to think of these two things?
- … That if your client is already coming in on the regular and is paying for 8 treatments to get the 9th free, chances are they’d pay full price for that treatment?
- … That this kind of scheme, overtime, could cost more time and money than you would like to give away?
The ‘money off’ type of reward may be an easy way to treat clients, but these types of salon loyalty programs won’t boost your business’ profile or revenue in the long run. And ultimately, you want people leaving your premises shouting* about you to their friends, coworkers and family members. With the above, while clients are rewarded, there is no long term value for your salon, and over time you will loose time and money.
*(you get it)
Adding Value Instead
The idea is to have a way to reward clients with a surprise treatment, keep them happy and wow them enough to make them your very own brand ambassadors. In fact, research shows that people are more likely to tell someone about a treatment/service they got unexpectedly than if they get money off their regular treatment.
Related | The Salon Owner’s Bible To An Incredibly Successful Loyalty Program
Keep In Mind Short & Long Terms Goals
Take for instance the Phorest TreatCard. It’s specifically designed with all the above factors in mind, with a guarantee to increase your clients’ average spend. It’s a simple way to boost both your salon’s profile and revenue. Next, you need to keep in mind short and long term goals.
Want to learn more about the Phorest TreatCard? Email the Business Development Grow Team at Phorest Salon Software on growteam@phorest.com.
Short-Term Loyalty Scheme Goal
The short-term goal is to generate new clients. This can be easily done with a simple referral system as your clients know they’ll be rewarded for sending new faces into your salon. And if you even had just 1 client out of every 300 who referred someone new every month, can you imagine what effect would that have on your business?
Long-Term Loyalty Scheme Goal
The long-term goal is to have your clients start purchasing the treatment they’ve received as a reward, which inherently, will increase their average spend. Imagine this scenario: a client comes in every 6 weeks for a manicure – let’s say the service is priced at £/$/€ 25 –  and receives a reward of a facial (value of £/$/€ 60). They love the facial, and book back in for their next visit. That, on its own, is one client who has increased their average spend by over £/$/€ 480 over the course of the year!
If I may conclude on this note…Â why are so many salon/spa still acting as if they were coffee shops?
Thanks for reading,
#LetsGrow
