How to Build a Loyal Clientele and Keep Them Coming Back

When working as a salon suite owner, having a healthy clientele is a must. After all, you do have rent due on your new suite and will want to make sure you have enough clients every week to pay your rent and other expenses while still being profitable. Having your books filled at least a month out is the best way to ensure success as a salon suite owner. Here are some helpful tips on how to build a loyal clientele and most importantly keep them coming back:

Decide who your dream client is and target those people

• Choose one of your favorite and most profitable services and advertise that as your specialty. Ex: Create an ad or Groupon for a service of your choice and advertise it as a discounted service (even if its not a substantial discount).

• Offer free consultations to make your potential clients feel more comfortable with choosing you as their service provider.

• Create a social media ad, you don’t need your degree in marketing to do this. It is very easy to boost a post on Facebook and Instagram and you don’t have to spend a lot! Through Facebook and Instagram ads, you can boost your post and choose exactly who you want to see it (age, gender, interests, city, etc.)

Perfect your Craft & Continue Education

• Do you have an area of expertise or are you trying to do it all? Figure out what you are good at and stick to that as your main service. Are you really great at applying hair extensions and your clients just rave about how happy they are after you perform that service but maybe you’re not so great at men’s cuts? That’s OK! We can’t all be great at everything, if you focus on the services you are good at and enjoy, your passion will turn into happy clients who keep coming back for more!

• When working out of a salon suite and owning your own business, it is on you to make sure you are continuing your education and staying up to date on the latest beauty trends. Never stop learning and perfecting your craft. The better you are as a beauty professional whether you’re offering hair services, facials or microblading, the happier your clients will be and the more referrals you will receive.

Keep them Coming Back

• Keeping your clients coming back is probably the most important thing you can do to ensure a loyal clientele. Make sure you are listening to your client’s needs and ensuring that they are happy with their service before they leave your chair.

• Create a referral or loyalty program. Offer your clients a discount on their next service for each referral they bring to you or offer them a discount or free service for returning (ex: Free hair cut for every 5 visits).

• Pre-schedule their next visit before they leave. This is vital to keeping your books filled at least a month out. Encourage your clients to book their next visit that day and if you’re getting push back, offer them an incentive to do so (ex: you will get 10% off your next visit if you book your next appointment today).

Lastly, never undervalue yourself! Charge what you are worth, do what you love with passion and you WILL build you dream clientele. There is a quote that states - energy flows where attention goes. This simply means that once you have a clear goal and focus your energy on it, amazing things will happen.

How to Build Your Following on Social Media

The days of listing your business in the yellow pages or running a newspaper ad are gone! Being active on social media is a must for anyone working in the beauty industry (and really any industry). Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook will help connect you with thousands of potential clients in your area. Follow these tips to learn how to advertise your business better with social media marketing:

1. Use Hashtags to Help Potential Clients Discover Your Account
   A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a (#), used on social media websites and applications. It is especially useful on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Think of hashtags as a way to connect social media content to a specific topic, event, theme or conversation. They also make it easier to discover posts around those specific topics, because hashtags aggregate all social media content with that same hashtag. Here are some examples of popular hashtags for hair stylists:
   
   #balayagespecialist
   #behindthechair
   #hairgoals
   #hairinspiration
   #hairstylist
   #hairtransformation
   #hairstyle
   #haircut

Be sure to also add hashtags relevant to your location (city and state). This will help you gain local followers who are more likely to convert into clients. Here are some examples of location based hashtags

#plymouthmichigan
#michiganstylist
#plymouthmi
#michigansalon

2. Stay Active & Engage with your potential clients
Like and comment on your potential client’s posts and on other posts of pages they may follow. Encouraging potential followers to interact with you and interacting with their stories is also a great way to help clients discover you and your business. It is also important to stay active on your social media pages make sure you are posting at least every other day but don’t post too much or that may come off as annoying to some people. There are 6 key factors that whose posts show up first in the social media news feeds: Interest, Relationship, Timeliness, Frequency, Following and Usage. Learn more about the Instagram algorithm here.

3. Make it Easy for Clients to Book an Appointment
Facebook and Instagram both have great tools to make booking easy. You can easily connect your booking site to each platform to make it simple for your clients to book an appointment. It’s also a good idea to list your booking URL within your profile as well. Having a user friendly booking site doesn’t hurt either. We recommend using GlossGenius because its easy to use and has great built-in tools such as credit card processing.

4. Giveaways and Contests

Consider doing a giveaway or contest to help build your social media following. The classic “like and/or comment to win” is a tried and true way to increase your following. You can also require users to follow your page, tag a friend or share your post to increase their chances of winning whatever prize you’re giving away. Be careful not to require them to take too many steps to win or you may see a decrease in engagement.

Remember, engaging with your current and potential customers on social media helps you build stronger relationships and that is what this business is all about! Having strong relationships with your clients will keep them coming back to you and encourage them to refer their friends and family to you as well!

5 Step Action Plan to Safely Re-Open Your Salon or Spa

Many beauty professionals are feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what steps to take to ensure the safety of themselves and their clients once they are able to re-open. Your action plan should consist of steps you will take to keep clients stay safe while also protecting yourself. Fortunately, if you are working out of a salon suite or salon studio you are already set up in an ideal environment to handle this more effectively. Be sure that you are following all relevant CDC recommendations outlined here.

1. Protective Equipment - Determine what type of protective equipment you and your clients will be required to wear.

   • All service providers should wear a face covering and also disposable gloves as an added layer of protection ( make sure you are disposing of soiled gloves and replacing with a new pair of gloves as needed).

   • Clients should also wear a face mask and be provided with a new, disposable cape to wear during their service.
     

2. Service Provider Protocol - Determine what you will do before and after each client to ensure protection for your clients and yourself. It is very important to allow enough time in between appointments to perform all of these steps:

   • Clean and disinfect all shears, brushes and any other tools used while servicing your clients.

   • Clean and sanitize your hands upon entering your salon and between each and every client. Best practices for thoroughly sanitizing your hands includes washing your hands with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds.

   • Clean and disinfect every station, chair, mirror, and any product used and touched to ensure everyone’s health and safety.

   • Service providers should ask each client entering the facility the following questions - Have you had a cough? Have you had a fever? Have you been around anyone exhibiting these symptoms within the past 14 days? Are you living with anyone who is sick or quarantined?

   • Stay home if you are not feeling well and ask your clients to do the same, your clients should understand if you need to reschedule their appointment given the circumstances.
     

3. Client Protocol - Determine what your clients will be required to do to ensure their safety and make sure they are informed before their appointment.

   • Advise clients to secure their appointment with a credit card prior to their appointment. This will help avoid contact at checkout (no cash policy).

   • Only one client at a time - advise clients to not bring relatives, children or friends to their appointment to decrease the number of people coming in and out of your salon. Only the client being serviced should be allowed in your facility.

   • Be sure clients are sanitizing their hands before entering your salon. A hand-washing sink or touch-less sanitizing station should be provided.

   • Clients should be advised to wait in their car for their appointment to maintain distance from other clients. Determine the process you will follow to let your clients know when its safe to come in ( ex: have your client call when they arrive and wait in their car until you call and let them know you are ready to begin their appointment).

   • Advise clients to leave unnecessary personal belongings in their car ( hats, scarves, large purses or bags).

   • Advise clients to stay home if they are not feeling well (consider waiving any missed appointment fees during this time).
     

4. Facility Protocol - Additional restrictions should be set to ensure the safety of all clients and yourself.

   • If a waiting area or lobby must be used, ensure all chairs are at least 6 feet apart and make sure they are being sanitized before and after each use. Alternatively, you may ask your clients to wait in their car until their appointment time (see above).

   • Maintain social distancing between workstations. If you are working out a double suite, ensure all stations are at least 6 feet apart or insert a divider as an extra layer of protection.

   • Remove any shared items such as magazines or beverage stations to stop the spread of germs.

   • Ensure sanitizing of all high traffic areas on a regular basis including bathrooms, door handles, light switches, etc.)
     

5. Communicate your policies clearly and frequently - Once you’ve determine what your policies will be and how you will be implementing those policies, make sure your clients are aware. Communicate these policies before their appointment and via multiple methods (email, signage, text messaging, etc.)

   1. Consider sending out a mass email to all of your clients outlining your action plan and the steps you are taking to keep them safe.

   2. Send out a personal message outlining your client protocol to each client the day before their appointment so they come prepared.

   3. Post signage around your facility with instructions to ensure your policies are followed (ex: a sign on the front door stating all clients must wear a mask and sanitize their hands upon entering).

Lastly, remember you are not alone! There are lots of great resources available to help you through this difficult time and we hope this recommended action plan will be helpful to you. Keep in mind that these recommendations may change based on your location and the status of the pandemic in your area. Be sure to stay updated on all recommendations from the CDC.

Can you Afford to go Solo?

Now more than ever, beauty professionals are considering going solo and working out of salon suites to provide themselves and their clients with a safe and clean environment. Going independent is an exciting and sometimes intimidating thought. Being your own boss, setting your own schedule and having full control of your work environment all sound great but a lot of beauty professionals are asking themselves: Can I afford to go solo? With a solid client base and a few helpful tools and resources, the answer is yes, you can!

Let’s do the Math

The first step to determining if you are ready to go solo or not is to do the math! It is really quite simple and we’ve put together a helpful weekly profit calculator to help you get an idea of how much you can earn on average as an independent beauty professional. Keep in mind that as a suite salon owner you will be keeping 100% of your profits, if you are working out of a traditional commission based salon, this will be a great factor for you. At Vibe Salon Suites all of the utilities and maintenance are covered in your rent so no need to worry about that! Simply calculate how many clients & services you have per week on average and multiply that by the average cost of each service. Deduct your product costs, weekly suite rent and any other business related costs you may have. Don’t forget to factor in profit for any retail product sales! In most cases, you will find that you definitely can afford to go solo and you may even find that you will make even more money per week than you do now.

Click here to try the weekly profit calculator

Learn more about the benefits of going solo

See what other independent beauty pros have to say about going solo

Introducing GlossGenius

Vibe Salon Suites is proud to partner with GlossGenius and offer our Vibe professionals an exclusive discounted rate! GlossGenius is an all-in-one business tool which allows you to grow your business, maximize your income and stay in control - with automated appointment scheduling, next-day payments, client management and built-in marketing tools.

The Smartest Payment Solution

GlossGenius offers the easiest and quickest payment processing solution to use. Ultra fast deposits are automatically deposited to your bank account the next day. Checkout is easy with no hardware or chip readers required. You can even charge cancellation or no-show fees to protect your time.

Customized Booking Experience

GlossGenius has the industry's most intuitive and advanced calendar that lets you schedule and shine in no time. Your website remembers clients so they can book you in seconds, 24/7 (yes, even while you sleep). And looks so great on mobile, it’s like having your own personal app and website. They will even help you transition all of your appointment and client data so you have no downtime.

Your Own Personal Assistant

The GlossGenius app works as your own personal assistant by sending you notifications if a client books an appointment, reminders and more! Automated messages to your clients encourage them to share you on social and remind them when to come back.

Easy to Understand Reports and Analytics

GlossGenius has partnered with industry experts to determine which numbers you need to be successful and put those numbers into easy-to-understand reports. Know how you’re doing. Where you’re heading. And what you need to change … with just a tap.

Vibe Salon Suites partners with only the best in the industry to ensure that your transition to working as an independent beauty professional is as seamless as possible. Offering a discounted rate on GlossGenius is just one of the many perks we offer to our professionals. Contact us today to learn more!