Here in Phorest, we firmly believe that if your salon has had over 3000 clients through its door, then you can stop continuously chasing new customers and focus a little more on your salon client retention rates. You’ve done all the hard work already! Plus, according to CTL Europe, a 2% increase in client retention has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10%.
Huge, isn’t it?
First-Time Client Retention In A Nutshell
Of all the numbers you keep track of in the running of your salon, your client retention rate should be considered just as important as your service revenue, retail revenue and employee retention rate.
Now, first-time salon client retention is the percentage of first-time customers that return for a second visit within a specified period (usually ninety days). The metric measures your salon/spa’s quality score and your consistency.
In English, please! If your salon/spa’s first-time retention rate is 40 percent, that means 60 percent of the first-time clients you fight hard to attract are not returning. That rate also indicates that your salon/spa might lack in customer journey consistency.
Based on Phorest’s research of the salon industry, we’ve calculated the following salon industry benchmarks that are good targets to aim for.
- New Client Retention: 30%
- Existing Client Retention: 68%
- Overall Client Retention: 58%
Get more information and statistics in The Phorest Salon Software’s “Salon Owner’s Playbook To Client Retention eBook.”
5 Foolproof Strategies To Boost Your Salon Client Retention Rates
As a salon owner, you need to know your numbers. Client retention isn’t the same as request tracking. This second method measures “who requests who;” not how many first-time clients return to your business for a second visit. A client coming back to your salon, but to a different stylist, for example, will not affect your salon’s retention rate – but sure, it will change your stylist’s personal retention rate.
Put these strategies to work to see your retention rates go up (+ download and print this reminder for your staff room):
- Offer to pre-book every client, every time.
Don’t be shy to ask your client when would suit best for the next appointment. It’s not pushy; it’s more like a “we want to make sure keep your beautiful color.” The more you know about your client’s booking habits, the easier it’ll be to pre-book. - Be all ears.
It all starts with a consultation, but make sure there is communication throughout the service. Your client needs to receive what is asked. Catch on to your customers’ cues, desires, interests. - Make a good first impression.
The more your staff has policies and guidelines to follow, the more consistent will your services be across all platforms. Every client should feel like they’ve been treated with the same care. You’d be surprised to see how quickly you can lose a first-time client because of a difference in service and attention. - Make the salon experience easy on your client.
You already know this, but your clients are busy and stressed. Write down their habits and preferences (it can even go down to how they like their coffee!), any little thing that makes their experience incredible will have a direct effect on your salon client retention rates. - Get feedback.
Feedback from your team, from your customers. Improve on what can be improved and develop your teamwork at the same time!
Based in Europe? GDPR Is Coming!
By May 2018, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) it is going to be mandatory for EU-based salons to collect, house and protect your clients’ personal data and information securely, but also, to be the utmost transparent about how it was collected. You will be required to provide a clear audit trail as to how you collected it. Failure to comply with this legislative requirement could cost your business thousands – or worse; you could lose your business completely. However, worry not. We’re here to help.
Join Connor Keppel for your FREE Salon GDPR Masterclass on Monday, February 12th, 2018 at 10am UK & Ireland and find out exactly how you can ensure that your salon is ready for the new mandatory Data Regulation that will be sweeping Europe in May 2018 (American businesses are not affected).
Click on the image to save your spot.
The Phorest Salon Software Client Retention Formula
Step 1: Identify (Target)
The first step to client retention is to track who is coming back and who isn’t. You’ll also need to identify why they are or not coming back. The more you pay attention to this step, the easier it’ll be to reconnect with them admitting they start lapsing.
Step 2: ReConnect (We’ve Got A Feature For That!)
If you are a Phorest client and haven’t tried it yet, Client ReConnect is the number #1 tool in the industry to increase salon client retention.
Case study: Last summer, Baroque Hair in Harrogate sent an SMS to a select list of clients using Phorest’s Client ReConnect tool in the marketing section. It was a super smart campaign by the team of stylists (they knew exactly who they were targeting and why). Firstly, they targeted two client categories: cut and style and also color clients (i.e. clients who have had one of these services with the salon in the past). From just £5.06 of sent SMS, they generated over £5000 by getting clients back in!
This could be the case of your salon too! For a video walkthrough of the feature including the setup, watch the video below!
Step 3: Reward (Loyalty Programs)
As you’ll hear from one of our clients in this Phorest FM episode, we run a loyalty program called the ‘TreatCard’. The programs allows clients to earn points for every dollar they spend. Once they’ve reached a certain number, you surprise them with a free treat in the form of a service or product. However, here’s the key to its success: you only reward them with something they’ve never had before. This way, you introduce them to something new and make them more likely to come back to buy that product or service at full price. Sounds interesting? Contact the <[email protected]> for more information!
Not a Phorest Salon Software client? Check out our Salon Owner’s Bible To An Incredibly Successful Loyalty Program for tips on how to run a successful loyalty program.
Got feedback? Let us know either in the comments below or tweet us @ThePhorestWord!
Thanks for reading! #LetsGrow
