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SEARCHIn this unusual year, it can be tricky motivating mature guests to return to the salon. As part of our Burning Questions series, we asked Lauren Gartland and Lori Davis of Inspiring Champions how to reconnect with those clients and get the word out.
We’ll say it again: client needs are going to look a little different these days. One of the most important things they need to know before they book an appointment with you is your safety and security plan. Once that’s established, how do you motivate them to return – after maybe months without an appointment. Lauren Gartland and Lori Davis of Inspiring Champions tackle this burning question below.
SALON TODAY: Our client counts continue to be down. How can we appeal to our mature guests to return to the salon?
Gartland and Davis: There are many new requirements to adapt to in this age of uncertainty and massive change. The most fundamental one is to care for the health and safety of our team and guests.
Safety First! Communicate your safety standards and overcome the most prominent concern guests have about returning. Inform your guests of the health and safety protocols you have instituted. You want to build their certainty and confidence feeling safe coming to your place of business. If you don't tell them what you’re doing, they won’t know. Tell them about your online booking, mask requirement, temperature checks, distancing, waiting outside requirement, station dividers, medical-grade disinfectant, cashless and touchless pay, signed service agreement, e-commerce and curbside pickup.
Be the leader in your community in all sanitation procedures. It will make your guests comfortable and overcome their fears. They return and tell all their friends!
Create your own health and safety message and get the word out:
Post your message or safety video on the home page of your website and on your social channels, and make sure all pictures and videos show staff and guests in masks, practicing social distancing.
Post health and safety messages on signage around the salon.
Ask guests how they feel about your safety practices when you ask for a review. Those five-star reviews are essential right now.
Now, here are some ideas to get those mature clients back in:
Reconnect. Run the retention report of the names of guests who have not returned since you reopened. Call or send them a “Miss You” care. Track whom you contacted. If you send a card, include a printed list of your health and safety procedures. Sending a small gift, like a hand sanitizer, would be even better.
Establish VIP Days and Times. Let your mature guests know how important they are to you by setting aside preferential booking times, just for them. Pick a time, like the morning, when there are fewer staff and guests in the salon. If possible, take unused space in the salon right now, like a treatment room, and convert it temporarily into a VIP room where compromised guests can receive service in a semi-private setting.
Beauty Benefits. Remember, one of the most incredible things about what you do is getting to be part of your guests’ lives. You are there with them in the best and the worst times, and sometimes, you may be the only one who touches them. Their salon visit uplifts them, and you make them look and feel special.
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