MENU
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.
Discover how to create a true “WOW experience” for every client by first building a culture where your team feels engaged, empowered, and inspired. Drawing on Calvin Stovall’s Iconic Framework, this blog explores how salon, spa, and clinic leaders can strengthen culture, elevate customer experience, and build a business that stands out for the long term.
Sponsored by Phorest Salon Software
The wellness industry is growing fast, and salons and barbershops already are an important part of it. In her first blog, Tracy Rado shares where the wellness dollars are heading, and how salon's can grow with this movement.
While salon sales are increasing, owners often feel they're working harder for the same or less profit. Leverage Q2 data from The KIM Report, Alain Audet reveals some of the structural changes that are dampening your growth and why your region and your salon size matters.
Weaknesses in your business are amplified during the Holiday Season. Spark Pro Global's Lucy Randall shows you five things to do now to have the strongest holiday season yet.
In Kati Whitledge's latest blog, she shares how salons have moved away from dress codes and embraced appearance standards. But by removing strict dress codes, some businesses may have unintentionally lowered their appearance standards. Whitledge helps you explain to your team why an appearance standard is important and how to smoothly implement a new appearance policy.
The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is a non-refundable tax credit for for-profit businesses that provides a financial incentive for eligible employers who offer health insurance coverage to their employees. Leticia Skrabut, Esq., walks you through how to claim that credit.
Developing strong work habits early in one's career supports long-term success in the salon industry. Jesse Linares offers new stylists his top five tips.
Most salon owners have no idea what these numbers are. You can hit record sales and still have a profit problem. The difference comes down to four numbers almost nobody was taught to track.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
A five-area audit every owner-dependent salon needs to run. You built something that looks successful. Now find out if it can survive without you.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
Every month you put off fixing the problem, it gets bigger, more expensive, and harder to solve.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
At Janet St. Paul Studio for Hair and Beauty, Director of Operations Natasha McMillen helps bring her wife Janet St. Paul's vision to life, elevating every system from education to operations.
Expand your color service menu with the Pinstripe technique. Brooks and Brooks' Marlon Hawkins walks you through the technique.
The strongest salons, spas, and med spas know which numbers tell the real story of their business. In this practical guide, Phorest breaks down the five essential KPIs every business should track to improve retention, boost revenue, and make smarter decisions with confidence.
Sponsored by Phorest
At Bella Style Salon in Slidell, Louisiana, Director of Operations Angela Meyer tackles inventory, team management, and guest relations. Read all about her in our latest Meet the Manager.
Starting at Impressions front desk in 2006 when he was 19 years old, General Manager Paul Petrowsky is a seasoned professional who owner Sarah Taylor says is responsible for much of her own success.
Planning is in full swing for the most anticipated events and promotions for the 2026 holidays. As owners share their favorite ways to celebrate, they prove that a carefully planned event can also build culture, increase client loyalty, boost sales, and set a business up for a successful 2027.
When things run amok at Mane Attraction Salon, Owners Chris and Jenny Knudsen say General Manager Sami Hernandez is their go-to resource and ultimate sounding board. Meet Sami in this installment of Meet the Manager.
