According to the National Retail Federation, total back-to-school spending in 2025 reached $38.8 billion for just the K-12 segment. Add in college students and you are most likely looking at billions more.

Many parents head to the salon or barbershop to get those back-to-school haircuts, and weary moms frequently celebrate the end of summer at the spa. But trying to inform potential customers about your services and promotions can be a headache. Cutting through the noise seems impossible.

Below are five ways salons, barbershops, and spas can boost their back-to-school sales:

Don’t waste money. Target the right customers.

Instead of just wasting money advertising in papers or magazines that aren’t your target audience or audiences that may live far away, use a geotargeting feature that can help nail down local neighborhoods that you would like to target as potential customers. This can help spread the word about your business or promotions without wasting money on customers that will never come into the salon.

Find a unique way to cut through the noise.

Most companies rely on generic flyers, emails, social posts, and even calls and texts to reach out to clients and potential customers, but a survey conducted by Handwrytten discovered 23% of respondents found brochures annoying while 24% found phone calls annoying.

On the other hand, 38% of respondents said that it would be surprising to receive handwritten cards and notes, and only 4% would find it annoying. This proves it is time to stop reaching out to clients using the same old methods and with the same old messaging and one way to do this is by using handwritten notes.

Pass the task to robots armed with pens.

Most salons, spas and barbershops do not have the bandwidth to sit down and write handwritten notes to their customers, but with help from robots armed with pens you can have the task done in minutes. There are numerous companies out there that use robotic systems to create and send your letters to a list of predetermined contacts. Some of these companies also have a geotargeting feature to help you nail down who you want to send your message to.

Keep your messaging tight.

It’s important when you are crafting your message that you have a clear call to action. Make sure to also call out any discounts or sales that you are currently hosting. Emphasize the beauty treatments that you offer that others don’t, as well as the time and money saved if people use your services instead of the salon down the street. If you are drawing a blank on messaging, don’t be afraid to utilize AI to help give the message a boost. Technology can help you write a thoughtful and personal message to prevent it from being stoic, stiff and generalized.

Keep customers coming back.

Customer experience and retention is high on most salons', spas' and barbershops' minds. According to the same Handwrytten survey referenced above, only 12% of consumers feel appreciated for being a client. Utilizing handwritten notes can help make customers feel appreciated and wanted instead of just receiving general flyers and ads that just get tossed or emails that just get deleted. If your budget allows it, send monthly handwritten notes just to touch base with your current customers and fill them in on any new treatments or sales.

It also doesn’t hurt to hold a customer appreciation day or specific sale to drive in more traffic while also giving customers a discount.

About the Author: A proven entrepreneur, David Wach’s latest venture, Handwrytten, provides scalable, robotic solutions that write clients’ notes in pen. Used by businesses in all industries and nonprofits, Handwrytten changes the way brands and people connect. Prior to Handwrytten, Wachs founded Cellit, a leading mobile marketing platform. Both Handwrytten and Cellit were on Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies.