The Coronavirus pandemic has created many new challenges for our industry. Social distancing, extra sanitation protocols, capacity issues, masks, shields, client and staff anxiety and prebooking uncertainty are just some of the things we must currently deal with.
2020 has been eye-opening to say the least, and if there is one thing we’ve learned, it’s that the digital world is firmly upon us, and it’s important to enhance your digital presence and digital connection with clients in order to stay ahead of the competition.
If you’re using our digital loyalty app, we want to show you how you can be using the many features to maximize your digital connection with clients right now. And if you’re not using the app for your business, what are you waiting for?!?
If you have any questions about any of these features, please just reach out to us! We are here to support you through this unique time in our industry and to ensure you have maximum success with this amazing tool that will grow your business!
Safety Concerns
Some salons are used to manipulating the client’s phone to add their stamps (points) and are less comfortable doing this due to potential virus transmission. There are several easy ways for clients to continue to earn their stamps without you needing to touch their phone:
The normal procedure is for the client to scan the QR code to earn 1 stamp. If they are earning multiple stamps, they can simply scan 2 or 3 times. It’s so quick that it really won’t take much extra time (some salons might have a limit set for the number of times per day that a client can scan – if that is the case please let us know and we can modify this for you).
If you often give many stamps to clients per visit (high average ticket) and you feel like it would be too long for the client to scan the QR code 4, 6 or 8 times, then you can just click the orange bar in the app that says ‘QR Not Working?’. You can then simply tell the client the Fallback Code and Security Code for them to enter themselves. You can visually validate before they press enter and presto! If you want to use this option, please contact us and we will adjust a couple of settings in your account so that the client cannot add extra points into their account after they leave the salon.
The Tablet URL has been created to provide an alternative method for collecting Stamps that does not require use of a mobile phone. If desired, you can position a tablet on your front counter and open your salon's Loyalty App by entering your Tablet URL. (Found on the Branding & Design tab of your Dashboard.)
This will allow clients to sign up, and collect stamps without using their phone. The client simply enters their email or phone number and presses Enter. 1 Stamp will automatically be added to their account.
If you want to add multiple stamps at a time, click ‘Multiple Stamps’ and you can enter the security code.
They can also see if they qualify for any Rewards or be asked if they want to Redeem any of the Rewards they have earned, by clicking Redeem Rewards.
Just be sure to put the tablet in a safe place so a client cannot add multiple stamps to their account without you knowing it.
Automatic Messages
Using the automatic messages feature is a powerful way to stay connected with your guests. This feature is in your Control Panel menu bar under ‘Messages’ –> ‘Scheduled Messages’ and is available on all our Essential and Pro packages. Here are a couple of simple ways to use this to your advantage:
Set up an automatic birthday message. What better way to show your clients that you care than by sending them a little message on their birthday! You can even attach a DEAL (digital coupon) for them to redeem.
Set up an automatic thank you message after visits. This is a unique opportunity to send a message the day after a client’s visit to say thank you. So simple, yet so powerful. It will make the client feel appreciated and you can even use the opportunity to ask clients to leave you a review on your social media pages (you can provide a direct link). The current salon experience is not the same as it usually is, so sending a message like this can really make your clients feel appreciated.
Set up an automatic reminder message to clients if they have not been to your salon in a certain amount of time. Many clients are hesitant to pre-book their next appointments because there is so much uncertainty these days around schedules (Will I be working? If I’m working, will it be at an office or at home? Will the kids be in school or at home? Will there be a ‘2nd wave’ that forces more shutdowns?). These are realities that people are dealing with, so programming the system to send clients a message 4 or 6 weeks after their last visit asking if they have booked their next appointment could be an effective way to remind people about their hair and beauty needs and keep you top of mind.
Promotions
Do you have special offers and promotions happening in your salon? Of course you do! The real question is how are you notifying your clients of these promotions? If you are just relying on social media posts, you are missing the mark. Ask yourself what % of your total clients are actively following you on social media, and then realize that a typical post on FB or IG reaches only about 5% of your followers. If you want to increase the effectiveness of your promotions, you need to make sure EVERYONE knows about them.
Here’s how to do it:
Using our salon loyalty app, you can schedule all your promotions 12 months in advance and they will automatically appear and then disappear from the DEALS tab! From your control panel, go to DEALS and click ‘Create Deal’. You can watch the mini tutorial video in the yellow bar on top and simply navigate through the step by step fields.
You can also choose to send any of these promotions directly to ALL your clients by text or email at the click of a button. Once the deal has been created, you simply click the blue airplane symbol in the SEND column. You’ll be brought to your client list where you can select all or some of your clients. This will not only ensure that you have much greater visibility of your promotions, but you’ll also be able to track which promotions are used more than others to help you determine the success rate and whether you should repeat certain promotions or not!
Pre-booking and Referral Rewards
Since pre-booking and new client referrals are such an important part of your business, why not offer bonus loyalty stamps for these actions?! It’s important to ‘reward the right behaviour.’ Whatever your priorities happen to be, find a way to tie it into your loyalty program by giving additional stamps (points). Sure, you could simply offer a $$ or % discount, but tying everything into your loyalty program makes it easier, more professional, and more importantly it keeps your clients more engaged with your business. Remember, the more they are earning points and redeeming points, the more loyal they are becoming and the more they will continue to spend with you in the future.
Now is as critical a time as any to strengthen your client loyalty. Clients were tempted for several months by non-salon solutions to their beauty needs and then struggled to get an appointment when salons were finally allowed to re-open. It is imperative that you run an effective salon loyalty program and that you remind clients of all the perks, benefits and special offers that they will receive by being part of your salon program. This will help you differentiate yourself from the competition, make your clients feel appreciated, keep them visiting more often and spending more in YOUR company. This is not the time to take your clients for granted.
If you have any questions or want help implementing some of the ideas above into your loyalty app, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. And if you don’t have a loyalty program yet or the one you are using hasn’t been effective, we would love that you consider our industry-specific solution and support. We are from the industry ourselves and believe that every salon industry professional should be successful. We have developed simple and affordable digital marketing tools for salons and spas that work!