Real talk: it’s six times less expensive to retain an existing client than it is to attract a new one. And the constant cycle of looking, hoping, and praying for new guests is the single most stressful thing any stylist endures.
Wouldn’t it be great if your base clientele just stayed stable so you could rely on just referrals to provide consistent growth?
YES! And that’s when most stylists turn to social media, right?
Facebook and Instagram are among the top tools a hair stylist has to attract new guests… However, there is another little tool that is WAY better for maintaining your existing clientele.
Email marketing!
Emails are like gold. Think about it: every time you go to a store or website, what do they ask for? Your email address! You’ve got to provide it to confirm your order, register for a rewards program, have your receipt emailed to you, and more.
Multi-billion dollar businesses don’t collect emails for fun; they do it because they know email marketing is the single most effective way to build a long-term relationship with consumers.
If you’re thinking, “I’m great on social media and I have a website, so why do I even need to use email marketing?” There are three reasons why truly successful stylists use email marketing to grow their clientele. Let’s dig in!
Email is totally free
What’s better than free online marketing?
Back in the day before salons did email marketing, stylists spent countless hours handwriting notes to clients each month. Just imagine how much money was invested into post cards and stamps!
But now there are plenty of 100% free email marketing systems that will save you tons of time and money versus handwritten or even text communication.
Emails are seen by up to 10x more of your guests than a social media post
The average adult checks their emails six times a day, but with all the algorithms on both Instagram and Facebook, the average social media post is seen by 1 – 3% of your followers. Crazy, right?
With email, there is no algorithm so guests will always see it in their inbox and decide whether to open it.
You can grow and nurture your business more effectively
While social media can be a wonderful way to attract new guests, when you want to run a promotion, nurture the existing guest relationship, or distribute a mass message, email wins every time.
Announcing in salon promotions, price increases, last minute openings or scheduling updates might hurt your Instagram reach, but are great to announce through email.
3 Emails You Need in Your Business
Here are three campaigns that will make a huge difference in your business.
The Promotional Email
Most stylists find this is the easiest email marketing technique to apply.
If you notice on Monday night that you’re looking slow on Tuesday morning, send an email blast to your clients for 20% off if they come in tomorrow anytime before 1:00 pm. Suddenly your books are filled for Tuesday morning.
You might wonder why you can’t just post this on Instagram or Facebook. Both platforms decided they don’t like promotional posts, so their system actually skims your content looking for promotional words. If it finds any, you’re forced out of the feed and your future posts will reach less and less of your followers.
Email marketing totally wins when it comes to promotions.
The Annual Special Offer
This one is like magic. Annually send out an email with a service discount coupon for the top 10% of your clientele.
We always talk about offering discounts and promotions to new clients, but it’s important to show existing clients some love too. In addition that special offer, consider including a beautiful promotional offer and encourage clients to forward the promotion along to anybody who might be looking for a new stylist.
Also use this opportunity to remind guests about your referral program.
Your client feels appreciated and they love the opportunity to give their friends a new gift.
The Email Newsletter
The word “newsletter” makes stylists and salon owners instantly turn their ears off. It sounds complicated, chunky, way too hard and who is even going to read that?
Once you learn to create effective newsletters, your clientele won’t just read it, they’ll actually look forward to it! If you do a newsletter correctly, it shouldn’t be boring or take you more than half an hour every month.
It’s really simple if you follow the right format.
Consistency is key with any kind of email marketing. Your clientele will be confused if one month you send a newsletter and promotion, and then three months go by without another email. If you can just give email marketing one year of solid effort, it will make a tremendous difference in your business.
Salon owners, check out this post to learn how to craft the perfect monthly salon newsletter!
