Client communication is an essential component of any successful salon or spa marketing plan. Websites, social media channels, and email have been some of the most popular ways businesses interact with their clients. Text messaging is growing more and more in popularity as another critical method of promotion and communication.
Many Meevo 2 clients have used the Textel integration, available in MeevoXchange, to send and receive text messages, enhancing their communication efforts, and driving additional appointments. And now, their latest feature, Textel Blast, lets salons and spas send mass texts to customers, creating a new way owners can approach text communications moving forward.
But why would a salon or spa want to send mass text messages to their clients? Read on to find out and hear from one salon owner about how mass texting has significantly improved her client communication strategy.
1) Quick and Easy Communication
One of the main benefits of sending mass texts is how quick and efficient this form of communication can be. Research shows that text messages have around a 90% open rate, compared to 20% for emails.
Texting can be a fantastic channel to quickly notify all or some of your clients about business updates (such as reopening details or current service offerings), ongoing or upcoming promotions, giveaways, and much more. It’s as easy as uploading a Meevo 2 client list to “Textel Blast”, crafting your message, and then clicking send.
And the results speak for themselves. “Every time we send a Textel Blast, our call and text call volume spike. Sales and appointment reservations increase as well,” Laura Ortmann, CEO of Ginger Bay Salon and Spa.
2) Personalize Your Texts
Not only can you send mass texts to clients, but you can also personalize them to match your audience. For example, you could upload a list of clients who routinely schedule the same service to notify them of a sale or new service option. Additionally, you can use Meevo 2 to create client groups for each of your service providers, allowing you to send tailored texts to guests alerting them of updated availability or schedule changes.
Just about all forms of marketing are improved by personalization, and text messaging is no different!
3) Increase Engagement by Adding Photos
It’s well documented that adding visuals to communications, such as emails or social media posts, significantly increases engagement numbers. HubSpot’s study found that Facebook posts with an image saw 2.3 times more engagement than those without a photo.
Text messages are no exception to the rule, and many business owners have explored ways to add photos to their text communications. Textel Blast allows users to easily upload pictures to include in text messages, resulting in more engaging communications that help drive results. In-store pictures, coupons, breaking news, special promotions, and more can all be sent to clients as a photo using Meevo 2 and mass texting.
4) Use Your Business Landline to Send Texts
One possible deterrent owners may have with group texting is thinking they need to use their personal cell phone number (or a Service Provider’s number) to send texts. However, Textel Blast lets you use your business’ landline number to contact your clients.
Not only does this prevent you from having to use a personal number, but your clients will also receive texts from a number that they will instantly recognize, only increasing the likelihood of high open and engagement rates.
5) Schedule Texts for the Perfect Time
Automation has been an integral part of marketing for years, helping marketers schedule content to be sent or go-live at the optimal time. For salon and spa owners, Textel Blast allows you to schedule mass texts to be sent at any point in the future, ensuring you reach your clients on the perfect date and time.
Being able to schedule client communications ahead of time can help improve your texts’ efficiency and effectiveness, leading to higher engagement and more interactions with your spa scheduling software.
Mass Texting Could be the Perfect Addition to Your Salon or Spa’s Marketing Strategy
An opportunity exists for many salons and spas to improve their client communication and marketing efforts as they plan for the future through the power of Meevo 2 and our partners, including Textel Blast.
That’s exactly what Laura Ortmann, CEO of Ginger Bay Salon and Spa (and a Meevo 2 client!), did when she started to use mass texting at her business. In her own words, here’s just how helpful blast text messaging has been to Ginger Bay:
“When our salon decided to close for COVID-19, we sent a text blast to inform our guests and remind them that at 9 PM that evening our salons were closing to quarantine. The traffic into our salon that day had diminished, however, within 30 minutes of sending Textel Blast to all 16,000+ active customers, Ginger Bay had a spike in walk-in business, spike in retail sales, and we could hardly keep up with the immediate results at both locations.
Subsequently, we realize that every time we send a Textel Blast, our call and text call volume spike. Sales and appointment reservations increase as well. Textel Blast has been a major linchpin that has allowed us to communicate about our reopening practices effectively and timely. We have used Textel Blast to send weekly blasts to scheduled guests with a link to our website COVID-19 page explaining our health screening practices and ‘What to Expect During Services’. This helps us manage guest expectations for their first time back at the salon. We have since received five-star reviews about our communication, how we follow through, and how safe our clients feel in our salon. It starts with communication with our guests, and now we reach 99% of them!”
