As a salon or spa owner, you’re no stranger to the many moving parts that go into running a profitable, thriving business. Your clients are always just one click away from discovering one of your competitors, or a new deal that might draw them away from your place of business to another. So what can you do to keep your clients happy, loyal repeat customers?
You need to develop and maintain a strong online reputation.
Your online reputation is key to attracting new clients and keeping the ones you have. Here are our suggestions for 4 Ways to Keep Your Salon or Spa’s Online Reputation a ‘Cut’ Above the Rest.
1) Give your clients what they want, and treat them well
One of the ways you can stand out among the crowd online is by offering features that your competitors don’t. For your busy, on-the-go clientele, providing a convenient, quick way to request or book an appointment online can make the difference when they’re deciding between you and another location.
A recent study by Accenture predicts that by 2019, 80% of all health appointments will be scheduled digitally, and clients will expect businesses to provide the option to book online.
You should consider offering online booking options directly from your Facebook page, your Yelp page, your website, and even major search engines. This will immediately widen your reach, help you attract new clients, and encourage more appointments from those already in your database.
2) Increase your online business profile placements
An important part of building your online reputation is getting your salon or spa on more websites. That’s where Customer Relationship Management software like Demandforce can help, because it automatically lists your salon or spa on local networks, and makes sure that whenever you update your business profile in one place, all listings are automatically revised. Widen your online business profile placements on local business networks, major search engines like Citysearch, Bing, and Google – and on social sites like Yelp and Facebook.
Your salon or spa not only gains credibility by being posted on more sites, but your search engine ranking is also positively affected as well, which means your site and business will appear higher in search results.
3) Collect more online reviews
One of the quickest and most effective ways to boost your online reputation is by collecting more online reviews. Did you know: 79% of clients place equal weight on online reviews and personal recommendations, and most consumers use the internet for research before choosing a new salon or spa.
To increase the number of online reviews you collect for your site, you can request reviews automatically after your clients have an appointment. This simplifies the process for your clients and makes them more willing to take the time to review your salon or spa.
4) Turn customers into referrals
Turning your customers into referrals not only saves you advertising costs, but it’s a powerful way to promote your business. Most people value word-of-mouth recommendations over those of a stranger or website, so creating strong client advocates can have an immediate impact on your bottom line and online reputation.
One way to create strong advocates for your salon or spa is by keeping in contact with your current clients, and making sure that you’re always sending them relevant and timely messages. These days, your business needs to provide more than just a one-off positive experience. Clients want to feel like they are important to a business, and this means that you need to establish a friendly, ongoing relationship with each client.
Your salon or spa can do this by setting up targeted emails and messages that send to clients to keep them informed of upcoming specials, important announcements, or even just fun articles or information you want to share. As you develop client loyalty, you also work to improve your reputation as an engaged, worthwhile business.
If you focus on these 4 ways to develop and boost your online reputation, you will secure more clients and keep your salon or spa top-of-mind and a ‘cut’ above the rest.
This post was written by Allison Doyle, Marketing Manager at Demandforce. For more information on how Demandforce features can help boost your salon or spa’s online reputation, visit: www.demandforce.com/millennium or call (877) 360-3869.
Demandforce provides fully integrated client communications solutions for Millennium customers through automated appointment reminders, targeted email campaigns, and online reputation management tools.
