How to attract more clients to your salon

Tracey Lydiard
Marketing at Timely
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At one point or another, every business owner will set out to grow the number of customers that walk through their doors each month.

There will always be short term solutions that you can resort to, like sales, discounts and ads. But the problem with using short term solutions is that they cost you money, and usually only work while they’re costing you money!

A long term solution involves getting the basics right. I asked three thriving business owners how they attract more clients to their salon’s month after month, and they said they do it by giving their customers exceptional service and making it easier for them to find and book services.

It starts with getting to know who your customers are and providing them with exceptional service every time they visit you.

It starts with getting to know who your customers are and providing them with exceptional service every time they visit you.

That’s what Mark Dinh, owner of 4 Seasons Nails, says has helped him retain clients and attract new ones over the years. 4 Seasons Nails operates five busy salons in the Wellington area. Clients have the option of either visiting a salon location near them, or throwing nail parties at their own venue to make special occasions a little bit more memorable.

The team at 4 Seasons Nails goes to great lengths to ensure they are always delivering extraordinary service to their clients. This, and the colourful artwork they do, helps the business stand out among others in the area. Clients keep coming back, and they are happy to tell their friends about the experience.

In addition to word of mouth, Mark uses Google Adwords and Facebook advertising to draw new clients to the salons. He agrees that using the internet to attract more customers is a must.

You can get walk-ins if you’re in a good location and people know about your business, but promoting your business online can double or triple your bookings. Using the internet allows an unlimited number of people to virtually browse your window display, which is something that would be near impossible if you just relied on walk-ins.

Stephanie Stone is the owner of a trendy beauty spa in Australia called All Waxed Up. Her business’s success has come from good word of mouth and an awesome website that attracts new customers.

“I do believe in the importance of creating a unique logo and branding that is worthy of being trademarked,” Stephanie said in an email. “That’s why I have invested in a graphic designer who has also created a website for my business that is clean, professional, and well-branded.”

I have invested in a graphic designer who has also created a website for my business that is clean, professional, and well-branded.

When people in the Cronulla area are searching for a relaxing experience and the All Waxed Up website comes up, they experience part of Stephanie’s brand right there and then. It’s a beautiful site with nice illustrations and good descriptions. You can tell All Waxed Up cares about presentation and quality, and they’re serious about their service. You can easily find what services are offered and what prices to expect, and you see what other customers have to say about the business. All these things work wonders for All Waxed Up’s booking rates.

While All Waxed Up doesn’t yet offer online booking through its website, Alexandra Morgan says that online booking has been essential to her business growth.

Alexandra owns and runs a popular nail salon in Germany called American Nail Spa. By letting people book their own appointments, American Nail Spa makes it easy for visitors to their website or Facebook page to become customers. This has helped increase the number of bookings they receives.

But it’s no use having online bookings if customers don’t know about it, Alexandra explains. That’s why she puts the online booking link on every flyer, business card, and advertisement, and promotes it with her Timely mini-website.

“My top tip to get more people into my business would be to promote the opportunity for our clients to book their own appointments online any time of the day or night. It is very convenient for them this way, but we make sure that they KNOW this!”

Getting the basics right, like having a good website and exceptional customer service, has made these three businesses successful. It gives them something to build on for when they use sales and discounts to give the business a boost.

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