The Tech Touch: How Loyalty Software Turns One-Time Clients Into Long-Term Gold

With the right tech solutions, a one-time visit to your salon will transform into a loyalty that lasts for years.

Loyalty is underrated in many parts of life (except for the loyalty of your dog, which is universally known and appreciated). The importance of loyalty is especially true when it comes to your beauty business. It may seem as if there are enough potential clients to put in the effort to establish loyalty. 

However, loyal clients are your ticket to the top and are a client’s ticket to happiness. Why? Let’s get into the answer to that question as well as how you can build loyalty for you and your clients using our futuristic BFF: technology.

When is 20% greater than 80%?

Though there are certainly a whole lot of consumers out there looking to spend money on beauty, we’d be lying if we didn’t state the obvious: The beauty business is a highly competitive industry.

So, rather than focusing your attention on scrambling to get as many new clients as possible, why don’t you focus your attention more on keeping the clients you already have? Studies show that 82% of companies agree with the idea that client retention is less expensive than new client acquisition. 

And we have the facts to prove it.

On average, getting new customers “costs anywhere from five to 25 times more than retaining existing ones.” We will let you sit with that for a minute. Five to 25 times more. That’s a whole lot of money that you could be saving or spending on something else for your business.   

We aren’t saying you should stop putting effort into attracting new clientele to your salon or spa, but we are saying to prioritize the quality of your clients, not the quantity. 

By zoning in on creating loyalty, you will attract the right clients who will buy more often and will also likely bring you new business that might turn into even more long-term clients. This is all because they trust you. And when it comes to the beauty biz, trust is worth its weight in gold. 

We’ve all had that one scarring experience where we went into a salon and got the worst haircut of our lives. We are willing to bet it wasn’t the salon where you typically go, and it wasn’t a salon that came as a recommendation from a friend. The lesson to be learned: Always stick with the salon you know and trust. 

Because this story rings true for so many, it needs to be your goal to work on being that salon for your clients. The Pareto Principle is an idea that works wonders for sales and marketing. Even though the idea is over 100 years old, it still rings true today. The modern-day take on this principle essentially says that 80% of your profits should come from 20% of customers. In other words, the 20% of your clientele that is loyal will bring in the vast majority of your revenue.

While it sounds overwhelming, getting that loyal clientele is not as challenging as you think, especially with the help of modern-day technology.

Hi, tech!

If you aren’t convinced yet that client loyalty is the missing piece in your beauty business’ success, then we have a couple of additional bits of information to throw at you.

• Nearly 60% of internet users across the world feel that loyalty programs and points are one of the most important aspects of their shopping experience (just behind quick and easy checkout).

• A whopping 77% of consumers are likely to stay with a brand that has a loyalty program.

• An impressive 70% of consumers are more likely to recommend a company or brand that has a good loyalty program. 

Now, do you see the importance of a loyalty program? 

Okay, good. Let’s get into how you can partner up with technology to create a loyalty program that will get you the success you want and deserve.

Step 1: Know your client base

Gathering information about your customers helps to understand your clients better and know what kinds of rewards they want to see from your beauty biz. 

Here are some of the things you want to learn about them:

• Age

• Gender

• Spending habits

• Services interested in

• Preferences (e.g. specific products or scents)

• Special notes (e.g. their hair doesn’t accept color well)

You don’t have to spend the time doing old school surveys to try and get this information from your clients. Client management software allows you to gather and store information about your current clients so that you can get to know them well and keep providing them with the service they want and need. The best CMS solutions integrate with the other elements in your tech stack to create robust profiles that will keep you attuned to each client’s needs and habits. Now that’s how you gain loyalty.

Step 2: Establish your goal

Before you dive into getting your loyalty up and running you need to take some time to think about the why. 

Why do you want this loyalty program? What do you expect to achieve with the use and success of the program? 

If you aren’t sure where to start, here are some ideas to get the ball rolling for you. 

• Client trust

• More frequent regular visits

• More money spent at each visit

• More new clients

Once you have determined what your #goals are for your beauty biz, then you can turn to software to start building your loyalty program that focuses on those goals. Software allows you to gain access to data that will help you understand business performance and decide where to put your energy with your beauty business. 

If one of your goals is to have each client spend more money per visit, then software can help you analyze your clients’ spending habits. That gives you the power to tailor their salon or spa visit specifically to them and provide options for products they may want to purchase, add-on services they may want to consider, and more. You could pull up the next week’s schedule, for example, and plan ahead for exactly the kind of offers you want to present to each client. Having a bundle of products relevant to their preferences ready to go when they walk in the door is service…that serves your business.

Step 3: Decide on the type of program

The type of loyalty plan you adopt will depend on your client base, the size of your business, and your overall goals. Whatever you choose, remember to make it as frictionless as possible for your clients; nobody wants to dig around for an old-fashioned punch card.

Here are a few different options:

• Points-based. This is the top choice for salons and spas as they are fairly straightforward. Money spent = points earned, and what your clients can redeem those points for is up to you. The best tech solutions can help set this up for you, so you can hit the ground running. 

• Tiered points-based. Create multiple levels of loyalty that allow clients to reach by spending a certain amount of money. Once they reach that point, they get that status and a reward of some kind. 

• Subscription-based. Rather than tracking purchases and turning them into points, you can charge a monthly rate for services at a discount.

Step 4: Create desirable rewards

Make sure the rewards that you provide your clients for spending money at your salon or spa are worth it for them. Getting $10 off the price of a service is nice, of course, but not if you only get it after spending $500. Reward loyalty extravagantly (within reason) and your clients will be incentivized to rack up more points. 

It’s also vital to make the tracking and redemption of those rewards as easy as possible. Look for a loyalty app that lets both the client and you know when they’re approaching a reward threshold. And if it that loyalty app integrates with the scheduling part of your tech stack? Even better.

Step 5: Find the right loyalty software

The major step in turning the dream of your client loyalty program into reality is finding a tech solution that is user-friendly for both sides of the equation: your business and the clients. And we have just the answer to your loyalty problems (well, for your business’s loyalty problems, at least): Boulevard’s Loyalty Program app. 

This app was built to help you increase retention by treating your clients with rewards for different purchases. And you can customize this loyalty program so that it feels unique for your unique beauty biz and your unique clients. 

Boulevard’s Loyalty Program app makes it easy for your clients to score points on products and services so that they can get the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Each client’s profile is integrated with the points management system to keep track of all earned points so both you and your clients know when it’s time to reap the benefits of being loyal. 

If your beauty biz has multiple storefronts, you’ll love this: Boulevard’s Loyalty Program app will ensure that regardless of which location of your salon or spa your clients visit, they can add to their bank of points. Record of their rewards will be accessible at any and all locations. 

And you will love the ability to see how your loyalty program is performing thanks to Boulevard’s Rewards ROI dashboard. This is the hot spot to ensure that your loyalty program is benefitting your beauty biz in the way you planned, and allows you to make quick updates to test out some new options to keep that revenue rolling in. 

If you’re considering a loyalty program for your salon or spa, then you need the right tech to guide you to success. Boulevard provides you with all the tools you need to keep those loyal customers happy, and to keep your business moving on up. Talk to a team member today for a custom assessment of your beauty biz and how the Loyalty Program app can help you.