7 Benefits of a Digital Loyalty Program for Salons and Beauty Parlours

Are you thinking of switching your salon’s existing loyalty program from paper to digital?

Or perhaps starting a new business and want to retain customers from day one with a customer loyalty program?

Or maybe you've been in business for a while, and are thinking it's time to implement a salon rewards program?

Whatever the case, you’re probably here because you're wondering what benefits a digital loyalty program will have for your salon, right?

Well, read on to find out 7 benefits a digital loyalty program can have for your salon or beauty parlor...

1. Regular clients return more often.

Obviously, your existing loyal customers already keep returning to you because you’re good at keeping them looking beautiful – well done! Now it’s only fair that you reward them for their business.

With a digital loyalty program, you provide customers with an incentive to come in even more frequently because they want to earn the awesome rewards you are offering.

This is exactly what UK barbers Seven Hair & Body wanted to achieve. You can read the case study on what hey did here!

You can also create urgency with your digital rewards program by putting expiry dates on your special offers, in an attempt to get customers to come back sooner to claim them.

E.g. Congratulations! You’ve earned a free blow-wave. Come in within 60 days to claim!

2.  Digital loyalty programs increase revenue.

Not only are your customers coming back more frequently, but they’re actually spending more.

According to the Harvard Business Review, repeat customers actually spend 67% more than new customers!

3. They give your hair salon a point of difference.

Let’s say you have a regular client who visits your salon to get their hair done, and goes somewhere else for their nails, their waxing and other beauty needs. But suddenly you introduce a new offer through your digital loyalty program – “Free manicure/pedicure with your next hair appointment”.

Of course they are going to jump at this chance for a free manicure/pedicure the next time they come in for their hair appointment, and this subtle introduction to your other beauty services might be enough to convert them.

Now they come to you for all their skin, nail and beauty needs. That customer now uses several of your services, instead of just one!

4. You'll notice an increase in referrals (and new customers in general).

This one’s quite simple: happy customers are walking, talking advertisements for your business.

Any loyal customer who is consistently satisfied with their visits and happy with the rewards they enjoy from your loyalty program is likely to promote your business to their friends, family and co-workers.

Considering that 92% of consumers trust peer reviews over traditional advertising, word of mouth referrals and positive online reviews are essential.

5. They help your salon boost slow periods.

One of the great things about a digital loyalty program is that it can help your salon boost quiet days and slow periods.

Let’s say one of your quietest times is on a Tuesday afternoon. Instead of running a permanent promotion, you could send out a Push Notification message to your loyalty club members a few days before having something like this…

“Free on Tuesday afternoon? Come in between 12pm-6pm on Tuesday to enjoy 25% off any service! See you then!”

By offering special deals and discounts during these low-revenue periods, you will encourage customers to come in and take advantage of the rewards.

Of course, you will need to communicate this temporary offer to your staff so they are aware of what’s going on.

6. Digital loyalty programs are a great communication tool.

When a customer signs up to your salon’s loyalty program, they are voluntarily providing you with their details, and they expect to hear from you.

Communication between a business and their loyal customers isn’t considered spam, so don’t be afraid to regularly (within reason) communicate with your customers. In fact, doing so is vital for keeping customers continuously engaged with your rewards program.

Here are some reasons you might want to communicate with your customers:

- To inform them of special deals and offers

- Remind them of their rewards progress (“Only 2 stamps to go until a free eyebrow wax!”)

- Announce a new product or service

- Invite them to special events your salon is hosting or involved in

- Wish them a Happy Birthday (you can set up a Birthday Club with our loyalty app)

- Reach out to them if you haven’t seen them in a while (“We miss you! Come in to enjoy a free treatment with your next haircut! Offer expires in two weeks.”)

- To boost slow days/periods (more info on this below)

- Perhaps just a friendly message to stay at the forefront of their mind – why not just wish them a good day?

Some digital loyalty platforms, like Stamp Me, will provide you with the ability to communicate directly with your customers through Push Notifications and SMS.

The benefit of communicating through Push Notifications and SMS is that you can deliver the right message, to the right customer, at the right time. Plus, you don’t need to worry about having to create promotional materials such as graphics for emails, signs, posters, etc.

7. They help you understand your clients, their behaviours and their needs.

As a salon / beauty parlour owner or manager, you probably already recognise the importance of building a rapport with your customers.

No doubt you’re on a first-name basis with some regulars, you know all of their juicy gossip, and ask how their grandmother’s birthday was last weekend.

While this excellent customer service is incredibly important for running a successful business and may be the reason your clients continue to come back, being on a first-name basis with the customer doesn’t help you capture and document things such as:

The customer’s email address, phone number and date of birth (if provided)

- The exact times and dates of their transactions

- How frequently they visit your business

Capturing this information, and knowing what to do with it, will vastly improve your marketing efforts and have a dramatically positive impact on your hair salon or beauty parlour.

Want to see all this in action in a real-life case study? Check out our write up on Seven Hair & Body or Kabuki Hair.

Feel free to ask us more about what to do with your loyalty program data!

For more information on how a digital loyalty program can benefit your beauty parlour or hair salon, or to discuss Stamp Me’s convenient digital loyalty solutions, get in touch with our loyalty experts today.