Goldilocks and the Three Salons. How To Attract New Salon Clients.

Ever wondered how to attract new salon clients? Here is a little tale about Goldilocks and how she found a salon that was not too expensive, not too cheap but was just right.

How To Attract New Salon Clients.

Google – Local business.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who wanted to refresh her golden locks and try a platinum blonde for the summer. She wasn’t sure which salon to choose so, of course, she hopped straight onto google business and searched for hairdressers in her local area.

Goldilocks didn’t want to waste her precious time or the money that she worked so hard for. She wanted a salon that would meet her needs and had just the right pricing. Not too expensive, but not too cheap, either. She wanted a hairdresser that was just right.

86% of consumers rely on the internet to find a local business

Review Sites. 

Once Goldilocks had found some salons that were nearby, she then she trawled the internet for review sites on salons in her area. The salons that piqued her interest had many reviews. She was especially interested in the ones who had many, many reviews with over four stars. She felt more comfortable with the salon reviews that mentioned excellent customer service and friendly staff. 

90% of consumers say that positive online reviews influence their decisions

According to the 2018 Online Reviews Survey, Google is now the number 1 review site, outpacing other review platforms like Yelp and Facebook in terms of growth in online reviews.

Social Media.

These salons required more investigation, so she went on the stalk their social media sites, especially Instagram. Unfortunately, one of these salons didn’t have a social media presence, so Goldilocks crossed them off her list of potential salons. 

The social media sites for some of these salons were a treasure trove of information for goldilocks. Some social media sites neglected to include photos of golden manes like Goldilocks was after. In fact, some sites didn’t have any before and after photos like goldilocks was craving. She wanted to know what to expect before she made an appointment.  

68% of consumers go to social media sites to read reviews on a business.

71% took immediate action after reviewing a business on a social media channel

Goldilocks had hair that needed some tender loving care as she had spent a lifetime bleaching, straightening and coaxing her hair into different styles. It was essential to her that her next salon experience was precisely what she wanted. Goldilocks had been disappointed in the past with poor outcomes.  Some hairdressers just didn’t listen to what she wanted.  

She wanted a hairdresser who would provide a thorough consultation (Mastering Client Consultations) and, didn’t rush her into making a decision she wasn’t sure about. Plus, she wanted to feel relaxed and pampered while in the salon. Goldilocks needed some time out from her busy job and looked forward to a great head massage.  And, maybe even a lovely coffee while she read the latest fashion magazines. (Learn how to improve your Salon Client Experience)

86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.

Word Of Mouth.

So she continued on her investigation and looked at the salons she had selected from the review sites. She also looked at salons that her friends and family referred her to, as she really trusted what they told her.  

92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family above all other media

Instagram gave Goldilocks a great insight into what specialties some hairdressers focused on. Unfortunately, some of the photos on her selected salons Instagram page were blurry and not very professional looking. Or, the photos were of people that were not in her age group or didn’t show up-to-date styles. Goldilocks was all about keeping up with the latest styles, so this was very important to her.

Salon Website.

After looking at all the pictures and reading lots of comments, she found a few salons that interested her. So she decided to check out thier websites. Some didn’t have a website, so she started to doubt the professionalism of these salons. Some had poorly written sites with no information that would help guide her decision. She crossed these salons off her list. After all, the salon had to be just right.

It takes about 50 milliseconds (that’s 0.05 seconds) for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they like your site or not and whether they’ll stay or leave. So making a good first impression is vital to attract new salon clients.

There was a salon whose website was fantastic. It was an attractive website with lots of pictures and even videos, which interested Goldilocks. It was great to see the hairdresser talking and showing off her skills. Plus, this website also had a great educational blog with relevant information. Goldilocks loved that. So she was very interested. 

The website also had an “About Us” page with a picture of the owner and her staff, plus a great background story. Goldilocks felt like she already knew the hairdresser and felt more confident that this salon may be right for her. This instilled a sense of trust in this salon and the staff.

But, there was one more thing she needed to do. Did this salon website have a price list? Yes, it did! Another plus for Goldilocks, as going to a salon within her price range was very important. She wanted to be able to maintain her new colour. So she didn’t want to go to a salon where she couldn’t afford the upkeep for her new platinum locks.

Displaying your prices weeds out clients who are not in your price range and therefore, a waste of your time. (Forbes)

Online Bookings.

So, as she was contemplating whether to pick up the phone or not, a booking button popped up, and she realised she could book online. Online booking was very appealing to Goldilocks. She loved the flexibility of being able to check her diary and choose the perfect time and day to fit into her hectic schedule. She could even change her booking at any time of the day or night. Wonderful. (Get your online Booking Button now)

90% of customers prefer to book their appointments online, plus business grows by up to 50% when online booking is available.

She didn’t have to think about it anymore. The mood struck her to make an appointment, and so she did, right there and then! No more hesitation.  

Goldilocks promptly received a confirmation text which pleased her, because now she had a record of the time and date on hand. The salon also sent her an SMS reminder 48 hours before her appointment. She was always grateful to get a reminder. And, this made everything, just right. (SMS Reminders).

58% of consumers say they have a more positive view of business who use SMS reminders

Conclusion.

This is the most likely path your new client takes to find your salon. There are many steps along the way that help a client to decide whether to do business with you. You can see from the tale above that an online presence plays an extremely vital role in attracting new salon clients.

Your online presence should include;

• Registering with Google Business.
• Positive salon reviews.
• Great social media pages.
• An awesome and well thought out website with an “About Us” page and pricing guide.
• Online bookings.

So, take some time out to look at your salon’s online presence from a clients perspective. This allows you to look at all the ways you might improve your salon’s online exposure so you can attract more new salon clients.

Well, thanks for reading and I hope you find this article useful in attracting new salon clients.

At Neko, we enjoy imparting useful business knowledge to our clients. So if you have any particular topics you would like to read about. Let us know by commenting below.

If your Salon isn’t already using Neko Salon Software, its time to get on board so you can provide online bookings on all your website and social media pages.

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