What’s one thing every client in your salon has in common? They all have BIRTHDAYS! Some people like to make a big to-do about their birthday and make it into a week-long affair, while others celebrate in more low-key ways but regardless of their preference, everyone likes for their big day to be acknowledged in some way, shape, or form. Think about your marketing efforts as they are right now…are you using these unofficial personal “holidays” to their fullest marketing potential?
If you answered no, what are you waiting for? This is a marketing goldmine because there’s so much you can do around a birthday. Make sure your communication is personalized and sincere in nature. Don’t send out a generic email and hope that your client will feel loved and enticed to take advantage of their birthday offer. If your correspondence lacks sincerity, it could be off-putting and go downhill very fast.
For starters, think about how you will contact them? Are you sending them an email? That’s a pretty generic, cold way to wish your loyal client a happy birthday. Are you sending them a birthday postcard? How about stepping it up one notch and send out a birthday card? They could be ordered in bulk and have your salon name printed on the inside but have their stylist take one minute and write a quick, “Happy Birthday” on the inside with their client’s name. It takes the stylist mere minutes per week to jot a quick little note on the inside but it would take the card from mediocre to meaningful. Your clients like to know they are valued and appreciated and this handwritten message will go a long way.
Second, will you offer them some type of discount or free service as their birthday gift? The birthday card will certainly build some customer loyalty but to draw them into your chair, you should offer some type of incentive, or birthday gift, if you will. It’s important to note that discounts aren’t necessarily the best route to go. Discounts come right off of your bottom line whereas offering your client a special gift for their birthday still costs you some money but has a very high perceived value to your client.
For your gift, why not try one of these strategies below?
- When offering a gift, make sure it isn’t the same special that is available to everyone at that time or else it quickly loses its appeal.
- Make sure the gift can be done at the same visit as their upcoming appointment. The goal here is to gift them something but not have it cut into time that would normally be spent on another appointment.
- It’s wise to gift a service rather than a product because it is less expensive from your end yet the client will feel very pampered. Getting your client to try a new service is also a fantastic way to get them exposed and hooked on another one of your services that they might have otherwise not tried.
- Change the gift offerings based on the client. If you have a client that is loyal, books regularly, and is a high spender, gifting them a service of a higher value seems appropriate. They put a lot of money into your pocket and this is a great time to show them some appreciation.
Acknowledging clients birthdays is a simple but effective marketing tactic to use in salons. You most likely already have their birthday in your database so you can start implementing it ASAP. If you don’t, there’s no better time to start collecting that piece of information like the present. If your client is hesitant to give out personal information, you can note their file that they wish to be excluded, or simply ask them if they would feel more comfortable sharing just the month and day they were born, skipping the year.
Have you done birthday gifts and correspondence for your salon clientele before? What did you find out worked best? Leave us a comment below because we’d love to hear from you!