A friend’s trusting relationship with her hairstylist hit the rocks recently. Her usual stylist was unavailable and she got her hair ‘done’ by another guy from the same salon. She loved the new cut and (gulp) wanted to switch allegiances and book with the new stylist in the future.
She expressed genuinely terror at the idea of breaking the news to the first fella.
It appears that, as with a doctor or a therapist, the relationship between a punter and her hair stylist can be intense.
Yet salons rarely do anything to keep that relationship strong in between appointments. I asked around a bit, and it seems most salons don’t even send out appointment reminder emails. I don’t get it… I know the salon in question uses a fairly advanced booking system. It can track a customer’s history, yet it does nothing with that great data to keep customers loyal.
A few timely communications between salon and client could make the customer relationship stronger. Some ideas for salons:
- Special offers
- New products
- Hairstyle tips
- Lifestyle news
The rise of social marketing, and the growing popularity of RSS have changed the landscape, but there’s still a place for email marketing as a customer retention tool.