September 14, 2023

How to Get More Clients in 6 Steps

As a small business owner, one challenge could be finding new customers to keep your business growing. Having a consistent stream of clients is a way to help with business success. Whether you’re just starting and want to get the word out about your business or are a seasoned business owner looking for new ways to get clients, revising how you promote your business requires determination, an open mind and the right tools.

If you’re still using pen and paper to keep track of appointments, you may be doing your business a disservice. Clients like ease of convenience. So, if you make booking a service easier for customers, they’re more likely to want to schedule with you. Let’s say the only way a client can currently book with you is by finding time to call or come in. You could be losing out on a large number of potential clients who primarily use online booking.

Having an easy-to-use booking system is helpful in acquiring new business. But how can you get the word out about your salon or spa? Here are six ways you can get more clients through your doors.

1. Create a marketing strategy

Marketing is the a way that small business owners can promote their businesses. There are many different avenues of marketing that include but aren’t limited to: search engine optimization (SEO), social media, paid advertising, print advertising and word-of-mouth promotion.

Because marketing has so many facets, it can be hard to know where to focus your time and efforts, especially if you are a solopreneur or have a small team. Marketing is an ongoing, ever- evolving effort.

If you’re new to marketing, you do not need to try to do everything at once. Marketing is an art that requires strategic planning & patience. Getting started can be tough. But once you create a roadmap to your end goals, you could see success.

To create a marketing strategy, lay out what marketing efforts you’d like to engage in and the timeline to complete each part. But before you jump into the fun part of creating marketing materials, do some preliminary work to get the ball rolling.

Start with conducting competitor research. Get an idea of what your competitors are doing well, what they could improve on and how your business fits into the local market. Identify which types of people frequent both them and you. Then, create a buyer persona based on your research.

A buyer persona represents your ideal client, informed by information & data rather than assumptions. Once you design this persona, you can better understand who you want to attract to your business, which will help you target the correct people in your marketing efforts.

After researching, determine how much time and money you can allocate toward marketing efforts. If you’re working on a tight budget, opt for free or low-cost marketing tools until your efforts gain more traction and show a higher ROI. You don’t have to spend lots of money to leverage effective marketing tools.

Consider how much time you have to create strong marketing materials and whether you can confidently do everything yourself or if you should have a staff member own an aspect of your marketing plan. Whatever you decide to do, be realistic about what financial resources and time you have at your disposal.

Finally, set goals and deadlines. These will keep you on track. It might be tempting to put everything out at once but marketing is an art of iteration and requires trying something out, analyzing its success, then modifying it as needed.

Create a calendar for distribution. Whether you’re choosing to invest more time in social media or email marketing campaigns, you’ll need to establish a clear timeline for each task.

Finally, make SMART goals, which stand for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Timely.
 

2. Use social media
 

Social media is an incredibly effective, free marketing tool and can be used to also reach your clientele. Why not take advantage and focus on revamping your social media pages to engage with potential and existing clients?

Social media is a great way to build rapport and relationships. Your social pages will also give potential clients a glimpse into your business before they walk through your doors. An active and effective social media presence involves posting regularly and engaging with comments. Not sure what you should post on social media? Share updates about your business and industry-specific tips & tricks, run polls, have giveaways or repost user-generated content from loyal clients. Each post’s description should end with a call to action (CTA) that instructs clients how to engage with your post. Not sure what a CTA should look like? Try something like, “What’s your favorite spa treatment? Comment below!” or “Click the link in our bio to book a consultation.”

When posting on social media, keep in mind the following:

• Keep posts visually engaging and captions short & sweet.
• Stay true to your brand voice. To determine your brand voice, think about who your business would be if they were a real person. Classy? Stoic? Calm? Bubbly? Post in that way, consistently, so clients can get to know your business.
• Keep up with trending topics. If it’s relevant to your business, hop on the trend train! Then use hashtags to show up in searches.Social Media can be one of the most effective tools for acquiring new business.
   

3. Encourage referrals
 

When a referral comes into your business, they already view your brand positively because it was recommended to them by a friend or other trusted source. So, why not take advantage and create a referral program to encourage your loyal customers to bring their friends in?

A referral program is easy to establish, a great way to reward clients and another way to get more business.
 

4. Build relationships and use your email list
 

When a new client comes in, your priority should be building a relationship with them to create connections, which compels them to return to your business. One way to do this is by having clients fill out pre-appointment forms to get to know them & any preferences they may have. If you’re a stylist, this form may include questions about hair goals or inspiration pictures. If you’re an esthetician, ask about skin type or any allergies. You can also have a short section for clients to share their preferences, like whether they’d prefer a quiet appointment or if they have any music requests.

Relationship building doesn’t end when a client leaves your business. After their appointment, send automated follow-up emails to thank them for their patronage, solicit reviews and invite them back, perhaps with a nice little coupon from time to time. You can also send automatic reminders to schedule another appointment if they do not rebook in-house. Invite your email list to any events at your salon and share any limited-time promotions. These may seem like small gestures, but when a client feels welcome in your salon, they’re more likely to return as a loyal customer.
 

5. Ask for reviews or testimonials
 

Asking clients for a review may feel a little intimidating.. So, how do you get them to leave one? Simply ask! A  great way to ask for reviews is to have an automated follow-up email that politely requests clients leave a review.

No matter what type of reviews you get, whether positive or negative, reply to every single one. When you receive positive reviews, respond with a personalized message of gratitude and invite that client back to your business. If you receive a negative review, respond thoughtfully and with grace. Remain professional and apologize for the negative experience. If there are steps you can take to rectify the situation, do so. This may involve inviting the client back to try your business again or sharing feedback with a staff member.

Do you have any repeat customers with whom you’ve built a good relationship? There’s a reason they keep coming back to your business, so why not ask them to do a testimonial? A testimonial is like a more in-depth review from a customer that attests to the quality of your business and the services you offer. If you have a client in mind, ask them if they would be interested in providing a testimonial at the end of their next appointment.
 

6. Refine your SEO strategy
 

Search engine optimization (SEO) can be an important part of any small business marketing plan, as it helps locals find your business and can help your content marketing efforts gain traction. Creating an SEO strategy involves a few steps. First, get into the mind of your ideal client. Then, conduct a few searches like “salons near me”.

If you see your business pop up, you’re in great shape. If not, register for a business profile to appear in these local searches. Be sure your business information is accurate and up to date.

To bolster any content marketing efforts, be sure that any blogs and videos are SEO-friendly. For blogs, you may decide to use a free keyword research tool that can generate a list of topic- relevant keywords that you can use in a post. This can help expand your reach to appeal to a wider audience. If you have a blog, you may consider reaching out to other relevant blogs or businesses for a guest post to help further expand your marketing efforts.

Disclosure:
This article was adapted from content originally written and published by Vagaro. Learn More About Vagaro. This article contains general information and is not intended to provide information that is specific to American Express, or it’s products and services.