Build Client Relationships and Increase Repeat Business
Potentially, sales not only increase when you reach more prospective clients with your message but also when you motivate and prompt loyal clients to make repeat purchases.
As a Hair and Beauty Salon owner your database is an asset worth its weight in gold. Consider the lifetime value of a loyal client. How much does each of your clients spend on average per month, per year and over a lifetime? It costs anywhere from 5 to 8 times more to gain a new clients as opposed to keeping your clients. Therefore, it is obvious you need to place as strong emphasis on keeping existing clients. Keeping in touch with your clients and staying top of mind is important to increase repeat business. By sending email to your database you can send a lot more follow-up and repeat messages than you would otherwise with traditional advertising.
Email Marketing is a highly effective way to build loyalty and trust. It is an excellent and cost-effective medium to combine with your other marketing mediums. The best email lists are those that contain the names of loyal repeat clients and interested prospects who know you and your salon well enough to recognize your emails. Continue to grow your database by asking all new clients and prospective clients for permission to send emails.
Valuable Content
When people share their email address with you they expect to receive something valuable. Boring and repetitive emails will lead to low open rates.
Your aim is keep content relevant and valuable. You will need to keep your readers attention while you make an effort to influence new and repeat business. Content = your message, your information.
Email content just as with regular printed marketing material; needs to grab attention and be relevant.
Use catchy words that are personalized and hint to the content of your email. Your email subject line should be compelling and prompt the reader to open your email.
For example if the email is about a new skin care treatment, your header may read: “New skin care treatment improves your skin immediately”
Emails containing valuable information based on your skin care knowledge and experience are generally more effective over time than email that constantly make sales offers and feature your salon, treatments and products. Spend time to edit and polish your message. An effective message needs to be interesting to the client. Think of your content as an informative newsletter or article, rather than a sales letter. You are educating, inviting and enticing them to discover your unique salon experience.
Email Marketing Checklist:
□ Ask each client and prospective client to share her email address.
□ Collect email addresses from telephone enquiries.
□ Ask permission to send emails. Have a privacy and anti-spam policy.
□ Provide a way for people to opt out of your email list.
□ Make sure your email contains your contact details. Physical address and telephone number.
□ Keep headlines clear and concise.
□ Keep paragraphs short.
□ Avoid clutter. Have white space to make reading easy.
□ Have a strong call to action.
□ An expiry date helps to encourage a response.
□ Be prepared to handle incoming responses and questions.
□ Avoid spam (unsolicited commercial email). People don’t like receiving it. If your email is perceived as spam, ISPs will block your email server from sending emails.
□ Consumers tend to perceive frequent emails as spam when they feel that the content is irrelevant, repetitive, or too long. Typically email frequencies would include:
· Weekly
· Every two weeks
· Bi-monthly
· Monthly
Resource and Recommended reading:
Email Marketing for Dummies by Arnold, John