That said, if a client is to forgo the appointment, that could be half a day’s salon time lost if you are then unable to fill that cancellation. Often, these mishaps can be literally down to clients booking way in advance and simply forgetting, or, it can be the unfortunate event that the client decides not to notify you that they are cancelling. Either way, this can you put you in an unfortunate situation. And so, here are some tips of advice from Salon Tracker’s Head of Operations ‘Nicola’, as to how you can reduce no shows.
“No shows reduced by 60% with our Online Deposits”
“We constantly ask for feedback from our clients about how our features are helping them. But also, we’re always keen to know how we can improve things to further contribute to their success in the future. We recently introduced online payments to our system, allowing our salons to be able to set a flat rate deposit for every booking. On researching how this has performed for our clients so far, we have found that they have had a 60% reduction in no shows since requiring a booking deposit. That’s 60% of sales & profit saved, by just taking a small deposit up front to secure the booking. So, for all salons, even if you choose not to offer online booking deposits, maybe consider starting this as a general booking requirement first in store and just take these over the phone or in the salon. You will be amazed to see how much this improves your booking rate and helps to retain your salon customers.”
“This, combined with our SMS booking reminders has proven really useful for our clients. SMS reminders cost a little more than deposits, as there is the actual cost of the text message involved. However, by spending just 5p per appointment – that 5p could save you £50! By ensuring that the booking is secured and the client shows up for the appointment. Email reminders are also great. However, as a company, we feel that with texts; these are a much more direct communication as clients are likely have text notifications turned on, but perhaps not email (just due to the amount of spam emails that hit our inboxes every day). For us, SMS booking reminders have also reduced no-shows by over half, meaning a text bundle is an investment rather than a cost for the business.”
“And don’t forget to market! Marketing is so important in the upkeep of your relationship with your clients. If you remind clients when they are next due for their highlights top up for example, or just to keep them updated with your latest salon news; once a client feels some loyalty to your brand, this also goes a long way in retaining their custom and reducing no shows too.”
If you would like any further advice, you can speak to the Salon Tracker team on 0113 350 8230.
