The Art of Client Retention: Building Loyal Client Relationships in the Barber and Beauty Industry

We all know returning clients is key to a profitable business, so how can beauty providers and barbers get them to stick around? Many clients are looking for a special blend of experience, expertise, and accessibility. Perfecting that formula can result in ideal clients that will stay with you for the long term.

Create a memorable experience
Clients want to see if you pass the vibe check if they are going to keep coming back to your chair. The atmosphere you create is totally up to you and your clients likely landed there because of it. You can keep them there by elevating their experience. Think about things you can do, offer, and teach that make you different from every other professional with your job title.

Become their go-to expert
For example, if you have a client that wants to maintain their vivid color, could you send them home with a great insider tip that will help their color last longer? Could you put together a vivid color at-home checklist that they can tape to their bathroom mirror that not only enhances their results but keeps you top of mind?

Elevate your hospitality
These touches don’t have to be spendy. You can achieve a high-end environment without the price tag by adding enriching hospitality touches like offering cool beverages, a hot towel, a place to hang their bag so they don’t have to awkwardly stuff their Louis under your workstation. Check out our ideas to create a high-end salon and barber experience on this blog.

Incentives for rescheduling
Showing appreciation to your loyal clients is a great way to create a memorable experience and show them you value the relationship. Offering a discount on a specific service, giving them priority booking, making sure they have a spot on your books around peak times, and teasing an anticipated service you’ll provide next time are all perfect ways to do this. 
 

Be accessible 

Being accessible to your clients doesn’t mean that you need to be physically available to them around the clock. But there is a way to make your clients feel like you are, even if you’ve got your phone on Do Not Disturb, and that is a booking system.

Giving your clients access to your calendar, without the barrier of a receptionist or your working hours allows them to schedule, reschedule, and cancel. In fact, in a completely digital world, clients expect a seamless online experience and a certain level of control at their fingertips.

Booksy is the app that allows you to be available around the clock without being tethered to your phone all day. You can start your free trial today.

Be visible

Caution: may cause boosts to authority, credibility, and booked calendars.

Through social media and SMS/texting, you can create an engaged community of clients. While you may attract more followers than actually book your services, being active online and leveraging key marketing techniques builds a relationship with your community. Think about sharing your perspective, tips and techniques, and behind the scenes of how you take excellent care of your clients, for example.

In case growing a social media following is on your mind right now, but you struggle with knowing exactly what to post, we’ve got you. Select 3-5 categories that you feel confident talking about. Then you can rotate through the categories each week, creating content around that subject. Some creators like to script their content while others prefer to keep it open and off-the-cuff. There isn’t a wrong way to do it, so chose whichever method seems easiest to you.

Here are a few categories that fit beauty and barbers perfectly:

• Behind the scenes (a new service you are adding, salon renovation, how you prepare for a service or client)
• Your area of expertise (a certain kind of hairstyle, cut, or color)
• Client experiences (share a meaningful client interaction – if you wish to show photos or share a name, make sure you have the client’s permission first)
• Before and Afters
• Last-minute openings (great for Instagram Stories or Threads)
• Upcoming promotions or “one spot left” posts
• At-home care tips for a certain service (color, perms, dry hair, curls, and so on)

Whatever you chose to talk about, ensure that the content is geared towards the right audience. If the goal is to reach more clients and get more bookings, then keep the content client-facing. You would not, for example, share business tips since that sort of content is for your peers and not your clients.

Always book the next appointment 

Get really good at booking your client’s next appointment. Talk about what you’ll do during their next sessions while they are still in your chair. Even if you don’t have a solid direction for the next appointment, you can lean on what you know of their lifestyle and style preferences to suggest a few ideas. This way, they are excited and looking forward to the next time they get to see you. Booking the next appointment will become routine and feel easy.

Book the next appointment in a snap through Booksy. Your clients can download the app and have the ability to scan your availability and book for themselves or reschedule if they need to with a few taps. It’s easy to get your clients onto the platform through a QR code that they can scan. Put this at reception or post it on your mirror for easy access.

Conclusion

Building your client roster with all-stars is possible. Over time, you become more skilled, developing your expertise and clout in the industry. This alone makes you a valuable stylist or barber to your clients, but you can do even more to wow them to keep them coming back and bring their friends, too. Create a memorable atmosphere, become more visible and accessible, and offer a few thoughtful touches to your business. It’s all part of the perfect recipe for loyal customers.