Five Easy Steps to Convert Walk-ins to Regulars

Here’s the hard truth: new visitors and walk-ins are as unreliable as they are promising. More often than not, a new client comes in for one appointment, then ghosts you like your last tinder date. This is especially true of walk-ins when you have no way of reaching the person once they walk out the door. But there are effective ways to convert a client before they leave the chair and keep them coming back. Here are our five favorite tips.

Communicate well from the beginning

Your clients probably have an idea of what they want. However, many clients don’t know how to communicate this correctly- and you’re the one who’ll be blamed if they’re dissatisfied. Ask clear questions at the beginning and continue throughout the service. Also, if they ask for something that you know won’t work- explain to them (or show them) what the results would be.

Get the client’s contact information

To establish a client base, you need to have contact information so that they know what’s up no matter what you do or where you go. If an appointment is made through Booksy or Reserve with Google, our system automatically adds the client’s email address and phone number to your client database. If not- no problem! Use the next step to casually get the details you need.

Book the next appointment while they’re in the shop

The best time to lock in another appointment is while they’re thrilled with the results of the current appointment. So it's important to show them how you take bookings, and schedule the next one immediately. We recommend a line like this: “To keep up these results, you should come back in about (time period). I have a slot available for you on (date and time). Does that work?” 

If it doesn’t work, propose another time. (Don’t leave it open-ended as they will likely say they’ll just book for themselves “later”.) Once you’ve established a good time, get their contact info and book it- or have them do it through Booksy. Now you have a second appointment.

Use rewards and promotions to keep in touch

How else can you get walk-ins into your system? By rewarding them! Tell clients you’ll send out special discounts on their services if they sign up. Offer loyalty discounts for people who come in more than once or bring referrals. Once you have this info, you can also send little reminders and contact people who haven’t visited in awhile, and possibly recommend a return discount as well. Show walk-ins you care and get them used to coming to you. Our message blast system makes it easy to do all of this.

Turn appointments into recurring appointments

Most services require maintenance. Simplify the booking process and make maintenance a habit by setting recurring appointments for clients. You can do this once you’ve created any service clicking on “repeat service” and selecting how frequently the service should occur. Need more help getting started? Just download Booksy and we’ll help you make the most of each appointment.