Thinking of automating your salon or spa communication for a better customer experience? Here are the text messages you need to include…
Salons can automate client communication using scheduled SMS and email messages linked to bookings and client activity. Automated reminders, review requests, and rebooking prompts help reduce admin while improving client retention and reducing no-shows. Consistent automated communication also helps clients stay engaged without staff sending messages manually.
Automation helps to take so much of the labour out of client communications. Prior to the introduction of salon messaging automation, a member of staff would have to consider things like appointment reminders and requests for reviews and send these manually.
With salon automation, you can set up triggers that automatically send these messages based on rules. For example, you could have a rule that says clients get a welcome message when they first register to book. They then get an appointment confirmation when they choose their appointment time. After the appointment, they get a message with their digital invoice and a request for feedback. And 3-6 months after their treatment, they get a reminder to re-book.
All of this would be completed without anyone in your team needing to lift a finger. No one needs to keep this information in their mind or remember to contact patients at specific times. As a result, you can increase sales and improve the customer experience without needing to lift a finger.
If you’re thinking about automating your salon messaging, here are 12 essential text messages you need to include.
First things first, you need their permission to contact them. As part of the booking process, you can request that patients opt in to one type of contact, whether that is phone or email. Make it clear that you need to be able to send them important information, and allow them to opt out of all but important information.
You can also sell the perks of being contacted by the salon, such as last-minute deals and first choice of appointments during peak times such as Christmas and New Year.
When a customer books an appointment, send them an automated message that confirms the time and date. You can also include other information such as the cut-off time to be able to reschedule or cancel without incurring a cancellation/no-show fee.
Most smartphones will turn text messages like this into an automatic calendar event, so they will also get a reminder from their phone calendar. This can help to reduce no-shows and ensure that customers arrive on time for their appointment.
When a new customer books an appointment, use this opportunity to introduce any information they might need in advance of their visit. For example, if the treatment requires a patch test or consent form, you can send this to them in advance and tick all of the boxes ahead of the appointment.
If the customer fails to book their patch test in time for their appointment, you can easily contact them and reschedule their appointment so they won’t be disappointed.
Sometimes customers need to be able to reschedule or cancel their appointment due to unforeseen circumstances. When you reach the deadline for cancelling, you can automate a message to reach out to them again to confirm they still want to attend the appointment. You can also give them one last chance to cancel or reschedule if they can’t make it.
If you have a waiting list, you can then start to contact people on this list if an appointment becomes available. This is one of the simplest ways to ensure you don’t have no-shows and gaps in your schedule. If you can’t find anyone to fill the spot, you can at least let the stylist know so that they don’t waste their time coming to work for no reason.
After a customer has left their appointment, you can follow up with a request for a review. Reviews are essential for growing your business, but it can feel unnatural to ask for them directly.
Requesting feedback the day after an appointment can help to increase the chances that your customer will actually leave helpful and constructive feedback. By automating this process, you’re also putting your reputation management on autopilot.
As you can expect to have a steady stream of new reviews, it’s vital that someone is reading and responding to all reviews. This is the best way to tackle the issue of negative reviews potentially putting off new customers.
Rather than worrying about printing receipts in your salon or spa, you should consider automating the process of sending receipts to customers. This could be achieved by text message or email, depending on how the customer has been agreed to be contacted.
Digital invoices are more convenient for the client, particularly if they need to add them to their tax return. It also automates the record-keeping process and helps your team when tax season comes around.
After the appointment has passed, you can set up any automated reminder to encourage the customer to book again. This is great for hair stylist appointments, as you can generally predict how long it will be before they need to repeat the process. This also works for beauty treatments like brow lamination and lashes.
This simple step takes the guesswork out of booking a follow-up appointment and helps to turn one-time customers into repeat customers to improve your retention rate. You can also use this opportunity to highlight the benefits of repeat booking. For example, they might be able to collect more loyalty points if you offer a customer loyalty scheme.
This is less likely to be automated, as you will need to be able to respond to low demand for bookings. If you’re having a slow month, you can quickly fill appointment spots by sending out an email encouraging customers to take advantage of a short-term deal.
Common quiet periods include January, when everyone is recovering from the Christmas rush, and September when many people are done with the summer holidays and heading back into work mode.
If you offer a customer loyalty scheme, you can automate reminders to let customers know when their points are about to expire. Most schemes will put a deadline on when customers can claim their points, and this can encourage customers to book an appointment to use up their points.
You could also offer to extend their point validity period by encouraging them to book again or make a purchase. You could also simply remind customers that they have unused points that are ready to be redeemed. The same goes for gift cards that are about to expire. You can keep customers happy by reminding them to book before their gift card expires.
Refer-a-friend offers are an excellent way to encourage your customers to spread the word about your services. When you’re experiencing a slow period and have bookings to fill, this is your chance to reward your most loyal customers with a simple offer. This type of offer should only be sent to those repeat customers that you can rely on to fill your books. You can offer a discount for them and a discount to any friends that they refer to you.
One of the simplest ways to make your customers feel special is to remember the little details about them. Your salon software can collect information about their hair colour formulation and their appointment preferences. You can also ask for their date of birth and then send them a message on their birthday with a discount code. If they have already booked an appointment in advance of their birthday, you can also automatically apply a birthday discount to anything booked within 2 weeks of their birthday.
When trying to spread the word about your salon, the more contact you have with your clients the better. This is why it’s beneficial to let them know about other places where they can connect with you. This could include social media or your email marketing list. If you’re about to launch a new service, announce a new site or introduce a new member of the team, you can tease this information in a text to your existing customers and encourage them to join you on social media.
Remember that everyone has opted in to receive these messages, so you can feel confident that the message will be well-received. However, if you are sending too many messages, be wary of customers opting out of all but the most essential messages. Keep a close eye on your unsubscribe rate to determine if you need to slow down with the automated messaging.
Message automation can be used in a number of different ways, including sharing vital information and using the system to share exclusive discounts that aren’t available to everyone. To ensure you don’t annoy your customers, make sure you’re only sharing things that deliver real value.
It goes without saying that you need to be diligent when setting up the automated text messages to ensure there are no mistakes, as mistakes will be repeated potentially thousands of times as the messages are sent to your customers. You can also check and update your messaging system regularly to ensure it’s working correctly and still relevant.
Ready to streamline your salon communication? Discover how Salon Iris can help you automate messages the right way—book a free demo and start saving time while keeping clients engaged.
